SUPREME COURT.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4410, 8 May 1875, Page 2

SUPREME COURT.

SITTINGS IN BANCO. Friday, May 7. (Before his Honor Mr. Justice Johnston.) MOTIONS. Several formal motions were made, but as they were not of public interest we omit reference to them, on account of pressure of other matter. ADDRESS TO HIS HONOR. All the practising barristers being present, Mr. R. Hart, the senior member of the Bar, was deputed to address bis Honor previous to his departure from the judicial district over which he has presided for so many years. Mr. Hart said : May it please your Honor, —lt is to be regretted that a more extended notice has not been given of this sitting of the Court in banco, as it was the desire of the members of the profession that opportunity should be taken of the occasion of your Honor’s last sitting in banco in this district, to say a few words expressive of their esteem, respect, and good wishes towards you. They recognise that it is not an occasion when the connection between your Honor and the members of the Bar of this district will be completely severed. They look forward to the prospect of appearing again before you on occasions of the sitting of the Court of Appeal, to which they anticipate that you will bring the same earnest desire to ascertain the right, and direct that which is just, which has characterised your administration of the law during the many years during which you have -presided over the Supreme Court in .this district. I could have wished that by some other principle of selection than tha accident of being the member of the Bar oldest on the roll in this district of the Court, the duty of expressing their views had fallen upon some other member of the profession. A strong feeling of personal regard, though it may add to the warmth tends to mar the efficiency of their expression. I must not omit to notice the obligation conferred upon the community , by your Honor, by your exertions and assistance in giving a beneficial and elevated direction to the employment of their leisure, and hy your constant kindness and hospitality. It simply remains for me to express the united wishes of the members of the profession, in this district of the Court, for your Honor's happiness and well-being, and for your continued success in your work in that district of the Court which is to be. the scene of your future labors.

His Honor said : Mr. Hart and Gentlemen of the Bar, —When this sitting of the Court in banco was appointed, I had no idea that any expression on the part of the Bar towards myself on my approaching departure from this province was about to be made, and I was quite unprepared for any such expression this morning. I assure you that it is a source of great gratification to me to find that my efforts to perform my judicial duties with single-minded purpose have been appreciated by the members of the profession who have practised before me, and I feel this gratification all the more, because I am aware that on some occasions I may have been led, in the anxious discharge of my duty, into a certain impetuosity, in expression or in manner, towards the profession, which may have caused some annoyance at the time. If it be so, lam glad to know that for any failing in this respect I have the forgiveness of any gentleman who may have at the time been annoyed. The kind words addressed to me by Mr. Hart, on behalf of the Bar, are a more gratifying tribute than the most flattering eulogy from some other quarters. They show that my labors have not been in vain, and it is a great consolation to me, at a time not without its troubles, to find that the profession recognises the work I have done. I see before me several members of the Bar with whom I have been in almost daily intercourse for years, and whom I am happy to count among my personal friends; and I know that if there has been little demonstration in this matter, the tribute offered to me is not the loss sincere and hearty. I shall not easily forget this expression of your feeling towards me, and it will encourage and strengthen me for the discharge of my judicial duties during the remainder of my official career. Mr. Hart, and gentlemen, I return you my sincere thanks for your kindness.