An Honoured Judge

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 180, 20 October 1927, Page 11

An Honoured Judge

MR. JUSTICE STRINGER

Striking Tribute From Bar

A STRIKING tribute to an honoured judge was paid in a farewell tendered Mr. Justice Stringer by members of the legal profession in the Supreme Court this morning, on the eve of his Honour’s retirement from the Bench after 13 years of activity. It was a memorable gathering and was tangible evidence of the esteem in which his Honour is held by the profession.

fpHE spacious courtroom was ■*" thronged with barristers in wig and gown, and every available seat was occupied, including the prisoners’ dock. The senior members of the profession were seated at counsels’ table, and with them were Mr. E. C. Cutten, S.M., and Mr. F. K. Hunt, S.M. Upon the entry of his Honour the gathering rose, and remained standing throughout. NOT A HAPPY OCCASION “We have gathered here this morning to meet your Honour in what we cannot regard as a happy occasion,” said Mr. J. B. Johnston, president of the Auckland Law Society. They had learned of his Honour's retirement, and had assembled to say “good-bye,” and at the same time to express their regret that the time for the termination of his office had arrived. They wished to pay a tribute to the valuable services his Honour had rendered to the community during the period in which he had filled the position of judge of the Supreme Court, and in the faithful discharge of the Important duties involved in that high office. Recalling that his Honour was appointed to the Bench in 1914, Mr. Johnston said*he came with the reputation of a distinguished lawyer, and after 13 years of faithful service he could leave that office with the record and reputation of a distinguished judge. A JUDICIAL MIND

When his Honour came to the bench he brought with him a rich experience in the practice of the law, and what was equally, if not more important, a keen knowledge of human nature and an understanding of human life. Upon those qualities he brought to bear an essentially judicial and logical mind. To the young practitioners he had ever been helpful, to the older and more experienced he had been just, and to all he had beeD courteous and considerate. In dealing with the criminal classes —that unfortunate class of the community with which his Honour had so much to do, both as a judge and as chairman of the Prisons Board—his knowledge of human nature had enabled him to temper justice with mercy. "MAY WELL BE PROUD” “Yours has been a judicial record of which you may well be proud,” concluded Mr. Johnston, “and one which those who follow you on the Bench may be proud to emulate. In a few days we will be putting the clocks forward; in your case, sir, we should like to put it back over the years, but as this cannot be done we would like you to know that you will not be forgotten by the members of the Auckland Bar. Their kindliest memories and thoughts will go with you; their confidence and esteem will remain and their fervent wish Is that God in His mercy will grant you many years of life, full of health and happiness, and that peace of mind which comes from duty nobly done and obligations nobly discharged.” It was apparent that his Honour was deeply moved as he made reply. “X find it difficult to express my great thanks for the words which have been spoken. It is very gratifying to me to hear these expressions of regard at the time of my approaching official demise, and I appreciate most highly the generous—far too generous, I fear —appraisement of my services.”

“NOT LAGGED SUPERFLUOUS” He could take it, after what had beeu said, that although he was within a few days of the retiring age for a Judge, it was their opinion—and they were the people best able to judge—that he had not lagged superfluous on the judicial stage, and that he was

still capable of performing the duties of his office. His Honour then referred to the beneficial effects of humanitarianism in the treatment of prisoners, reported elsewhere in this issue. His Honour said the success he had achieved in deciding important cases was largely due to the assistance he had received from members of the Auckland Bar. When he took the oath 14 years ago he undertook the obligation of doing right to all manner of people according to the laws without fear or favour. “I have used my best endeavours to live up to that standard,” he said in conclusion, “and the gracious and generous words spoken to-day lead me to believe that, to some extent, X have carried out those obligations satisfactorily.” He hoped that the vacancy created by his departure would be filled by one of the Auckland barristers, and if that proved to he the case he would find that his colleagues on the Bench would do to him what they had done in his case, give their advice, knowledge and experience in all matters.