OBITUARY.

Taranaki Daily News, 24 July 1919, Page 6

OBITUARY.

THE LATE JUDGE DENNISTON. TRIBUTES BY LEGAL PROFESSION. By Telegraph—Press Association. July 23. Tributes to the late Sir .John Denniston were j>aitl by the bench and bar at the Supreme Court to-day. On the bench were the Chief Justice and Sir Bassett Edwards and Judges Chapman, Sim, and Stringer. The legal profession, among whom were the Minister of Justice and the Attorney-General, was largely represented. The three Wellington magistrates were also present. Sir Francis Bell eulogised the character and work of the late Sir John Denniston, and Mr. C. P. Skerrett, ICC., as representative of the general body of the legal profession, added a tribute to the Judge. The Chief Justice, speaking with emotion, referred to his long friendship with Sir John Denniston, who was one of the most careful of judges. The late Sir John Edward Denniston. Who was born at Bishopton, Renfrewshire, Scotland, on June 20, 1845, was the son of Mr. Thomas Denniston, merchant. He matriculated at Glasgow University, where he won an entrance scholarship, but he left the University to come to New Zealand with his father in 1862. Mr. Denniston, senr., took a sheep run in S'outhland, and his son, having worked in the Civil Service.and in the Bank of New South Wales, eventually became a law student with Mr. Downie Stewart. He was admitted to the New Zealand Bar at Dunedin on August 4, 1874, by Mr. Justice Chapman, father of the present Judge. For some months 'he practised at Wanganui with Mr. George Hutchison. In 1875 he became associated with Mr. Downie Stewart in Dunedin, and was a member of the legal firm of Stewart, Holmes, and Denniston. Court work was undertaken by Mr. Denniston, whose name was associated with many big civil and criminal cases in Otago. On the death of Mr. Justice Johnston in 1889 Mr. Denniston was elevated to the Bench, and retired in February, 1918, after completing almost | 29 years' judicial service, the whole of which, with the exception of one year in Auckland, was spent in Christchurch. Speaking to the members of the Christchurch Bar, just prior to his retirement, the late Judge said: "You are aware that I have for some time desired to be relieved of the burden of office. I have passed the age at which Parliament In its wisdom has decided, not only that some Judge may at that age have outlived his powers of usefulness, but also thnt he may lmve done so without being conscious of the fact. Had this Procrustean. provision always existed it would have deprived New Zealand not only of many years' service of some of its most distinguished Judges, but of one living member of the Bench whose unimpaired physical and mental energy would put to shame many of the youngest members of the Bar; and it must in the future deprive it prematurely of many years of services which wc shall greatly misß. lam not within the actual ambit of this Act—nor, I hope, am I physicallv or mentally within the spirit. Of the latter, however, a man is not always in his own case the best judge. I am within a few days of ihe twentyninth anniversary of my first occupation of this seat. Since that date the judicial work of the district has greatly increased, and has within the last few years required strenuous and unremitting laibor to overtake it—labor which has the disadvantage of having to be undertaken singly. You will, therefore, not think it surprising that I should desire liberty and leisure for whatever term of the future may be allotted to me. Strenuous as the work of those past years has been, it has been varied and interesting, and I hope that I am justified in' believing that it has been of some service to the State. If I am so justified, then any such service has been accomplished in association with you whom I am now addressing." • His Honor was created a Knight Bachelor at the distribution of New Year honors in 1017. Since his retirement Jic has lived a private life, except for his services this year as president of the Epidemic Commission. Sir John Denniston has left a widow (a daughter of the late Judge Bathgate, of .Dunedin), three sons (Mr. Maurice Denniston, of Wellington, Mr. Hugh Denniston, a ranch-owner at Buenos Aires, who is at present in London, and Mr. Geoflrev Denniston, a member of Christ's College,' Christchurch), and two daughters (Mrs. Harold Abraham, of Stratford, and Miss TTelen Denniston, now on a visit to London).

THOMAS E. HAMERTON. (By R. S.) 'By the death Mr. T. E. Hamerton, Whiaji occurred oil Tuesday, ?2nd inst., at Inglewood, that borough and, in fact, the whole surrounding district loses one of its best-known citizens. Since Mr. Hamerton became editor and part proprietor of the Inglewood Record in 1901 he had identified himself with all the forward moving interests of the district, and by his frank outspokenness in the columns of the journal lie controlled had made many friends, and, need it he added, some enemies. That was inevitable, but even those most opposed to him in either local or general politics must admit that while he was a wholehearted supporter on the one hand he was a clean-fighter on the other. He Would not take any mean advantage of an opponent's weakness, and if he was ; nit hard, as must sometimes happen, lie could acknowledge the hit and come up smiling. Mr. Hamerton had reached the ripe age of 7S years, most of them strenuous. He was a man who never spared himself, and it is probably owing to that fact that he succumbed to the illness which, following on a severe chill, so sapped his strength that he passed quietly away shortly before 2 p.m. on Tuesday. In Ilia time Mr. Hamevton had seen many phases of life. Born near Burnley, Lancashire, in 1841, lie came with his father to Taranaki in the_ship Cashmere in 1554. His first experience of colonial life was on the land that his father took up near Bell Block, and .when the Maori war convulsed the infant settlement he took his place as bugler boy with the other resistants to Maori attack. From that rank he rose to be lieutenant before the cessation of hostilities. He then occupied his time in New Plymouth as a commission agent, until in 18S9 the White Cliffs massacre once more awakened the martial spirit of the settlers, and lie at once joined the Mounted Volunteers. When things quieted down ho started business asain ns accountant and auctioneer in New Plymouth in 1873, which he relinquished tn 18S1 to move to Patea, where he followed the calling of accountant till, in .1884, hs took oyer the Jowl a«W(®jiper.

which he conducted for several years, la 1001, having disposed of his Patea interests, he acquired the Inglewood Record property in conjunction with his son, Mr. Chas. E. Hamerton, and in the capacity of manager and editor of that journal he continued to the end. In public life lie served as a member of the last Town Board of New Plymouth and councillor in the first council of that borough, as well as chairman of the school committee in the early days of such bodies. Married in ISOS to Miss Parris, of New Plymouth, who predeceased bin- lie ieo-ves a family of four sons and four daughters, namely, Messrs Holden *(BaHitoland, fi.A.), R. William (Patea), Charles E, (Inglewood), and Edward Hamerton (Waverley), and Sister Mary Rpnedicta (Blenheim), Mrs. Gaby (Wellington), Mrs. Jacomb, and Mrs. Mayenborg (.ttglewood). Mr. Hamerton was well known in Masonic circles, and had filled the office of P.G.J.D. of the Grand Lodge of New Zealand, while in the Ancient Order of Druids lie was the last Past District President under the Victorian regime and the first under that of New Zealand. A large number of old friends are sorry that the present utter dislocation of railway communication debars them from paying their last respects to the deceased at the graveside, as the burial is to be lit the Patea cemetery on Thursday, 24th inst. But if by their presence at the gijweside they are unable to express their sympathy with the bereaved family, it is none the less certain that that sympathy is sincere amongst all who had the privilege of his acquaintance.