THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1878.

Thames Star, Volume IX, Issue 3062, 7 December 1878, Page 2

THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1878.

The death is announced of Sir John, Larking Cheese Richardson, Speaker of the Legislative Council. The deceased gentleman was an old Otago settler, and for many years took a prominent part in public affairs. He was Speaker of the Provincial Council, and, was Superintendent of the Province when gold was discovered in Gabriel's Gully. Sir John (then Major) Richardson visited the goldfield as soon as the fliscoverer made the locality known, and accompanied the first escort, bearing 400 ounces of gold, into Dunedin. The sudden accession of population which followed the gold discovery rendered the office of Superintendent '-one ■ of great importance and responsibility, but ' Major Richardson, with his long military training, was equal to the occasion. He at once put himself in communication with the Victorian Government, and requested them to nominate a competent officer to orga-. nize a police force which would be equal to the sudden 1 emergency which had arisen. The result was the appointment of Mr'H. St. John Brannigan, one or two reliable officers, and-the nucleus of the splendid police force which preserved order throughout Otago when people were arriving by thousands every week, and which effectually stamped out the buahranging,phase of goldfields life which was introduced, by the capture and punishment of the whole gang, comprising some of the worst characters from the Australian side. In other ways at this epoch in the history of Otago" Major Richardson displayed great administrative abilities, and a capacity to deal with unexpected circumstances as they arose. Previous to this time, when the spirit of Volunteering was first evoked in

Dunedin, "the Major," as he was frequently called, took an active part in organising the force, and personally undertook the drilling of a squad several evenings a week in \he old Immigration Barracks. He was appointed Hon. Colonel of the Otago Volunteers. The latter career of the deceased gentleman is known to many. He was' called to the Upper House several years ago, and served in the Weld Ministry of 1864-65 as Postmaster • General and Commissioner of Customs, and in the Stafford Ministry of 1865-69 as a member of the Executive Council without portfolio. He was subsequently elected Speaker of the Legislative Council, and two or three years ago was honored with Knighthood. Sir John Kichardson will be deeply regretted throughout New Zealand, but in Otago he will be sadly missed, where his career as a politician and colonist, his exertions to promote the prosperity' of the Otago University and other public institutions, are better known and more widely appreciated.