FAREWELL TO JUDGE HASELDEN.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 3204, 2 June 1909, Page 5

FAREWELL TO JUDGE HASELDEN.

BY THE LOCAL LEGAL PROFESSION. EULOGIES OF HIS HONOR'S WORK. The closing of the last sitting of the District Court at Masterton yesterday was the occasion of a gathering of members of the legal profes- j sion at Masterton. before bis Honour ! Judge Haselden, when a formal fare- , well was taken of his Honor. Mr W. G. Beard said that it was understood that the Court was to be j abolished . as from June 30th. The profession felt that they were losing ( in his Honor an old friend—an old | relative, as it were.. The Court had j been in existence for many years, and it had long been recognised as a great boon to th? wide district which comprised the jurisdiction of the Court. It must be admitted that there was necessity iri Masterton for a tribunal such as tha District Court, where business intermediate between Magistrate's Court and Supreme Court work could be transacted! There were, it was generally conceded, many defects in the procedure Which could be remedied by a revision of the rules and a lubrication generally of the machinery, which had becoYrre time worn I and in many respects ob'sb-fetc Mr Beard said that so far as the' fudges of the Court were concerned, the experience, of Masterton had been that these important functionaries had conducted the business of the Court exceedingly well under the adverse circumstances; [and the administration of justice by the District Court Judges was felt* throughout the district to be oi a very satisfactory character. The Judges had inspired the public with confidence in their -capacity, and the consequence was that now that the Court seemed to be on the verge of extinction, the loss would be regarded as a serious thing in its way. His Honor had presided in Masterton as a. Magistrate, and his promotion to the Judgeship of the District Court had been regarded with universal satisfaction m Masterton. The profession wished to acknowledge the impartiality of his Honor'in his higher position, arid to extend to his Honor their wishes for his continuance in a similar or higher station, which his able administration of the District Court showed he well merited. Messrs A. R. Bunny, C. A. Pow-

nail, and P. L. Holiings also made brief speeches of farewell, each eulogising the splendid work done by his Honor during his occupancy of the judgeship, and joining in wishing that his Honor would spepdily be found before them again at an parly date in a position of increased importance. Ihe speakers also made flattering references to the uniform courtesy and capabilities of the Registrar (Mr Foley) and the Bailiff (Mr H. Bennett), it being mentioned by Mr Holiings that the exemplary manner in which these officials had attended to their duties had helped materially to smooth the work in connection with the District Court. His Honor in reply said: —

Mr Beard and Gentlemen,—lt was in Masterton in February 1897, that I first took my seat as a Magistrate. I I had two years of very happy work here, and then the Government decided to send me to Wellington, to cope singh handed with what was then the most difficult court to manage in Ne\" Zealand. The work was hard, harassing and difficult, but I remained there four years, surmounting many obstacles, and doing a good deal of additional work in the shape ot Commissions of Inquiry, and then I was transferred to Christchurch, which I found the best paid and pleasantest Magistracy of all. I made up my mind to stay there. I refused one offer of promotion, but was tempted to accept the District Judgeship. I have been District Judge for four and a half years. I have travelled over 10,000 miles a year. The work of the Court has slowly .but steadily increased, and at the present moment it seems certainly to be more appreciated than some people affect to believe possible. I was very gratified to return to Masterton in five years' ■ • I time as District Judge, and meet again those of you who had practised before me in my early Magisterial days. You have always treated me well. When you bade me goodbye ten years ago, you did it so cordially that I have always had pleasant memories of it. Some of us, of course, Uave differed, but I am glad to think that there has not been any personal feeling. The painful necessity of my differing with one j or other counsel in each case has been generously recognised and allowed for With regard to the abolition or retention of the District Court, I can say nothing. The matter is in your own hands. You are masters in your own house. 1 speak to wise men. For what you have said of me personally this morning 1 thank you most sincerely. I wish you and the beautiful district in which you live great prosperity and happiness. Ido not feel that this is an absolute farewell, but that in some capacity I shall still have £an opportunity of enjoying your friendship. His Honor concluded with a high ! tribute to the Registrar and to the Bailiff for the conscientious manner in which they had discharged their duties, and also to the loc«l Press for acts of consideration on behalf of the Court.

WHAT THE ABOLITION OF THE COURT MEANS. A GENERAL DEMOLITION OF IMPORTANT JURISDICTIONS. NO BANKRUPTCY. PROBATE, OR CRIMINAL MATTERS CAN BE TAKEN. OPINIONS OF LOCAL SOLICITORS. It is not perhaps perfectly apprehended by the general public what'a really serious matter the abolition of the District Court means to the district. The public certainly cannot adequately realise the large volume" of business transacted by the Court. i , Being a circuit court holding onl' r ' I quarterly sessions, its functions do i not come before the public eye except j on the four occasions of the year when litigants and their counsel marshall before the judge to have their grievances settled. The public are not cdnghtaant of the steady volume of bankruptcy , business passing through the Court, nor of the extent of its probate jurisdiction* ftnd its important nature. A Wairar'apS Age reporter interviewed several leading solicitors yesterday on the matter of the abolition of the court, and their remarks will enlighten the public on various little known of points. MR W, G. BEARD. "In abolishing the District Court," said Mr W. G. Beard, "the Government is depriving this district of all local jurisdiction in civil matters where the claim is over £2OO. Besides this the probate, bankruptcy and criminal jurisdictions are also taken away. It is very necessary that we should have in a central country town'like Masterton a Court intermediate' betweeen the Magistrate's and Supreme Court, in order j to fill a very wide gap between the extremes of litigation and general legal work of the district iri connection with courts. Our District Court is practically in the position of the English County courts, which have worked very well for many generations, and are recognised as" the stepping stone from the Magisterial to High Court justice." "You have expressed an opinion that the District Court should' be'''re- : tained, with increased powers?'' j suggested the reporter. ' "Yes," replied Mr Beard, "the'

present rules and forma are very antiquated, and what is wanted is a thorough revision as would bring the court to a higher level of importance, make its machinery more extensive, and generally cause it to become an even more useful tribunal to the district than it has been in the past. It is quite unfair to the judges to ask that the court be retained under its present code, as they had done already too much on their parts to make the procedure a workable on£. "In New Zealand even more than at Home is the necessity apparent for a court such as our District Court. Here the population is much widely scattered, while access to the centres is less easy and convenient. On the ground of expense and convenience there is nothing to justify the abolition of the District Court here without a substitute court of equal or greater power being established, and there seems no reason for the abolition on other grounds, as it is a court showing profitable returns to the exchequer of the Justice Department." MR A. R. BUNNY:.

Mr Bunny has held the important position of Crown Prosecutor at Masterton ever since the district was given criminal jurisdiction — considerably over twenty years. "I consider," said Mr Bunny, "that one weak point of the Court undoubtedly has been the limited nature of the criminal jurisdiction. There seems little to be said in favour of the maximum penalty imposable by the Court being limited to seven year, and I consider that if the Court is retained on a new basis it should certainly be worth increased powers of punishing crime. There is nothing that I can conceive of to advance in favour of a proposition that District Judges should not exercise the full Supreme Court powers. Our country jurors are surely as capable as their city brethren, and it cannot surely be said that a District Judge is not as competent to administer criminal justice as a Supreme Court Judge. How often, anyhow, do we find that the penalty imposed by the Supreme Court exceeds seven years? In only a small percentage of cases. We have had in our district cogent examples of the necessity for Supreme Court criminal jurisdiction being exercisable in the District Court, when perfect armies of witnesss have had to journey to Wellington and stay for days at the country's expense with loss of time, inconvenience, and perhaps money to themselves."

MR C. A. POWNALL. Mr Pownall is such a familiar figure in the District Court that he is well able to give a comprehmsive survey of the destruction which will be wrought by its abolition.

"We'll have to make a man bark:u?t with a pickaxe in future, 1 ' remarked Mr Pownall, in chatacteristic fashion. "Even if the Magistrate's Court is given bankruptcy jurisdiction the amount of the liabilities should not exceed £3OO. To prove a will it will be necessary to send the documents to Wellington —piling up a client's costs, of course—or to Palmerston North. I know how palatable it will be to Masterton people to know that Palmerston North should, strictly speaking, absorb all Masterton's Supreme Court work instead of Wellington, as the latter town is further distant.

"We shall not, when the District Court goes, be able' to take out injunctions regarding perishable goods, nor have jury cases of any description tried in Masterton. We certainly should have the Court retained on an improved scheme, at least until Supreme Court sittings are established here." MR P. L. HOLLINGS. Mr Hollings is also a well-known advocate in the Court, and he wag emphatic that the procedure wai right out of date, and the Court as it was now constituted, quite unable to cope with the requirements of the district. "There is," he said "no provision in the District Court rules for a counterclaim, and this is a very general matter in civil proceedings. The rules were drawn up about the year 1858, and have never since bfifin revised. I would prefer to see iho Court abolished entirely, as I feel that what Masterton wants is Supreme Court sessions. The code Of procedure th£Js is complete and ample, and it woQt4 mean a very great saving of expense indeed to the people of this district if We had a Supreme Court office here. In the meantime, of course, it is very unwise to leave Masterton without a tribunal of some kind to teke the place of the District Court."