THE LATE MR. GULLY. REFERENCES IN COURT.

Evening Post, Volume LXXIV, Issue 128, 26 November 1907, Page 7

THE LATE MR. GULLY. REFERENCES IN COURT.

TRIBUTES FROM 83.R AND BEKCH. Before the business of the Supreme Court wa& taken to-day, tribute to the memory of tho late Mr. Hugh Gully was paid by Bar and Bench. The Chiei Justice (Sir Robert Stout) was on the bench, and with him, Justices Cooper and Button. There was one of the most representative gatherings of the legal piofession ever seen in tile court, the Attorney-General (the Hon. Dr. Findlay) being present to voice tbe feelings of the members of the Bar. This he did in an eloquent speech. After referring to tho sad e,vent which had caused them to assemble, Dr. Findlay said they had lost one ot the most conspicuous leaders the New Zealand Bar had ever had. 'He was conspicuous not only for his great abilities as a barrister, out for his high rectitude of character, and for the graces of heart that made him one of the most beloved of their fellow-men. The pathos of the moment was intensified by the reflection that those wall? surrounding the arena where, for nearly thirty years, ho had won his most triumphant successes. Not only had he maintained a conspicuous reputation for brilliancy as an advocate, but for honour of the highest kind, and the utmost kindliness of heart. Success was often won by qualities which left no friends 'in the hour of triumph, but Hugh Gully found accompanying him in his triumphant honours, love and troops of friends. Even when in,, the midst of heavy burdens, and harassed by his work, in all those perplexities he ever extendedi the same courtesy which was unfailing and .unforced. No matter in what trying circumstances one interviewed him, he never failed to be the kindly, genial gentleman "that had marked his whole career. He bore no malice ; blade straight an 3 steel-true, his weapons were never envenomed. Amidst all the temptations to ignoble methods, to mean advantages, begotten of the strife for victory, throughout all the. thirty .years of his professional life, none ever found him other than a noble, chivalrous, and magnanimous foe. Brilliancy at the Bar might w-in admiration, but it could never win the deep affection they all felt for the one who had passed away. That affection ' lay in the personality of Mr. Gully, which made him so well beloved, and probably the most popular member the profession had had in Wellington. Who had not felt trie genial influence of his nature, who had not had the dusty path of daily practice brightened by his .cheerfulness, his humour, und his kindness? To all these qualities he added tho graces of true culture, art, and literature, which reflected themselves in his tongue, his pen, and his pencil — they were not obtruded, ffqt unconscious, and he wore them lightly like a flower. They mourned not only his loss, but the loss hig helpmeet had sustained. One of the saddest incidents of the close of his glorious career was the fact that it left, .foreshortened in the track of time, and of married hie,- the promise of a golden harvest of happy days. They all felt deeply that she was left alone — true, with memories she would cherish for ever— but with a sense of .unspeakable loss. No one would fill his place in the hearts of the profession; the position he held was unique. They were proud of him as a member of tho profession, admired him 03 an honourable citizen, but each mourned him as a dearly bojoved. friend.. Some who had walked with equal step throughout most of his life were present, but Mr. Martin Chapman, one of his oldest associates, was laid aside and could not attend. Mr. Chapman had written expressing his sorrow and regret at his absence, but he was with them in spirit. . CHIEF JUSTICE'S TRIBUTE. ■ Sir Robert Stout, Chief Justice, said that the few words he was about to say he was sneaking, not for himself only,, but for tho whole of the Bench of New Zealand. Ho considered it duly fitting that public reference should be made to the untimely death of Mr Gully. He had been known to Bench and Bar for very many; years; known to them not only as an upright and eminent member of the Bar, but as one avho throughout his whole career never forgot that he was a Minister of Justice. In carrying on the work of his profession, no matter how strenuous he might ba in the interests of his client, he always kept bofore him the highest ideals. His death had come as a great 6 " r P"se— no ono of them had anticipated it— but that silent enemy who called on everyone had called upon him, andhe had passed away. He was, as had been well said, not only a lawyer, but a man of artistic temperament who would, if he had followed in his father's footsteps, probably have been as distinguished m art as he was in law Ho was not only an able member of the legal profession, but he was a good citizen whose conduct and duty were such as to cause everyone to revere and love him with whom ho came into contact His Honour hoped that this expression of public sympathy would in 'some degree nufogate the great blow that had fallen upon his young wife and his relatives. They would know that they were -not alone in mourning his departure, bufc that all those with whom he came in contact joined in mourning his death, and looked upon his loss as a personal affliction. v THE FUNERAL. This afternoon the funeral of the late Hugh Gully is taking place at tho Taita cemetery. Representatives of legal, commercial, and business houses went out from Wellington by train, and the attendance was very large.