DUNEDIN.

Auckland Star, Volume VI, Issue 1606, 7 April 1875, Page 3

DUNEDIN.

(From our own correspdent.) This day.

The Late Judge G-y. The Times has a fine eolnmjotice of the late Wilson Gray, District Jue, from the pen of Judge Chapman. In oniarfc it says: "So far as pounds shillings aipence were concerned, Judge Gray was a loan puzzle. He not only seemed to fight agist his own interests when any individual Government of a friendly disposition mifested a desire to help him onwards, I whenever he bad money at his dispo'^ his aim seemed to be to discover soiody upon whom it could be lavished. Tfe are men in the province who owe whatevfoey have to him —men to whom hundredif pounds have been advanced without (article of security. There are rough awfrien who owe many a lift on Cobb's co( to this gentle little creature, by whom t reckoning was paid; there are widq whose money was invested in lwtunate mining speculations, but which'ad been repaid by one upon whom they lineither legal nor moral claim; there areiusands of travellers by coach, and manyblicans and Binners, who can bear testing to the quiet," unobtrusive, gentle manner akindly disposition of a mere travelling judl companion. Judge Gray's failing hei waa the subject of comment among hitiends long prior to his decease, - and th«urged him to avail himself of tbe leave oisence he ■was entitled to in virtue of ser\ but this he would not hear of until he " Jdone his ten years," and then, wl the ten years were done he insist^pon waiting a little longer ; he could nfford to go just then. Nolens nolens, the islature insisted with the best and moshdly intentioned meaning that he shouldand have, moreover, a year's pay, 1 an annuity of £300. Judge Gray tooks to heart very sadly. "They want toilve me," said he. "Why don't they I a shovel and wheelbarrow, and pine decently into my grave at once." Us a little burst of broken spirit, because physical tenement was crumbling to fes, but to the last the same old aensitiveiof conscience stuck to him. He was vill when he left Dunedin on his final Id. "This is my last," said he, "andwj come back I'll laugh and grow fat.\t Queenstown Sir George Arney says hd to be carried up to his bed, and wasll that one coachman declared thate would not take the risk of carryingj. At Clyde he was even worse, and sc r pressed were those who saw him thatt was the occasion of their final interj that they pressed forward to say a kf farewell then. As he travelled on to rence, his last halting place before reao

Danedin, he became worse and worse, had to leave the coach at Teviot. He Buffering much from dysentery. E Teviot he travelled to Laurence by buj and reached his final destination on Tuesc On Wednesday, the 31st of March, Ju Gray's last judicial day, he lnsiated a being carried to the Court-house to dischj hia remaining duties, even if he died harness. Remonstrances proved unavaih. and from the Court be was carried back to from which he will be only removed as and parcsl of a funeral cortege. of duty remained strong to the last. In Oi .? i3, £ l^ c uts < .T me p L Oi Co°B, clo. us°e J s, 8 ' S aid, ;' What.day of the month is ifc receiving a reply, he said, • Then I have jurisdiction." Another writer m same journal concludes " Ten years in coacass running over the roughest in deep mire, under broiling suns, in piercii «old ; ten years at roadside inns and shanti of little comfort; much discomfort and ance, and among many rough-tongued hwrd-visaged men ; his miesion has been deal out justice, and his arm to heal

broils and quarrels of men ; his life^and his service were not spent among the great of the world, but for the comfort and happiness of sufferinc; humanity; his ambition has been to do good for his fellow-men ; a willing ear, an open heart, and a ready purse have always been his, as many a poor and needy one has often known. Had he possessed ambition and nothing else, he would have been a bigger but not a greater man, with larger office, but not with larger heart. Guileless as a child, he had wit whose flashes were bright and sparkling as Bunshine gleams on wintry days, a mind strong in all but its own consciousness of power, a will weak only when self-interest required that strength of purpose should predominate. When nature demands demands the last and only debt of all mankind, many silent pteon shall be sung in honor of my tender-hearted, noble, gentle friend, dear old Wilson Gray."

Judge Gray's Funeral. Daring Judge Gray's funeral there were 7,000 people in the street; flags flew halfmast on every pole, and all the church bells were tolled. The body lay exposed to view at the Shamrock during the whole forenoon, and was viewed by hundreds. The cortege left the Shamrock at three, and along Princes-street, where there must have been close upon 5,000 people. The funeral procession included the police mounted and on foot, fire brigades, Volunteers, city authorities, Provincial and Colonial Legislators, Clergy, Judges, goldfields officials, and representatives of the goldfields, town and municipality, and over 100 public citizens. The Superintendent, Sir J. Richardson, Chief Justice Prendergast, and Judge Chapman attended; also, the whole legal profession of Dunedin and representatives from Tokomairiro and Tuapeka. At Tokomairiro and Queenstown business wa3 entirely suspended during the afternoon.

All religious denominations sent representatives to the funeral, Bishop Moran and his Vicar-general attending in person. At the grave the pall bearers were : Messrs Macandrew, Prendergast, Richardson, Minister of Immigration, Gillies, Ramsay, Bathgate, Maitland, Mansford, Pike and Warden Carew.

1 Shipbuilding. The Guardian has an article advocating ship-building on a more extensive scale, and keeping the execution of as many orders as possible in the colony. Mr Vogel's Vindication. The Times in an article discussing Mr Fellow's letter, and Mr Vogel's reply, says : " The one writes like a statesman, the other like a forward child or disappointed man. On every point Mr Vogel is unassailable, and we reproduce his argument bacause he combats an idea possessed by many men whose knowledge, and breath of view are incomparatively greater than that of Mr Fellow's. It is this, that the five thousand men employed through the colony npon public works might all be thrown off that employ to-morrow without very seriously affecting the prosperity of the colony so truly wonderful has been the absorption of labour in primitive undertakings, that all the labour now engaged on public works would be reemployed without a delay of twenty-four hours. A good many suppose the grand catastrophe which Mr Fellows delights to picture, and which very many more dread will be rendered more terrible and more terrific by groups of unemployed cast adrift by the sudden cessation of public works. It would give a thousand pairs hands to the wages-earniDg portion of the population —but the fact that profitable industrial undertakings cannot be carried on because of a want of labour, and many useful works being delayed for want of men to carry them on, so clearly proves the capabilities of the colony for absorbing labour, that it is not necessary to discuss the colony, for a recalcitrant colonist desiring to curse the people haß, in spite of himself, blessed them. Mr Gt. S- Grant. The Star advises people to withdraw substantial support from such a detractor of the colony as Mr Grant has shown himself to be.

Railway Mismanagement. Mr Salomond, Brogden's representative at Tokomairiro, has been appointed secretary and management of the Kaitangata railway.

Tokomairiro Races. At Tokomairiro races there was a good attendance yesterday. There was little or no betting. For the Maiden Plate, 30 soys., Bothwell and Merry Monarch started, Bothwell leading by a length, and kept the same until half way round the course, both horses taking it easy iv. The racing then commenced, and a game struggle followed, the whip going freely, and resulting in a dead heat. The Members Handicap, 60 soys. Envy, 7st. 2lb 1 Right Bower, Bst. lOlbs 2 Unknown, 7st. 91bs 0

After one false start the lot got away well togetner. Soon Envy came to the front and held the lead by two lengths all the way, winning by that distance. Right Bower 2nd, and Atlas a good third. The stewards decided as a mark of respect for the late Judge Gray not toTun during the hour the funeral was taking place. In town business was entirely suspended. A Wife Beaten to Death. Thomas Lyrett Hardy has been committed for trial for manslaughter. He struck his wife because she refused to go to bed, and she died from the blows. Criminal Calendar. There are sixteen cases for trial. For manslaughter, 3; rape, 2; infanticide, 1; arson, 1 ; attempted rape, 1. The rest are offences against property.