MR. JUSTICE ALPERS.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 276, 22 November 1927, Page 9

MR. JUSTICE ALPERS.

SUPREME COURT CEREMONY.

JUDGE REED'S TRIBUTE TO HIS

OLD COLLEAGUE.

A WONDERFUL CAREER.

INDOMITABLE COURAGE UNDER SENTENCE OF DEATH."

New Zealand's flag over the Supreme Court flew at half-mast to-day—a tribute to the memory of Mr. Justice Alpers, who died in Wellington yesterday

Before the business of the Court was commenced, sympathetic reference to the loss which the Bench has sustained was made by Mr. Justice Reed, and, on behalf of the Law Society, by its president, Mr. J. B. Johnston. There was a large attendance of members of the legal profession.

His Honor said he had asked them to attend that morning as a tribute of respect to the late Mr. Justice Alpers. "The late judge," he said, '"'afforded a wonderful example of the opportunities that are open to every young man in New Zealand who has pluck and energy and ability. No one could well have started with a heavier handicap than Oscar Alpers. A Dane by birth, he arrived in New Zealand with his father and mother and sister in a German emigrant vessel at tHe age of 10. Not one of the family cculd speak a word of English, and their combined fortune dirt not exceed the sum of £15. Before he had reached the age of 12 he was actually acting as a pupil teacher in the school in which he was being taught, taking that position in order to assist as far as he could the finances of his family." Brilliance in Early Youth. "Teaching was his forte. Two or three years later we find him conducting night classes in any subject in which a person desired to be instructed. Ho taught navigation. He taught German, and when he commenced to teach these subjects he has informed me that he knew absolutely nothing about them. But, having obtained the necessary books, he kept himself just ahead of his pupil; and so while teaching others he learned himself. In this way he acquired knewledge in a very wide range of subjects, which, with his wonderfully retentive memory he found of great assistance to him, both at the Bar and when he was on the Bench. Later we find him with the degree of Master of Arts in languages and literature; later an assistant, and for a time actually lecturer in English in Canterbury College. Entry Into Legal Profession.

"The manner in which he adopted the Bar as a profession was interesting. He was a member of the Council of Canterbury College, and the position of law lecturer became vacant. There were numerous applicants, and Mr. Alpers was interested in a former pupil of his who had just started in practice, and of whose ability he had formnd a very high opinion. Using all the influence of his great personality he secured the appointment of his protege. Some there were who doubted this young, man's ability. To counter that doubt and to help his friend he decided to devote part of his very limited leisure to attending the lectures, and by doing so he closed the mouths of those who were cavilling at the appointment. He had no thought at that time of adopting the law as a career, but in a very short time he became interested, and attendance at the law lectures, intended at first merely as a benevolent gesture, became to him a source of increasing interest and pleasure. He still had no thought of adopting law as a career, but being urged by his friends, he decided at all events to qualify, which he did with extraordinary ease, and took a very high place indeed in the examinations which he pas=».d. His rise to leading position at the Bar at Christchurch was rapid. His power of getting verdicts from a Christchurch jury was simply astonishing." "He was elevated to the Bench—the first Dane to become one of His Majesty's judges. We gladly welcomed his coming amongst us and looked forward to many years of pleasant and useful collaboration on the Bench. It was not to be; Fate, which till then had dealt kindly with him, struck, and struck with relentless force. He received his death sentence—death within six months. The blow was paralysing in its suddenness, but his indomitable spirit soon rallied. Within a week of his deathsentence, whilst still in bed, following upon an operation he started, with the assistance of his devoted wife, to H : o the story of hia life, and, in his race with death, he was able to complete that story and dispatch it to England, where it is now in the course of publication. This was done 6olely for the purpose of affording some financial assistance to those he was leaving behind. Associating himself in the sentiments expressed by his Honor, Mr. Johnston said Judge Alpers was not so well known in Auckland as he was in many Southern cities, but at the same time he was not a stranger here. Shortly after his elevation to the Bench he presided over a sessions here. "While we mourn the passing of a distinguished judge," said Mr. Johnston, "we sorrow equally at the passing of the man. At the Bench he had a brilliant career, and but for the untimely interference of the unwelcome visitor, death, his career on the Bench would have been equally distinguished He was a man of letters, a brilliant conversa tionalist and raconteur, and a man of great culture. It was a privilege to spend an evening in his company. Perhaps the most striking feature of his later years was the indomitable spirit which even the shadow of death could not nuench. This Dominion, as well as tne .Bench, is poorer for his death."

"MAN OF GREAT INDUSTRY."

(By Telegrapa.—P r e B8 Association.) CHRISTCHURCH, this day. Members of the legal profusion gathered in the Supreme Court this morning and paid a heartfelt tribute Alpers. mem ° ry ° f the late Mr - Justice

Mr. Justice Adams said: "I was impressed with his charming personality Uty ' 4113 wond "rful versatility. He was a man of great indus-