JUDGES AND THEIR LABOUR.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 12867, 27 July 1907, Page 8

JUDGES AND THEIR LABOUR.

Tho return of his Honour Sir Robert Stout, C.J.. to hie seat upon the Court of Appeal Bench has been the subject of many verbal and writ--ten congratulations to the learned Judge, who has been laid aside for several weeks by a trying illness. The general impression in legal circles (6ays the ''New Zealand Times") is that his Honour, knowing tho numerical inadequacy of the judicial bench, and also well knowing that there is always an accumulation of business before the Courts, has, in his endeavour to overtake the work, overtaxed his physical strength, great a* hie. powers of endurance are. It is well known that Sir Robert never spares himself when there is work to be done, and for that matter, does not always spare others. This is a course of rarely idopted by Judges in other States. The writer called one Saturday afternoon at the chambers of the late Mr Justice Harding, in Brisbane, Queensland, his Honour was engaged writing ii judgment, end his associate, Mr O'Hir-i Wood (now n prominent barrister in Melbourne) sni 1 -the Judge would not be disturbed by anyone. Just then Mr Lilley, a leading member of the profetssion. came in. with a request that Mr Justice Harding would take an extremely important application. Mr Wood, with some hesitancy, entered his Honour's room, leaving the door ejir. and preferred Mr Lilley a request. '•Tell him to co to blazes," roared the Judge. "I'll not sit to hear anything to-day for anybody." And yet that same Judge was practically a martyr to duty. While hearing a cisc in open Court he wos suddenly taken ill. With assistance, he reached his chambers, and there, lying on a lounge, he continued and concluded the hearing of the case. Almost immediately after he hid delivered judgment, he turned over on the lounge, with his face to the wall, and—died. The late Sir Charles Lilley, who was Chief Justice of Queensland, strongly objected to being over-worked. One Friday evening ,when the Court was about to adjourn as usual until Monday morning, a birrieter earnestly pleaded with his Honour that he would continue the case on the following day (Saturday), as enormous expense might lie involved if it were deferred until tho Mondßy. Sir Charles, in the dignified tone for which he was noted, coldly replied: 'The Supreme Court never under any circumstances sits on Saturdays; District Courts, alone, tallow that objectionablo practice." Similarly, the late Mr Justice Windejer. of New South Wales, who was in all respects an energetic man, saw nothing to be gained by the overtiring of his mental or physical powers. Sitting in divorce one day in Sydney, he hid got through a remarkable number of undefended oases. Each case on an average was found to occupy just nine and a half minutes. When it was about three o'clock—an hour short of the usual time for adjourning—hits Honour shut his .book with a bing. A barrister besought him to take another "-short case." "No, I won't." brusquely his Honour replied. "I ye done enough work to-day, and I'll do nothing more but go home," and ha went.