SUPREME COURT BUILDINGS.

Press, Volume LV, Issue 16699, 6 December 1919, Page 7

SUPREME COURT BUILDINGS.

A RELIC OF THE PAST.

The totally inadequate and inconvcnien: conditions prevailing at tho Christchurch Supreme Court buildings wero brought before tho Prime Minister (tho Right II on. AY. F. Massey) yesterday by a deputation from tho Canterbury Law Society, consisting of 3tossrs S. G. Raymond. K.C. (president), J. J. Dougall, and r. W. .Tohnston. Mr Iwiyjnotid said the. request that was going to be brought before the I'rirr.o Minister was one that affected not only tlie legal profession, but tho people of Christchurt h generally, and it was one that was very strongly sui>pnrtcd bv his Jlonmir Mr Justiv Herduian. What the deputation wished was to bring before Mr Massey tho need for j improvement in the Supreme Court I huildinss. The Court was buiir, some ."-0 years ago. ntul it ra now in great need o; improvement. It was positively insanitary. tho walls needed <fi>tempering, the jury-box w;i.; a positive disgrace, a new centre t ih'.e w.is a necessity. while the lighting arrangements were extremely "inconvenient. Some time auo a report had been drawn up regarding necessary improvement# to '.lie CouTt. which it had Wn estimated would tnlco a considerable sum of money. Those proposals, however, had been shelved when the war broko out, and what w.as asked for now was a very much more modost request. In fact, about £100 would covcr all that was needed. Mr Raymond went on to speak of tho Supreme Court Library, whi"h was, ho ftjiid, now in tho position that the books had outgrown the building. Such a library* was not a professional matter, but one of general public interest, and the present position was that if additional accommodation wero not granted,a groat number of very necessary books would havo to be thrown out. Tho cost of tho neressary extension would not be very groat. Mr Dougnll 6uegosied that a. repros«ntative of tho Public Works Department should confer with a representative of tho Law Society and the Registrar as to what was necessary. Mr Johnston entered a plea for ai* extra reading room for law students. Tho stndont of this morning was, he said,_ the lawyer of this afternoon and th<* jndeo of to-morrow. Mr Mnssey, in reply, said ho recognised that tho conditions of 50 yeare ago were qnito inadequa.to now. Ho thought Mr Dnngall's sucgestion a good one. _ Ho would ask tho Minister of Justico to provide a sum for tho purpose on next year's Public Works Estimates, after enquiries had been mad©.