NEW FEILDING COURTHOUSE.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 543, 25 June 1909, Page 2

NEW FEILDING COURTHOUSE.

OPENED BY DR, FINDLAY. "LITIGATION NO TEST OF PROGRESS." The now .courthouse at Feilding,. which is situated oh the site of tho old building, Was officially opened yesterday. > Dr. Findlay (the Attorney-Genoral), who performed the ceromonyj. was accompanied; by "Mrs; Findlay.-• Among -thoso;; presont were:, Mr. H. To' Joy (pi'esitlciit; of tho Chamber of' Commerce), who occupied tho chait, ; l(r. Y\'aldograve. (TJndor-Seoretary for Justice), ,Mrb. Waldogravo, Mr. W. J. 'B. -.Trewiii.. (tho Mayor), Mr. A. D. Thomson, S.M.,.aim' jir,., A. .Richmbud (President of tho .Law. Society). An apology tor 11011-attenclaiico was received, from Mr. Guthrie, M.l'. , 'for Oroua.. 'i'ko chair'mhu, onbohalfof those proEent, oxtended a heaity ; welcome.to Dr. and Mrs. I'incUay. : Feilding Was, ho said,' the woaltliiost. districts {in the North .'lsland.' Not only was dairying making great , strides in tho district, but. tlio factories consistently gained, firat place-.' ill competitions throughout tho Dominion . Thirty, ytoia'agoj when tho , old-.-courthouse', was built, bush' -'stood, in tho locality. It was, expected that-J'.Sur-! ing the' next 30 years, tho rato of progress .wQuldbt doubled.. It wad' sbimi "nine.or -ten j'ears ago, iiinte the .Chiiiulc'i- of Comriierco first.' commoiiced tho agitntiqii; for; a new eourfchou&a. Siibseij'uontly •: the Law Society ; had given; tho.' proposal; its \ siipfiofi...•'. Perhaps it,was btrauso■ there' was lit-tlo.'or no crime in the district;, that tbe.granting' of tte,''request 1 ha;i boen delayocl.' ' : ' Tho; people.' of the DoroinipiL recognised, that;;,in; Dr. Findlayi they had bno of the; finest ;Ministofs for Justico that it had ever possessed. They had to thank him for his humanitarian interest in' semiring the reform of tho.criminal ;class." ■. : - : ; . ■-.. .''. .•',' -.'■'.';,-' ;VV ::-y,V..y.: ; Dr. Findlay, deolaring tho building open 1 , .delivered a,-,short speech;,' which- was followed :\nth, interest.'. It Jiid;. ho oljser.ved, ; [ given him much pleasure tq visit Foilding. Hβ had. had. an.. learning how welV the1 ppoplo. of!the district , treated a Minister' of the Orownl There:were somo people—the lawyers,; he'.supposed—(laugh- j theughf that aii-.increase iii.tho number of law euits in a. district' was eyi-j dtmeo of its progress, bct\thero were others S'lio holdv an "entirely opposite Vviow.r An , ndertaker might, refor,: with .equal 'pride, to ail increaso in tbo : number, /of', funerals, to' show how well, a town , was doing. : (Further merriment.)- Not-long before,'when opening ii pest office not w»hy miles ; from Fcilding,,tho Mayor of .the piece had impressed upon him tho'fact that the lock-up accommodation .there.wad -he , cocdedfo.empliasiEe'tho. disgrace'which- accrued: in 'consequence 'te tho town. -.- (L»ughter.).. Ho .(Dr. Findlay).' believed:ihaf tho lock-up 'at Feilding was exceedingly : smjll, and he sincerely trusted that, : for .tho s'akd uf tho , people—and the. Gevernmeirt-^it, would | not';require to : be- rebuilt: for very : mariy': years. Tlie first, at, Feilding was tho lato Mr.Rebort W»rd,''and.his ; "EUecessor i ■Was,the .present nissistrntb,. Mr/A.'-'D. .Thorn-', sou,'wlio. was r'wiraed as a very ablo ofSeial.; 1 (Applause.);; l No Go'verrinicnt.building was' available, for .'• a courthouse' at Feilding : iri' 1877, but, in that: year, the' late;' Mr.' Haleombo."granted- tlio , use'.β-f.- tho diniiig-room in the; old Immigration BarruW 1, so. that, sittings. might bo held. He '(Dr. Findlay) hnd ascertained that,'.in . the'year ,1878,:.a. contract '< w*s', lot for the. c-Tcction of a,' oourt- ; house) .the;contract-price-being £368. -In connection with; the' now building, the: cen-' tract priee 'wao : £2244, .and .; {%■ addition. , there were.extras $24,-and .the cost of furni-. ■turo £100r- The. ; building, ho continued, con-" tained a- court-room" -40ft. by 25ft., "a library 25ft. by 114ft.,-'.a public for L tho.magistrate,/ strong-room,' witnesses' room, ete;, ; which should provide .-sufficient" nc' comniodation for , many- years to come. In lß77.'the number of.civircasos'was 101, whilst in;l o oßit.was ,868.* Thcii, again,: the nnm,bor of. criminal.cases , in 1877 was- 21, whilst in'l9.oß there werb-342! , : Other/'figurcs, which' hp had obtained) showed that'tbo amonnt sued for. in.-lS77,:was £1667,. whilst, in 1908 it .was £8201.. Judging from the law point of- view,'.tho;district. hadj- it-seenied,' made .yeryVrapid progress. -Ho', invited those 'sent as- British-people to',treat , .what they wore doing that day as a mark of progress, not as an additional building to their tewn, for a Court of justice was more than a build-, ing—more than »: placo' where cover what was due , to one's so\f./U was _a ; visual ovidenco of tho liberties; which -theii, forefathers had had.te strugglp for.contnrics before. A' Court of law, presided over by n man at .once , impartial and incprrugtiblo, was; ono of the finest tests of.ciyiliestien.-" To- , day in : .New Zealand there were,; 150 court: houses .opening 1 their doors to the mani,who sought'redress.:. He might eay that tlio:Go-.; vernm'ont had- not. been \niggaraiy... in. its. anewors'r to reasonable demands for ,courthouses;: '-Seeing. that Now, Zealand was ■ a progressive 'country, '.and 'was ;-, just , being'' devc-leped, , . . natnrally" from.:: »H .parts there ,i}Mne : long loud.-knocks at" tho' Treasury,doors. To-d»T, out of,l92._phces'in Now. Zealand where justice was- administered, 42 were private, , buildings! Those; who had thought -fiiat:there- Jiad.becn. delay in. getting a,larger- I ,courthouse at i Feilding would bow realise tho position. :.---|,'--. : ----: . -..' ■",■.. ' -The Minister' then declared --the building opori.' ■'-.'■;■• -.■:■.!- : '. ■■■.■•■•■•"■■■.■■■ ;; : ■''■■'■ ''-V : •■'■ Mr. Richmond, on behalf, of tho Law Society, .destribtd. the. new building ' as'■ botJi haj«!somo'«snd com-fortable. .' In eomo of .the .town-s,. notcblv .Wellington;" tho chief embellishment of tie courthouse'was.a;doso'gn in tho form of' Rii empty se.i' sVeU. > Those. ; wlio were not it all partial to the legal profession said that iffwas-.ttypicalof '.tfHo-.ia'ct .i>.at. tviolawyer,took the , oyster;arid left.tlio shell' for-, the iclient'. ..-(Enughtor.)' '.Possibly." it. spoke well'for members of tho profession in Feilding . that, tho shell had riot been : included ill the' embellishments of their new building. "

!■'.'. Mr. Trowin remarltcxl that it .was only after prolonged agitation that'tho-Goverraneflt liad ; decided to ol'cct'a Jarger.courtho'uso in tiio town. Ho hoped that it would, remain'anbrriamont—that, was to .'ea'y, ■ that;; no' use' would bß'found for it. '(Laughter.) ; Dr.; Firidlay had agreed to pay a return visit te Foilding shortly" when. Hβ; would /'deliver'; 's i'locturc in connection with tho. -Technical School. (Applause.) -■'.':•■".■' •" .' '■ , Mr. : ' Thomson, .S.M., said: that tnere was a; ; time, viz.y when ho first went to Mdingiii--1 lßß3i' : wKcn ho felt, colisidorablo priuo in the 1 old courthouse.. There \ were then only , two members of the legal profession—Messrs.. Goodbehero and.Pryor—in.'aetiye.''practice in ! Eeilding,' aiid as far'asihexould only tlireo Justices of the . Peace—Messrs.; Lcthb'ridge, Sliorwoll, : arid JfArthur;-,, ■ ; Mr, G.'Kirton, the senior Justice'.of t3ip Peace": in considered;the diminution iir,crime in the district largely due/to the efforts of the Magistrate.:' ; .'.:-- ■■■ ;'.;■' '■ ■'■ Tho proceedings concluded with cheors for' Dr. and' Mrs. Findlay.;', ; i/. , . . .:■■.>