OBITUARY

Evening Post, Volume CXXIV, Issue 62, 10 September 1937, Page 11

OBITUARY

THE HON. A. S. ADAMS

(By Telegraph—Press Association.)

CHRISTCHURCH, This Day.

The death has occurred of the Hon. Alexander Samuel Adams,- a former Judge.of the Supreme Court Bench.

Mr. Adams, who retired in 1933, be-, longed to a family which ranked among, the very early settlers of New Zealand, his parents having' arrived at Port Chalmers in 1848. He . received his early education at the old Stone School, at which he was a pupil while Sir Robert Stout was teaching there, and when 17 or 18 years of age he decided to enter the legal profession. He entered the office of an elder brother, Mr. J. A. D. Adams, and carried out his studies so thoroughly and proved his adaptability for the profession so definitely that when he passed his final examination in 1883 he received the award of the Canterbury Law Society's honours certificate. Mr. Adams " was admitted to practice as a barrister and solicitor in September, 1883, and then entered into a lengthy partnership with his brother, the two carrying on business together until 1910, when the partnership was dissolved by the retirement of the elder brother. He then carried on the practice alone until about two years before his elevation to the Supreme Court Bench, when he was joined by his two sons, Messrs. F. B. Adams and H. S. Adams. During his long career as a practitioner Mr. Adams took part in many important cases, and one of his greatest successes was achieved in 1888, when he was only 27 years of age. On that occasion, in the Court of Appeal, he successfully fought Sir Robert Stout, who was then at the height of his fame, in the Roche case, in which it was decided that a married woman could not hold a publican's licence. In July, 1920, on the retirement from the position of Crown solicitor in Dunedin of Mr. W. C. MacGregor (later Mr. Justice MacGregor), in order to take up the office of Solicitor-General, Mr. Adams was selected to succeed him. This was but a stepping stone to higher honours, for in March, 1921, he was elevated to tha Supreme Court Bench to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Mr. Justice Cooper. His appointment was a tribute to the Dunedin Bar, and followed on the selection of a number of its members for appointment to the higher branches of the profession. During his practice at the Bar Mr. Adams earned a high reputation, and that reputation was enhanced during his career as a Judge.