SIR ROBERT STOUT

Greymouth Evening Star, 1 December 1925, Page 5

SIR ROBERT STOUT

INTERESTING INTERVIEW.

OLD DAYS RECALLED.

(Special to “Star.”)

WELLINGTON. December 1.

In t'he course of an interview, Sir R. Stout, who is retiring from the Chief Justiceship, stated that he entered into politics many years ago, for the express purpose of defending the maintenance of provincial administrations,. > He believed then, as he does to-day, that file abolition of the provinces was a mistake. He considered that if those provinces were in existence to-day, New Zealand would have a better system of local government. The provinces provided a training ground for the higher forms of politics, arid taught public men the early stages of responsibility. The Act for the abolition of t’he provinces came into force in 1876, Canterbury and Wellington being overwhelmingly in favour, only Otago being desirous to held the bld provincial idea. “Par.ty politics in those days were mite as strong as they are now/’ said Sir Robert; He said that many members of those days were graduates of Home Universities. Except himself, not a single member of either the Upper or Lower Houses of 1875 remain alive to-day, and there are only two, Mr C. A. De Lautour (Gisborne) and 'himself who remain of the 1876 Ministry. When Sir Robert entered Parliament he was on ly 27 years old, and even in those distant days, he was in favour of limiting the hours of woyk of young people and women, and he' was a staunch advocate of women’s suffrage. His opinions on the liquor question have always been definite, ,and as far back as 1875, he wrote an article for a New Zealand magazine /advocating local optiop. Referring to educational masters, Sir Robert declared that in his early lays, ci'ahiming was carefully avoided; and anyone desiring to sit for the law or other examinations had to study whole works chosen on any ,gjyen subject and not short analyses of text books, ar, was frequently the case to-day. In those days, the law examinations were conducted by ’Juflges, be having been examined by Sir Henry Chapman. Sir Robert had pleasant recollections of his study of French, La,tin and Greek from the age of about nine years. For his French examination the examiner simply went to the bookcase of his library, took down a French book, and ordered the stuuent to read from any place opened at random.

Wdt'h all! his 81 years, his omnivorous reading and ceaseless activity as a writer for numerous magazines the world over, Sir Robert does not wear glasses. When the Court _of Appeal ■is. -sitting, the Chief Justice alone, of the Full Bench, may' be seen reading judgments without any artificial aid. In 1878, Sir Robert was Commiss'oner of Native Lands Claims Court, an office which carried no salary. Of the many cases lie disposed of in settlement, none has been heard of since.

MR HOLLAND’S PROTEST.

(Per Press Association.)

WESTPORT, November 30. Referring, to the appointment of Mr C. P. Skerrett to the Chief Jus-r ticeship, Mr H. -E.> Holland when interviewed this evening, said that the appointment would call forth an_ emphatic protest from the whole Labour movement. He hoped that the day would come when the appointment of political partisans to such positions would cease. It was certain that a better method of making these appointments would hav'e to be found. Whoever, filled the highest judicial position in the land should be capable of holding the scales evenly, and Mr Skerrett’s association with, and domination of t'he so-called Welfare League (which had no real existence as far as membership was concerned), ’and the bitter class prejudice ex’tessed in the matter for which that fictitious League was' responsible ought certainly to have constituted a bar to Mr,’ Skerrett’s appointment to t'he Chief Justiceship. . LEAGUE’S REJOINDER. WELLINGTON, December 1.

Mr A. P. Harper, secretary of the Wellfare League, referring to MrHolland’s comment on Mr Skerrett’s •appointment, says that he considers Mr Holland’s agitation of mind is the best evidence that the League’s attack on extreme Socialism is doing harm to the extremists’ campaign. It is artiusing to see Mr Holland talking of the League’s bitter class prejudice, vhen the League was 'started to combat the efforts of the Party which preached class war, and whose policy is to foster class hatred in every phase. Far from having no real existence,- as Mr Holland says, the League’s membership is of considerable number, and the extremists know it only too well.