TRIBUTE TO JUDGE

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22445, 27 September 1947, Page 4

TRIBUTE TO JUDGE

SIR ARCHIBALD BLAIR 50 YEARS’ LAW CAREER FAREWELL IN AUCKLAND (P.A.) AUCKLAND. Sept. 27. The retirement will take place shortly of Sir Archibald Blair, New Zealand's senior puisne judge, who has been on the bench of the Supreme Court for nearly 20 years. He was farewelled bv members of the Auckland Law Society at a dinner at which he was the guest of honour. •

‘•We very much regret his judicial passing,” said Mr. H. E. Barrowclough in proposing a toast to Sir Archibald. ‘‘Our only complaint is that he has not been in Auckland often enough. We have all been very grateful for his kindly and sharp humour. We have loved and admired him and his work on the bench.”

“I -am very proud of the fact that I have been a member of the greatest of all professions for nearly 50 years,” said Sir Archibald. The profession had sprung from the church, and it had not in any way deviated from the dignity of the church Its practice was based on trust, honour and appreciation of the ethics of the profession. There had been cases where these high principles were not followed, but they were very rare. Indeed, a lawyer was subjected to greater temptations than those in other professions. <'

“1 don’t think that during those 50 years I ever consciously did a cruel or hard thing to anybody. I never spared myself in putting the best that was in me into making my decisions. I never got used to the beastly business of having to sentence prisoners.”