SIR JOHN SALMOND.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 24 December 1924, Page 4

SIR JOHN SALMOND.

:.;v. y; ' y.- ,+,/; v . .y AN APPRECIATION. ' \ . Tiie following appreciatory notice from the pen of Sir Frederick Pollock; appeared in the Law: Quarterly ; Review for October. . . /y , ; : •', ’ “The'''sudden' death of Mr. Justice Salmond; of New Zealand, is a grievous loss both to the . learning of the' common law'and to that new arid,fast growing body of constitutional doctrine and practice which has sprung from the full recognition of tHeljominions as partners in the Commonwealth of the British Empire. It will be remembered that Sir l John Salmond was a delegate, to' the Washington Confer|enee and took an active part there. His reputation as an author in our law. ,; has been established for many years. It ; first made' by' a. volume, of learned and ingenious essays, of which the substance is now largely embodied in his books' on' Jurisprudence and on Torts. These books attained a classical rank in y his , life-time - far above that of v the many well-known and meritorious; treatises, whose chief aim is to furnish practising lawyers with a classical repertory of authorities: We trust that they null escape' the fafe which has befallen some excellent works in the hands of recent editors, of being overgrown: with, 'additional matter till they become digests, lit that 'process the students loss in clearness of exposition is ill compensated by the practitioners gain in fullness of material. Sir John Salmond belongs to the emancipated modern school of English Jurisprudence, English in essentials, but emancipated from the insular bonds of the utilitarian jurist and economist who dominated most of our nineteenth century teachers, and' many of our judges. His cri tieisiri is always enlightened and profitable, whether on. questions of principle or on particular decisions. At least one writer covering/ much the same ground has never failed to find it instructive even in those cases (not a large minority) in which he could not accept, the result.”

In an editorial note the Law Quarterly says.“lt may not be generally known that ..the manuscript of “Salmond on Torts’ 7 was offered to the publishers for £IOO and the offer was declined. The book was then published by and at the expense of the author. Many years later, when, the book was an assured sqccess. the surviving partner in the publishing firm was for washing a cheque representing the profits accruing to the learned author in respect of a, subsequent edition, and was lamenting the tvant of foresight shown bv the firm. The language of the surviving partner was extremely forcible, as the cheque represented a sum far in excess of that for which the firm dould originally have acquired the .copyright. The death of all the parties concerned now renders it possible for the editor to relate a story for the truth of which lie can vouch.”