THE CHIEF JUSTICE

Lyttelton Times, Volume CI, Issue 11898, 23 May 1899, Page 6

THE CHIEF JUSTICE

[From Our Correspondent.] ' ' - WELLINGTON; May 22 ; Rumour has been busy during the past few days with the nani&s of probable successors to' Sir James Prendergast in the . icliair of Chief Justice. The four most fancied were Sir Robert Stout, Mr H. D., "Bell, Mr Theo Cooper (of Auckland) and Mr Martin (now on his way to England). *Tho. last-mentioned, I believe, to be com■'.4pletely out of the' selection. As regards Mr Cooper, I do not think that the position •would .t-empt him at the present salary, „ the profits of his business as a leading "barrister, and the same may be said of Sir.; Robert Stout. To-day a '■ paragraph, appeared in the morning jour- '•' naPgiving" currency to a report that Mr H. D. Bell, of the firm of Bell, Gully and Bell, had been directly approached by the D-p lime it of Justice, or, rather, by rb" Piemier, which amounts to the t uno thing, m iegard to the Chief Justiceship ; but I Lire the best ot all authorities, THihc 1 !", tho dist.rct denial of Mr Bell r-mspl', that there is no foundation in fact for the rumour Nether he nor Sir Robert Stout has leceived any communication on "the subject, written or .oral, and they profefas to know no more ;"'of. the matter than the man m the street. Indeed, it is saf n to sav that nothing'of a definite « 1 ' 'ngtniQ has done, or will be .done until th» whole question is threshed out m I he Cabinet In connection with the. subject of the appointment qfy; additional J 'Judges a»d v infrea<-es in the calarias of the ' occupants of ihc Judicial Bench, it has been pointed ov to me tbit- the existing are thp Mm? as were paid as > 3<v"g a<?o as 1364 wh"n the population of .the colon\ was on!> about one-seventh of th* present number A leading barrister to da\ informed me that he could not recall a single instance m England m which a Chief Justice had been appointed from the puisne Judsres, the principle beinp that the Judaes should bo in Mich a position as to enable them to'administer mstice without fear, favour 'or affection, a"d Tvith no retrird to possible promotion Onlv one exception to the mle has occurred in Aistralinn-colo-ri'PS, namely, n the case o f Chief Justice Higinbotham, v,ho had previously filled tie office of Attornev-General. Sir John JWadden (Victoria), the Right Hon S. J. Way (South Australia). Sir W. Dobson (TasmanH). Sir Samuel'/Griffith (Queensland) and Sir James Preridergas-t-were all from th° r [Pkk" Pjrjfs 1 ,' -,.-, " WE r -LT\ r G' prr Y- M;n ?? It is wnderste'-d tli.it tb"-Chi*f Jviice w i vaco.te his office on Thum'ay ;..also Hi it Mr H. D. Bell, a leading barrister at Well nc: Jon, has been approached as to his wilhng«ess to take the position.