MR JUSTICE SIM.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 13831, 19 February 1907, Page 2

MR JUSTICE SIM.

o i CONGRATULATED BY THE DUNEDIN ] BAR. i Yestorday's sitting of the Arbitration ,< Court was the first that has been held in 1 Dunedin since tho appointment of Mr W. < A. Sirn as its president, The iocal bar ( accordingly took advantage of tho oppor- j tunity to extond their congratulations io 1 thoir late colleague on his elevation to i tho judgesli.jp. Tho sitting was held in .■ tho Magistrate's Court, and there was an- i attendance of oynr 50 members of' the lejjnl f •profession, iiud the compliment was paid t his Ifonour of tho great majority present t appearing in wig and gown. , i When tho court, comprising Mr Justice ] Sim, mid Messrs R. Slater and S. Brown, 1 took thoir positions on tho bench, i Mv A. A." Find), vice-president of tfo? 1 Qtago Law Society, in the una,vpidublo j absence, through iilncss, of Mr J. C. i Stephens (president), said:—Tho members < of tho bar are assembled together to j greet your Honour with a hearty and re- i spectful welcome on thja the first occasion ] of your presiding in Dunedin in the Arbi- i tration Court einep your- alovation to its ; bench, and wo thank the court for affording t us this opportunity. Wo are specially in- i terested in and gratified by your appoint- \ ifcent, Rtnoo you wero for so many years ] one of tho leaders and most prominent j members of our bar, and quo with whom it was at all times a- pleasure and an cdu- j ealionnl benefit to bo associated. Wo feel \ that this selection from among our mom- ( bers is highly complimentary to us as a ] body, Tho {mictions of tho Arbitration j Court and its decisions, affecting, as they ] do Iho industrial welfare of tho, whole ( colony, am so far-reaching that it is difii- , cult, if not impossible, to estimato tho ( influence they will have on the future of New Zealand—nay, tho future even of other ( countries, for there -is no doubt but that . tho workings of our Arbitration _ Act, an j act introducing entirely new principles and , instituting a court practically unfettered by precedent or tradition, are being keenly ' watched by the whole industrial' world. Further, the decisions of. tho'Arbitration Court, unlike those of the Supreme Court— ( which immediately concern only tho , parties to the particular cause under consideration, and aro subject to review—affect more or less the people throughout tho length and breadth of the colony, and may even ho found to have a' quasi-international influeneo extending beyond our own shorce. . These decisions also aro not subject .to tho review of any other court. Tho jurisdiction of the Arbitration Court is. exclusive. It is therefore no light burden, and responsibility whioh-your Honour, with tho assistance of your coajiitore, lias undertaken. The court ha s been fortunate in the nUS'ty j of your predecessors; nevertheless, with our ] knowledge of the learning, the labour, tho 1 perspicacity and tho perspicuity which ] your Honour evinced while practising among c us, we feel that tho judgehip of the Arbitr.v ' tion Court lias been confided to worthy i hands. We tender to your Honour a cordial J welcome, and wish you a long career, which ' cannot fail to bo a. successful one and , beneficial to tho public—(Applause.) Wo j also desire to express our pleasure at tho , re-appointment of the other members of \ the court—Messrs Brown and Stater—wiio ] have done such excellent work in the past, and i whose ability and experience must prove j of inestimable service to the country in i the working out of the principles of tho ( act.—(Applause.) . ( Mr Justice Sim, in reply, said:—l desiro < to thank you fop your welcome to met to-day, and also for the '.vieh you havo ' cvpreWcd that ;I may ' havo a long and 4 successful career in my now sphere of 5 work. It is very gratifying to me indeced lo seo so many of my old friends of tho bar assembler! here today, and to know , (hat they approve of my appointment as \ judge of the Arbitration Court. In tho \ profession of tho law, I think that a man's ( own professional brethren arc the most com" ] potent and' the fairest judgee _ of I'is ( character and. capabilities, and it is a great ( satisfaction to me to know that you think < well of my appointment. Mr Finch ins 1 referred to the important and responsiblo ' functions which the Arbitration Court has ] to perform, and also to the fact that, unlike othnr courts, there is no appeal from ' its decisions. There is also another im* j porlant distinction botween tho. Arbitration Court and other courts, and it is this: ( Judges and magistrates are supposed mqroly j to administer the law by applying the \ propriate rule to the case in hand, Lut [ the Arbitration Court 'has no rules 10, ] apply, and in Bottling industrial disputes i it is really exercising legislative functions, i and any guidance to bo found in tho act 1 creating the court is the provision that tho ' court has to determine all matters in sucii ) manner, in accordance with equity and good conscienoe. as it thinks fit. This is no doubt very good, bo far ae it goes, but in the way of practical guidance it is really about aa irmoh value as Emerson's advice to "hitch your waggon to a star." When I see you all bore to-day, gcntlomon, I ; cannot help feeling a kind of regret when j I think I have given up my association I with the Dunedin bur—a bftr to Which 1 '. think it is an honour to belong. It always maintains a high standard of professional honour and a high standard of professional ' excellence in its work, whilst the relation between tho members has always'been of ; the most pleasant, kind. I have had : now nearly 30 years' experience of the Dunedin bar, and take this opportunity of return- ; ing my thanks to its mombers for all their , khidije'sses to me during that period.. liv. , conclusion,. I linvo been requested liy iny colleagues to return thanks on their behalf for the kindly references to 'themselves, and I niay say'.l agree myself with what was said by Mr Finch as to tho. greait importance of their work in giying effect to the. act.—(Applause.)