OBITUARY.

Otago Witness, Issue 3495, 8 March 1921, Page 23

OBITUARY.

SIR JAMES PRENDERGAST. WELLINGTON, February 28. The death is announced of Sir Jamefi Prendergast, ex-Chief Justice of New Zealand ; aged 65 years. The late Sir James Prendergast was born at Clement’s Inn, in London, in December, .’826. He was the son of Mr Michael Prendergast, who had held minor judicial positions in England. Sir Janies attended St. Paul's School, and afterwards Trinity Hall, University of Cambridge. He obtained his B.A. in the university, and was admitted a barrister of the Middle Temple in April, 1856. He went to Victoria, and there he was clerk to the quarter sessions"ln a country district, and afterwards came to Dunedin at the end of 1862. He soon obtained nractice here, and became senior partner in the firm of Prendergast, Kenyon, and Maddocks. Later lie was Provincial Solicitor, often acting as Crown Solicitor, and became noted as an eminent pleader and distinguished barrister, especially in Banco cases, but was not con-iJered a great Nisi Prius advocate. In 1863 he was called to the Legislative Council, having been offered the position of Solicitor-general. The Alinistry uhat of Mr, afterwards Sir, F. A. Weld), however, that offered him the position of Solicitor-general resigned, but in the same year he was appointed Attorney-general—-namely, in October, 1865. He sat in the Legislative Council—both in the 1865 and 1866 sessions. In 1866 there W'as passed an Attorney-general’s Act, which allowed the Government to appoint an Attorney-general as a permanent civil servant. In March, 1867, he received that anpointment. and resigned his seat in the Legislative Council, lie remained Attorney-general down to April 1, 1675, when ho was appointed Chief Justice in succession to Sir George Arney. He remained Chief Justice until May, 1899, when he retired on the ground that he was troubled with slight deafness, and did not think it was proper for him t-o remain on the bench because of this infirmity. He acted as Administrator on several occasions during the Governor’s absence, and in November, 1881, was created Knight Bachelor. He was a man of high character and of kindly disposition. His wife died over 20 years ago. They had no children.. Ho had no relatives in New Zealand; but there are several relatives of the late Lady [ Prendergast.