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Tuesday 15 January 1867
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JUDGE BOOTHBY'S PENSION.
TO THE EDITOR.
Sir—It is stated that Judge Boothby with be removed from the Bench, but condition on our Parliament voting His Honor the usual re-<*> tiring allowance for a Judge.
? this report be true it is a very inter asting item-of Hewi. It is of course interesting to Mr. Justice Boottirjy"iaM to «dl otters concerned with nisareTl-being. It U Infereeting to the ratepayers of this province. It is Utterest-ng to the Chief -Justice and Mr. Justice Gwy-t-tc; and to all our future Judges. May I not also add that it is interesting to every one in a public* | etar&m who possesses tbe not very difficult art of Mis-riiig i_u-!3eK disagreeable and obstruc tive. Up to the present time we hafrrj ttevsr heard of such a thing as " the usual retiring zSa= ance" tor a South Australian Judge. Of course we know that since 1861 Sir Charles Cooper has derived from this colony £1,000 a 1 ?ewm recognition of his judicial services. But Sir d-lrlers dsims were peculiar, and needed, I moreover, to be tSlaLli-l-ed by a special Act of Parliament I guard myself ewainet saying either ttat the incomes of our Judges are wast they ought to be, or that those exalted per sonages should not have " usual retiring alio*, ances." I merely call attention to the Bmgular c-rcninstance that Mr. Justice Boothby is to be tte first Judge so rewarded! His Honor will Uavc the edni of inaugurating a new system. Distinguished by being the subject of addresses passed by both HottseS of cor Legislature, praying for his removal, be is t* be pc that account, rewarded by a retiring allowant'e. What may we not expect from tte precedent which will have been created ? Of course, we cannot expect that either the present Chief Justice or Mr. Justice Gwynne will be abb: to successfully imitate Sir. Justice Boothby in the gcner.d of a Judge. In profound legal knowledge, subtle perception, and accurate and ready jailgment neither of these gentle, men can hope to rival the Venerable sagre who is abont to quit our forum. In these resrfecte be can have no rival; no imitator. No one but Boothby can be his parallel. But in the humbler art which hs has so successfully cultivated may they not hope to be his fellow-workers ? The incentives «re great, for be it remembered ttat 1 Mr. Justice Boothby is about to be removed, not for those brilliant qualities which won for him the admiration of Westminster Hall, tte confidence of bis English clients, tte respect of a Lord Chancellor, a. seat open tte Bench of tte Supreme Court of South Australia, the admi ration of tbe whole colony, tte vener-ction of our Bar, and tte esteem of his brothers on tte Bench. No, these are not tte aim by Winch he will have secured to himself a pension. He knew a trick worth them altogether; ttat is to say, he essayed how to bring our laws and law mzlrets into contempt to render the Supreme Court distrusted, and to make suitors fly from its precincts in despair' and he succeeded. He succeeded in these lofty aims, 2nd therefore he is to have a pension—that is to say if the Par liament of South Australia so will it
I am, Sir, &c., X.
Adelaide, January 11,1867.