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The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Taranaki, Hawke's Bay & Wellington Provincial Districts]

Legal

page break

Legal.

New Zealanders are invariably a law-abiding people. The colony has one policeman to every 1,375 of the population, and the cost per inhabitant is 2s. 10¼d. This compares more than favourably with the police service of Australia. Victoria has one policeman to every 798 persons, and the cost per head of the population is 4s. 6½d.; New South Wales, with one to every 599, costs 6s. 1¼d.; and West Australia has one to every 480, costing 10s. 7¾d. The laws in operation in New Zealand are in principle similar to those prevailing in England, and the administration of justice is also very identical. The judges and magistrates are men of high calibre and rectitude, and though the operation of invoking the aid of the law is very costly, the courts are entirely free from corruption. Three sessions of the Supreme Court are held annually at Napier, presided over usually by Sir Robert Stout, Chief Justice of New Zealand. The first sitting of the Supreme Court at Napier was held on the 8th of October, 1861.

Court House.

The Courthouse in Napier is a large two-storeyed wooden building, standing at the corner of Browning Street and the Marine Parade. The one large court room is used both as a Supreme and Magistrate's Court, and the building contains the usual offices, including a court library. Sittings of the Supreme Court are held at Napier three times a year, and the Magistrate's Court sits daily. Mr. H. W. Brabant is Stipendiary Magistrate, and Mr. R. B. Mathias is Clerk of the Court.

Barristees and Solicitors.

Cotterill and Humphries (Herbert Humphries), Barristers, Solicitors, and Notaries Public, Shakespeare Road, Napier. Telephone 27; P.O. Box, 50. Bankers, Bank of New Zealand. The firm act as solicitors for the Bank of New Zealand, Bank of New South Wales, the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company, the New Zealand Shipping Company, the Tyser Line, Limited, the Tollemache Estate, Messrs Nelson Brothers, Limited, Messrs Dalgety and Company, Limited, and many others.

Mr. Herbert Humphries was born at Kidderminster, Worcestershire England, in 1857, and is the son of Mr. John Humphries, a carpet manufacturer. He was educated at Brighton College, and studied law mainly with Messrs Wilson and Cotterill, of Napier, and was admitted in 1885 by Chief Justice Sir James Prendergast.

Cresswell and Gleeson, Barristers and Solicitors, Tennyson Street, Napier. P.O. Box 43. Bankers, Bank of New Zealand.

Mr. Joseph Cresswell was born at St. Kilda, near Melbourne, Australia, in the year 1860, and is the son of the late Mr. Hurdman Charles Cresswell, solicitor, of that city. He was educated at the Wesley College, Melbourne, and admitted a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of New Zealand in 1884, by the late Mr. Justice Gillies. Mr. Cresswell has been established in Napier since 1887, is solicitor for the Licensed Trades Association, and has formed a valuable connection. He is a commissioner of the Supreme Court of Victoria. As a Freemason Mr. Cresswell is a member of Lodge Scinde, No. 5, N.Z.C., and he has held the office of Principal Sojourner of the Victoria Arch Chapter for many years. He is an old member of the order of Druids, and was for some years lieutenant in F Battery of Artillery Volunteers. In 1880 Mr. Cresswell married Miss Forbes, of Gisborne, and has five daughters and two sons.

N. Z. Govt. Tourist Dept., photo.Te Kaha, Lake Waikae-Moana.

N. Z. Govt. Tourist Dept., photo.
Te Kaha, Lake Waikae-Moana.

page 367 articled to the late Mr. J. B. Russell, of Messrs Russell and Campbell, Auckland. He passed his examination in 1889, was admitted to the Supreme Court early in the following year by Mr. Justice Conolly, and became a partner with Mr. W. L. Rees (a former member of the House of Representatives), under the style of Rees and Lusk. This partnership was dissolved in 1894, when Mr. Rees left Napier. Mr. Lusk then carried on alone until September, 1896, when he joined Mr: Kennedy. As a cricketer, he stands in the front rank as one of New Zealand's representatives, and is the holder of the batting record of the colony. During the season 1895, his total score in first-class cricket was 1,111, being the only person to exceed three figures. Though batting is his strong point he is a good change bowler. He is also a fair tennis and golf player. Mr. Lusk married a daughter of Mr. W. L. Rees in 1891, and has two daughters.