12 THE AUSTRALIAN BAR GAZETTE

Notes and Comments

The Australian Bar Association occasion upon which the Board will have an appor- At the meeting of the Council of the Australian Bar tunity of having you, Sir Kenneth, appearing before Association held in Brisbane in July, 1964, Meares Q.C., it. You will allow me, on behalf of us all, to ex­ the inaugural president, relinquished office after having press our regret at that fact and our sense of ap­ held it for two years, and was succeeded by Lush Q.C. preciation of all that you have done in your appear­ of the Victorian Bar. In accordance with the constitu­ ances over the years before the Board to aid in tion, the headquarters of the Association will be in the elucidation of problems relating to the Aus­ until 1966. tralian constitution that have come before us, as, The office bearers of the Association for the current of course, as is well known you have done in the twelve months are: long period of service that you have given to this in itself. So we express to you our regret that President: G. H. Lush Q.C. (Victoria) this must be the last occasion, Sir Kenneth Bailey, Vice-Presidents: J. D. Holmes Q.C. (N.S.W.) but our congratulations and very good wishes for J. A. Douglas Q.C. (Queensland) what I understand to be the next appointment that Hon. Secretary: J. D. Phillips (Victoria) lies before you.” The Canberra Bar Extensions to Owen Dixon Chambers A third member has been recruited to the ranks of When Owen Dixon Chambers opened in July, 1961, the independent Bar at Canberra, namely Warwick few thought that within three years the shortage of Johnson who formerly practised as a solicitor in New­ accommodation for members of the Victorian bar would castle, . again be so acute that the building would have to be It is understood that the small group of Barristers in extended. But the increase in strength of the bar has Canberra is now seeking permanent quarters for cham­ made the extension of the present building or the pro­ bers where not only they, but also any further accretions vision of other accommodation necessary if the junior to the Bar, may practise together as a group, thus ob­ bar is not to be forced into waiting rooms and passages. taining the benefits of daily contact and consultation with The Bar Council preferred to add to Owen Dixon one another which has always been a feature of life at Chambers, and in April, works began to provide four the English Bar and in New South Wales, Victoria and additional storeys. The common room and library will Queensland and, more recently, in Western Australia. be , moved to the thirteenth floor where they will occupy larger space, and the present ninth floor will be par­ Western Australia titioned for chambers. The tenth and eleventh floors will The Western Australian Bar now comprises five mem­ also be used for chambers and the twelfth will be leased bers the latest recruit being Philip Sharp, who left the until it is required by the bar. The contract price of the ranks of the dual profession on 1st July, 1964, by sign­ extensions, including the partitioning of the ninth floor, ing the usual undertaking to practise as a barrister only is £367,000, and possession will be given at the end of and formally announcing this fact to the Supreme the year. Court on 21st July, 1964. He has been admitted to membership of the A.B.A. Council of Advanced Legal Studies (N.S.W.) The Seminars on the Law of Evidence, announced in South Australia the March, 1964, issue of the Gazette, are now nearly Zelling Q.C. of South Australia has joined Elliott Q.C. completed, and it can be stated that they have been very and Legoe in practising solely as a barrister. He was well received by the New South Wales bar. admitted to membership of the A.B.A. in July last. When the idea of holding these Seminars was first discussed, it was impossible to estimate the number of Sir Kenneth Bailey persons who would be interested in attending. It was Just before his retirement as Solicitor-General for felt that an attendance of twenty persons at the Seminars the Commonwealth, on 15th July, 1964, Sir Kenneth would be very satisfactory and that any substantially Bailey appeared for the Commonwealth in the Airlines greater number might be an embarrassment to adequate Case before the Privy Council. At the conclusion of the participation. As things have turned out, 115 members case on 14th July, 1964, Viscount Radcliffe, who pre­ of the bar registered for attendance at the Seminars and sided, made mention of Sir Kenneth’s appearances before arrangements were made for two sessions of the Sem­ the Board over the years and made the following re­ inar to be held in respect of each subject. Attend­ marks: ances have been well sustained although there has “I do not want to part with this proceeding, which been some dropping off in the later lectures, no doubt has taken us the best part of these two days, with­ due to the pressure of work towards the end of the out saying something in the presence of Sir Kenneth year. The subject matters contained in the papers de­ Bailey, because, as I understand it, this is the last livered by the authors have been of an extremely high THE AUSTRALIAN BAR GAZETTE 13 standard and the papers themselves constitute a most Compulsory Tuition for Non-University Law Students useful addition to legal literature. It is to be hoped in Following the imposition of a quota for entry to the the interests of the whole profession that these may be University Law School, it was found that many published in the near future. students were turning to the examinations conducted Seminars on Export Law by the Barristers’ Admission Board and the Solicitors’ Admission Board. The Law Society a couple of years In the March issue of the Gazette there was also an­ ago, commenced a scheme for providing written tuition nounced the holding of a course of two-hour seminars of students sitting for some of the early examinations for in Export Law to commence in September, 1964. This articled clerks. This scheme has been valuable for those series of seminars, which was open not only to members of the bar but also to solicitors, bankers and members who have availed themselves of it, but it left students of the staff of the Law School, has now nearly run its without aid in the later parts of their courses when their course. The participants in these seminars were limited need was nearly as great as in the early stages. in number to a total of forty, and, of these, In September, 1964, Chief Justice Herron announced fifteen places were available to members of the that, from 1965, students-at-law and articled clerks de­ bar and were taken up very readily. The lectures have siring to sit for the examinations of the Barristers’ Ad­ proved extremely interesting and useful not only for the mission Board and the Solicitors’ Admission Board content of the papers delivered at them, but for the would be required to undertake compulsory training stimulus provided by discussion of the subject matters before being admitted to the examinations. Students in with people who are not members of the legal profes­ the metropolitan area will be required to attend tutorial sion. classes, while those elsewhere will be provided with cor­ Talks on Balance Sheets respondence courses. In each case, the tuition would be At the request of some members of the New South conducted by Sydney University. It is interesting to note Wales bar a series of lectures upon the subject “How to this development in New South Wales in the light of Read Balance Sheets” was delivered in the Common the matters discussed by Professor Derham in his article Room of the New South Wales Bar Association earlier on legal education in Victoria published elsewhere in this year by G. M. Cohen, one of its members. This this issue. series of talks was originally intended to be delivered once, but the numbers wishing to attend was so great that in the long run, Cohen delivered a series of four Third Commonwealth and Empire Law Conference talks on four occasions. Altogether about 120 members 1965 of the bar attended the talks. Since the last issue of the Gazette, preparations for It can be seen from this note and the note on the the Conference have been proceeding satisfactorily. By Seminars on the Law of Evidence, that there is an the time this issue is distributed, registration forms will active demand for talks and lectures on matters of be available throughout the Commonwealth to those practical importance to members of the bar, and it is desiring to attend the Conference. It is understood that, hoped that this demand will be met from time to time. among other distinguished visitors, the new English Lord Chancellor, Lord Gardiner, will attend the Conference. The Sydney University Law School Lord Gardiner has had an intense interest in law reform It has been announced in the Sydney press that the for a long time, and, as anyone who has read any of Government of New South Wales has decided that a his writings on the subject will recognize, he looks at the new Law School for the Sydney University should be subject with a fresh eye, undimmed by the fog of de­ built upon a site facing Phillip, King and Elizabeth tail through which most law reform seems to be ap­ Streets, Sydney, upon which at the present time stand proached. His contribution to the conference will be two hotels and the Pioneers Club. Following the an­ awaited with great interest. nouncement, opposition to the proposal was voiced from various sources, notably from the City Council which is During October, the President of the Law Council the owner of one of the hotels and will lose the rental (Kerr Q.C.) made a visit to and the United paid for it. However, the decision to resume was later States of America, during which he had fruitful dis­ affirmed by the Government, and it is believed that the cussions about the Conference with members of the pro­ processes necessary for resumption have now been set fession in England. in motion. In order to make attendance at the Conference con­ The proposed site will enable the erection of a sub­ venient, the dates of vacations have been altered from stantial building which, one hopes, will cope with the their usual times in the various States. In New South needs of the Law School for a substantial period, and, Wales, the mid-winter vacation in 1965 will commence perhaps, produce some relaxation in the stringent quota, on 14th August and finish on 6th September. The High now in force, for entry to it. The site of the present Court of Australia will take its vacation from 14th building will no doubt be sold to help defray the cost of the resumptions. August, 1965, until 13th September, 1965. It is pleasing to see that government of the State As a result of suggestions from overseas, the topics recognizes the need for providing adequate quarters for for discussion have been altered to some extent. The the training of recruits to the profession. new programme is as follows: 14 THE AUSTRALIAN BAR GAZETTE

The Conference Programme Topic No. 3—LAW REFORM Topic No. 1—PUBLIC AND ADMINISTRATIVE Plenary Session: Methods of Law Reform. LAW Committee Sessions: Plenary Session: Ministerial Responsibility in Modern No. 1: Case Law, Codification and Statute Law Re­ Parliamentary Government. vision Committee Sessions: No. 2: Uniformity, Mutual Recognition and Enforce­ No. 1: Intra-Commonwealth Judicial Machinery ment of Legislation within the Commonwealth No. 2: The Place of the Administrative Tribunal in 1965 No. 3: Future Development of Industrial Property Law No. 3: The Proper Scope of Judicial Review Topic No. 2—DOES THE LAW SERVE THE Topic No. 4—THE LEGAL PROFESSION NEEDS OF TODAY’S COMMUNITY? Plenary Session: The Role and Responsibilities of Law­ Plenary Session: The Motor Car and the Law. yers in the Modern World. Committee Sessions: Committee Sessions: No. 1: Costs and Legal Aid No. 1: Legal Education No. 2: Crime and the Punishment of Crime No. 2: Legal Ethics No. 3: Courts and Methods of Administering Justice No. 3: Administrative Aids to Efficiency No. 4: Modern Problems in Company Law No. 4: The Future Pattern

The Letters of Sir William Westbrook Burton

In 1963 there came into the possession of the New should be available. As a result of his efforts chaplains South Wales Bar Association a number of letters mostly were subsequently appointed to the island. In 1840, written by Sir William Westbrook Burton to his brother he wrote a paper on “The State of Religion and Educa­ Edmund. Sir William was a Judge of the Supreme Court tion in New South Wales” which gives an interesting of New South Wales from 11th October, 1832, until account of the position at Norfolk Island, and in 1842 6th July, 1844. he published “The Insolvent Law of New South Wales” Born at Daventry in Northamptonshire on 31st Janu­ with practical directions and forms. In one of the ary, 1794, Sir William had an extremely long life letters, there is a reference to his interest in the bank­ ultimately dying in England on 6th August, 1888. ruptcy and insolvency laws at a period some time before After being educated at Daventry Grammar School, that. he entered the Royal Navy as midshipman at the age In 1844, he was appointed a Judge of the Supreme of thirteen in 1807 and saw active service off Toulon in Court of Madras and was knighted upon this appoint­ 1811, and at New Orleans in 1814. He later left the ment. He left the colony on 6th July, 1844, to the Navy to study law entering the Inner Temple in Novem­ regret of its citizens who subscribed a substantial sum ber, 1819, and was ultimately called to the Bar in in recognition of his services to the colony. He declined November, 1824. In 1826 and 1827, he was Recorder to accept this gift, however, on the ground that he had of Daventry and was then appointed as a puisne judge performed his public duty and that he should not be of the Supreme Court of the Cape of Good Hope, a rewarded (except, of course, by his regular salary) for post which he occupied from 1828 until 1832. so doing, and the sum which was subscribed was devoted The letters which are now in the possession of the by him to the establishment of scholarships at The Kings Bar Association commence with a letter written to his School, Parramatta. brother in October, 1832, from the Cape of Good Hope, It is somewhat ironic that, if Sir William had re­ complaining about his transfer to New South Wales, mained in New South Wales, he would have in all and the other letters, which cover the period up to probability have succeeded Sir James Dowling as Chief 1838, in the main relate to his efforts to obtain prefer­ Justice since the latter died on 27th September, 1844. ment either in New South Wales or elsewhere in the Sir William remained a Judge at Madras until 1857 British colonies. and in that year he returned to New South Wales and In July, 1834, Sir William went to Norfolk Island to was appointed a member of the Legislative Council. In try convicts who had mutineered against the hard condi­ 1858, he became President of that body, but in May, tions there and he sentenced many of them to death. 1861, he resigned both as President and as a member However, he reprieved them until their cases could be of the Council upon an attempt being made to appoint brought before the Executive Council in Sydney and twenty-one new members of the Council so as to pass so that clergy could be sent to the island. He tried with two Government measures of which he did not approve. a certain degree of success to improve the lot of the Following upon his resignation from the Council, he convicts on the island and arranged that two prisoners returned to England where he remained until his death should act as catechists to the others until regular clergy in August, 1888, having been blind for a number of