32
from the enclosure to Sir F. Piggott's letter of 29th.
February, 1908, he now expresses the contrary opinion. The
"chief argument" however in his view is the question of the
Appeal Court, the other argument appears to be the difficulty
of arranging for transfer of work from one Court to the
other. The enclosures attached to this Despatch deal very
fully with this matter. Mr. Wise's own offer to take all
the Bankruptcy work, and the Chief Justice's refusal to
fall in with that suggestion appear to somewhat deprive it
of force. As Mr. Wise has lately proceeded to England on
leave I would suggest that Your Lordship's legal advisers
should take the opportunity of hearing his views on the
matter at first hand. The Colonial Secretary informs me
that "it is notorious that the time of the Puiane Judge is
not fully occupied. He has not been known to sit in the
afternoons for several years past". He estimates the cost
of a Third Judge including salaries of clerk, interpreter,
usher and perhaps a registrar, together with rent of Court-
-house and chambers at about $25,000 per annum. Mr. May
assures me further that the consensus of un-official
opinion is to the effect that, if the work were so re-
-arranged as to fully utilize the time of the Puisne Judge,
the necessity for a Third Judge has not yet arisen.
8.
te