The Departure of Sir John Stanley from Allahabad
ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT
DEPARTURE OF SIR JOHN STANLEY
There was a full attendance of judges and a crowded gathering of barristers, and officials at the High Court, Allahabad, on the 18th April, to bid farewell to Sir John Stanley, who appeared in the court for the last time, after occupying the position of Chief Justice for almost ten years. Several speeches were delivered expressing regret at Sir John's departure, and he was presented with an inkstand from the members of the Bar Library. Sir John, in reply, said that as he felt it a wrench to leave the Bar of Ireland and come to India, he assured them that the wrench felt no lighter for him to leave the Bar at Allahabad and his delightful Indian home. He should carry away with him happy recollections of the friendships he had made in India, and should never forget the warm-hearted and kindly intercourse which he had enjoyed from time to time with his Indian friends.
In the course of a leader, the "Allahabad Pioneer" of the 22nd April says:- "Yesterday Sir John Stanley made over to his successor, Mr Justice Richards, the office of Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court, before starting for Bombay, whence he and Lady Stanley sail for home by this week's steamer. When the news of Sir John Stanley's appointment to succeed Sir Arthur Stracey first reached these provinces, nearly ten years ago, there were probably some who questioned the wisdom of the selection. Such persons may have apprehended, not unreasonably, that the good relations, which, since the departure of Sir Comer Petheram, have existed between the Government and Court, would be imperilled by the appointment of a Chief Justice who had graduated in the Calcutta High Court. If any such apprehensions were entertained they have been signally falsified. While no man was more regardful of the dignity and independence of the Court, Sir John Stanley recognised from the first, what is sometimes overlooked, that the High Court is itself a part, a very essential if peculiar part, of the administration; and the relations between the Court and the Executive have never been more cordial than during his tenure of the post of Chief Justice. As a judge Sir John Stanley was one of the hardest workers the Allahabad Court had ever had. A trained lawyer quick to form and to formulate his conclusions, his unfailing sincerity and the zeal with which he strove to reduce, as far as might be, the law's delays, were recognized on all hands; and with the leaders of the Bar he was on the best of terms. Sir John Stanley's crowning achievement had been the extraction from a somewhat reluctant Government of an undertaking to construct a new High Court building. Last month he had the pleasure of laying the foundation stone of the new building, whose erection will for ever lay the spectre of a transfer of the Court to Lucknow, which has for long haunted the imagination of the Hallabad [sic] Bar and public. Many a good cause will have reason before long to feel the loss of Sir John and Lady Stanley; but today it is for a host of private friends to realise the loss they are sustaining in the departure of the high-minded lady and gentleman who have so worthily played their Indian part."
[Sir John Stanley is an uncle of Mrs. Todd, Bessbrook; Mr H. E. Hardy B.A., Bessbrook; and Mr Wm. Hardy, marine engineer, Newry.]
The Newry Reporter, Tuesday, May 9th 1911, page 8, column 5
See also: The Family of John Stanley and Anne Norris
