sir Skinner Turner's Tribute to Registrar and Police Magistrate} at Yesterday's Presentation of O. B. E.
Striking tribute to the popularity of Mr. G. W. King, Registrar and Magistrate of HM. Supreme Court, and the general appreciation of the manner in which he carries out his! many difficult duties, were afforded on Monday on the occasion of the formal presentation of the insignia of an Officer of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. Though not actually an investiture, the ceremony was intended to be of" an official and ceremonial character, this being considered to be only right in of the nature of the award and the services for which it was given.
'The ceremony took place in the Assistant Judge's room at tha Supreme Court, where there were gathered Sir Skinner Turner (Chief Sadge), Mr, Peter Grain. (Assistant Judge), Mz. S. Barton, cate. (H. M. Consul-General), all' but avery few of the members of the British Bar and the staffs of the Court and Consulate. Two or three other personal friends of Mr. King wers present, but invitations had to be imited, as the Town Hall could not be engaged.
Sir Skinner Turner said—
May I for five minutes put off the role of Commissioner and resume his office you do' not want me to speak, for you all know of it, and the thoroughness and care he gives to it, 'Mr, King has been ever ready give such assistance as he properly' may to all who applied for it I should like publicly to thank him' for all the help he has given to me since I came here first as Assistant Judge, ten years ago, and after I became Judge. He has shown a constant and steady devotion to all his duties, nots discouragements and at health., Mr. King, I am happy to have had the command to hand to insignia and the accom-tender you, in the name of all of us here to-day and your many friends who are not here our warmest congratulations on the recognition by His Majesty of your work. May you live long to wear} the insignia, Mr. King, in reply, said—
Sir Skinner Turner, I thank you very much for the terms accompany ing your action in handing me the Order which His Majesty has Sraciously been pleased to confer on me. If my long years of service in this Court have met with approval, my role as Judge of this Court? I know I am only expressing a truism when I say that we were all very glad to welcome the appearance of the name of Mr. King, the Registrar of this Court, in last year's Honours List. To-day we are met to present him, in a more or less offi and cerciaonious manner, with the insignia of an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. This presentation has bey delayed at my request, as I was particularly anxious tobe able to make it myself. me Record It isa matter of great satisfaction to me to be able to be here to-day. We all like to see some recognition paid to long and faithful service and we have an instance of that in Mr. King, whose record it would be hard to beat. He joined this Court as Assistant Clerk in 1903 and he wi Chief Clerk in 1906 and ar in 1907, a record of 23 years' service. He is a graduate law of London University and was icitor with honours. He found] time when on leave to get called to the Bar, also with honours. Of work here in the Court and in that la my gord fortune, have bat done my duty, for which I have drawn my salary. You, sir, at the present moment, are engaged on the most important work that has ever fallen to a Judge of this Court. Your time is fully occupied and the burden of your work ju heavy, and yet you have found the time to come here this morning and yourself hand me this decoration, for which T am traly grateful.
We of the judicial branch of the Foreign Office service may be forgiven if sometimes we get the im-Pression that we do not bulk too Inrgely in the eyes of the Home authorities. Numerically, we are a very small service vis-a-vis the executive branch, but it may be that our impression is a mistaken one. my personal gratifica in that, in my person as a judicial officer' of this Court, some recognition of the work of the Court kas been shown. I sir, and also all it presence here The company then joined in toasting Mr. King and wishing him long life and cetinned good health,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.