Mr. F. V. Smith, K.C., of Adelaide, addressing the Canadian Bar Association at Toronto said that Australian judges were so poorly paid that many people wondered how they lived.
"'Ow do yeh live, yer Honor?"
The pitying prisoner said.
"'Ow do yeh do on yer measly screw
An' pay fer yer 'umble bread?
There's many a time I thort I did,
Of you, with many a sob;
Finin' a bloke a couple er quid
To earn a couple er bob.
Gaolin' a bloke is a poor paid lark,
Tho' 'anging a bloke may pay,
But you 'ave n't the luck in your job, old duck,
To 'ang blokes every day.
Well, I'm fined three quid by this 'ere court,
An' tho' yer verdict's strange,
Collar this fi' pun note, ole sport,
An' you kin keep the change."
First published in The Sun-News Pictorial, 30 August 1927
Author reference sites: C.J. Dennis, Austlit, Australian Dictionary of Biography, Australian Poetry Library
See also.
