In a short tribute before the full bench of the Bermuda Supreme Court, legal colleagues of the late Opposition Leader L. Frederick Wade yesterday gathered to remember and honour the man they knew not only as a friend and barrister, but as a tireless worker for the people of Bermuda.

"The purpose of this special sitting,'' said Chief Justice Austin Ward, "is to remember one of our own departed brothers.'' Rising on behalf of the Attorney General's chamber, Solicitor General Barrie Meade lead off the tributes: "I actually got to know Freddie quite well as a prosecutor in Magistrates' Court.

"He always represented his clients forthrightly, forcefully, and fairly; his approach was adversarial but never combative.'' Speaking for the Bermuda Bar, President Elizabeth Jones offered collective condolences to Mr. Wade's family seated to one side of the Bench and recalled the early years, when in 1977 Mr. Wade joined the Bar and with Lois Browne Evans went on to form the law firm of Browne & Wade.

"I remember even then his special interest in constitutional law and how in his practice of the law he was always courteous and correct.'' And Appleby, Spurling & Kempe's managing partner Diane Kempe noted: "Many politicians called him friend, but most lawyers called him Freddie.'' "We have much to be grateful for,'' remarked Julian Hall, "because in his short life he's given much for his Country and his people...'' Recalling Mr. Wade's "tremendous respect for the law'' Mr. Hall noted how on more than one occasion Mr. Wade used his influence within the labour movement to prevent the "outpouring of emotions'' from turning nasty. "He has saved Bermuda's bacon many times.'' Michael Scott echoed the theme, saying Mr. Wade "used the law as his lodestone.'' Friend and political comrade Arthur Hodgson put Mr. Wade's life and legacy into a more human perspective.

"I rise to remember not so much a lawyer as a friend. And the things that make for friends are those which are shared. We shared high school... we attended cadets together... and there were some things we shared I dare not mention here.'' Growing up together said Mr. Hodgson, he and Mr. Wade -- by the inspiration of Mr. Wade's father -- learned early that the fight for justice at times meant breaking ranks with the established order.

Throughout a life of political activism and friendship, said Mr. Hodgson, "it was only near the end of Freddie's life, when we talked about death and dying, that we came to share the ultimate, a belief in Christ.

"Freddie Wade was a friend of mine,'' he said to a silent chamber.

In closing Mr. Justice Ward paid tribute to Mr. Wade's sense of duty. "For most of us the practice of law is a way of earning a living; for some a very good living. But for Mr. Wade the practice of law was a way of serving.''