The Press. — London, England, 1856-11-29 00:00:00

I NOVEMBER 29, 1856. wisely by making the public familiar w ith the details of their plan, and showing how slight is the change in the actual coinage which would be necessary. Persons might still reckon in pence as much as they pleased, but in accounts the penny would always stand for four mils, and the decimal system would be complete. THE RIGHTS OF TALENT IN IRELAND. THERE is a tradition that in the last century there was a " Black List" in Dublin Castle, on which were inscribed the names of certain distinguished barristers, whose politics were unfavorable to the Court, though their elo quence was admired in the Forum. A con viction exists ia the present day amongst many persons that under Whig rule there is another " Black List " kept by certain persons who now monopolise the Irish patronage, and that candidates for office stand a good chance of having their names written in that dismal record, unless their pretensions be supported by a round dozen of Mr. HATTER'S Irish Toil M.P's. There can be no denying this plain fact, that the ablest men now at the Irish Bar are Protestants and Conserva tives. In saying that, we by no means dispa rage the pretensions of the eminent practi tioners of the Liberal and Roman Catholic Bar ; and we heartily desire that these latter gentlemen may never be treated with the cruel injustice exhibited towards the flower of the Irish Bar. Our best wishes shall always be attendant on the learning, industry, and private worth of any candidates for legal dis tinction. We only desire that gentlemen should not be raised over the heads of others by non-professional and accidental merits ; and on public grounds we hold that the Queen's Judicature should be filled by the ablest men at the Bar, as shown by the extent of their practice, the number of their " special retainers," and their rank and standing before the profession and the public. In contending for that position we shall not support the pretensions, or aid the private ambition, of any persons in particular. We care not who may be the first to reap alvan tage from an improvement in the system of promotion followed by the Whigs in recent times, for the fact is patent that in the last ten years there has been a decided deteriora tion in the standard by which legal metal has been assayed at Dublin Castle. Certain it is that official elevation of the highest kind is gained in our times by methods which no real " Administrative Reformer " can approve. We believe that if a jury of twelve Irish barristers were empannelled to mention six of the most distinguished men now practising at the Irish Bar, they would first call the names of FRANCIS FITZGERALD, BREWSTER, WHITESIDE, BUTT, NAPIER, and CHRISTIAN. We state the names without reference to prece dence ; but we are convinced that the over whelming opinion of the I rish Bar would place these six gentlemen in the front rank. One of them, Mr. CHRISTIAN, is a Whig, and fills the office of Solicitor-General, which he adorns. We rejoice to see a gentleman of his personal merit advanced in his profession. But the other five names belong to Conserva tives ; and under the present system there will be no promotion for any of those gentlemen unless they submit to terms which they would hold to be unworthy of their pretensions. The public loses the advantage of their supe rior powers, and the profession is compelled to witness the example of the less qualified being promoted. We are far f rom d en ying the abilities of the Liberal and Roman Catholic Bar. Like other branches of the profession, it has suffered severely from the official routine of degeneracy. Two or three Roman Catholic. barristers — far better qualified than the present Attorney- General (Mr. J. D. FITZGERALD)-might be selected from the " Liberal" Bar; and Roman Catholic talent and learning have nothing to fear from promotion being given by the standard of professional merit. There was once a man at the Roman Catholic Bar in Ire land who would never have sanctioned the sys- THE PRESS. tern now adopted at the Castle. Sir MICHAEL 01.0011 L EN was a great lawyer and a truly gene rous man. He rose to the Bench neither by politics, nor accident, nor by electioneering services, nor by the whisper of a faction His first-class position at the Bar entitled him to a pre-eminent position on the Bench. Such a man, if he flourished in our time, and saw the Protestant talent of the Bar left without ade quate recognition, would be the first to pro test against a system of such injustice. We repeat, that when we perceive five Roman Catholic Queen's Counsel looking for promotion by reason of their representing constituencies, for which they have been re turned by priestly influence, it is time for the enlightened opinion of the country to be roused. We showed last week that in all great cases, where " special retainers " are given, Conservatives are selected by clients. We might even go much farther in exposing the injustice of the pro-Romanist system adopted by the Whigs. Let us look, for example, to the Circuits. On the North-West Circuit all the leaders are Protestants. On the North- East, Mr. O'HAGAN is the only Roman Catholic of superior ability, and he has been made a county-court judge. On the Home Circuit all the leaders are Protestants, bxcept Mr. DAVID LYNCH, an able, learned, and honourable prac titioner, but not a politician, and therefore not promoted. The manner in which this gentle man has been passed over gives strong cir cumstantial proof as to the ultra-partisan system on which official routine is now worked. On the Munster Circuit the leadership is divided. Mr. BUTT, Mr. LANE, and Mr. CLARKE are all Protestants ; Mr. COPPINGER is a Con servative Catholic ; Sir COLMAN O'LOGHLEN a Roman Catholic, and one of Lord CARLISLE'S county judges ; Mr. DEASY, Q.C., the leader of the circuit, is a Liberal and a Roman Catho lic, whose abilities and professional status are beyond question ; Mr. O'BRIEN is a Roman Catholic, and has received a Crown Sergeantcy. Thus, too, in the Court of Chancery, in nearly all the important cases the leaders are Pro testants,—as, FRANCIS FITZGERALD, BREWSTER, HENRY MARTLEY, CHRISTIAN, with many others. At this portion of the profession, Mr. DEASY, Mr. HUGHES, and Sergeant O'BRIEN are the chief strength of the Roman Catholic Bar So that, in point of fact, when it comes to the competition of superior merit, the Pro testants have the ascendancy ; but where it depends on ; Government favour, the Roman Catholics and pro-Romanists have the first position assigned to them. Now, if it could bo shown that in any one instance a Protestant has been appointed where a superior Roman Catholic has been passed over, there would be a just grievance. Is not the converse as just a grievance ? Was not the concession of " Ca tholic Emancipation " greatly quickened by generous sentiments of manly sympathy with genius in a stuff gown left to languish behind the Bar? The line of the Irish poet, Undistinguished they live, if they shame not their sires, struck a chord which vibrated in many a generous heart. The same class of truly liberal and noble feelings should now be awakened at seeing the flower of the Irish Bar left without official notice, while judgeships and legal honours are accorded chiefly by the favour of the Roman Catholic priesthood. In 1826 the priests for the first time were used on a great scale for electioneering pur poses. They became tribunes ; and the system then discovered has since been patented, and members of Parliament manufactured off hand by parish priests and curates. It is now sought to carry the system further, and allow the same influences to appoint the Judges. Many of the Whig gentry, we are aware, secretly remonstrate against a system on which the people of England, sooner or later, will pronounce an emphatic condemnation. We say that the system must be stopped. Its result is the absolute discouragement of merit. Its religious and political tendency is to check and injure the Protestant interest, and to foster the growth of political Romanism. It works by unfair means for unconstitutional ends. It has the worst faults of the exploded system of Protestant Ascendancy, with the additional fault of giving improper aid to propagandism and the Church of Rome. 1131 WAVERING POLITICIANS. THE appointment of Mr. STUART WORTLEY to the Solicitor-Generalship has taken many persons by surprise. The Learned Gentle man's standing at the Bar or in Parliament does not justify his elevation. A severe analysis of his professional pretensions has appeared in a daily organ devoted to the Liberals who support Parliament, and the Whig Examiner has, also, expressed its dis pleasure in caustic language. We can under stand how disgusted the Whig Bar must be at seeing one who personifies the " pale " cast of political Jesuitism" placed over their heads. What official aptitude has Mr. STUART WORTLEY ever shown to justify his selection? His capacity for affairs was never remarkable at the Bar, though his connections secured him a full bag at Yorkshire Sessions. After his call within the Bar his practice did not seem to rise with his silk gown. As a speaker in Parliament he was always pert, and his highest flight in oratory was to spice a moral platitude with an offensive sneer. He plumed himself on being prompt, where he was only flippant ; when he was prosy, he thought that he was profound ; and he sometimes could not clearly discern the bounds where sauciness begins and sarcasm ends. He had pedigree and patrons ; and, to judge by his deport ment, the Learned Gentleman thought too much of the first, while his promotions proved that he had relied justly on the last. Sup pose a more reticent kind of Mr. Roebuck, and blend the character with that of a super fine sessions practitioner fancying himself an Ellenborough or an j Erskine, and you will have the result in Mr. STUART WORTLEY. The Learned Gentleman, of course, never was one of " the waverers." Not he, indeed ! He was true as the needle to the Pole, and his career consistently pointed to Number One and PALMERSTON. Pity it is that he did not speak as well as Sir ALEXANDER COCKBURN in the Pacifico debate. But let not Whig banis ters be angry. The Honourable Gentleman can solemnly assure them that ho has taken office under Lord PALMERSTON pro bono publico. Besides, was not Lord WHARNCLIFFE " Canningite," and when Mr. CANNING became a chief in Parliament, was not Proteus (alias PALMERSTON) a "Canningite," and ergo —. Every one who knows the immense value placed by Mr. STUART WORTLEY on his own little "ergo," can see how skilfully ho pushes forward himself and his argument. We recollect how solemnly, not to say se verely, the Learned Gentleman lectured an un happy person, who was hunted down by pri vate malice, although Sir ALEXANDER COCK BURN officially declined to prosecute one whose open confession of his offence had been in itself a most severe punishment. We remem ber, too, how ready was this same Mr. STUART WORTLEY to caution the House about not turning OUL JAMES SADLEIR. But, doubtless, next session we shall have this gentleman's official indignation in full swing. Mr. STUART WORTLEY is braherin-laW of Mr. FRANCIS LAWLEY, of financial celebrity; and we think that a little judicious modesty would be an immense improvement in Mr. WORTLEY. With Sir 'RICHARD BETHELL'S most extraordi nary " if," and Mr. STUART WORTLEY'S still more extraordinary " therefore," the Justice of the Crown will be wonderfully represented. This is the pass to which the Liberal party has come. It cannot grow Ministers, but must take them ready made, and it must accept a brace of Conservative recreants for its law oticers ! But the party is one of " progress !" To be sure it is the Reform Club that laughs at the discomfitted and humbled Whig Bar. Should the Premier, in his vaulting ambition, resolve to stand for the West Riding at the next elec tion, it will be a capital card that the profes sional lawyers of Yorkshire should be on intimate terms with one of his chief law officers. Thus, though the Whig Bar may be disgusted at the selection of Mr. WORTLEY, the Reform Club may have grounds for not being displeased with a bold stroke of electioneering. *V