The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-11-06 00:00:00

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Queen's Justices sheuld be taken from the ranks of
the Serjeants-et-law, and a new judge was invariably
made a Serjeant previously to his elevation, if he had
not before attained that distinction. This was rather
-oprocess, involving gifts of rings to
an expeney.... •
certain fenctionalies ; but the Judic*ure Act
not only dispenses with this formality, but declares
that no more Serjeant4 shall be created. Formerly,
these had the exclusiv' rLht t appear in the Court
of Common Pleas ; now the title is improved off the
face of the earth; and when the appointment of the
Attorney•Creneral to a Judgeship was gazetted a few
days ago, the preliminary promotion to a Serjeantcy
was omitted.
,The peculiar distinction of the Serjeaut-
at-Law was the coif, and connected with this there is a
etegular history. The coif was originally an iron
skell-cap, worn by knights under their helmets. It
was introduced before 1259, and was used to hide
the tonsure of such renegade clergymen as chose
to remain advocates in the secular courts, not-
withstanding their prohibition by canon. • The
coif was at first a thin linen cover gathered
together in the form of a skull or helmet, the
material being afterwards changed into white silk, and
the form eventually into the black patch at the top
of the forensic wig, which became the distinguishing
mark of the serjeants. Any loiterer in an assize hall
will not have failed to notice the black patch in ques-
tion on the wig of the presiding judge; and he will
also have observed, if a serjsant is in Court, that the
judge addresses him as "brother," a distinction of cour-
tesy not enjoyed by Queen's counsel.
It has often been said that a sentimental grievance
is the strongest of all possible grievances, and
this is proved by the strenuous opposition which is
being made to the proposed plan of widening
London Bridge. It is urged that the symmetrical
proportions of the structure will be destroyed; but
the alternative is between doing this and building
another bridge farther down the river. For miles and
miles below London-bridge there is no communication
between the vast populations which crowd the Middle-
sex and Surrey shores of the Thames, for tunnels and
subways are practically failures, and do little or
nothing to relieve the traffic. That is why there is
always such an extraordinary crush on London-bridge
—it is the first which crosses the stream as you
approach the metropolis from the sea. The objection
to the construction of a bridge lower down the river is
that it would materially interfere with the navigation,
more especially in the case of high-masted ships, and
that this is a considerable obstacle to the carrying out
of any such design, all who know anything of the
locality will readily admit.