The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-02-19 00:00:00

THE BAR-THE SOLICITORS.

The correspondence between the Incorporated Society of
Attorneys and Solicitors of Ireland and Sir Thomas Staples,
the father of the bar, relates to the old grievance of counsel
accepting foes and not attending in court to the interests of
their cli.mts. The society desire that the bar should regulate
among themselves for certain counsel, during the nisi
priva sittings, to confine themselves to one court. This
the bar refuse to do, but declare they Will continue
to receive all the briefs and fees offertd to them,
though it is physieally impossible they can attend to the
cases. They reply that the cure for the abttse rests with the
attorneys themselves--why give the briefs. This is a more
specious than solid argument. As long as counsel continue to
receive briefs, how can the attorneys say they will not attend to
the cases There are certain leaders whose services attorneys
and clients are anxious to engage, and it is only reasonable
to suppose when they, knowing their presiious engagements,
continue to receive briefs that they will be able to discharge
the duties for which they are generally paid beforehand. A
conscientious man would, at least, return the fee, if he found
that previous engagements had net permitted him to discharge
the duty he voluntarily undertook to perform. It puzzles us
to understand the moral code that permits a counsel to receive
and rttain money for service he never renders. A gross case
of the injustice thus wrought was lately reparted. An action
was brought by a party against the sheriff of the Queen's
County for £l5O, the amount of an execution marked
against a Hr. Thacker. The allegation was that Mr. Thacker
was not a-rested owing to the default of the sheriff. Mr.
Turpin, the solicitor for the sheriff, feed three counsel, but
these gentlemen did not attend to the case, and the result
was, a verdict against the defendant for the full amount
claimed and caste. It appears the defendant, in the absence
of his counsel, alleged that he had not a fair trial, that his case
was not properly presented to the jury, and that there was
xceptionable matter in the judge's charge, but he had no
counsel—not one of the three that he feed—present in court
to take exceptions. On such a state of facts he applied to
the court on Friday last, to stay execution on the verdict
until he would be enabled to move the court for a new trial,
and this favour ho obtained on condition of lodging the
amount of the verdict, £l5O, with £5O for costs, in court
within a week. Now, the gross injustice of cases like
this is manifest. Observe the law how it applies with
oppressive inequality to the solicitor and to the barrister.
Had the solicitor failed to attend to the case— had
he been absent when it was called on, and owing
to his negligence had a verdict been returned against
his client, why, he would be responsible legally in an action for
damages ; but, with the Barrister, the case is different, he
pockets his fee, attends to the case or not just as he pleases,
and is freed from all legal responsibility, no matter how severely
his client may suffer through his culpable negligence. This
is a very grievous injustice. Yet, the Bar is a highly
honourable profession, and Barristers " are all honorable men."
We cannot help thinking, however, the cant of " honour"
would tally better with the actual practice of the profession,
if they honestly retrained from obtaining money under false
pretences, for it is a "false pretence" to take fees under the
obligation of attending to cases to which they newer attend.
—Belfast Mercury.

MEETING OF TAE UNEMPLOYED.—A meeting of the
unemployed was held on Tuesday in Agartown fields, St.
Pancras, London, under the auspices of the National
Association for the unemployed.
Mr. William Gummow, of Southampton, has committed
suicide by taking strychuia. Tho jury found deceased in
the same position, in bed, in which he died, and he
presented a most fearful sight. His eyeballs seemed ready
to burst from their sockets ; his teeth were tightly closed ;
the features drawn and contracted, and the whole coun-
tenance frightfully distorted; his fists, too, were firmly
clenched ; his feet forced out bayond the foot of the bed,
and the limbs in a state of fixed rigidity.

THE MEMORIAL CHURCH AT CONSTANTINOPLE.—SOIIIe
time since the committee appointed to procure designs for
the erection of a Memorial .Church at Constantinople,
announced their intention of awarding prizes for the best
designs which might be sent in to them. After a careful
examination of the various plans and designs, the committee
have awarded the first prize to Mr. Burgess, a gentleman
who obtained a similar honour in the competition for a
new cathedral at Lille. The design of the church is northern
Gothic, but modified by details to suit the difference of
climate, taken from the Church of S►. Andrei, at Vercelli.
The second prize was awarded to Mr. Street, why was also a
competitor for the Lille Cathedral, and who obtained on
that occasion a second prize. The third prize was given to
Mr. Bodley for a design, mainly the result of a study of
the Church of St. Andrea, of Vercelli. A fourth prize was
recommeuded by.the committee to be given to Mr. Slater,
whose design approached very closely in merits to that of
Mr. Bodley.
THE ROYAL HOUSEHOLD.—One incident connected with
the household management, and coeval with the Queen's
accession, will serve to illustrate her Majesty's ideas of
domestic economy, and explain the cause of those attacks
to which wo allude. It was, it seems, the usage to appro-
priate among the domestics all the wine that was not used
at the royal dinner table, no matter how much the supply
exceeded the demand, and whether or not the bottles were
uncorked. We need not say that, ander such circumstances,
there was no seareay of the best wines on the s'deboard
and in the coolers, and that the wine merchant's bills
were heavy. The Queen, even though then a girl in her
teens, had, however, a duo regard to propriety, and being
resolved to keep the expenditure of the Court within the
assigned income, inquired into this matter, and took effec-
tual means for putting a stop to the systemised plunder•
The remedy was aS simple as it was judicious and efficacieus.
As the servants who used to appropriate the surplus wine
to the it own use were already allowed an amply sufficient
quantity of port and sherry, they were forbidden to touch
in future any of the wine that was taken from the cellars
for the use of the Sovereign and her g tests, and any we-
corked bottles were v. be replaced, while the wi❑es that
were broached but not consumed were to be sent to the
hospitals.— Court Circular.

IMPROVEMENTS IN LIGHTING GAS FOR ILLUMINATION.—
An ingenious invention, which promises to bring about a
complete revolution in the mothod of " lighting up" large
towns, and to put a sudden termination, to the vocation of
the now very useful class of .men—lanop'ighters, has just
been perfected by Mr. Joseph flatris, manufacturing
chemist, of Bolton, _Lancashire, who bas registered the
invention in the Patent Office, and has obtained protection
f)r six' months. The principle upon which the clever
inventor proposes to proceed has been expl died to us, and
appenrs to be perff otly feasible. By this plan it will be
easy, by means of eltcfro magnetism, to light the lamp!.
of any large town simultaneously ; or, if it be rruired,
on'y a given quantity of them. Bit the inventor has
also been enabled to overcome a difficulty which has
biiherto existed with reprd to extinguishing the lights.
He has discovered a repulsive action, of easy application,
by the aid of which the gas may be extinguished over a
whole town as readily as it may be lighted. The proress
of this invention will be interesting to the public generally,
and an opportunity will be afforded of witnessing the plan
in operation, in the course of a few days, at the Mechanics'
Institution Exhibition.

EXTRAVAGANCE IN OFFICERS.—The Gazette, of last
weed, contained the announcement of the retirement of a
young officer from the Life Guards, "by the tale of his
commission," and, as no successor was appointed, we
conclude he received the money to which he was entitled
from the fund held available at the War Office for such
purposes. We are aware that the officer had sent in his
papers, owing to ill health, some months since bat there
were no candidates for commissions in the Life Guards.
We are also aware that it is a very difficult thing to get
young officers for the Royal Horse Guards—Blue. Why
thii? How 'comes- it-that there is so little -ambition
extant among the younger members of the aristocracy,
seeing that the corps in question have not merely the
privilege of protecting the person of the sovereign, but are
renowned for their heroism in deadly strife? The answer
is that there are very few purses that cau bear the expense.
—United Service Gazette.