The Sun.
London, England, 1830-06-03 00:00:00

LORD KEEPER GUILDFORD.

There was an incident that happened not long
after his Lordship came into the place of chief
in that Court, which, though in itself and in the
end of it ridiculous, yet being an affront to the
Court, and in particular to the Lord Chief Jus-
tice, and by the whole bar of Serjeants, all in a
lump together, osght to be related, as I shall
do, really as it was acted by them. It bath
been the usage of the King's Bench, at the side
bar below in the Hall, and of the Common
Pleas, in the Chamber within Treasury, to hear
attornies and young counsel that came to move
there about matters of form and practice. His
Lordship had a younger brother (Hon. Roger
North), who was of the profession of the law ;
he was newly called to the bar, and had little to
do in the King's Bench ; but the attornies of
the Common Pleas often retained him to move
for them in the Treasury such matters as were
proper there, and what they might have moved
themselves. But, however agreeable this kind
of practice was to a noviciate, it was not worthy
the observation it had, for once or twice a week
was the utmost calculate of these motions. But
the Serjeants thought that method was or
might become prejudicial to them, who had a
monopoly at the bar, and would have no water
go by their mill, and supposed it was high time
to out a stop to such beginnings, for fear it
might grow worse. But the doubt was, how
they should signify their resentment so as to be
effectually remedied. At length they agreed
for one day to make no motions at all, and op-
portunity would fall for showing the reason how
the Court came to have no business. When the
court (on this dumb day, as it was called) was
sat, the Chief Justice gave the usual signal to the
e.idest Serjeant to move. He bowed, and had
nothing to move ; so the next, and the next from
end to end of the bar. The chief, seeing this,
said, " Brothers, I think we must rise, here is
no business." Then an attorney steps forward,
and called to a Serjeant to make a motion, and
after that turned to the Court and said, that he
had, given the Serjeant his fee and instructions
over-night to move for him, and desired he
might do so. The Chief looked about, and
asked what was the matter? An attorney that
stood by, very modestly said, that he feared the
Serjeants took it, ill that motions were made in
the Treasury. Then the Chief scented the
whole matter ; and, « Brothers," said he, " I
think a very great affront is offered to us, Which
01101 t for the dignity of the Court to resent.
But that we may do nothing too suddenly, but
take consideration at full leisure and maturely,
let us now rise, and to-morrow morning give
order as becomes us. And do you, attornies,
cOrne all here to-morrow, and care shall be
taken for your despatch ; and rather than fail,
we will hear you or your clients, or the barristers
at law, or any person that thinks fit to appear
in business, that the law may have its course ;
and so the Court rose. This was like thunder
to the Serjeants, and they fell to quarrel-
ing one with another about being the cause of
this great evil they had brought upon them-
selves; for none of them imagined it would
have had such a turn as this was, that shaked
what was the palladium of the coif, the sole prac-
tice there. In the afternoon they attended the
Chief and the other Judges of the Court, and
in great humility owned their fault, and begged
pardon, and that no farther notice might be
taken of it, and they would be careful not to
give the like offence for the future. The Chief
told them, that the affront was in public and in
the face of the Court, and they must make
their recognitions there next morning, and
in such a manner as the greatness of their
offence demanded, and then they should hear
what the Court would say to them. Ac-
cordingly they did ; and the Chief first, and
then the rest in order, gave them a formal
chiding with acrimony enough ; all which with
dejected countenances they were bound to hear.
When this discipline was over, the Chief pointed
to one to move, and which he did (as they said)
more like crying than speaking ; and so ended
the comedy, as it was acted in Westminster Hall,
called the Dumb Day.

The conduct of Sir Francis North while upon
the bench was in many points worthy of great
commendation. Like Sir Matthew Hale, he
applied himself to the reformation of the abuses
which existed in the law ; his mode being to
note down the point which appeared to require
amendment ; and afterwards, when at leisure, to
reduce his observations into such a form that
an Act of Parliament might be founded on
them. It is supposed by his biographer, that
the first idea of the statute of frauds proceeded
from him ; and he also asserts that several other
alterations, which afterwards passed into laws,
arose from his suggestions. Another proposal
of the Chief Justice was a general register for
land ; a scheme upon which " lie worked sin-
cerely." He had proceeded so farin these pro-
posed amendments as to prepare several draughta
of Bills, which, after his death, were found
amongst his papers. In presiding at the trial
of causes, the Chiei Justice exerted himself to
confine the counsel to the point in question,
and to cut down that redundancy of speech,
which, he used to observe, " disturbed the
order of his thoughts." " He was," says his
biographer, " very good at waylaying the craft
of counsel ; for he, as they say, had been
in the oven himself, and knew where to
look for the pasty." Upon one difficult oc-
casion his conduct on the bench was entitled to
the highest commendation. " At Taunton
Dean," says Roger North, " he was forced to
try an old man for a wizard ; and for the curio-
sity of observing the state of a male witch or
wizard, I attended in the Court, and sat near
where the poor man stood. The evidence
against him was—the having bewitched a girl of
about thirteen years old ; for she had a strange
and unaccountable fits, and used to cry out upon
him and spit out of her mouth straight pins ;
and whenever the man was brought near her,
she fell in her fits, and spit forth straight pins.
His Lordship wondered at the straight pins,
which could not he so well couched in the mouth
as crooked ones; for such only u3ed to be spit
out by people bewitched. He examined the
witnesses very tenderly and carefully, and so as
none could collect what his opinion was ; for he
was fearful of the jurymen's precipitancy, if he
gave them any offence. When the poor man was
told he must answer for himself, he entered upon
a defence as orderly and well expressed as I ever
heard spoke by any man, counsel or other ; and
if thq Attorney-General laad been his advocate,
I am sure he could not have done it more sen-
sibly. The sum of it was malice, threatening,
and circumstances of imposture in the girl ; to
which matter he called his witnesses, and they
were heard. After this was done, the Judge
was not satisfied to direct the jury before
the imposture was fully declared ; but stu-
died and beat the bush awhile, asking some-
times one and then another question, as he

thought proper. At length he turned to the
justice of peace that committed the man and
took the first examinations. And, Sir,' said
he, pray will you ingenuously declare your
thoughts, if you have any, touching these
straight pins which the girl spit ; for you saw
her in her fit Then, my Lord,' said he,
I did not know that I might concern myself in
this evidence, having taken the examination and
committed the man. But since your Lordship
demands it, 1 must needs say, 1 think the girl,
doubling herself in her fit, as being convulsed,
bent her head down close to her stomacher, and
with her mouth took pins out of the edge of
that, and then, righting herself a little, spit
them into some bystander's hands.' This cast
an universal satisfaction upon the minds of the
whole audience, and the man was acquitted. As
the Judge went clown stairs out of the court, an
hideous old woman cried, God bless your
Lordship I'—‘ What's the matter, good woman ?'
said the Judge.—' My Lord,' said she, forty
years ago they would 'have hanged me for a
witch, and they could not, and now they would
have hanged my poor son !' "—Dr. Lardner's
Cabinet Cyclopcedia, Vol. VI.