The Sun.
London, England, 1854-10-30 00:00:00

that if reports were made, showing the suggestions of law re-
form made by attorneys, which had not been adopted, as well
as those which had been passed into law, and if similar re-
turns were made with regard to the reforms which had bean
suggested by barristers, it would be found that the prepon-
derance of real, practical, valuable reforms, lay with the attor-
neys to an overwhelming extent. (Hear, hear.) As a means
of aiding this association, he suggested that they should hold
annual meetings, at which papers should be read and discus-
sions taken upon legal subjects, treated in a scientific as well
as a practical way, after the manner of the British Associa-
tion for the Advancement of Science. (Hear, hear.) With
_

respect to Birmingham, the members of the association resi-
dent there called a meeting recently, at which their respected
'friend M'r. Unott presided, and whero they passed a resolu-
.

tion, a copy of which was sent to every solicitor in the town,
and which would be followed up by an active canvass. (Ap-
plause.) The resolution they had thus passed and circulated
was as follows .

" That this meeting is of opinion that the importance of the
objects of the Metropolitan and Provincial Law Association—
the uniformly-zealous and well-directed efforts of the commit-
tee to maintain the character and interests of our branch of
the profession—and the unremitting and successful attention
which the committee has devoted to the various bills of Par-
liament and rules of court which have from time to time been
introduced for the amendment of the law—entitle the associa-
tion to a more general support of the solicitors of Birming-
ham than it has hitherto received." (Applause.)

Mr. FIELD, in answer to a question, said that in America
they adopt the ancient practice of England—the bar and the
solicitors being the same. The English inns of court were
formerly universities; and the bar of America had now to pass
an examination. Judge Storey, whilst judge of the Supreme
Court of Appeal, was held in much more honour as having the
head professorship of the great school of law in America. He
spent one-half of the year in teaching school, and the other
half in presiding as one of the supreme judges of the country.
(Hear.) But the great difference between the bar and the at-
torneys in this country was intimately connected with the
rules of right and wrong. If an attorney received 1001. to do
something which he did not do, he would, as a matter of
course, return the money. (Hear, hear.) But the bar holds
it to be unprofessional to return a fee, even if the barrister
never attended the court where the case was heard. He said
that the practice of the bar at the present time was—far more
than at any previous time—to t ike the brief and the fee, and
not to attend the court. (Applause.) These were the gentlemen
who talked of the rights and wrongs of the people ; and yet
many of the judges themselves had in this way very fre-
quently sinned against what he (Mr. F.) called one of the
plainest laws of right and 'honour. (Loud applause.) In
America in such.a case the barrister, however high his posi-
tion, would return his fee as a matter of course. (Applause.)
Mr. SHAW, on rising to propose the next resolution, said
the part allotted to him was fortunately so limited in extent
that he, should not have to trespass long upon the time of the
meeting. The subject of his resolution was one he had often
dwelt upon on former occasions, and he could only now re-
peat a more than twice-to'd tale ; but he could accompany
the reiteration of it by saying that another year's experience
had greatly strengthened his conviction. (Hear.) They had
received from Mr. Field and other speakers much valuable
information upon the general state and future prospects of
the legal profession, and upon the endeavours—and he hoped
le might say, to some extent, the success—of the Metropoli-
. ten and Provincial. Law Association,ln.arresting the progress
of the dowirseerd course of which they had so much reason to

eemplaie. They had heard also from other gentlemen, and
,specially from Mr. Moss, that justice was not done to the as-
sociation by the public, nor, indeed, he (Mr. Shaw) thought,
by even their own b:anch of the profession, for the services it
lied rendered Now that injustice was simply because those ser-
vices were not sufficiently made known, and he was therefore
exceedingly desirous (indeed he thought it of the highest import-
ance) that generally increase(' publicity should be given to the
labours of the committee of the association, so that members of
the profession and the public might be much better informed
than they were of the amount of good which had been done, and
(whet he thouget quite as important) the enormous amount
cf the evil which had been prevented. That could only be
lone through the medium of that powerful organ, the influence
et which on the public opinion of this country was almost irre-
i!stilde—he meant the press. One of their main objects,
therefore, ought to be, through the press, to make generally
known the claims of the profession, and the direct interest
which the public had in supporting those claims, because ho
maintained it to be a clearly demonstrable truth, that the in-
terests of the profess on and those of the, public were strictly
identical. This was necessary as a matter of justice to them-
eelves, but he urged it for the still more important purpose of
increasing the efficiency of their institution, and its power of
renderilig that service to others, as well as themselves, which
they 'wished to render. His allotted province, however,
was even more limited than this. The point to which he had
narticularly to call their atttention, was that this medium of
communication with the public was, in part, under
the control and guidance of hands decidedly hostile
to them. (Hear, hear.) Ho was quite aware that there
were gentlemen who thought it hazardous to deal
freely with this topic for fear of rousing into increased
activity the hostility of which they complained, but for him-
self, he would say explicitly, and he hoped he spoke the feel-
ing- of the meeting, that, whilst he acknowledged the power
with which they had to grapple, he was not disposed to quail
before it. (Applause.) He believed that in public as well as
in private life, the temperate and judicious, but manly teed
uuffinching, assertion of right, was not only the truest honour,
but the soundest policy, and he believed also that truth to be
especially applicable to the relation of their branch of the pro-
fession to the press. A portioa of that mighty engine habi-
tually aspersed their profession, and their silent acquiescence
in these aspersions had given to them someteiug like the
authority of admitted facts, and enabled those who made
them to assume an appearance and semblance of impartial
observers and critics, when they were in reality nothing bet-
ter than prejudiced and often interested partisans. (Hear,
hear.) Ho believed they should, to no inconsiderable extent,
disarm those writers of their power of mischief by the very
act of placing them in their true position ; not that of impar-
tial judges, to which character they had no claim whatever,
but of advocates, and generally very uncandid advocates, of
the opposite side. (Applause.) For these reasons he had
lalway s urged upon the committee of this association a vigi-
teat, active, and systematic operation through the medium of
the press, which, if it afforded the bane, would equally afford
the antidote, for it was as open to their body as it was
to their assailants. Ho laid particular stress upon the ope-
ration being systematic. He was quite aware that there
every now and then appeered articles of very great ability,
which, on particular questions, to those who went to the
consideration of them with minds not already imbued witb
prejudice, might often carry conviction; but these occasional
and spasmodic efforts in isolated cases would have little effect
upon persons whose minds were pre-occupied with prejudices
iustilled into them by the systematic misrepresentations of
months and years. If they wished to exercise any beneficial
influence upon the press it must be by making the defence of
the profession as systematic as the attacks upon it ; and how
could that be better done than through the influence of an
association like this ? And what was necessary for doing it
but that the association should receive from the profession a
more general and efficient support ? What they required was
the steady, unremitting devotion of time and talent in the im-
portant task of correcting and refuting mis-statements and
doing themselves justice ; but they could not command, nor
could they with honour to themselves accept, that steady, un-'
remitting devotion of time and talent, unless they had the
means of fairly remunerating those whom they engaged. One
requisite, therefore, for that purpose was what a gentleman
who had already addressed them had emphatically called
" the sinews of war." But there was another equally essen-
tial. Any member of their profession who paid attention to
the attacks made upon them through the press must be well
aware how easy it would bo in many cases not merely to
refute them, but expose their outrageous absurdities. They
often consisted of misrepresentations so enormous, and
blunders so ludicrous, as to excite only a smile from
the professional reader, but still they would mislead
even acute minds .not familiar with the profession,
and on that account unprepared to detect falsehoods
quite palpable to those who were. They wanted, there-
fore, not only increased pecuniary moans, but that the mem-
bers of the profession individually, as far as possible, should
furnis=h accurate statements of fact within their own observa-
tion or knowledge, which would furnish by far the most
powerful weapons for the defence of the profession. Let it be
once brought to be a contest between the weapons of misre-
presentation or ignorance on one -side, and the weapons of
facts and arguments judiciously wielded on the other, and he
well knew what would be the result of still a contest iu this
country. (Hear.) It was with especial reference to this sub-
ject that he had been requested to address them ; and with
the strong sense he had of its importance—with his convic-
tion, indeed, that it was absolutely essential to the attain-
ment of the object they had in view—the maintenance of the
honour and interests of their profession—he hoped that those
present would carry back to their several neighbourhoods a
determination strenuously to support the society, to endeavour
to increase its numbers, and by every available means
strengthen the hands of the committee in all its efforts, and
more particularly enable it greatly to extend its efforts lu the
very important sphere to which it had been his special pro-
vince to call their attention. (Hear, hear.) He begged to
move :—" That attorneys and solicitors having been made
the subject of systematic attack by a portion of the press,
it is important that the public mind should be disabused
through the same channel ; and that for this purpose this
society call upon the profession to afford them increased sup-
port."

Mr. J. CASE (of Maidstone) seconded the resolution. He
briefly expressed his approval of the society, and said he
believed its effect upon legislation of past years had been ex-
ceedingly important.
The resolution was carried.
Mr. BEEVER (of Manchester) moved:—" That this meeting is
glad to recognise the efforts which have been made by the
Incorporated Law Society to improve the educational teat of
attorneys and solicitors; (rut they earnestly trust that further
steps may be speedily taken to secure for the profession a
higher standard of general education." The subject of an
educational test of Lanese to be articled had frequently en-
gaged the earnest and zealous attention of the committee, and
during the past year various suggestions had been submitted
to the Incorporated Law Society, it being considered that
that body was peculiarly qualified to bring the question to a
practical solution. Since the stamp duty and the duty of
articles of clerkship had been reduced, by which means the
facilities for entering the profession had been increased, this
question had become of still greater importance. No doubt
the poor candidate should not be excluded, simply because
he was poor, but they must not allow their sympathy for
worth by poverty distressed to make them forget that poverty
was not a proof of worth. Let their candidates, whether
rich or poor, be examined before persons specially appointed,
and stand upon their merits. They might leave to the exa-
miners to decide whether the examination should be on an-
cient classics aid mathematics, or on a curriculum of a more
general and practical character; but he thought the exami-
nation should precede clerkship, and should be made a test
of fitness for articles. With such an examination they woul
have some guarantee as to the future success of the candidate
(Hear, hear.)
Mr. LEWIS (Wrexham) said the subject had been before the
members for the last eight or ten years, and the Legislature
had in a great degree conceded the necessity of it, by afford-
ing advantages to gentlemen who had taken a degree at the
I university. Whilst a classical education was necessary, it was
athttoeynwdeedreaaortlioteed
owfolueoldtoprersodouncealcl
not enough, and he hoped that ere long, gentlemen bore
certificates
the variousthabtratnhoehyo: aocfl
physical science, (Hear.) After illustrating the great im-
portance of such knowledge, Mr. Lewis said he thought it
must be obvious to every one that a mere pecuniary test was
not at all satisfactory. Any man who could raise his 801.
could, if it were necessary, raise a larger sum, and therefore a
pecuniary test could not be any evidence of respectability.
He could recollect the time when the idea of solicitors under-
going any examination as to their legal fitness was laughed at,
and in some instances it was said by members of the bar that
attorneys did not require a knowledge of law. They knew the
reason for that. If an attorney did not know law, oust
take a groat many more counsel's opinions. Gent:emen
of the bar stood in an invidious position—a man who
could not write his own name might be called to the bar
if he would pay his 1001., and eat the requisi ,e number of
dinners ; and then he might claim the exclusive privilege,
which was not found in America, and which prevented
solicitors from conducting their cases from the commence-
ment to the termination. It was often annoying to
hear barristers not only tinker, but actually maul,
your case, and. to feel that you had no altos-native but to
remain quiet, and afterwards take the blame,from your client.