The Sun.
London, England, 1847-11-26 00:00:00

THE IRISH BAR.

We extract the following from an admirable article in
the Law Review for the present month, under the title
of " The Irish Bar a few Years after the Union:"—
" The generation of the Irish bar, of which Lord
Plunket is almost the sole remaining relic, deserves some
memorial. The union, when it closed the doors of a
native Parliament, effected a complete change in the
character of the profession. That learned body is now
no more like what it was, forty years ago, than the
'quires of the present day are like those of Castle Rack
Rent. The legacies bequeathed to the existing genera
lion, by their hunting, drinking, rent-anticipating pro-
genitors, in the shape of mortgages, have almost extin-
euished all the fun and fire of the squirarchy. The
morning cf whisky, the noon of duelling, and the night
of claret, those glorious times when Irish gentlemen
reflecting, as Sir Boyle Roche said, • that posterity had
done nothing for them,' were determined in return to do
for their posterity—and kept their word with e venge-
ance—are passed away, and days of reckoning have
succeeded: days, albeit, though days of reckoning, not
to be'imarked with chalk, but charcoal—never even
dreamt of in Ireland till the' accursed' union taught
debtors that they must pay, and tenants that they might
live. The then bar partook, as might be expected, very
much of the character of the gentry. Enjoyment of
the present, defiance of the future, constituted its
characteristics. Law, with most of its members, was
by no means a primary:consideration. Of course, there
were exceptions, and shining ones; but we speak of the
rule. Even where knowledge was possessed, it was not
always very safe to make use of it. To demur to a
declaration was deemed the height of incivility, a grave
personal provocation ; and the graver, because it was
obviously deliberate. Zeal was made to atone for want
of learning. Each man became the representative of his
brief, to gainsay any one invention in which the holder
was to resent as highly unprofessional. Barrington has
by no means exaggerated the belligerent propensities of
his brethren. The reports most in vogue were those of
the pistol. Every gentleman was expected to fight one
duel at the very_ leant. It was a legal diploma. Curran
fought four. Had matters even gone to extremity in
our-own day, Mr. Smith might have pleaded precedent.
Lord Clare fought when he was attorney general. In-
deed, Toler's promotion turned the Common Pleas into
a kind of court of honour, the noble chief priding him-
self on his chivalry; and often more than hinting, from
the bench, that he was no longer a judge than while he
sat on it. It was a favourite boast of his, that
began
_the world with fifty pounds and a pair of hair-
triggetkpistols.' They served his purpose well. A well-
timed challenge to Napper Tandy, one of the mushroom
demagogues, in which Ireland is so prolific, was under-
stood mainly to have contributed to his elevation. When
Fitagibbon, the then Chancellor, was apprised of the
intention, he at once exclaimed, Make him a bishop—
make him an archbishop—anything but a chief justice.'
The luck, however, of the hair-triggers triumphed,
and Toler died not merely a chief justice, but the
founder of two peerages, and the testator of an enor-
mous fortune."

SALE OF IN ALLEGED AUTOGRAPH OF SHAIESPERE.
—Yesterday, at the sale of autographs at Messrs. South-
gate and Barrett's rooms, in Fleet-street, an autograph,
stated in the catalogue to be " undoubted," of William
Shakspere, was sold. The autograph is on the title-page
of an old folio volume, called " Blount's Historic of the
Righte of the King of Portugal to the Crowne of Cas-
tile; emprynted at London by Arn Hatfield, for Edward
Blount, 1600." Blount, it is well known, was, conjointly
with Jaggard, the publisher of the first edition of Shak-
spere's " Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies," and this
book is dedicated to the Earl of Southampton, Shak-
sporet s greatest patron. To quote from the catalogue,
it states, " that this undoubtedly original autograph of
the immortal Bard of Avon, on the title of the above
volume, came into possession of Mr. Hamilton (of
Islington, the late possessor) many years since, during
which%time several eminent collectors have seen it, who
are unanimous in their opinion of its authenticity. It
has been compared with the well-known fac-similes
formerly in the possession of the late Mr. Upcotr,
whose belief was in its favour of its genuineness."
The auctioneer stated that it could be proved to have
been in possession of one party eighty years, which
would take it beyond the period when the clever fabri-
cations of Ireland were done. He had taken it to thed
British Museum, and also to Doctors' Commons, and
all who had seen it were of opinion that it more closely
resembled the writing of Shakspere than any theyh
had ever seen. The cause of the book being ihnadsubeeena
filthy, dirty state was that for sixty years
sold lt
to Mr.
kept amongst a lot of old lumber, and was
waste
Hamilton, with a quantity of old
itk.s, alst was notpaper,
by the lady who formerly possessed_ . until
three years after Mr. Hamilton had it in possession that
he discovered the name upon the title. The book was
handed round the room; there were no covers to it, and
it was so water-stained that a strong magnifying glass
had to be used to distinguish the writing. The signa-
ture appeared to be in much smaller characters than
the one in the Museum, and less formal, but still there
was a great similarity. Five guineas was the first offer,
and after a languid bidding it was knocked down for 91. to a gentleman named Maxwell.
THE OLD LINCOLN'S INN THE1711.11.--The council
of the Royal College of Surgeons have just purchased
the extensive premises of Mr, Alderman Copeland, ad-
joining their institution, for about 18,0001. It is stated
to be the intention of the
council to increase the size of
y j
their museum, founded by John n Hunter. This large
addition will also enable the counsel to extend their
library—the best repository of works on medicine and
the collateral sciences in England. The building was
formerly, as is well known, the Lincoln Inn theatre, the
staircase to the boxes remains precisely as it did when
the edifice was a theatre, and it contains many relics of
the departed_. glories of Rich, Macklin, Bullock, and
Spiller.
The place ceased to be used at a theatre in
1730, when Rich removed his company to Covent-
garden.