The Sun.
London, England, 1834-04-12 00:00:00

Where any of the societies refuse to call a person to
the bar, the benchers will hear him personally or by
counsel, and allow him to give evidence to rebut the
charges made against him ; and if he be dissatisfied
with their decision, he may appeal to the judges. On
such appeal the benchers send to the judges a certifi-
cate stating the reasons of their refusal to call such
person to the bar.
It may, however, be right to remark, that we are
not informed of any positive rule or order regulating
the mode of proceeding in cases of appeal ; and it
deserves particidar notice, that there is not any spe-
cific; regulation to insure a full and correct report of
the evidence, as taken befere the benchers, for the in-
formation of the judges.
The remarks which have Of_curred to us .con the ye...,
view of the whole subject of incluily -are as fu 11 criNi
It appe les that there is vested in the broohers 4 the
ions of court an uncontrolled and irresponsible power
of debarring any person from admission into their
societies, though that admission forms the first en-
trance into a professio._ occupying a most prominent
and important rank a:nong our civil institutions; and
even when this entrat, ^ has been ga;nc.d, and the party
has been led to, devote • • t,t period of three or
Ittp-}ears-to the studies which are to qualify him for
pri.cti7e, the discretionary power of refusing the,call to
the Ira; without which his further progress is impossi-
ble, isriAgain vested (subject again to appeal) in the
same bodies of persons. It should be remarked, too,
that the benchers derive from these privileges not only
the means of excluding from the bar any particular: in-
dividual whose admission there they disapprove, but the
right also of laying-down such general regulations as
from time to time they may think fit, applicable to the
cases of all persons desirous of becoming barristers.
This state of things does not appear to us to be'sa-
tisfactory,
though the probity and honour of the per- -
sons who now fill the benches of the different societies
is well known, and though the number of rejected
candidates has within the last 20 years been extremely
small, yet we cannot think that a power in the right
use of which society is so deeply interested ought to
be left without control in the hands of persons whose
functions are not of a public and responsible kind.
As to the decision in the c!ite,ef " The King v. the
Benchers of Lincoln's Inn," to which we referred at
the commencement of this report, it suggests in our
judgment no satisfactory reason for continuing to the
benchers the privilege of deciding on the admigion of
a student, without appeal. That case considers the
inns of court as placed upon the footing of other vo-
luntary societies, with respect to the admission of
members. Without presuming to question the cor-
rectness of this decision in point of law, we may be
permitted to remark that in point of expediency the
ordinary immunities of a voluntary society ought not
to be allowed to any body of persons claiming to be
the medium of admission into one of the learned pro-
fessions. If the body is to enjoy this privilegiii it as no
longer a private association, ti one in vthieli the
public has a deep inter and
.. the procee.dings of
which, if not adaptea e purposes of general utflity,
ought to be mado.A. by the interposition of law.
Under thes,eimpressions, we deem it right humbly to
recommend, in the first place, that either by Act of
Parliament, or by authority of your Majesty in Coun-
cil, the societies be enjoined to allow, and the judges
of the courts at Westminster to receive, an appeal
from any act of the benchers of an inn of court, reject-
ing an application for admission into their society.
It would be right also, in our opinion, to establish,
by way of positive regulation, that in all ,cases, where
an application is rejected; whether it relates to admis-
sion as a student or tQ,the call to the bar, the party ap-
plying shall have notice in writing of the cause of re-
jection—shall be allowed to clear himself from 'any
charge Of misconduct which it may involve, and for
that purpose shill he at liberty to make his defence,
either. 41, pt-,-suz or by cennseJ„„*A.tdarioroduFe
Z-crice ; and (11-I‘lll..repoS °time *tole eVilenetr,-.:-
and other prOCeedings befor4 theebenchers, shall -.(in
the event of an appeal) be laid before the judges.
We have further humbly to recommend, that by
parliamentary or royal authority, it should be ordained
that no general rules or orders in futUre to be made by
any of the societies on the subject of admission of
students, or the call to the bar, shall be of any force
until they shall have been laid before all the judges of
the superior courts at Westminster, to be assembled
for that purpose, and approved and subscribed by.such
judges, or any eight or more of them.
It may be useful to remark, that while obviouS ad-
vantages would be derived from requiring this addi-
tional sanction to the rulei, no objection can be made
to such a course on the ground of innovation. It is,
in fact, a partial return to ancient usage, as it appears
by the extracts from Dugdale, referred to in a former
part of this report, and contained in the appendix, that
the admission of students as well as of barristers was
at a remote period a matter on which the judges at
Westminster possessed (either by themselves or jointly
with other authorities) a power of regulation.
With respect to the existing rules of the inns of
court, they appear to us to be in general (and subject
to the exceptions to be presently noticed) free front
objection. .

We conceive that that part of the present system of
all the societies by which students, in whatever part of
the kingdom they may be resident, are required to dine
in the Common-hall a few days in the course of every
term, is founded on just views, and attended with bene-
ficial effects. Amongst these may be noticed that of
its making known the person of the student, and ex-
posing him, if his character is disreputable, to more
easy detection by the society before the period of his
application to be called to the bar. It also gives an
opportunity of attending the courts, and of associating
with students and other members of the profession.
With respect to the regulation which relates to
practising as special pleaders or conveyancers, and
the necessity for obtaining for that purpose the per-
mission of the societies, it appears to us to be objec-
tionable. Its apparent bject is to prevent uneducatud,
and incompetent persons from practising in thoso ca-
pacities ; but its effect is to make all persons, how,
ever well qualified, hold their profession of special
pleader or conveyancer by the precarious tenure of the
benchers, and to vest in those gentlemen a discretion
very liable to abuse. To subject special pleaders in
particular to a regulation so arbitrary, is to expose to
inconvenience and disadvantage a body of persons whose
prosperity is of great importance to the general inte,
rests of the profession, and to the science of the law
itself. ,

Another of the regulations common to all the inns
of court, which appears to us to require revision, is
that which relates to the manner candidates for admis-
sion •to the societies are to be proposed.
The recommendation of one bencher or two barris-
ters (comprising a certificate, of chP-acter) is indis-
pensable. Now, it is a case of no'improbable occur,
rence that a young man respectably connected may be,
without any acquaintance among the profession, andj
therefore without the means of easily complying with,
this condition. _ _

On a person so circumstanced the rule might ope,
rate with considerable hardship ; and we think it
right, therefore, to suggest the propriety of providing,
that in a case like this, the certificate of two graduated
that the persons signing
ffieresiet.ies, or of two respect-
ired, at Lincoln's Inn, to
personally known to them ;
certify
membersheb
rel
tetir hy
recommendations alsoot uhms
aeomdthfootesahnl
ednedr
vyeaartepsoi
s,opf
nsl
ri I thee:
aomarunealUtdrr
kniess:lti%
this must materially increase the occasional difficulty
of procuring the certificate ; and there is reason to
apprehend, that from the natural reluctance to refuse
a favour of this description, persons may sometimes be
led to certify where there is no personal, knowledge, in
the strict and proper sense of word. We prefer,
therefore, the form adopted by other societies, which
contains a certificate of knowledge generally, without
the addition of the restrictive word to which we refer.
Another circumstance peculiar to the system of Lin-
coln's Inn, is that of requiring that the candidate for a
call to the bar should be approved by the bar table
(that is, by such of the barristers as happen to dine in
hall), before he is presented to the benchers for ad-
mission ; the candidate is thus made liable to the
`danger
of rejection by either of the two bodies
exercising a veto in succession—a strictness for which
bywe
any h
see
ontoero
f h
sufficienttee
reason,soe eatni
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whilcto
isth practisedneroetre homi