The Sun.
London, England, 1856-05-26 00:00:00

THE ADVOCATES LICENCE.

Lord Campbell has expressed the hope that
journals will abstain from any comment upon the
evidence given on the trial of W. Palmer till the de-
livery of the verdict. So be it ; but there is a point
out of the domain of evidence, and not touching in
any way on the question of the prisoner's guiltor in-
nocence, which we feel free and provoked to discuss.
It is the conduct of counsel. The question we would
raise has nothing to do with what Palmer has done
or has not done, and we would request our readers
to suppose any other prisoner in his place, in con-
sidering the fitness or unfitness of his advocate's
conduct, both with reference to public interests
and professional character.
The rule of professional conduct ought to be
uniform, the same in all circumstances, but it is
observable that in cases strongly engaging the
public attention the advocate's zeal moves him to
positions which he does not hold on ordinary oc-
casions. Since the trial of Thurtell there has
hardly been a remarkable case in which the counsel
for the prisoner has not wept for his client, or pro-
tested his solemn belief in his innocence.

Now, if this were the rule in all cases, we should
see no more objection to it than to any other mere
form to which no signifiance is attached r. but the
advocate of the man charged with sheep-stealing,
or any undramatic offence, does not deal in protes-
tations of innocence. He uses his best endeavour
to show that the man is not guilty according to the
evidence, but he does not introduce his own belief
as au unworn witness in his favour. Why is this I
Is it the thing at stake that makes the difference ?
Hardly so, for character is not less precious than
life, and between cases of life and death the diffe-
rence is observable, for the prisoner who does not
engage the public interest never obtains the
benefit of the advocate's solemn or passionate
assurances of innocence. Is it, then, when
the Court becomes dramatic, the belief of
innocence becomes a stage property of the
advocate ; or is it that in these great cases the
proportionably large fee retains the belief in ques-
tion, together with the other services ? However
that may be, does the protestation carry weight
or not ? Has it, or has it not, weight on the minds
of the jury If the answer is in the affirmative,
what must be the effect when the advocate does
not deal in these assurances ? and how big with
prejudice must be the abstinence. How differently,
then, must fare the prisoner with a counsel with a
belief in his innocence, and without a belief ! And
who that could afford it would not engage a true
believer ?

It is the advocate's part and duty to deal with
evidence, to deal with argument on the facts, to
deal with law ; but not to intrude his own belief
upon the Court before the stage for belief in any
one has arrived, namely, the completion of the case.
Ms. Sergeant Sheet is not the first by several who
has turned voucher for his client ; but he has, per-
haps more strongly than any of his predecessors,
exemplified the vice of the practice.

" I am moved by the task that is before me, but I am
not dismayed. I have this further cause for not being
altogether overcome in discussing the mass of evidence
which has been laid before you. When the papers in the
case came into my hands I had formed no opinion as to
the guilt or innocence of the prisoner. My mind was
perfectly free to form what I trust will prove to be a right
judgment upon the case, and—l say it in all sincerity—.
having read these papers, I commenced his defence with
an entire conviction of his innocence. I believe that
truer words were never pronounced than the words he
uttered when he said " Not Guilty" to this charge, and
if I fail in establishing his innocence to your satisfaction
I shall have very great misgivings that my failure is
attributable only to my own inability to do justice to
his case, and not to any weakness in the case itself."
Here is a pretence to a judicial function and
authority. He, the advocate, professes ex parts to
have formed a right judgment, and to have come
to the conclusion to which no one else certainly had
a right to arrive, of the verdict warranted by un-
heard evidence. Now let us suppose for a moment
that the case had been of another character, and
that Mr. Sergeant S hee had been as much prejudiced
as he was i❑ this instance prepossessed in favour of
his client, would he have thought himself at liberty
to intimate his belief ? No, assuredly not. But
after this specimen of his zeal, the absence of his
assurance of innocence must always be supposed to
argue his conviction of the guilt of his client. The
tendency therefore is to raise fees to such an amount
as may insure belief in innocence, and the effect of
this on the character of the profession cannot but
be debasing. It is the hiring of a false pre-
tence. In the honourable services of the ad-
vocate none of them exceed the province of truth.
He may defend the worst cause against a
conclusion not borne out by facts proved,
or by the rule of law, but he cannot invent or put
forth what is false. Do we impute such conduct to
Mr. Sergeant Shee ? No ; we have no right to
dispute the truth of his protestation, but we have
the right and we do dispute the propriety of his
giving utterance to a judgment in anticipation of
the judgment of the Court, and tending to bias
the jury unduly. We maintain that the counsel
for the prisoner has no right to turn himself into
a witness for the prisoner, a voucher or sponsor
for the prisoner. He is free to employ all his ar-
guments, his learning, his technical skill in his
client's behalf, but nut his word-of-mouth'belief in
his innocence.

In another passage of his speech Mr. Sergeant
Shee thus endeavoured to intimidate the jury :
You have been told that this was done to cover ap-
pearances. Done to cover appearances! No—no—no!
You cannot believe it. It is not in human nature. It
cannot be true. You cannot find him guilty—you dare
not find him guilty on the supposition of its truth.
The country will not stand by you if you
believe it to be true. You will be impeached
before the world if you say that it is true. I believe
in my conscience that it is false, and that consistently
with the rules that govern human nature it cannot pos-
sibly be true. (Sensation and murmurs of applause.)
Murmurs of applause ! The actor with his rant
had succeeded in turning the court into a theatre.
So the jury were not to dare to believe one way,
the country would not stand by them if they be-
lieved certain statements true ; they were to be
impeached if they believed in the truth. Mr. Ser-
g,eant Shee alone was free to believe in his con-
science, and his belief was to overrule and sup-
press all other belief. The jury, if they tl:ought
otherwise, were not to dare to give a verdict ac-
cording to their oaths ! So blusters Mr. Sergeant
Slice. But why use the words, on Isis conscience ?
Would it not be more to the purpose to say, " I
believe on my fee that it is false ?" That is a pro-
testation thoroughly intelligible, and measuring
the extent to which it merits credit. It is for the
interests of justice, and for the honour of the pro-
fession, that it should be considered and deter-
mined whether or not Mr. Sergeant Shee has ex-
ceeded the advocate's licence in the passage of his
speech we have quoted. The judges did not stop
him for a good reason ; but rule should stop such
practices for the future, and the members of the
bar, aided by the judge, should draw the border
lines to what takes to itself the name of the advo-
cate's zeal passing the bounds of his fair licence.—
Examiner.

A CHILD OF FIVE SHOT BY HIS COUSIN,

A CHILD OF SETEN.

Just before the conclusion of the business at the Croydon
Police Court, on Saturday, a little child, named George
Sales, only seven years of age. was brought before the ma-
gistrates, Capt. Kemmis, J. W. Sutherland, and T. Byron,
Esqs., by Sergeant Armstrong, 34 P, charged with causing
the death of Edward Sales, his cousin, aged about five
years, by shooting him with a gun at Virarlingliam, a small
village, about five miles from Croydon.
The grandfather of the child, a cattle doctor, named
Standing, was in court.
The sergeant deposed— From information T received
about half-past twelve to-day (Saturday), I proceeded to
the house of Richard Sales, at Warlingham. I there found
the body of a child,
named Edward Sales, lying ou the
he appeared to be about five
floor dead;years of age.
He had been shot through the head, the shot having en.
tared just under the right ear, and passed out at the left.
There was something like brains lying upon the table. I
also found the gun produced. [lt was a very old sin-
gle-barrel gun there was no fastening to secure
the barrel in the stock, and the look was broken out.] The
little boy said " that when the gun went off it fell down,
and so became broken." The gun was near the body, and
had every appearance of having been recently discharged.
When I went the house was locked up, end the little boy
taken to his grandfather's. The place was covered with
blood. The prisoner said he found the gun in a drawer,
and put it together.
The magistrates considered this impossible, but upon the
gun being given to the child he, after a very little time,
arranged it properly.
The officer continued.—There was a little girl in the
house with the children when it occurred, and she said the
gun was lying down by .the side of the table. She also
stated that a younger child, of three years of age, fired it,
and not this boy; butlthat I think:impossible, as I do not
imagine ho could lift it. Afterwards, as we were coming
to Croydon, the prisoner said he fired the gnn. I should
think that he must have been quite close to the other
child, by the marks of the powder.
The case stands remanded until next Saturday ; in the
meantime the inquest will be held. The child was allowed
to go home with his grandfather Isaac Standing, eipon his
entering into his recognisance of 101. for his appearance.

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