The Sun.
London, England, 1867-06-03 00:00:00

PARLIAMEN7ARY BARRISTERS.

The counsel who devote themselves chiefly to
parliamentary business have a longer continuous
recess than most of their learned brethren, but a few
of them—some half a dozen of the leaders, men
mostly of very mature years—work at very high
pressure during the session, and would be well con-
tent, we should suppose, to have their working period
lengthened, even although at the expense of an
abridgment of their recess, which lasts for the seven
or eight months between July of one year and March
of the next. Although the present session is an
unusually slack one as regards private business,
several of the more eminent leaders have evidently
more upon their hands than they can properly at-
tend to ; and it would be a pleasant thing to see
some of the plums with which they are gorged
distributed among the wistful and deserving juniors,
who would appreciate the flavour of the fruit
so much better than their over-fed seniors.
Some of the leaders have retainers and briefs in
four, five, and six cases, in all of which the
committees are sitting at the same time, and a con-
sequence is that a distinguished Q.C. scarcely gets
settled in one room, and has had time to order
his biscuit and glass of sherry, ere a scout rushes
in breathless, and whispers in his ear that he
is wanted in another room, downstairs in the
Lords, or upstairs in the Commons, as the case may
be, to open or reply, to examine or cross-examine
a principal witness, or what not ; and off the
learned, and frequently venerable, gentleman has
to pant after messengers, with only a few moments
to change the current of his thoughts from gas sup-
ply to waterworks—from a railway station to a wet
dock—from a main sewer to a turnpike-road. On
Tuesday last in the Lords committee presided over
by the Duke of Devonshire, we found a learned and
jocund Q.C.—whose name and nature harmonise
admirably—on his feet, in a Welsh railway cause,
examining a witness. Passing up stairs in a few
minutes we entered the room in which group 12 is
being dealt with, and behold the same gentleman
active in the case. Passing along
,the corridor to
group 7, and entering, presto 1 the übiquitous drole
de corps Q.C. is on his feet, and has the general
manager of one of the great companies under the
harrow in cross-examination. All this occurs
within half an hour. As Big Ben overhead tolls
the hour for retiring in four of his double bas
notes, one of these weary Q.C.s adroitly sug-
gests in a committee that the point in hand
should be settled before he opens his case, to
which the chairman assents, and adds that the
point in question will occupy the remainder of the
sitting ; whereupon the learned gentleman makes
tracks for home, and his attendant, sweeping his
papers into the great red bag, marches off after him.
But the leaders, although they have earned a night's
repose, are not allowed to go home to dine and enjoy
their otium cum dignitate. Having business in the
office of a parliamentary agent, in which above a
hundred clerks are employed, we heard on that same
afternoon the hurried order given to a messenger to
summon three or four eminent barristers to a " con-
sultation at half-past six this evening." The learned
gentlemen have scarcely had time to commence their
dinners, certainly not to discuss their bottle of port,
when the messenger arrives in hot haste, and they
are dragged off to work extra time, for which they
have no relish. Within an hour or two of midnight
they return, jaded and weary, to their chambers in
Temple or their residence at the West-cud, respec-
tively, not to indulge in domestic amenities or social
distinguished
A nd
enjoyment or literary recreation, but to devote their
attention for as long as they can fix it upon the
thisbriefsis a
thatsp eacmrieteonof the daily life occupy tht.mofne
o the morrow.
a
leader at the height of the session.—E»ginecr.

SEVERITY OF PRUSSIAN LAMS.--An old gar-
dener, in Frankfort-on-the-Maine, aged about 65, spoke
the other day rather disrespectfully of the King of
Prussia. Ho was at once arrested, and fined a heavy
sum, and sent to gaol for three mouths. In almost any
other country similar language would hardly have been
noticed. In Hanover a servant girl' was fined eight
thalors by calling a Prussian soldier some hard name.
This was pretty hard for poor servant girls,
wive two thalers per month for their wages. One would
have hardly thought a woman should be punished so se-
verely for the utterance of strong words, or of calling
soldiers nick-names.
who only red-