The Sun.
London, England, 1866-11-13 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

TlMES.—Whoever lose by the advent of the Tories 1
to power, one thing seems very certain—that the
lawyers will not. There has been observed an ex-
traordinary tenacity of office in the judges of our
different Courts, and, whether from the opinions of
the office holder happening in many cases to be in
harmony with the opinions of the present Govern-
ment, or from what other reason we know not, cer-
tain it is that vacancies seem likely to occur in high
legal appointments with a profusion which has not
been known for many years. It is said that Sir
Wm. Erie intends to surrender the cushion of the
Common Pleas at the end of the present term, and
a similar report is current, though we know not with
how much truth, with regard to one at least of our
not very juvenile Vice-Chancellors. It may thus
very well be that neither the present Attorney nor
Solicitor-General may meet Parliament, and that
Government, having provided for the principal of
its parliamentary legal supporters, will have to meet
the house with law officers little versed in its pro-
ceedings, and not having acquyed its ear, or become
familiar with its practice. We should think there
can be few partisans so heated and so illiberal as not
to feel pleasure at this incident of the accession of
Lord Derby to power. There are lawyers non-poli-
tical and lawyers political; the first of these, as they
lend their support to neither party, have little to
expect from either, except when some extraordinary
merit may command attention, and the absence of
any prominent political claimant mayinvite the Go-
vernment of the day to an act of heroic self-abne-
gation. But though their prospects of promotion
are not certain or brilliant, the non-political lawyers
lead, at any rate, an easy and quiet life. They
spend no money at elections, they have not to
pledge themselves to the Permissive Bill, to vote
against Maynooth, to the Ballot, to debarring the
people from all rational and innocent amusement
on Sunday, or to any other of those popular shib-
boleths which are swallowed with the tongue in
the cheek by their political competitors. The
political lawyer, on the other hand, stakes every-
thing on the success of his party. If that party
be predominant, all the prizes of the profes-
sion are open to him ; if it fail, be his merits
what they may, he has nothing to look forward to
but to live and die a practising barrister. Now, as
it happens that men of great ability, integrity, and
learning may belong to the side that plays the
losing game at politics, we rejoice very sincerely at
a turn of the wheel which places power in the hands
of persons whose position enables them to reward
solid professional merit even in the professors of a
less unpopular political creed. Should the Tory
Government remain in office, it would seem that a
balance would be established, and that, as Lord
Palmerston has made all the bishops, so Lord Derby
is destined to be the maker of no inconsiderable
number of judges. But it is not only by the exer-
cise of existing patronage that the Government of
Lord Derby seems likely to be beneficial to the bar.
In addition to the patronage made for it, it is about
to make a little for itself. We are informed that
it is the intention of the Government to make a re-
adjustment of the circuits, and to increase the
number of judges for England from fifteen to
eighteen. No doubt there will be found those who
will be greatly scandalised at this, and treat it as a
job by which the country will be saddled with a
great deal of extra expense in order to compensate
hungry adherents. We have no sympathy with
then feelings ; the question is not which side will