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

SPIRIT OF THE PDBLIO JOURNALS.

TlMES.—Whoever lose by the advent of the Tories
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. Erle 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 acquired its ear, or become
familiar with its practice. IVe 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
belong to the side that plays the
it happens that men of great ability, integrity, and
learning may
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
these feelings ; the question ie not which side will

gain by this change, but whether the change ought
not to have been made! long ago. Scotland, with a
population not equal to that of London and its
suburbs, has fifteen judges ; Ireland, with far less
wealth and commercial activity than Scotland, and
with a population which we are always told, except-
ing the amiable weakness of shooting landlords and
a treasonable conspiracy every five or six years, is
singularly free from crime, has twelve judges, be-
sides a due complement of equity courts, and it
surely is not surprising that England, with a popu-
lation twice as large as that of Ireland and Scot-
land put together, should require three more judges
than Scotland and six more than Ireland. This is no
matter of theory ; the want has been grievously felt
for manyyears, both by suitors and judges. The labor
imposed upon this high class of public servants has
been far too severe, and the efficiency of the
Bench and dignity of the administration of justice
have suffered grievously in consequence. Who has
not witnessed with indignation, and regret, even if
entirely disinterested, and with even stronger feel-
ings if a party concerned, the absolute denial 'of
justice that takes place at the end of every crowded
assize ? The whole expense of " a trial has been in-
curred, witnesses brought from a distance, briefs
delivered, endless anxiety undergone, and at _last
the day arrives which will at any rate decide,
whether rightly or wrongly, the matter in dispute.
The cause is called on, a cause, perhaps, involving
character or considerations of which little can be
learnt from the pleadings. Ile Judge leans forward
and blandly_ intimates to the counsel on each side
that.the case appears to him peculiarly well suited
for arbitration, or, if that proposal be not accepted,
that it must be made a renianet. Remonstrance is
in vain ; there really is not time to try the cause,
and so the parties are compelled either to put off
their litigation for six months, incurring just the
same fees, just the same expense, and just the same
anxiety over again, or to go before an arbitrator,
where a case that might have been decided in a few
hours will often drag on its length for days, or even
for weeks. There is no position in which a judge
appears to less advantage than when driving un-
willing parties to submit to arbitration. And yet
it is not his fault, but the fault of a country which,
while it professes to bring justice to every man's
door, is too niggardly to provide a sufficient number
of Judges to do the work that devolves upon them.
The expenditure in salaries occasioned by this ad-
dition will be just £15,000 a year—a small price to
pay out of our revenue for the despatch of causes
and the removal of a true and crying reproach on
the administration of justice. We may also hope
now to get rid of the unseemly spectacle of a judge
wanted in half-a-dozen places at once,—wanted at
Nisi Prins, wanted in the Exchequer Chamber,
wanted in Chambers, wanted in the Criminal Court
of Appeal, wanted at the Old Bailey, wanted in the
House of Lords,—and that these great magistrates
may be permitted to settle down to- their day's
work free from those violent interruptions and un-
expected episodes which would disturb the balance
of less clear and practised intellects. We also learn
with pleasure that this needful strengthening of the
judicial body is to be attended with a corresponding
extension of the circuits. A slight alteration was
made a few years ago, but it is really astonishing
how long we have gone on with a system so mani-
festly obsolete and old-fashioned. It is said that
opening a new post-office leads almost invariably
to a great increase of correspondence. Such has
been the effect of establishing Assize Courts at Man-
chester and at Leeds. No one can know until the
experiment is madehow much the fair trial of rights
and the prosecution of offences is impeded by the
present utterly inadequate system. A. separate
circuit for Lancashire, another, we should have
thought, for the West Riding of Yorkshire, an
assize at Birmingham, at Sheffield, perhaps at Wake-
field, would be immense practical improvements in
the administration of justice. The whole matter is,
as we have often pointed out, a crying scandal—an
abuse which a Liberal Government should not have
left for a Conservative Government to redress. The
change in the number of judges can, of course, only
be effected by Act of Parliament, but it is not too
early even now to express a hope that in the distri-
bution of the patronage which must arise the claims
of non-political lawyers will not be overlooked, and
that this great improvement in the administration of
justice will be accommpanied with some considera-
tion for the men whose attention has been wholly
and exclusively directed to law as a profession.
The Daily News points out that it is, quite evi-
dent that the American public do not at all under-
stand the actual position of the question of inter-
nations', copyright. In replying to our argument
on• the ihjustio of the present state of the law, the
New York, Ti,;l6t nks " to queque " to be con-
clusive and sufficient. Gt:.r contemporary admits
the injustice of the present tate t.;..e things, but thinks
it enough to reply that the in justice which British
law inflicts on American authors is as gzeat as
that which American law inflicts on British autholZ:
But such a reply only strengthens our position in-
stead of weakening it, for the defect in the law is
not on our side, but upon theirs. Our law gives
the Americans the power of protecting their authors
if they will avail themselves of it by protecting ours.
The Crampton-Everett Treaty of 1854 was fully
approved on this side, but was rejected by Congress,
and any Government on this side has the power and
the will to settle the matter on the basis of reciprocal
protection and equal justice whenever the Federal
Government will enter on the negotiation. The
injustice which is done to A.nerican authors in this
country is entirely the fault of American law. The
literary men of the United States do not need to be
reminded of the true state of our copyright relations.
But it is evident that one of the first things that
they have to do is to instruct public opinion on the
subject. When the American people fully appre-
ciate the facts of the case, then justice will be done;
for the Daily News believes that a nation that has
so nobly striven for justice to the newly emancipated
slave can never be content to appropriate the labour
of the literary class of a kindred people without ac-
knowledgment or reward, or to subject their own
literary men to the reaction of such injustice.
The Economist holds that.the only basis on which
our Government can propose to admit the Alabama
claims, and recognise our liability in respect of them,
is -one which would give some tangible safety for
the future, and cannot see any such except the
adoption of the principle proposed at the Paris Con-
gress and unfortunately rejected, that all private
property at sea should be respected and not liable
to seizure, except under the law of contraband or
the attempt to break a blockade. Were such a
principle generally admitted, it is evident that the
use of such vessels as the Alabama would be at an
end ; and though it does not follow that new and
revolutionary Powers would necessarily accept a
principle so embarrassing to them, yet the
gradual adhesion to it of the greater naval
Powers could not but exercise a great pressure
even upon the new candidates for independence,
—the more so as such cruises as those of the
Alabama and Shenandoah really do nothing at
all to shake the power of any nation, though they
produce an immense amount of discomfort and
private calamity. It may be that in addition to this
the Americans will wish us to strengthen our
Foreign Enlistment Act in order to prevent a recur-
rence of the Alabama proceedings in the case of any
Power that may decline to recognise the new rule.
There does not seem much reasonable chance of
passing any Foreign Enlistment Act so strong that
a little craft could riot dodge it. But there can be
no harm, if the United,States wish it,;in adopting any
additional precautions they like to propose. But
for effectual remedy only one course is open—the
rule of respecting private property at sea. If this
great concession to the neutral Powers be made, we
can well afford to pay with a good grace for depre-
dations for which most probably we were not legally
responsible, but which, by the exercise of a little
more care and providence, we could certainly have
prevented.
Referring to the " strikes" in the iron trade, the.
Times points out a consideration which seems to have
been almost overlooked by leaders of trades' unions,
but which deserves their most careful attention. At
this moment orders are being executed for English
firms in Belgium and Prussia, and the inevitable
result of these repeated strikes will be to drive
more and more of English capital abroad. Whether
the rate of wages be ultimately determined by the
cost of living, according to the lowest standard of
comfort and decency for the time being, or whether
it depend on the distribution of a gages-
r
limited in amount, no wages at all will
there will
o n be
paid if there is no one to pay them
l;
ya of strikes is
he no one to pay them if the
pushed beyond a certain point. poFriceae s
trade, which
has done so much for the workman, h
investments
have some-
thing for the capitalist, and so manyl
and abroad as
have been opened out in our colonies
to raise very considerably the normal rate of in-
terest. Even if the existing propr
ivin i.e
higher rs of ironworks
could be coerced into gg wages than
they can afford in the present state of the market,
others will avoid the iron trade and carry their
money elSewhere. Taking all trades together there
is never so large a surplus of capital seeking em._
ployment as there is of labour in excess of the de-
mand for it ; but a still more important difference

SOUTHAMPTON, Monday.
The Right Hon. Russell Gurney, M.P., and Re-
corder of London, attended this afternoon at the
Hartley Institution to distribute the prizes and cer-
tificates which had been awarded to the successful
candidates in the late Oxford and Cambridge local
examination held at Southampton.
The chair was occupied by the Rev. M. Cooper,
rector of St. Mary's ; and amongst the gentlemen
present were the. Rev. Dr. Wilson, the Rev.- Dr.
Bradshaw, the Rev. Dr. Cary, the Mayor, and seve-
ral other of the local authorities of the borough.
The report having been read by the Rev. A. Sells,
the secretary, Mr. Gurney distributed the prizes and
certificates, addressing a few kindly words to each
recipient.
The CHAIRMAN then, in'highly eulogistic terms,
proposed a vote of thanks to the right hon. gentle-
man, which was carried by acclamation.
Mr. GURNEY, who, on rising, was loudly cheered,
after expressing his thanks for the manner in which
he had been received, said he understood it was
customary for those who occupied the post which he
had now the honour to hold to make a few observa-
tions on the subject which had called them together;
and although he was unable to say anything new,
• or anything which might not have' occurred to those
present, it was impossible for him not to comply
with the request which had been made. When he ad-
dressed himself to the subject as a member of one of
the old universities, it was his exceeding satisfac-
tion that the universities had struck out this new
course of usefulness for themselves. (Hear, hear.)
It was impossible for any one who had received
the benefit of a university education, and had there
spent some of the happiest hours of his life, not to
take the deepest interest in all that related to their
reputation and glory ; and he must congratulate
himself on seeing that they had pursued a course
by which their usefulness would be extended and
diffused. (Hear, hear.) That these universities
had done a good work for this England of ours
in former times he could not entertain a doubt,
and he believed that the benefits they were confer-
ring upon the country in the present day were equally
great. But it was impossible to shut our eyes to the
fact that the number of university students were
now very small when compared with the number to
whom it was desirable to extend the benefits of the
best education; and when we contrasted former
times with the present, and recollected the immense
increase which had taken place both in the popula-
tion and wealth of the country, we were still more
struck with the smallness of the numbers who could
have recourse to our universities. This was not so
in ancient days. One was surprised to hear of the
number of students who crowded the streets of Ox-
ford in the early days of its history, and with our
present notions of accommodation it was very diffi-
cult to say where they were able to find accommo-
dation. No doubt they were crowded into the halls,
and that a hospitable reception was given to many
in the monasteries then existing in that city ; but
with our present notions it would be difficult to find
room for such large numbers. The habits of the
people had completely changed, and in consequence
of that change the university students were for the
most part, except where provided for by ancient
endowments, confined to the richer classes of the
community. 'Well indeed did these endowments do
their work in many cases by giving a noble educa-
tion to many who could not otherwise have obtained
it. To show a remarkable instance of the benefits
thus conferred, he might mention that a short time
ago be heard a gentleman who had acquired high
distinction in the profession to which he had the
honour to belong state that he was the son of a
country clergyman with no large means, who could
not afford to give his son the full benefit of a uni-
versity education, but who said to him--" I can
provide for you for one year, and I expect you at
the end of that year to do a good deal for yourself."
The son went to Oxford, and during the first year
distinguished himself considerably-, obtaining scho-
larships and such other assistance that he was after-
wards able to find means to complete his own edu-
cation. (Cheers.) That gentleman told him that
afterwards--and he now mentioned this circum-
stance to his young friends to show them it was im-
possible to know what might be the result of a single
piece of industry—that gentleman told him that on
being called to the bar he had no important connec-
tions, and did not know how he was to get on. Soon
after his call there was a great suit pending in Chan-
cery in which one of the colleges was concerned. The
solicitor called on the head of that college and in-
quired if there was any particular person whom he
wished to be engaged iu the suit. The head of the
college said he did not know any one, but observed
that a gentleman who had recently been called had
made a translation with which he had been very much
struck, and he should like him to have a brief. The
brief was given, and the young lawyer so distin-
guished himself in the suit that he was never after-
wards at a loss for a brief. (Cheers.) He had men-
tioned this circumstance for the purpose of showing
his young friends that there was no one good work,
no one decided proof of industryand talenton which
future fruits might not hang. (Hear.) Another
change had occurred which rendered it more difficult
for many persons to obtain a university education,
and that was the change in the age at which young
men were sent up. In the instance to which he had
referred his friend went up at the age of 15, and at
19 took his degree. It was not an uncommon thing,
some time back, for boys to go up at 14. But now
the age of 19 was much more Common. In the uni-
versal race for wealth and position young men
thought they could not start too early. Whether
it might not be better to start a little later in years
eraet
it
i
he would not pretend to say, but the fact that
the great mass of those who started early n d
an
unable to have recourse to the universitielsent they
.
would be idlefor lads of 14, however
intel
might be, to engage in a strugglewith
those who
Bear, hear.)
were four or five years their seniores.eetlle
but those
i;
The consequence was that
li
who were provided for Y endowments, or
those who belonged to the richer classes of
were
the community, the way in which it was
of a university education
Now, what was to be done
now conducted.
ble
(iliVeaerre. the universities, endowed
h:boe obtain the benefit
in such a case?
and enjoying
to declare themselves
a vast reputation,
Powerless and do nothing ?
That would not have been a becoming
course for
with great
wealth
hHow then, was the difficulty to
be met • plulroswile;were our youthful population scat-
teredt
eu
Itotl9roughout the country to be brought under
the influence of these venerable bodies situated in
two distant places? The mode of solving the dif-
ficulty was as old as the days of Mahomet. If the
mountain could not go to Mahomet, Mahomet must
go, to the mountain. If young people were unable
to go to the universities, it was well for the univer-
sities to go to them, and this was 'what had been
done by the institution of these local examinations.
(Hear, hear.) If they could not give these young
people the ',benefit of a university education, they
could send examiners to ascertain the amount of
their knowledge, and, what was equally important,
the amount of their ignorance. They sent exa-
miners into the great towns where large numbers of
youths were gathered together, and were able to fix
and to raise the standard of education, and by
means of certificates and prizes to afford a stimulus

LIFE-SAVING RAFTS. •

A considerable number of persons assembled yes-
terday at the bridge over the Serpentine to see some
experiments made with a machine which purports to
be a life-saving raft, and which is the invention of
an American merchant captain. Amongst those
present were Lord Ranelagh, Colonel Brownlow
Knox, Mr. Page, the eminent engineer, Sre. The
machine consists of a light wooden frame,
with
flexible hinges, and which can be easily sistosvruedaway
p
when not required for use. The frame
when in the water by pontoon-shaPed bagsa or
when
cylinders of indiarubber, and which can
when thus filled
speedily be inflated. Thetwoh hebatigehs
can,o od ena
cf
cr
oa
rmd
n,
ga n
tdo
size, sustain fifty, o
_r even ,
ngpersons.
the
inflation Th o
of the pontoons, i
walilthoagire,thaecrt, afsortiiiihgatenraft ers
ahiunnodrlueddi
raft was prepared yesterday'
five or six minutes, and then
e
shot into the water from the balustrade of the
Ated itself at once, and, about forty-
bridge. It rib
five persons having got upon it, floated about in the
water without very sensibly increasing its immer-
The general opinion expressed was that the
sion.
raft would be a great addition to the means of
saving life in such terrible cases as the recent one of
the Evening Star, and that the price at which it
could be constructed would enable ships of any con-
siderable size to be furnished with it. We were in-
formed that the raft has already been extensively
adopted in the American merchant service, and that
.seersfriuydl,en eos sf
claims
tihs e hfe
ol dr Atlantic.
hi h
is r i
raft
frht h
ete
the
inventor,
mvaeadut
vit on
side
aolici ler s.thEoef.
oistt.sh
peui
0
cheapness and simplicity in construction,
compact-
ness when packed, and greater adaptability than
lifeboats for sea-going
steamers, as not being liable
to be either stove in, swamped, or capsized at those
critical periods when its "
services would be called
into requisition.

A BROUGHAM AND A Bus.—By this difference
word the
concerning the pronunciation of a present
w:elr
is reminded of an amicable contest that occurred in st_
tuinster Hall between Lord Campbell and a Q.C. who is
still in the front rank of court arivocatos. In au action to
recover for damages done to a carriage, the learned coun-
sel repeatedly called the vehicle in question a broughain;
pronouncing both Syllables of the word brougham. Where-
upon Lord Campbell with considerable pomposity observed,
" 13room is the more usual pronunciation ; a carriage of
the kind you mean is generally and not incorrectly called
a broom—that pronunciation is open to no grave objection
and it has the great advantage of saving the time consumed
by uttering an extra syllable." Half an hour later in rho
same trial, Lord Campbell, alluding to a decision given in
a similar action, said, "In that case the carriage which had
sustained injury was an omnibus--" "Pardon me, my
lord," interposed the Queen's counsel, with such prompti-
tude that his lordship was startled into silence, "a carriage
of the kind to which you draw attention is usually termed
pm ee
4 a bus ;' that pronunciation is open to no grave objection,
and it has the greatadvantage of saving the time
consumed
i
by uttering two extra syllables." The interruption was
folloWed by a roar of laughter, in which Lerd ca
joined more heartily than any one else.—Jeaffreson's Book
about Lawyers.

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