The Sun.
London, England, 1868-05-23 00:00:00

- -
EPiPAT PUBLIC JOURNALS,

The Saturday Review, apropos of the vote on the im-
peachment trial of President Johnson, declares that all
but the most . extreme Republicans have long since dis-
co vered that the impeachment was a mistake ; but even
prudent and temperate men may naturally anticipate
disadvantageous consequences from an acquittal. It is
almost certain that the rash and impulsive President
would regard his escape as a decisive victory, and that he
would be encouraged in his desire to thwart the entire
policy of Congress. It is difficult to anticipate the trouble
which he might cause during the remaining nine months
of his administration, especially as his opponents would
have been greatly weakened by their unsuccessful experi-
ili.;nt. The. Republican Convention for the nomination of
a candidate for the Presidency is about to meet imme-
(:iately, while the Democrats have, perhaps judiciously,
pcAponed their own assemblage till July. The party
r. Lich Las so long been excluded from power would be stimn-
-I..ted to fresh exertions by their triumph, and their antago-
nists would probably be distracted by internal quarrels be-
tween the advocates and opponents of impeachment. It is
not easy to foresee the bearing of the process of reconstruc-
tion on the Presidential election. The House of Repre-
sentatives has already voted the admission of Arkansas
under the new Constitution ; but the Democrats will use
their utmost efforts to exclude the negro voters, or to
ad:nit the disfranchised whites. If, notwithstanding the
vote on the eleventh article, the President should be con-
victed and removed from office, Mr. Wade will succeed to
his functions by a doubtful title. The administration of
the vacant office is entrusted by the Constitution to the
President of the Senate, and it is not certain whether the
Senate would not have the power, by dismissing its own
President, to remove the temporary President of the
United States. Mr. Evarts did not forget to point out
the anomalous relations of the Senate to the Government,
as an argument against an assumption of power which
might perhaps lead to a popular agitation against the
Senate itself. The final judgment, which will be delivered
in a few days, will, -under any circumstances, lead to
important results.

Of course, says the Spectator, it is possible that the
people of the United States are tired of the very word
" impeachment," that the reaction has set in, that they
see something ludicrous in deposing a man who has only
nine months to reign, and that the voice of the constitu-
encies, when it is heard, will be for,dropping the proceed-
ingi. But all this carries very little weight. The
" weariness" of the sole topic of political discussion is a
weariness which is only felt in the small circles of great
cities, and is no index of the feeling of the country, where
any important topic of discussion must be fresh enough,
since men meet so seldom and talk so little. As for
" reaction," the country has long since seen the unfortu-
nate character 'of the form of procedure—namely, a
judicial trial for acts which teehrically amount to little
more than the exercise by the President, in a sense keenly
hostile to Congress, of powers conferred on his office only
for the purpose of delaying the action of Congress, and
this in a time when it had become generally understood
that Congress, as the legislative power, should be deferred
to .as virtually supreme. The Americans—we confess we
think with questionable judgment—have preferred the
perversion of a special Constitutional form to the more
natural method of providing by revolutionary steps for a
difficulty for which no remedy was supplied, the difficulty
itself having never before been practically encountered
under the Constitution. Having chosen that method,
we cannot think that they will shrink from making it

effective.

The London Review calls attention to the prevalence at
Westminster of a pernicious practice, indulged in by
counsel who are flooded with briefs, of appointing a
deputy to do their work. This is not merely indulged in
by the lower branches of the learned profession of the law.
The practice is essentially peculiar to what is termed the
higher branch of the legal profession. No one ever hears
of au eminent 'physician receiving the fees of those who
wish to consult him and saving himself the trouble of
looking at them by availing himself of the idleness of one
of his brethren, whose knowledge may possibly equal that
of the American doctor who sent all his patients without
exception into convulsions. because he happened to be a
" stunner at fits." Yet things of this sort are by no means
uncommon in practice at the bar. An attorney may
have a case requiring the employment of a coun-
sel of peculiar capabilities. Knowing that every-
thing may depend upon a rough tongue and unsparing
cross-examination, a rattling speech to the jury, or a piece
of well-sustained chaff throughout the conduct of the case,
he selects his man, and proceeds to retain him. A feeling
of natural anxiety to make sure of the talent of which he
hopes to availhimself, and the price of which he is prepared
to pay, prompts him, as a necessary preliminary, to ascer-
tain that the counsel will be in his place when the case
Comes on. His mind is set at rest upon this point by the
assurance of the barrister's clerk that his master has no
other engagements to divert his attention from the case.
Now it may be the misfortune of the attorney to be a gen-
tleman, and, judging of others by himself, he pays away
his money upon the promises he receives, fixes an hour for
consultation, and returns to his chamber with the con-
sciousness that he has done his duty, and that his client's
case is in the fittest hands to hold it. On the morning of
the trial his first disappointment is the non-appearance of
the distinguished advocate for whom such solemn promises
had been made ; and painful doubt takes the form of yet
more painful certainty when the clerk, who was so liberal
of assurances the evening before, comes forward with an
expression of sympathy upon his features that would be
pleasing if it were not chronic, to inform him that Mr.
So-and-so is unfortunately detained in the country, or in
the House of Lords, or at the Privy Council, and will not
be able to reach the court until late in the day..
,The at-
torney then, upon searching for his brief, finds it in the
hands of a young barrister, like him who made his griev-
ance known through the columns of the Times, or of an
old barrister whose abilities had not been of a sufficiently
marked character to gain him the confidence of attorneys,
and who, having no briefs of his own, holds those
of other people. The sabstitution, it is needless
to say, is in most cases unfortunate. The clerk
of the absent advocate, intent upon securing his own
fees and those of his master, makes his selection with a
liberal disregard of the 'fitness of things. A mild squabble,
in which the witness gets the best of -it, takes the place of
the proposed cross-examination, and a spirited speech or
adroit chaff is looked for in vain from the staid individual
whose eloquence in its highest flights cannot soar above
the statute of frauds. The case may be lost and injustice
done, and the person who is injured is left with such poor
consolation as the general abuse of lawyers will afford him.
The law itself leaves him without remedy. For some
inscrutable reason it will not permit a barrister to bring
an action for his fees, and, by way of set-off, it invests
him with the power of being as negligent and as reckless
of the interests of his client as he pleaseswith impunity.
The Imperial Review declaims energetically against the
new move of the Jamaica Committee. The opinion of the
prosecution seems to be that martial law in itself is in no
case justifiable. It matters not what may be the emer-
gency, the long formalities of the law must in all cases be
adopted. Such a theory, if carried out in all its logical
significance, might submit the inhabitants of any British
colony to riot and massacre ; but the object of the prose-
cution, in this case, is not to prevent the salvation of a
colony, but merely to punish its saviour. The main body
of the Jamaica Committee are advocates for the abolition
of capital punishment. Actual murderers are to be per
mitted to live on, but no quarter is to be given to thou
whom they conceive to. have committed an error of judg'
meat. It becomes e. question, however, whether Govern-
ment should not assist a man, thus persistently attacked,
to defend himself. When Mr. Eyre quelled the Jamaica
rebellion he was a Government official, and acted as the
deputy.of the sovereign." When, after the bloody massacre
at Morant Bay, he succeeded in nipping the rebellion in the
bud, he received the thanks of the Colonial Office for
his unwearied energy and courageous conduct. Soon,
however, a clique succeeded in asserting its power, and
obtaining the commission of inquiry which, after a long
and patient investigation, reported to the English Parlia-
ment. The report was not, as many suppose, adverse to
Governor Eyre, but bore testimony to the fact that he had
saved the island, and to the widespread nature of the
disaffection that had prevailed. It reported, however,
that the punishments inflicted had been excessive, and
therefore Governor Eyre was recalled from his office, and
deprived of the fruits of the exertion of a lifetime. Most
people will think that this punishment was sufficient, if
not excessive. Many will hold that no punishment at all
was deserved, but we are certain that few indeed will
endorse the persecuting policy adopted by Messrs. Mill
and Taylor. It is impossible that any
uste.ful legal pre-
cedents can be drawn from these
think, equally impossible that a convictionsecu can be obtained ,
is, we.
,
but perhaps the slender fortune of Mr. Byre may be
reduced to a minimum by law expenses ;. and this is, we
imagine, the real object of the continuedof Sir
persecution to
which he is subjected. One point, the appearance
Robert Collier as prosecuting counsel, calls for strong
comment. It is, no doubt, usual for a barrister to accept
a brief on either side, whatever may be his opinion of the
ease ; but there is, happily, no precedent for an ex-law
officer of the Crown taking, as a private barrister, a
position in a criminal case diametrically opposed to that
which he had advised when in office. If the Liberal
Solicitor-General imagined, when in office, that Mr. Eyre
was a criminal and a felon, it was his duty to have pro.
tosed his prosecution by the Crown.

The John Bull, while denouncing the disloyal expres-
sinus which have been drawn forth by the withdrawal of
the Queen to Scotland. regrets that she has been obliged
by tip state of her lienith to take the course she has.
at th In
lice absence, however the Prince of Wales should be called
upon to take her place. But there.ean be no doubt
the Prince of Wales, in his laudable desire to fulfil the
arduous and difficult duties of an Heir Apparent—never
so arduous and difficult as at the present moment—has not
had sufficient allowance from the nation for the carrying
Out of duties which the nation expects him to undertake.
The Government desire to do this simple actof justice to his
Royal Ili gliness • but with a characteristic 'Consideration for
their position in the midst of unscrupulous foes, the Prince
has desired them not to propose it. But the time has
come when a spontaneous offer should be made by the
-nation to add to the income of the Prince of Wales, on
whom so many duties devolve, and who has in a difficult
and trying- position so ably discharged them. Our con-
te_nrearyy. trusts that steps may be taken, not only to
Royal Highness with a shooting-box in '
di:c7ll one of the best remedial measures for Irish
mzent—but to increase an allowance which shall
enable him to continue on a suitable scale those hospitali-
ties- and charities which have so endeared the occupiers
of Marlborough house to the people of the United
Kingdom.

THE CASE OP EX-GOVERNOR EYRE.

Sir Roderick Murchison sends the following to the

"Sir,—As in their unceasing prosecutions of Er•
Governor Eyre the Jamaica Committee have so far sue.
ceeded as to send my distinguished friend to stand a new
trial at the Court of Queen's Bench, the means already
subscribed t 3 defend his cause will soon, I fear, las
exhausted.

" Under these circumstances I was delighted to receive
:his morning the following letter from Lord Overstone.
" This spontaneous expression of the feelings of a noble.
man so calm-minded and so just will, I trust, operate
powerfully in eliciting fresh contributions, and thus enable
the Eyre Defence Fund to cope with such persevering
assailants.—l am, sir, your obedient servant,
"16, Belgrave•square." " RODERICK MURCHISON.

" Carlton-gardens, May 21, 1868.

" My dear Sir Roderick,— I have hitherto abstained from
taking any part, and indeed from expressing any opinion
with regard to the legal proceedings which for so long
a time have been directed against Governor Eyre. But
these proceedings have now reached a point at which, it
appears to me, he is entitled to look for the sympathy and
support of the public. That appeal he has made in a few
stirring words which he addressed to the magistrate before
whom he was arraigned, and which appear to have ex-
cited a spontaneous outburst of approval from the by-
standers even in a court of justice. I shall be mistaken if
they do not elicit a warm response from many a British
heart.

" Englishmen have always been ready and just in their
recognition of services rendered in the faithful discharge
A great duties, and at the same time considerate and
generous when called upon to discharge the painful duty
A criticising errors of judgment which may have occurred
to circumstances of perilous emergency, full of difficulty
and of danger. These virtues, I trust, are not yet oblite-
rated from our national character.

" Funds, I understand, are really required for the effec-
tual defence of Governor Eyre, and that pecuniary ruin is
one of the cruel and unjust consequences which may arise
from the present proceedings. This can never be
Permitted.

" I enclose my draught for £2OO in discharge of my
share of a public duty, which I doubt not will be widely
recognised, and if recognised, will be cheerfully fulfilled.—
Yours very faithfully, 66 OVZESTONE.
" Sir Roderick Murchison."