The Sun.
London, England, 1868-02-26 00:00:00

FRIENDLESS AND FALLEN.-LONDON
FEMALE PREVENTIVE and 11EFORMATORY IN
STITUTION

President—Rev. CIANON DALE.
•
CONTRIBUTIONS for the support of the Homes in 1868 are ear
neatly solicited, which may be sent to bankers, Messrs. Bolan
quet, Salt, and Co., 73, Lomba,rd-street, E.C.; Francis Nicholls
keg. (of the Committee), 14, Old Jewry Chambers, E.C.
E. W. THOMAS, Sec., 200, Euston-road, N.W.

THE LEGAL APPOINTMENTS OF THE
PRESENT GOVERNMENT.

The death of Mr. justice -Shee, and the conse-
quent vacancy on th e Judicial Bench, have attracted
attention to the extraordinary amount of legal
patronage which has fallen to the disposal of Lord
Derby's third Government. It is without any
parallel in the history of modern Administrations,
and forcibly contrasts with that which fell to the
lot of Conservative lawyers- in 1852 and 1858.
During the existence of the present Premier's first
Ministry only one important legal appointment was
made, and that was the elevation of Sir John Stuart
to the Bench as Vice-C'hancellor. In 1858 a Com-
mon-Law judgeship fell in, through the retirement
of Sir John Taylor Coleridge from his seat in the
Court of Queen's Bench. The post was given to
Sir Hugh Hill, who, however, retired three years
afterwards, and was succeeded by the present Mr.
Justice Mellor. The patronage of the third Derby
Government has amply compensated for the scar-
city of judicial prizes which characterised the first
and the second. Within a fortnight after the Tories
reappeared at the Treasury Benches in July, 1866,
Sir F. Pollock, then 83 years of age, resigned his post
aftereqwuaser,sir
Fitzroy h avi n
Kelly,held
Solicitor and Attorney-
el and Lord Derby. Sir
as Chief Baron of the Excyohr,
HwiGtheu2nog2ehhryaaCeldaauribsrnendesnehrnasiSudsicrneseuoßstcse.ibevPseeseel n Attorney-General more
than three months when the retirement of Sir Jas.
Knight-Bruce called the then member for Belfast
from the House of Commons to the Equity bench
as Lord Justice of Appeal. With Michaelmas
Term came the resignation of Sir William Erle as
Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, an office which
was given to Sir W. Bovill, who had been Solicitor-
General four months. The beginning of December
witnessed the retirement of Vice-Chancellor Kin-
dersley, and the appointment of Sir R. Malins, who
had represented Wallingford in the Conservative
interest for thirteen years, as his successor. In
July, 1867, the death of Sir G. Turner again
placed the office of Lord Justice of Appeal in
Chancery in the hands of the Premier, and it was
given to the Attorney-General, Sir John Rolt.
Within a few days of this appointment, Dr. Lush-
ington, who had been Judge of the Admiralty
Court for nearly 30 years, placed his resignation in
the hands of the Lord Chancellor, and was suc-
ceeded by Sir Robert Phillimore. Early in the
present year the unfortunate illness of Lord Jus-
tice Rolt rendered that important position vacant a
third time within 18 months. His place was taken
by Sir Charles Selwyn, who had been Solicitor-
General rather more than half a year. A Puisne
judgeship in the Court of Queen's Bench is now
vacant, through the death of Mr. Justice Shee.

In Ireland the run of patronage has been no less
remarkable. When the Government came into office,
the Irish, like the English Chancellorship, fell vacant
48 a matter of course. Lord Derby to give