The Sun.
London, England, 1811-11-20 00:00:00

14.

COURT OF SIiSSION:.
On.tresd 4y the Court met for the winter. gession,
The uncommon circumstance, whieli indeed never
occu'ed before, of seeing a new Lord President to
each division take his seat, and two' new Judges, •
who were expegted to produce their commissiOns,
caused the Court to be extremely crowded at nn
early hotir., The two divisions having met as One
court, Lord' Canto, the. senior Judge, was celled
to the chair, when the Right Hon. CHARI6S HOPE,
late,Lord Justice Clerk, presented the PRLSCK 11E7,,
okilrres' letter appointing him President, of the Cr;l7
lege of Justice. ;
. His Lordship having taken the oaths and his seat
on thebench as Lord President, delivered, on the
occasion, one of the most animated and 'interesting
addresses we 'ever heard, and of which we -only at-.
tempt,t6 give a general and feeble outline . •
" He began by. noticing, that:what had just taken
place must treat most inelancholy feelings to the
minds of all who heard hiM) the teeling'oi renew.
ed deep regret at the hreparable-loss of that exalted •
charade' whose situation he was so unworthily called
to till:, His Lordship then went into a detail of the
wonderful endowments of Lord President Blair', who
only three' short years ago had taken his seat in that
We,took occasion particularly to notice these
at the. death of that gre:a man in I\lay la3t,.and they:
11AV:1 been in various publications enumerated and
Strongly walked ; but 'never, perhaps, was there
such at:lor, luminous, and just view of the cha-
' ra6ter of ,his illustrious predecessor brought forward,.
'as was given, in this speech by, President Hope. His,
Lordship 'Was singelarly happy in delineating 'the
peculiar department of talent and usefulness io'which
the Lords President Dundas, Miller, and Campbell
excelled, and sliming how nicely ,these were all
combined the person Of President
.Blair, whieh,
joined to his elegant literary talentS, ;rendered him,
'on the Whtde„ perhaps the Most perk% Judge that
ever sat in that CoUrt.
His Lordship then observed; that he was afraid
U might be Considered presumption in him to have
,thought of succeeding to such -a•predeceasor; he •
would be more unfit for his sittiation than he hoped
he was, if he.` possessed such presumption, which
he was corm:ions' he did not. It might probably
be known to their Lordships; that he had repeatedly
declined the high office now ve,ted in him, but
when offercdagain, he agreed to accept, it, from rt
feeling which he had long cherished; that every...
public man, in health and strength, ought to-ad hi
that sphere which his gracious Sovereign: sbould
please to point oat. He considered also, that he
had for-a conaiderable time a&ed at the head of the
second division. of the Court, so similar in all -
speds to his present station and, indeed, from his
other duties in that charaMer, aubjeOing him even
to a -more grave and serious tesponsibility.' If he
was, therefore, unfit for ins nreseht situation, he
might ,be reckoned equally ttnfit for the one which
he before held.
" 'There .was one consideration,' he confessed,
which gave weight to his other wishes for declining
to accept of his present office, and that was, his re-
moval from those colleagues with Whom lie had
been
,an happy--,-whO had so ably assisted. bircs'irr his
duties in the Second Cou'rt-and to whOse know-
ledge and experience akin& 'was die any confidence
which the public Might "have in th'e decisions of
that Conic'. flowerer deficient, Lordship ob-
served, he might. feel in himself, and however in-
ferior to thoseerninent charat;ers who had preceded
him in that 'chair, he- was bold to say, that, in the-
:essential qualities of the due adminisliation of jug'-
, tire, of zeal: to do his'dilty, and of deciding with
impartiality and truth, lie could not feel himselfte
hind any, and, with the aid and 'co-operation of
those of his brethren with Whoth he 'was now to be
more intimaiely connected, which fle was proud so
hope he should possess, he, trusted t lie business of
the Court would -go on, as before, with regularity
and dispatch, and jUstice duly de4lt to all.
" His Lordship concluded a most iMpressive
speech, which was heard with the deepest mientioll,
by saying, that, While .helibmhly I hauked the Al-
mighty tor tire.. success Which had intended his own
, professronal he earnestly 'prayed for ,the
prosperity dr: timi Cowl over which he'Was called
to preside; and of every indWidtfal.belonging to it."
Afterthe Lord Presdent had finished his'itddiess,
Lord BOYLE presentd his Commissioll as -Justice
Clerk, 'by which he virtually came to preside in the
second divisiOn of the Court. His Loidship having
already taken the oaths to Government in the Ju,-
ticiary Court, where he also presides,- the oath de
,fidelivas only now administereO tq trim,
ROBERT CIiAIGIE', :Esq. advocate; late Sheriff' of
Dumfries, then presented the Prince's letter, natii-

r •
ing hita ono of the ordinary Lords of Session, in
room of Lo'rd Pot:1(01min.; resigned. 10r. Claigie
will sit as Lord PrObationer4 and, after reportingand
giVitig his opinion on the usual number of CatitirS;,
will tale his seat as 'a Jridg in the second 'division.
Lord WOODIIOUsELEE has sat as a member Of the
first division since the alteratiOn of ,the Court, ,but,
as he. is now
,named' Lord of Justiciary,- and the
Ad of Parliament renaires three Judges nt the latter
Court to. sit in •each' division cif the Session, and
there are already thi-ee in the first division, his Lord-
ship, of course, removes to the second.
After all. thii previous business was adjusted and
gone through, Lord Justice Clerk Boyle, and the
Judges of his division, removed to their own court-,
room, and his Lordship on taking bis seat as Presi.
dent, addresses.' also the Court in an• elegant speech.
The. business: in. the rolls of the day was then pro.
ceeded with. t
DAvID Wir,..r.tAzasoN, Esq.-,whois the other new
Lord olSessiott, was not in Court, and;it.. is under-
stood Will not present tit letter till :next week. He
will sit as a Judge in the, first division, in' place*
Lord Woophousimax. There is still a vacancy,
frOin j he. death of Lord NIIWTON,,but slthough. there
are .many reports,,we have not heard with certainty
who is to fill it.