The Statesman.
London, England, 1821-09-11 00:00:00

BISH

[ins sold more than Half of all the "moo Prizes that have
ever been drawn !
OF coarse he anticipates similar Good Fortino la
the disposal of the 30.0001. Prizes in the p►esent Lot-
tery, which he begs strongly to reeommend to Ms best
Friends n'elPublie.—Tbere are Three of 110.0001. and 6,711
other Prizes, all Money !—Tot Two Blanks to a Prise !
No Classes !—No Stock Prizes !—Erery Ticket drawn
singly, aid 30,01101. Money for the very first-drawn Prize
First Day.
30th OCTOBER (NEXT MONTI!).
Tickets and Shares are selling at BISH's Offices. 4.•Cora-
hill. and 9. Charing-Bross. where he sold. last Lottery.
Prises of 91.4001. 3%0001. 16,0001. and 16 other Capitals.
'. The Prices of Stocks are affixed. heady. against
BISH's Office, in Corohill, by which the Public can see the
Bactaations.

LAWYERS' FEES.

COURT OF CHANCERY.

In the tourer of a motion for reviewing the taxation
of a solicitor's bill of costs, on Saturday last, a dis-
cusnion incidentally arose upon the subject of the fees
paid to the counsel. It appeared, by the statement of
Mr. Agar, that, for some years past, a practice bad
prevailed, which was wholly at variaece with soy
thing of which the Lord Chancellor, when he seas at
the bar, bad any notion. It seems that Counsel, in-
stead of bring paid their fees instanter, upon the de-
liveryof their briefs, and more particularly with their in-
,atrediesis lodes w bills, asiewevet 'nod the varleminseasove
sof pleading, are obliged to give credit to their clients
—that a great part of the business of their clerks is
the keeping running accounts with the solicitors.—
" Generally," said Mr. Apr, "when the Counsel's
demand reached a certain amount, they re-
ceived regularly from the more respectable class of so-
licitors drafts spoon their bankers for the money ; but
in many instances they were never pail at all.'' This
had happened to himself to a very considerable amount,
and be was sure the same thine bad taken place with
regard to many of his learned friends.
The LORD Cuasiceuma appeared to he perfectly sur-
prised at bearing this statement. He had no idea that'
any thing of the kind prevailed ; he thought it a very
improper. practice. He recollected, when he wasa very
young man, one of the first fees which he ought to
have received was for signing a plea. Having signed
it, the attorney petrhis hand in his pocket, anal feel-
ing about, expressed his regret at having forgot to
bring any money with hitp ; but from that day to the
present lie bad never seen either the attorney or the
fee. Generally speaking, no Counsel in his time ever
thought himself retained till he had actually received
his fee ; and, as an instance of thin, he recollected the
circumstance of a brief having been delivered to Ser-
jeant Davy, without any indorsement of the fee that
should have accompanied it. Some short time after,
the client called upon the Learned Serjeant. and
asked him what lie thought of his case. " Think of
your case !" replied the Serjeant drily, " Why, to tell
you the truth, I have never been able to look any far-
ther into it than lIRRE-.—" taking up the brief, and
pointing to the place where the fee ought to have made
its appearance.
Mr. AGAR said, the practice bad got to an extent
beyond any thing his Lordship could imagine. The
fact was, it was in a great measure unavoidable. The
Masters, in taxing the costs, allowed the Counsel's
fees according to the length of the proceedings they
had drawn : so that the solicitors could not always
know what counsel were entitled to. That practice,
bad a most mischievous consequence with regard to the
suitors, and made the proceedings of a Chancery suit
unnecessarily expensive ; for, if a Counsel, employing
his utmost ability, compressed a voluminous mass of
matter into a very small compass, as he often might
do by imposing upon himself additional labour, lie
would only receive, for drawing a bill perhaps, two
guineas ; whereas, if he recited and detailed, unneces-
sarily, a quantity of deeds and documents, swelling
the record to an immoderate length, he would per-
haps he allowed 16 or 28 guineas. That was one of
the rules in the. Masters' office. In truth, the Masters
is Chancery exercised no talent whatever themselves ;
they generally left the bnsiness to be transacted by
their clerks. The whole practice of the court bad been
altered; formerly,the solicitors drew the bills, answers
and pleadings, themselves, and laid them before coun-
sel to peruse and settle ; but now the entire labour of
drawing pleadings of every description devolved upon
the gentlemen without the bar, the solicitors themselves
doing little or nothing but laying the instructions and
papers before them. When Lord Erskine increased
the fees of the solicitors, it was an increase given for
what they did not do. Formerly, they bad sixpence
a folio for drawing the pleadings themselves,--now
they had a shiliisig a folio for doing 'nothing ; the
whole duty fell on the bar. He threw oat these obser-
vations in !he confident h.pe that they wineld, at some
time hereafter, meet with the consideration oflsis Lord,
ship and the other Judges of the Court.

f

aid SYDNIT eis Me ae#l4!"

The Loan QUANCILLOR observed, that when he was
st the bar, be had paid more *to the law-stationer for
mepylike many of the bills be bad drawn time the
aimemeta the fees be had received for drawing them
•Arrolollllllr..4llllCll2llo v. TSOSPII.
• This lee a ease somewhat of a *singular and novel
Were. A solicitor of the same of Day had served
Me clerkship with a Mr. Fisher, who was empbryed
aeatierney for the plaintiff is the above cease; and
in On coarse of his duty he had occasion to copy
OWN, 01 the proceedings and docitinests in the cases,
atsdammegnently acquired a general knowledge of the
plabsdirs ease. Upon his analog oat of his clerkship,
and setting ap far himself, he 'was engaged as the to-
Otiose for the ffsfeadant- tad the motion now made
was, that litlikas‘asieb; permitted to ut as the de-
sebilitie ffresPed that es clerk to the
lai pntiffs solir bed obtabietrthat sett of loier-
elation of n hich be might enable his client to &veil
Mastitis consequence of his previous situation in the
office of hill adversary's solicitor. The matter having
bees heard on both sides.

The Loan CHANCELLOR refused to groat the prayer
of the motion. He would not make a rule imperative
upon one branch of the profession which did not ap-
ply to another. Every one knew that Counsel, after
having been engaged in a cause on one side, were fir
quattly retained and obliged to give their services to
the other. He bad himself been placed in that alma-
During a period if his practisin at the Chancery
Bar, it was his habit, to attend the circuit, and when-
ever he bad been engaged in a Chancery suit, which
subsequently became the subject of litigation, by as
issue or otherwise, upon the circuit. be uniformly ap-
plied to the Solicitor of the party whose Counsel he
bad been in the Court of Chancery, desiring to know
whether it was intended to retain him in the Court be-
low? if be was not so retained, then, rather then not
be in the cause at all, he felt himself at liberty to lake
a brief from the other party.
Mr. AGAR informed his Lordship that no such deli-
cacy prevailed now. A retainer in an original cause
was not considered as a retainer in any interlocutory
motions or subsequent proceedings. On the contrary,
by the universally prevalent custom of the bar, Counsel
were obliged to take a brief from the Solicitor who, in
the particular stages of the proceedings. first offerudit.
This imposed upon them very painful and unpleasant
duties. it often happened that a Counsel, who bad
originally advised proceedings, was called upon to ar-
gue against the interest of the client by whom be bad in
the first Instance bees employed. The practice, to
the event it rennet! at present, bad originated in a
Ammo 'Melt 6110 if the patties retainedl
all the leading Counsel, so that the junior Counsel
UN all-the briefs for the other side in every future
proceeding in the suit: it was, therefore. now a rule
to take the first brief that orfered upon any distinct
proceeding, though the Counsel had beep engaged ad-
versely on some prior occasion.
The LOAD CHANCELLOR expressed his astonishment
at this system. He thought it was a situation of diffi-
culty in which Counsel ought not to allow themselves
to be placed. With regard to the present motion, for
the reason he hyd stated, that he would not make a
distinction between Solicitors and Counsel, be should
refuse the application.

Pm= asp Pink%

Wills. the plalntirs servant, the fattier Parker, sal
Dorris% the livaryntableikeepor, most satisfactorily
established the emoaadness ; mid Mr. Leigh, the vow
riaary sweat, having bows :galled, proved alm tho
owns on the lost, and that the stare had catamtaa in
mob eye. Upon the examination of one of these wit-
nesses by the didandaat's Camel, it appeased that
the &hooka bad actually pee down, as a stranger,
to the linty stables, stating that bo wasted to pr.
chase a hone, and bad, among several of the bones
that woos /for sale, ized apoa the man, and elides•
roared to pi from the stable-koeper an admission
that she ink kw sale.

Os the pas lijie deimillast. Mr. 'Mat stated.
that be should prove the mare to have been coned from
be r being foaled up to the time of her tale to the
11.111 ms eared filiretalmitsesses, some of
whew were eget/led to, ea intettimed,'4hey having
previously sold and Warraated her; and these
parties not seeming dispOsed to site each other re-
leases, were rejected. A veterinary surgeon and some
farriers were also brought forward, who swore to her
soundness at the period they attended her ; but, upon
examination, they admitted that when they saw her
on the morning of trial, for the purpose of getting a
knowledge of her then state, they had been requested
by the plaintiff's attorney, who was present, to look
at her eyes, as one of the grounds of complaint lay
there ; that they had refused to look, and, in fact,
had not examined them.
Mr. Alderman Wiles! had known the mare when
in possession of his friend Mr. Martin ; had seen her
run up the road by defendant's servant three or four
days before her sale, and, in opinion, she was pettedly
sound.

It was also proved that defendant had hunted the
mare severely for three days before the sale.
Ail.. .Sergeant PELL, in a very able repiy, anima&
'vetted in strong terms on the stiatagein of the defend-
ant, in going to the stable to obtain an admission
that the mare was for sale.

The Learne I Juun it, in summing up, stated that the
plaintiff's case was irresistible. The evidence of Mr.
Alderman Wilcox was alone calculated to excite a
doubt in his mind; but the Worthy Alderman conli
not be considered as " knowing" as the professional
witnesses. His Lordship, after stating that the 'vio-
lent riding of the mare on the day of sale might have
brought out symptoms of the distSrders which had
been proved, and which might have been already
incipient, and only kept down by previous bleeding
and medicine, administered shortly before the sale;
and that the 'plaintiff seeing trervisti warn- in the
chase, and on her mettle, might eiiave bees de-
ceived, left the cause to the Jury, wi host again go-
ing through the evidence.
The Jury immediately returned a verdict for the
plaintiff, 35 guineas the price of the ware, and 16
guineas for her keep.

S.