The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1844-03-08
|. CIRCULAR TO STUDENTS OF LAW
IN THE UNITED STATES.

TN the year 1924, under the auspices ofthe Uniyer-
i siy of Maryland | established la the city OF Bal
timore Law School under the denomination OF the |
Maryland Law Institute. This establishment conf
nued IN successful operation nearly eleven years nav
ing received students from eIeren OF the States and
from Two foreign countries Owing TO the pressure
OF an extensive practice simultaneously with the du-
ties which the Institution involved, resolved IN the
year 1886 To abandon not lily the practice OF my ever
and long cherished profession but also the Law lns
tutei and for health and ease sought the more genial
climates OF Europe Finding, at this ume my heaith
perfectly restored, and with abatement whatever
of my zeal and devotion to that great seence, which
IN this country of all Others needs 10 be tie0dcay
and carefully studied-and seeking, moreover, indus
tfious and continued occupation essential to happi-
in land that knows idles resol' ed 10 e-esta-
bsh the Law institu,ioD-and have selected Fhila'
dphta The place OF its location In so dong nave
thought that city in the Union affords such various
and ample inducements for all the PURPOSES OF The
Law Sutherland that in can more worthy |
economy be preserved, and yet with every requisite
comfort.
The frequent app icatioDs made TO me from dis
lance on the former OCCASION in regard TO the patie
uias of my enterprise induce me TO anticipate similar
inquiries now-and, to meet all such in advance,
now address this Circular all that | can offer in
explanation, and, probably as all that may be requi-
| site.
| The Institution dedicated alone to law studies,
and their cognae and auxiliary topics, Is spacious
and beautiful building III South Fifth street,
suitable for the accommodation of about sixty stu
dents. The rooms all suitably furn she'd supplied
with extensive law and miscellaneous library
p precedets Of practice in every conceivable and ap-
proved fjrn. Studtn s admitted at any time
| through bout the year-courses Of study and the re-
quiste books are supplied so exactly TO neei the
wants and Of The student, according he may
design TO practice his profession ether IN the country
or in some of the maritime cities. The laws Of every
State in the Union are in some degree dwelt upon
practice is constantly blended with theCry-but the
deep and radical of parents well as Of students
is Carefully AVOIDED aude to the too erroneous no
ton that law students are to be made mechanical
ntisans-mefe attorneys learning practice by rote, and
Jealous OF book knoioedse, as being too theoretical -
| ms mschievous error must inevitably degrade the
science and profession and Is erosS mistake, since
no practising attorney was ever good aud lasting one
who was not also deeply versed in the and
theory of the law. | therefore cannot acquiesce in
and never will yield to, the vulgar error Of putting
practice before and above iheory--it is unnatural
mrersion of the established order of na,ure--an gno
| rant and sovcnly way of urging Young men on TO at
temp,s far beyond the powers of the human II ind
for if the grounds and reasons of the science be not
| well known the practice cannot be well known
| But the error 10 which | so earnestly alIude is
founded upo another which is equally false and mar
row yiz-,ha students can learn The practiee only in
a pracis,,g la,ouers office! On the csnr,ry as zen
era rule is the very last place in which he ever
does or can learn the nracce-and his can hc mad.
extremely manifest What is praeiies as DISTINGUISH
ed from theorp? Take a sinpIe example-and sr ,,no
h,ee opanes The tbsoru a, a law min, saws Il, The
student if A lends [, his watch and B sells it, or re-
fuses TO return it, NAV bring what is called an ac-
tion of Troyer and Conversion MAJ, f,o,,r means
6nding and conversion means ,ppronra,iny i, 10 his
own use; and here again, the student learns two
other theoretical law points-yiz that the find no i
now mere verbal fiction not at all materia or To be
prou.d-and secondly that the conversion by the de-
tnJ,nl to his arm as, consists i'm The mere WITHHOLD
ing the uroperly from the pIaind ALTHOUGH il should
he ever so ceaiIv proved tbat he IN no vnv useo The
propeuv for himself or for onv nuroo.e whatever bu,
- -.
NJ IN ~; -, -
,i ~ - - ~ " 49, ~. - = $50
o, 'i' ~ a'':'. anu ma pieIoe'
80, .'' " 'euRe
| - IN, - = RI ~ - - 80 IL i'
~ IN ri US " '"i JO'''I " - ". p,aS'
s,,s 49, 49,, go, y''"o 49,
ahs,,,ar IN eyarv ac,ian toopi.a ~ ~. 'ia.,E
,,assya eoo, ,be ;n.,,a,inn ns ,hs ,.r,,n ~. foI
,n ~ ,he ,x,.,.f;on ,rhs f,I r 80,
,a,rrnp ~ .r,s snnaa,,.as Hau -
con,;nn,nces-imp,n nrn.IIina Of in,;es ",riai,
cer,ions-ye, dict-i Jgmenie erec1,ion-,.,nr, of
exrcu,ion-or on The other banJ new ,ri,I,r an
nj Sc Sc-nr. Al, 81 f,,,b in ia . ,n,,,ed MS. a,
that, ne who knows mott of preeedeats' knows mos,
of nyaelies but stl these nreceJens cannon hen
selves be understood without a ur,yious ,h,oy,tieI
knovledoe The question then resolves isef ,nto tbs
i Cs,nn, law student he well sround,d in all ,be
n,eredents laio sensu who never saw pra ctisino
iawver's office And WHY not On the contrary
cannot he learn far more of practice by the iud,-
ciou. and careful study of all the formula bicb ne
! never does In a practising LAWYER. office, than by
wiring, OF rather copying tho. simple and occasion.
At dec aratons pleas &c which the master ofan Office
assigns TO the student1 l. it not uniformly the case
that all really difficult and responsible business Of this
is done by the mRster himself without ever reach
ing the eye of the sludent-or, # does only to me
chanlcally copy IT ! Again; who can distinguish be
tween real suit IN court and fictitious one IN which
one student prepares the wrt-another the return
another he declaration some Other the pea, &c
until all the practical proceedings are gone through
And uhat prevents these students making record of
the whole, and then comparing all with c. rlird