The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1844-07-12
A esRcvLA AR 70 STUDENTS or Law
IN THE UNITED STATES,

ny IN. vaar 1924 under the auspices 1.-THE Univer
i sily OF Maryland, established IN the cry Oh nsi
tlmore a Law School under the denomnauo" vi wy
MARYLAND Law institute. This establishment eonu-
nued in successful operation nearly eleven years has
inv recev. students from etero. oil the States a"o
from two foreign countries. Owing 70 he Pie'su'
of an extensive practice, simultaneously WIN Nne ~
ties which the Institution involved, resolved III Tue
year 1886 to abandon not lily the practee o. my o
and long cherished profession but also the Law ihs
tule and for he th AMI ease, sought the more ee"e'
climates of EuroI Finding, al this time, my hra'n
perfectly restored and with Il no abatement whatever
of my zeal and devotion 10 that great science WINCH
ia this country of all Others needs TO be msfodeay
and carefully sluded-and seeking moreover, INDUS
lrious and continued occupation, so Essential 10 hsPp
In land that knows oilers resoi' 10 fe-esta
blIsh the Law insti,ution-and have selected i""a-
delphia the place OF It's location In so dog nave
thought that city in the Union affords such various
and ample inducements for all the purposes OF The
Law Sutherland that la none can more worthy
economy be preserved, and yet with every requisite
comfort.
The frequent applications made to me from dis
lance the former OCCASION in regard To the pdrtc-
tllas of my enterprise induce to anticipate similar
inquiries now-and, to meet all such IN advance
now address this Circular, all that can offer 10
explanation, and, probably, as all that may be requi-
site.
The Institution, dedicated alone to law studies,
and their cognaie and auxiliary topics, is spacious
and beautiful building, No. III South Fifth street,
suitable for the accommodation Of about sixty stu
dents. The rooms ali suitably iurn shed, supplied
with an extensive law and miscellaneous library
,o precedents Qf practice in every conceivable and APP
proved form. students are admitted at any time
throughout The year-courses OF study, and the re-
quisiie books supplied, so as exactly 10 neet the
wants and of the student, according he may
design practice his profession either in the country,
or in Of the maritime cities. The laws of every
State in the Union in some degree dwolt upon
practice is constantly blended with thecry-but the
deep and radical of parents, well Of students,
is carefully avoided aude TO the too erroneous
ton that law students to be made mere mechanical
artisans-mere attorneys learning practice by rote and
jealous of book knowledge, being too theoretical -
This mischievous error must inevitably degrade the
science and profession and is gross mistake since
practising attorney was good and 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 of putting
practice before and above theory-it is unnatural
Inversion Of the established order of nature-an gno-
rant and slovenly way of urging young men to at
tempts far beyond the powers of the human mind
for if The grounds and reasons of the science be not
well known, the practice cannot be well known.
But the error, to which | earnestly alude is
founded upoh another, which Is equally false and mar
row, vz.-hat students learn the practice only in
practising lawyers office, On The cnir ry as gen
erai rule, IT Is The very last place in which he ever
does, or can learn the practice-and this can be made
extremely manifest. hat is practice distinguish
ed from theory? Take single example-and er uno
disco Om,its The theory or law point says TO the
student, if lends his watch, and sells it, or re-
fuses TO return it, A may bring what is called
ton of Trover and Conversion. Now froper means
bndipg and CONVERSION means appropriang it to his
own use; and here, again, the student learns two
other theoretical law polnts-viz. that the finding
now mere verbal fiction not all material or to be
proped-and secondly, that the conversion by the de-
PENDANT TO his ocn consists in the WITHHOLD
ing the property from the plaintiff although it should
be ever clearly proved that he in way USED the
property for himself for any purpose whatever but
TO withhold II from the plaintiff
Now all this theory must be learnt and good
deal more before the practice comes-and that practice
on the plaintiffs part consists of thorough know ledge
of he forms prectdens-and, the defendants part
ofthe like knowledge TO the Jorniui9 of the pleas
rejonders, &c There are, therefore books Of prece-
dents these books unfold every practical proceeding
whatever, in every action known to the law-pro
gressvey, from the importation of the ,crt to the final
return upon the ereeulon. These torpti9 of wrils
returns TO wriis-appeara neutrality-suspicious.
-continuances-Impanne of lures -iral-ex-
eptions-veIdlct-ju dg Observation-Disclosures of
execution-or, on the other hand, new trial-or APP
peal &c &e-are all set forth in the fprsced,nis so
that, he who knows of precedeHts knows most
of practice but stI these precedents cannot them
selves be unde rstood, without previous theoretical
knowledge The question, then resolves tse into the
Cannot law student be well grounded in all the
piecedents idfo sensu, who never saw practising
",
cannot be learn far more OF practice by the iud-
cous and careful study of all the tormui9 (Which be
never does IN practising lawyers onice) than by
writing OF rather copying, those simple and occasion
al declarations, pleas &c, which the Of Office
assigns to the sudent Is il uniformly the case
that all really difficult and Responsible business of this
sort Is done by the master himself without ever reach
ing the eye of the sludent-or if it does only 10 me-
chanically copy II Again Who can distinguish be
tween real suit in court and fictitious one in which
npss he Ntr1t tn -.
another the declnration- some other The pea &c
until all the practical proceedings gone through
And hat prevents these students making record of
The whole, and then comparing all with a certified re-
cord Fl ON court of justice in like action All
this surely may be done IN a Law Insuution-and far
ttef-more quietly and with more time than in bus
Offices where many precious hours are often lost ia
useless messages-long ~olks--tianscr bling letters
copying (not depising) declarations, pleas REPLICA.
tons &c. 30 generally the sole orkmansbip o the
master Of the Office, and very seldom that Of the
student ! confess that all this Is my mind extreme
ly plain, and has long isied of The popular and
serious error which has placed young men IN Offices
where little either oftheory Of practice is learnt This
surely l. not always the casebu It is too often such
nsmuny depending students have found and as Others
have been compelled TO confess, that they never
learned much of theory Of practice until after Ueu
came 10 tbs bar but at which time il was found very
uphill and siduous work, and sometimes not accom-
pshed even through a whole life of toll Doubtless
there many noble exceptions to The correctness of
these remarks bot still, aver il as fact, that nv
experience has never made me acquainted with any
young iacyer, who, in candid Conversation was not
willing 20 confess that his legal education had been
very hap-hazardand hat practice to any really val
liable and abiding extent IS tho last thing a student
can ever hope Tor N practising lawyers Office.
After an extensive practice Of seven and twenty
years in all Of the courts and devotion TO the inie-
rests Of a,o students, during much OF that period may
not be too much to say that practice be lost
liz Int ofiD this lnstvon and that nothing bot reehani-
cal Of legal education, unworthy e an en-
gbteped lawyer could ever patronise the init
nation, that such Institution only adopted for |
the incubation ofthe science and not Of the art of our
professionals intimaton confined, doubtless, to a
very few but which, still, is fatal to the inte
rests Of law students, and captivating 10 unin-
formed parents and guardians aud even TO the ardent
udcnt who 10 so abe to be too anxious to practice
before be has submitted 10 the tolls of Earning ho,s