The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1844-07-10
A CIRCULAR TO STUDENTS OF LAW
I'm THE UNITED STATES

IN the year 1924, under tue auspoo' "a -. =, nj |
/ sily OF MARYLAND established in the city OF par
tihofe Law School under the denomination Of INC
MARYLAND Law Institute. This establishment eoii'F
nued la successful operation nearly eleven se'ir,
ing recev. students from eispen OF the States anu
from two foreign countries. Owing 10 the pressure
~ an extensive praetce simultaneously wth the du-
Ties which the Institution involved resolved IN the
year 1886 abandon not iy the pracuee OF my e's'
and long cherished profession, but also the La" i"s'
tute; and for hea lth an ease songnt tue n'oe Ia
climates of EuroIs. Fading, al tins ume my hsa'h
perfectly restored and with II no abatement Whatever
Of my zeal and devotion TO that great science wnon
in this country of all Others needs to be n'ehoae"y
aud carefully siudied-and seeking, moreover, ihuus
trous and continued oecupaiion SO essentA 10 haPP
ness ia land that knows no dier resolved TO teesta-
blish the Law lnstnuiion-and have selected i,"t"
deiphia The place of It's location In 80 doig nave
thought that city in the Union Affords sueh various
and ample inducements for all the purposes OF me
Law Sutherland that in none can more worthy
economy be preserved, and yet with every requisite
comfort. =.
The frequent app caons made TO me from dis
lance the former OCCASION m regard TO the pato-
tars of my enterprise, induce TO anticipate similar
inquiries now--apd 10 meet all such in advance,
now address this Circular, as all that can oher IN
ex pianation and probably, all that may be requl-
site.
The Institution, dedicated alone to law studies,
and their cognate and auxiliary topics, Is spacious
and beautiful building, NJ III South Fifth street,
suitable for the accommodation of about sixty stu
dents. The rooms all suitably furnished, supplied
with an extensive law and miscellaneous library
toi precedents Of practice every conceivable and APP
proved form. Students admitted at any time
throughout the year-courses OF study, and the re-
qusile books supplied, so as exactly to neet the
wants and views Of The student, according as he may
design 10 practice his profession, cther IN the country
in of the maritime cities. The laws OF every
State in the Union in some degree dwelt upon
practice is constantly blended with heCry---but the
deep and radical OF parents, well Of students
is carefully avoided alludc to the too mo-
ton that law students to be made mere mechanical
atisansmere attorneys learning practice by roie and
jealous of b0okkrloctedge as being too theoretical -
| This mischevous error must inevitably degrade the
science and profession, and is gross mistake since
practising Attorney was ever 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 error Of putting
practice before and above theory-- is an unnatural
Inversion Of the established order of nalurean gno-
rant and sIoveny 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
ou qded upoh another which is equally false and
row, vzthat students learn the practice only in
practising iaoyer's office! On the contrary, gen
era rule, it is the very last place in which he ever
does or can learn the praciiceand this can be made
| extremely manifest What is practice distinguish
| ed from theory? Take single example-and er mo
disco Orines The theory, law point says TO the
student, if lends b his watch, and sells it,
| fuses to return it, A may bring what is called
| ton Of Trover and Conversion. Now froper
finding and conversion appropriating it to his
| own use and here, again, the student learns two
other theoretical law ponis--viz. that the find ng
now verbal fiction, not at all material, To be
prored-and secondly that the conversion by the de-
fendant to his consists in the WITHHOLD
ing the properly from the plaintiff although should
be ever so clearly proved that he in way the
property for himself for any purpose whatever but
| to Withhold 1t from the plaintiff.
| Now all this theory must be learnt and good
deal more before the practice comes-and that practice
the plaintiffs part consists Of thorough know ledge
of the forms prectdsnisand the defendants part
of the like knowledge to the formula of the pleas
rejonders &c There are, therefore, books of p,ece-
dents; these books unfold every practical proceeding
| whatever, IN every action known to the aw--pro.
gressvey from the importation of the prit to the final
return upon the execution These Jorm,ii9 of wrs
returns TO wrns-appeara neutrality-suspicious.
-continuances-Impannel of juries -lrial-ex-
| ceplions-verdict- judgmeni--as. eniian-rs of
eAecutiun-or, on the other hand, new tria--or APP
peal, Sc &c.-are all set forth in he ,preced, MS so
| that, he who knows most of preeedent knows most
| of practice but s these presidents cannot them.
selves be understood, without previous theoretical
know ledge The question: then resolve Itself into this
Cannot a law student be well grounded in all the
piecedents idto sersu who never saw a pr aciising
lawyers ofce2 And why not 2 On the contrary,
cannot be learn far more of practice by the iudl-
cous and careful study of all the formula which he
never does In practising lawyers ofice) than by
writing OF rather copying those simple and occasion
al declarations pleas &C. which the master of an Office
assigns to the sudent1 Is it not upifornIy 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 student-or, If IT does only To me-
chemically copy it Again; Who can distinguish be.
tween real suit in court and fictitious one In which
one student prepares the vrit-another the return
another The declaration some other the pea &c
until all the practical proceedings gone through
And What prevents these students making record of
the whole, and then comparing all with certified re-
cord Fl ON SOME court of justice in like action All
this surely may be done in Law Tnslltution-and far
b,uer-more quietly -and with more time than in busi
Offices where many precious hours are often lost in
useless messages-long walks-iIanscr bling letters
copying mot deuising) declarations pleas REPLICA.
tons, &c. so generally the sole workmanship o the
master of the office, and very seldom that Of the
student confess that all this is to my mind extreme
ly plain, and has long sfed me of The popular and
serious error which has placed young men IN Offices
where little either OF theory practice is learnt This
surely Is not always the case IL is too often such
asmaDy depending students have found and as others
have been compelled 10 confess, that they never
learned much of theory or of practice until after they
came TO the bar but, at which time il was found very
~ hill and arduous work and sometimes not accom-
pished even Though whole life of toll Doubtless
there many noble exceptions the correctness of
these remarks but still ! aver ii a fact that nv
experience has never made me acquainted with any
uo,ig iarryer, who, in candid conversation was not
willing 20 confess that his legal education had been
very haphszMd-and that practice 10 any really val
liable and abiding extent, the last thing a .tuden,
can hope for Il practising lawyers Office
After extensive practice Of seven and twenty
years in all of the courts and devotion To the inie-
rests Of ino students, during much Of that period may
not be TO n.afh V thai "y-- -. ".s.f DC l"e'
cal narocnes Of legal education Unworthy # an en-
lightened lawyer, could patronise even the init
nation, that such an Institution was only adopted for
the incubation of the science and of the arf of on,
profession-an iDtimation confined, doubtless 10
very few, but which, STILL is ore fatal to the in,e
rests of law students, and captivating TO unin.
formed parents and guardians and even TO the arden,
student who Is so liable 70 be too anxious 70 rncfoe