The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1844-04-03
A CIRCULAR TO STUDENTS OF LAW
IN THE UNITED STATES.


TN the year 1924, under tbs auspices ofthe Uniset-
siiy OF Maryland established m the city OF Bal
timofe Law School, under The denomination OF the
Maryland Law institute This establishment conf
nued in successful operation nearly eleven years hay
ing received students from eeren Of the States and
| from two foreign countries. Owing To the pressure
of extensive practice simultaneously with the du-
tieo which the Institution involved resolved In the
1886 10 abandon not y the practice OF my ever
and long cherished profession but also the Law losli-
tutej and for health and ease sought the more genial
climates of Europe. Finding, at this Tune my health
perfectly restored and with II abatement whatever
of my zeal and devotion to that great science which,
in this country of all others needs TO be ethodieay
and carefully sudied-and seeking, moreover, indus
trous and continued occupation 80 essential To haPPr
in land that knows idtsrs resos TO eestn-
bIish the Law lnstu,ion-and have selected Fhila-
delphia The place Of its location. In 80 soing have
thought that city in the Union affords such various
| and ample Inducements for all the purposes OF The
| Law Sutherland that In none can more worthy
economy be preserved and yet with every requisite
comfort.
The frequent applications made to me from dis
tance the former OCCASION in regard To the pdrfe-
ulays of my enterprise induce me 10 anticipate similar
| inquiries now-and, TO meet all such in advance,
now address this Circular, as all that offer IN
xpanaon, and, probably, as all that may be requi-
| site.
The Institution, dedicated alone to law studies,
and their cognate and auxiliary topics, spacious
and beautiful building, N 1T South Fifth street,
suitable for the accommodation of about sixty stu
dents. The all suitably shed, supplied
with an extensive law and miscellaneous library
With preeedeats Of practice every conceivable and APP
proved form. Studen's admitted at any time
throughout tho ycar-courscs Of study, and the re-
quisite books are supplied, exactly to meet the
wants and of The student, according he may
design to practice his profession either IN the country
or in some OF the maritime cities The laws of every
State in the Union in degree dwet upon
practice is constantly blended with heory-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 mechanical
arti,ans-mere attorneys learning practice by rote, and
jealous OF book-knoutedge, % being too heoreiicai-
| his mschievous error must inevitably degrade the
science and profession and is gross mistake since
no practising Attorney was ever good and lasting one,
who was not also deeply versed in the reasons and
theory of the law. therefore cannot acquesce in,
and never will yield to, the vulgar error Of putting
practice before and above heory-it is unnatural
Inversion of the established order of naure-nn igno-
rant and slovenly way of urging young men on TO at
tempts far beyond the powers of the human mind
for If the grounds and reasons of the science be
well known, the practice cannot be well known.
But the error, to which | 50 earnestly allude, is
founded upoh another, which is equally false and
row, vz.hat students learn the practice only in
practising a,oyers Office On the contrary as gen
eral rule, 1t is the very last place in which he
does, or can learn the pracce-and this can be made
extremely manifest. W hat is practice distinguish
| eu IRON We0fy! axe a single eAample-and tT uf0
disco onlnes. The theory, law point says to the
student, if A lends b his watch and sells it,
fuses 10 return il, may bring what is called
| ton of Trover and Conversion. Now troper means
finding, and conversion means appropratiog IL to his
| own use and here, again. the student learns two
other theoretical law poins-viz that the finding is
now verbal fiction, not at all material to be
propsd-and secondly that the conversion by the de-
tendant TO his ocn consists in the mere withhold
ing the properly from the plaintiff, although it should
| he eye eli vel Mt he in he
property for himself for any purpose whatever, but
10 withhold II from the plaintiff.
| Now all this theory must be learnt and good
deal more before the practice comesand that practice
the plaintiffs part Consists of thorough know ledge
of the forms preetdentsand the defendants part
ofthe like knowledge as TO the formula Of the pleas
reolnders &c There are, therefore books Of prece-
dents these books unfold every practical proceeding
whatever in every action known to the law--pro
gessvey from the importation of the icrif to The final
return upon the execution. These formula of writs
returns 10 OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
| acknowledgement Of jures -ria-ex-
| ceptions-veIdct-J Observation-Disclosures of
| execution-oI on the other hand, new trial-or APP
peal sc, &c.-are all set forth In the Ipreced MS so
that, he who knows most of preoedeHfs, knows most
of practice but still, these precedents cannot them
selves be unde rsiood without previous theoretical
know ledge. The question: then resolves itself into this
| Cannot a law student be well grounded in all the
pTecedents, iaio serlsu, who pr actising
| LAWYERS office And why not 7 On the contrary,
canno, be learn far more OF practice by the JUDI
cious and careful study of all the formula which he
never does ia practising lawyers oiice) than by
writing, rather copying, iho-e simple and OCCASION
al declarations pleas &c, which The of office
assigns to tho STUDENT Is it uniformly the case
that all really difficult and responsible business Of this
sort Is done by the master himself without reach
ing the eye of the studen-or II does only to me
| chanlcally copy Again: Who distinguish be.
tween real suit in court and fictitious which
one student prepares the wnt-another the return
| another the declaration some other the pea, nc
until all the practical proceedings gone through
And hat prevents these students making record of
the whole, and then comparing all with a certified
cord ION some court of justice in like action All
this surely may be done in Law lnsituton-and far
btter-more quetlyand with time tina in bust.
nes offices where many precious hours often lost 10
useless messages-long salks-transcr bing letters
copying mot depising) declarations, pleas replica
tons, &c. so generally The sole workmanship OF 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 isfed of the popular and
serious error which has placed young men IN Offices,
where % either oftheory Of practice learnt This
surely Is not always the case-but is too often such
as'many despondng students have found and as olhers
have been compelled 10 confess that they never
learned much oftbeory Of practice until aner they
ca,nf 10 the bar but at which time 1t found very
uphill and arduous work, and sometimes not accom-
pish.d even through whole life Of toll Doubtless
there are many noble exceptions lbe correctness of
these remarks but STILL | aver it as a fact that nv
e1 perience has never made me acquainted with any
young lawyer, who, in candid conversation was not
willing 20 confess that his legal education had been
very hap-hazsrd-snd that praoot any really val
liable and abiding extent, the last thing a student
can ever hope for IN practising lawyers Office
After an extensive practice Of seven and twenty
wears in all Of the courts and devotion 10 the inie-
rests Of la,o students during much Of tina, period It may
not be much to say that practice be lost
,iyht ofn this institution and that nothing but meehani
cal narro,one Of legal education unworthy e an en-
lightened lawyer could ever patronse the init