The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1844-02-02

| IN THE UNITED STATES
TN the year i24 under the auspices OF the OnIvef-
i SHY Of Maryland, established in the city OF Bal
| tmore Law School under The denomination OF the
MaTylsnd Law Institute. This establishment cont
nusd in successful operation nearly Glove" years ha'
ing receiy. students from eierea OF she STATES, ana
| from Two ioreigo countries Owing 10 Tue pressure
OF an ,ensise practice simultaneously with the du-
ties which the lns,tuiion involved, resolved, IN the
year 1886 abandon not lily the practice OF my ever
and long cherished lsoisss'on but also the La" ins,
Iute aud, Tor health and sought the more genial
climates Of Europe. Finding, at this time my health
perfectly restored. and with abatement whatever
Of my zeal and devotion to that grsat science, winch
Ia this county OF all Others needs 20 be efhoiieoy
and carefully sutherland seeking, moreover, indus
tous and continued occupation essential to happi-
ia land that knows difrs resos ed 10 eesta-
bIish the Law Instuuion--and have selected l'ha-
dsihia The place OF It's location. ~ so DONG have
thought that city in the Union affords such various
| aud ample Inducements for all the purposss OF the
Law Sutherland that in more worthy
economy be preserved and yet with every requisite
comfort.
The frequent app icalions made TO from dis
iance, the former oceasion in regard TO the paiic
uins Of my enterprise induce me To anticipate similar
| inquiries now--and, 10 meet all such in advance,
now address this Circular, all that offer in
explanation, and, probably, as all tina. may be requi-
| site.
| The Institution, dedicated alone to law studies,
and their cognae and auxiliary topics, rs a spacious
aud beautiful building, N. ~ South Fifth street,
suit BILE for the accommodation of about sixty stu
dents The all suitably turn shed, supplied
with an extensive law and miscellaneous library
ic pecedents Of practice every conceivable and APP
| proved frn. Studen's admitted at any time
throughout The yeaI-courses Of study, and the
quisite books are supplied as exactly TO meet the
wants and views 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 some degree dwet upon
practice is constantly blended with Meory---but the
deep and radical error OF pnens well Of stdes
is carefully AVOIDED alIudc the too erroneous no
ton that law students are 10 be made mechanical
ortisdsmere attorneys, learning practice by rote and
jealous of book acknowledge, being too theoretical
This nischievous error must inevitably degrade the
science and profession, and is grOss mistake since
no practising attorney was ever Cd and lasting me-
who was not also deeply veIsed 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 theory-it is an unnatural
inrersion Of the established der of naure-an igno-
ran, and slovenly way of urging young 10 at
tempts far beyond the powers of the human II ind
for, if The grounds and of the science be not
well known, the practice cannot be well known.
But the error to which ! earnestly alude, is
fouaded upol another which equally false and mar.
row. vzthnt students can learn the practice only in
practising lawyers office! On the conlr.ry as gen
cra rule, it is The very last place in which he
does or can learn the prac,iceand this be made
extremely manifest What is practice distinguish
| ed from theory? Take single example-and tr uno
disee onines. The theory or law point says To the
student, if lends his watch and sells il, or re-
fuses to return it, A may bring what is called an ac-
ton of Trover and Conversion. Now froper means
finding, and conversion means apprpriating il to his
| own use; and here, again, the student learns two
other theoretical law poinls-vz. that the find, ng is
now mereverbal fiction, not at all material or 10 be
prored-and secondly, that the conversion by the de-
PENDANT TO his 0,rl use consists in the WITHHOLD
ing the properly from the plaintiff although should
be ever so clearly proved that be in way the
property for himself for any purpose whatever but
| TO withhold II from the plaintiff.
Now all this theory must be learnt and a good
deal more before epraetice comes-and that practice
on the plaintiff part ,con lists of a thorough knowedg
OF The forms or pectdns-and, the defendant part
oiihe like knowledge TO the Jor1nuie of the pleas
rejonders, &c. There are therefore books of pyece-
dents these books unfold every practical preceding
whatever, IN every action known 10 the law-pro
gresslvcly from The impe ration of the icf to the final
return upn The erechion. These torm,g of wr,s
returns TO wriis-appearar ces-bail-impailan
-contnuanoes-mpanneli of iuIies -tral-ex-
cepions-verdict- iudgment-ex cu,ion-return of
eXecution-or, on The other hand new trial-or ap-
peal &c, &c.-are all set forth in the ipreeed MIS- so
that, he who knows most of preoedents knows most
of practice but STILL these rrecedents cannot them
selves be understood, without previous theoretical
Wedge The question, then resolves Itself into this
Cannot law student be well grounded n all the
pieceden,s aio sensu who never saw a or actising
lawyers oficel And why not 2 On the contrary
cannot he learn far more OF practice by the iud-
cous and careful study of all the formula which he
never does in practising lawyers ofce) than by
writing oI rather copying those simple and occasion.
al decisrst ons pleas &C. which he master cfa office
assigns 10 the sudentl f. IL not uniformly the Sc
that oil really difficult and responsible business of this
is done by the master himself without ever reach.
ing the eye of the siudent-or, If II does only TO me
cbanicolly copy Il Again: Who can distinguish be.
tween real suit IN court and fictitious one In which
| one student prepares the vnt-aniher the return
another he decaraiiIn- some other the u ca &c
until all the practical proceedings are gone I'M ouph
| And hat prevents these students making record of
the whole and then comparing all with c, r,ified re-
cord Fl ON some court of justice in like action All
this surely may be done a Law InslItution-and far
b ter-more quiet, and with more time than in busi.
ness offices where many precious hours are often lost r
| useless mcssaq es-long waks-iianscr bling l,ters-
copying (not derising) declarations pleas replica.
tons, SC generally the sole workma nship OF the
master Of the Office, and very seldom that of the
student confess that thisis TO my mind extreme.
Nv plain and has hing is6ed me Of The popular nd
serious which has placed young men IN Offices
where little either otheory is learnt This
surely Is not always the case but IL is too often such
as'msny dponding students have found and as Others
/ have been compelled TO confess, that they never
learned much oftheory Of practice until after thew
came 10 The bar but at which time il wnf found yery
| up hill and arduous work, and sometimes not accom-
piished even Though whole life of toll Doubtless
there many noble exceptions TO the correctness of
these remarks bot still aver it fact, that my
| experience has never made me acquainted with any
yourg iairgcr, who, IN candid conversation was not
willing 20 confess that his legal education had been
very haphazlrd-aud hat practice, to any really val
liable and abiding extent the last thing student
can ever hope Tor IN practising lawyers Office
After an extensive practice Of seven and twenty
wears in all Of the courts and devotion To the infe-
rests Of lac students, during much of that period may
not be much to say that practice never be lost
light ofn this Insu,n AMI that nothing but ecl,ii-
cal nalro,cnts Of legal education unworthy e an en-
ligh,ened lawyef could palrouse even the init
nation that such an Institution was only adopted for
the inc ucaon OF the science and not Of the ai of our