New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1846-08-28
Legal Reform and the Legal Profession.

Your correspondent at Albany, who reports the
doings of the state Convention seems to be acriated by
feeling of tit,er hostility 70 the whole Legal Pro
fession and the publication Of his communication.
your paper without note or comment looks very much
t. if you endorsed his opinions In those conmunics-
tons the whole Profession with scarcely exception.
are held up as opponents of Reform and ststsacs are
collected and arranged in such way bring odaIn
upon them Permit to sag, that The subject Of Coz
sututonal Reform has mad friends constant and
sincere than large majority Of the Legal Profession
and bu, 70. the fact that thorough and radical reform
Of our Judiciary System lei. Of them 20 De nece
sary and desirable feel confident that no sueh Con
vent;on would have been called for years 70 come
Profession were fret In TIE field in faTor OF lH,7 80
and know that the a5lest ad-oca'es 10! - si.,.
III ,S es If all reform N JUDICIAL system
The truth /. Mr.. Editor mat me :loesS.o. - 80
most sensibly TOO the erlls Of our pfeSsn' - 80;
no class Of rer in the community nave !aooie VI "
49, 80 49,, cs-nestIr for Reform which VIII secure
.ase cheap and speedy Administration OF justice.
The profession very pnjusty labor under me odi
nm ~ ,ec.iving large Bills OF Costs, and OF delaying
oceednys for the sake Of such costs Now Sir lei II
ne horne IN mind that Judges Clerks Snerit Mas.
,crs and Examiners in Chancery, and whole most OF
hungry officials. all! 70 great extent supported ~
INC ga Profes sioHand that the amount thus eEpeno'
ed for their support is included in the Bills OF Cost
Take from the lawyers bills the amount thus PAID oE
paid 10 the Profession unless their services we're meas
ured By their mere physical rather than by their intel
sno,y ,ba, there are some Old Eunkera in the
Profession az we'll in polircs-men VINO profess 10
be Cseruqire and opposed 10 ali change But Tor
tunately they few, and unable 70 prevent the
contamination much desred--a simple sslc'
speedy Administration Of Justice u.
Reply the Adore
We have dozen times combated such misap-
prebensons and repealed such charges as the fore
going. bat all, itseems in vain. Our correspondent
has repeatedly nay constantly. borne testimony TO
the ability zeal and fidelity with which several
LAWYERS in the Convention well as in getting
up the Convention and at all times, have laoored
and struggled for q thorough Legal Reform We
know no better Law Reiormers any where than are
TO be found among Lawyers IN that Convention
And We know, too that the great body OF the Pro
fession favor so,ne sort Of Legal Reform
At the same time, Condor compels Us to say that
we do not believe the Legal Profession as body
favorable TO so thorough Reform As we deem es-
sentjal nor do we believe that all the needed Re
forms would be consunmated If the whole matter
were left to the action Of the Bar Just look at the
matter in the light OF Reason and Common Sense
Here is a man who has gwen five to twenty five OF
the best years OF his life TO master the infinite
abstrusities subtctes anomalies and perplexitles
OF the Common Law and cur Legal Practice under
it HI has starved through his long apprentice
ship and is just beginning to reap rich reward
/ His business and income are good and increas
Ing. But now proposition is made TO abolish all
the quirks and qups which he has learned at such
vast expense aud employ instead the simple rules
o. ,I, n.it- en-,
understand lis this man supposing him neither
better nor than men in general, likely 10 take
leading part in efiecting such Reform!
Take an Illustration from our own experience.
Here is the Magnetic Telegraph wonderful in
ven,ion which promises to revolutionize the trans
mission OF intelligence the interchange OF ideas
1t will doubtless prove ultimately great blessing
to mankind But to us rs publishers OF City
journal it is positive damage, imposing on us eX
ira expenses and iorestaing us TO some extent III
the transmission of news. Now, while we have
never laid one straw in the way OF that marvellous
discovery, we certainly have not watched, chron
icled and endeavorcd to aid its progress with that
lively interest we should probably have evinced
had its success seemed calculated to promote rath-
err than impair our personal interests. Now make
much allowance as you think just for the purer
philanthropy and greater freedom from seliishness
of the Legal Profession and is it not still evident
that like influences will produce like effects even
with them
Be reasonable and we cannot differ Here Is
man with family dependent on his exertions who
must $500 to $4,000 per snnum TO meet the III.
cessant demands upon his purse, and who does earn
the requisite amount by law, and knows not how he
could earn fourth of it in any other way. Up
starts Reormer or squad Of such and says, can
show YOU how Justice might DC done for fitch
part of the present cost, and with not one-tenth
the present delay We have only to sweep away
all this rubbish Of legal ictions and irrational for
'mulas special pleadngs, demurrers indictments
which charge every thing and indicate nothing.
and arbitrary rulings which scarcely any body can
find or ii found, understandable You think the
practicing lawyers. class, would be the 1irs TO
welcome such Reform and urge its adoption? II
they would, they must be great deal nobler and
better than any other class OF men Certainly. Re
forms in Religion, Medicine any thing else have
been so enforced and perfected We repeat then,
! that do not reflect on LAWYERS nor seek TO COW
er them with odium whenwe intimate that on ques
tIOAs Vi We tnut tic
Judgment Of the Bar nor that OF the Legal Members
OF the Convention shall be accepted as conclusive
We believe it quite practicable that thoroughly
honest men-such know Mr. Simmons and
believe others who think and act with him TO be
may be impeNed to take wrong course by infu-
ences not fully understood by themselves though
quite iuteigible to others who do their own
thinking Ed TrIj.
- The ExpyesS asks who have been more
.taithtulto the Wing party than the New-York
Wings" We do think this question comes with q
bad grace from paper which opposed the Wing
ticket in the Spring Of lS44 and aided in inducing
thousands to be unfaithtul to the Wing party, by
voting the entire Native ticket But nobody cues
rinns The fidelity of the crest mass Of the MMgs