The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1850-10-30
small Lawyers.

II has been often remarked that there Is no class oil
men in society whose influence is mischevous and SO
annoying that of busy set OF pests called small av
yers" Those men forever in trouble themselves,
and striving to involve others in the predicament
They always wise in their own concet" and are
constantly discovering and exposing the ignorance the
dishonesty OF others Governments constantly COM
hitting plumbers, courts falling into errors, private citizens
perperatng frauds, and rogues being transformed into
the most worthy and injured Of These small
lawyers are always particularly benevolent and kind
hearted they ready to undertake anybodys cause,
good or bad, just or unjust. They are omnipoent in
OF obsolete claims, old Wills lost Deeds breach OF
promise of marriage, black mail &C.; and whenever
man with little property can be entangled with some
adrot rogue who has nothing but his wit and Of
honesty-in such these they wonderful dis
pensers Of justice.
Should they by accident become members Of any legs
ative body, they TO work Immediately to amend and
tinker up the laws. Should they unfortunately become
Judges they always understand the far better than
the counsel engaged in them, and ultimately decide
them point which nobody else saw, or
would have been able to see, who comprehended the
question in reality presented.
"They and divide
hair twixt north and northwest side"
perfectly always ready to take the work off
their neighbours hands, and perform it themselves in their
fashion As lawyers however qualified to grapple
with the knoy points Of intricate cases. they utterly
unfit and when such cases fall under their charge in
variably employ able counsel pilot them out OF
the difficulties Their unassised opinions they soon
discover themselves not TO be worth brass button.
These remarks. descriptive Of class Of men who act
RI inf hoa If he
especially about large Cities have been suggested by
the consideration that they exerting most fatal
influence the concerns Of the country tits singu-
circumstance that very great number OF these small
lawyers belong the abolition societies. and also to the
free -soilers, native. Americans, anti asons SC, &C.
These are the profound iurists who have discover
ed the "abominable, unconstitutional" character OF
the fugitve.slave law. They have, by chance, read
in the books that there such legal writs as
thar Of habeas corpus. and such bulwarks Of liberty
that OF trial by jury; and without knowing the
meaning OF the one, or the origin and true nature OF
the other they instantly catch the fact that neither is
given 10 the runaway negro in the State where he is
found and therefore the law is most infamous breach
Of all the "subme guarantees Of freedom" II they un.
destood what the end and object OF The writ OF habeas
corpus they would know that il FIVE hundred such wrts
ssueu tney COulu feicdsc Tue
custody OF his master. The constitution and Supreme
Court Of the United States have said in the most
phatc terms. writ OF habeas corpus is TO discharge
from an illegal and not lawful custody. The trial by
jury too never was allowed in the preliminary stages Of
any case il is only when the final Of righis made
up that il can be claimed The preliminary steps are on,
taken to bring the whole TO this point The ar
rest or seizure OF the person is in the Of fugitive
n ILL Il
only one step the process Of bringing As party 10 trial
not in fact trying him al ALL That can only be done in
the State from which he fed How plain and simple is this
question to those who understand its bearing One
could hardly believe that these small abolition law
yers could obscure or misunderstood il and yet they
doing daily and by their shallow. crude notons not
only commit the papable blunders themselves, but
lead many Ignorant well-dsposed persons astray How
is this wreched state Of things to be remedied We
very much wish we could answer this question satsfac
orily but we The only hope is, that the opin
ions OF able judges and enlightened lawyers will Ultimate
" correct the evils occasoned by the qubs and quks
Of that batch OF little lawyers to whom we have
alluded.
The "higher.law doctrine, too. springs from the same
cause The shallow and narrow minded bigots who
have proclaimed il are incompetent to take in at
glance the wn0le system OF our ey cannot
penetrate TO the fundamental principles they "sck in
the bark !" and, belonging TO that breed OF lawyers de-
scrbed by Burke, they leap over the difficulty BY appeal
ing TO "higher law" 10 rescue them from state OF
doubt and darkness which the farhng candle OF their
own understanding neither dispel illuminate Such
philosopher and lawyer is Mr. Senator Seward Glib
Of ,ongue-ready TO display all that he knowsgrea,est
in little things, and least in great ones-he is fit
ponent Of that school Originality, breadth Of thought
strength Of reason, he never did and never can exhibit
He has them not. He has no wisdom above charla-
aa-no craftsmanship above demagogue- solid le-
gal requirements beyond yro. He is a small lawyer
the very prince Of pettifogges.
The southern ultra school has also sort OF higher law
platform OF its own, which elevates itself by nuiifying
everything that does not exactly conform its principles
Some OF the leaders Of this clique belong the same class
of small lawyers a. those have been describing, OF
whom Mr. Seward is no bad peponi6cation. They read
the constitution and laws with microscopic eyes, and thus
bring TO light some wonderful blots and blemshes which
the obtuse visions Of jefferson and Madison OBJ
served II the Supreme Court and Congress will only
condescend to take few lessons from these mighty con-
suiiona expounders. shall soon be rid Of all trouble
and present TO the admiration OF the world spectacle
Of which Lilliput alone furnishes an examplei
The Alexandria Gazette halls the signs in the North
indicative of the triumph of the laws constitution and