Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1855-11-26
DAILY VIRGlNIAN.
Broughan and Lyndhuint

The following article formed leader in the
Liverpool European Times of March 3lsi
"Wc read with mingled feelings Of pleasure
and Of pain the speech which Lord Brougham
made in the House of Peers fow evenings back
when he threw out variety of suggestions for
the Improvement of our criminal law-left them.
as he said, legaoy 10 his country. for the feeble
mesa of age was oyertaking him. and he found
that the close of his career was fast approaching.
During the last few years the services which
this eminent mnn has rendered to society by his
legal reforms cannot be overrated, Those years
If not the most brilliant, have been the most use-
ful portion of his active aud energetic life. le
has been insirumentalin simplif, ing and cheap
oning our legal forms, md has taken the honest
debtor and the struggling creditor out of tho
hands of those hnIpes of the legal prot' ssion
who previously fnttened on the misfortuncs OF
the needy. The simple aud rcady action of the
new County Courts hns been almost entirely tho
work of Lord lbougham, aud in this last mourn.
tnl speech to which wa refer there are large
thoughts nnd capital suggestions thrown out,
which mnleus additionally regret that n man of
his powers and patriotism should feel the decay
of that physical strength which incapactates him
from perfecting the great schemes of legal puri-
toaton which he has conceived. His nusion
to the late Lord Denham was most touching, for
il seemed to Indicate Lord Broughnm's own con
vction thai the time was not distant when he
himself would he carried TO the house of all clay
"a kind of leave taking of the world, the end of
public career which commenced before many
middle aged persons now living were born
The versatility of this gifted man has been the
admiration of his contemporaries. aud the ener-
~ Of his character has been at lenst ona par
with tho variety of his attanments. II was in the
nature of things that n great mind like Lord
Brougham's should largely influence the spirit of
his ngc. No man living has done so much to ex-
tend popular education, electoral reform, the inn
provomcnt of tho law, und the advancement of
liberal opinions. He has his defects. bni il we
eslimnie the services which he has rendered TO
society, his drawbacks seem iniinitcssimnl, his
labors and his achievements in the great work of
notonnl ndvoncemont, prodgous. Even now,
vergng closely on eighty lyears the clcnrness OF
his intellect, ns exhibited in his last speech, Is
extraordinary. The public recently were struck
with the mental vigor which Lord Lyndhurst an
other law lord brought to the delivery Of speech
u tho House of Peers relative tn tho present po-
iton of Prussa.-so clear. So forcible, aud mas
erly, cyhhting.ns some one very properly snid,
he precision ol,he judge with the nrt of the nc
ompli,hed orator. The last named noblemnn Is
lightly tho senior of Lord Boughamund never in
is most pany days did Lord Lyndhurst display
,iner powers of mind than in the great effort
which ho made the other evening for the pur-
.bose of showing the insnceriy, the vacillation.
nd weakness Of the Court oi Berlin. II is graf,
tying to see these distinguished men, at this
ime Of life, in the full possession Of their facu
ios; but as regards the greatest of them, tho
| leasuro Is aloyed by the reflection that his
ountrY and mankind are on the eve of losing tai
nts of u commanding kind. and which, with
cw slight exceptions. have been exercised for
ne welfare of the whole human family--a man
! 'ho is credit to his country and his age.