Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1856-04-02
For the Advertiser.

Mn, EDITon will now proceed 10 show, that
lawyers instead OF being worse than other people,
stand at thsperiod, and ever have stood among the
foremost of mankind, not only for their intelligence,
wisdom and vast attainmcns, but for their probisy,
their courage, their patriotism, and for their unnn M
bered benefc,ions bestowed upon the human race.
In times Of trouble and dslnay they have been the
bulwarks Of law and order, and amidst revolution
anarchy, and confusion, they have sustained g"v-
ernmrnts tot,ering 10 their fall and they have built
up new ones out Of the wrecks and fragments Of MT
TONS. Lawyers have leen the friends and cham
p;ons of freedom, in all ages, and when that eagle
bird has taken her everlasting fight from failinsl
empire her last sad scream of dspar has rung fr'm
the Bar or the forum and rcsnunlcd from the lips
of some eloquent man Of the Inv: 49,.
Demosthenrs was Il rlcadcr of ciusrs, and he It
was, that relumed the dying enIbers Of Liberty IN
effort against Phillip worthy of the better days Of
Athcniau glory. Cicern could plead the Inv OF
Clirnts as well rs tia, Of Rome. Ey his eoquence
vigilance and fidelity, lie saved the city from COIL
Aagration, preserved for space the safety Of the
commonwealth, expired amid its decaying grandeur,
and was crushed beneath, the nob!cst fabrick ever
reared to liberty q independence on Garth. Whose
voice rolled through the nation magic spell to
rouse our fathers to arms the eve Of the revolu-
ton, animated the despairing to hope and ncrvcd the
arm Of the hero t" battle? It WIS the voice Of Il
lawyer-it was the voice Of the man who Ainginz
defiance in the face Of King George, raised ,hat war
cry which reverberated thr"ugh whole continent,
GIVE NE LIBERTY, OR GIVE NE DEATH ;'-lt was the
voice of Patrick Henry, u name become as immortal
as the country he redeemed by his clnquence. Who
wrote the Declaration Of American Independence; {;
who really conceived the sublime principles Of gov
ernnent, which, in single life time have prnduccd,
the purest, the most powerful the most happy, and
the n,ost warlike nation in the universe ?-lt was
Thomas Jefferson, lawyer. Who almost, made
the constitution of the United States? 1t was James
Madison lawyer. hosto"d by Washington firm
alike in BATTLE and in bvouac, and guided his great
counses through the most pericus crisis Of our in
FAINT Republic? twas Alexander Hamiltona Law
yer Jackson, the patriot, the sol der and Statesman
was a lawyer. Calhoun was lawyer, and so was
Clay, and Webster, and Otis and Lowndes.-
Nearly all our Presidents have been lawyers All
our Judges, of course, have been lawyers, and
lawyers have delivered to US such system Of
frea government as never before commanded the
admiration Of the world. In fine, the men Of the
legal profession have been the parents and conscrva-
lvcs, of law and OF liberty and Of government in
all times and among all people who have attracted
the attention Of mankind.
Let us suppose for moment, that the whole corps
of Judges, us well of the several States as o! the
United S,a,cs, should c"ase to be. and that their
Offices, and functions s'ould be totally abolished.
What scencc of siut and disorder. would the coun
try som present Lawlcssness, crime and murder,
would stalk unrebuked through the Lind. All the
ceious, and maeyoent passions Of mans nature
would gain the ascendant peculAtion unsusained lust
midnight massacre and high way robbery, would
satate themselves, on a that is enterprsing, fair
and innocent, and lovely and b,seeming on the most
blessed portion Of the globe; and the pure, the weak
the helpless the no!ttnsive, and the unressting,
would perish in one common grave, by the rude
encounter Of brutal violence, and physical might.
Any sane man; must see, that the chief end Of gov
crnu,en, is tu protect society hy the establishment
i and CONSERVATION 81 idw and 6fdrf, by dispensing
justice to tgants, by sitting the disputes Of parties,
by presenting aud furnishing nIisdcme;lnors and
cr m", and by defending the pracable against the
worthless attacks Of their over''c!rng, powerful, and
vindct;ve neighbours. To thus carry on the admin
islratn of justice, we are called upon 10 pay the
largest port OH Of our taxes, courts are Instituted
and ordained, and judges elected To preside there
in. Why, the judicial tribunals Of the country is
the only power, that can intcrpnsc against the n-
v;lson of most sacred CONSTITUTIONAL and political
aud social rights, by rlb;d, reckless and senserss
legislation. They alone, are the true expounders.
and Interpreters, law, and the surcst, aud most
stenlfast champions and defenders Of the great char
ter Of our liberties. The Judges in all ages: have
formed the last as well as irn.st and nnb!est RAM
pats, behind which the friends Of civil liberty have
rallied, to make Their orations, to their country its
independence and its most cherished institutions.
Their p"wcr is less imposing and terrific than that
Of the military but it is of infinitely more utility and
it is absolutely indispensable to free people. 1t is
impns ible then, either f'r government Or for IN
organized sneiety To exist without Judges, aud it is
equally impossible TO obtain competent Iudg's from
any other profession than that Of The law Lawyers,
therefore are rs necessary to the pel-bcins of
state, us farmers mechanics. merchants, sudiers. or
any other class Of the peopc-nh none but fools or
or knaves would be willing to dispense with them in
a Republic constituted like ours. But lawyers are
necessity from our state Of society," and from the
conflicting pursuits and Occupations and various
tempers Of men assembled together in one communi-
ty. We will imagine that all lawyers banishod
the realm or as many miserly or Disappointed
igant would have it pui To death. Would there
furc the passions of men, be changed, and their
evil prop"nses and dispositions be banished too or
eradica,ed from the mind and heart! Would dis
putes, and strife, and contention al,o cease among
millennium therefore appear, and woull man there
ure at once By perfected in the image and likeness
of his God? Oh no! We have yet to see even the
approaching shadow Of millennial Glory: the devil
still roars like lion aud seeks in every corner of
the castle for lbs trembling victims, the fures Of
He'll still rage in the human breast and man stamp
ed with original sin, still strives for the overthrow
and de:trrcton Of his fellnwmin. In our present
State there, hough lawyers might, for while cease
to plcal causes, yet causes Of difference and conflict