The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1859-06-08
Anecdotes Of CHIEF Justice Par
sons.


sons.
The Memoir of Chief Justice Parsons,
by his son, Theophilus Parsons, recently
published, is one Of the most entertaining
Biographies recently issued from the press.
1t abounds in anecdotes and personal re-
miniscences, from which we make the fol-
lowing selections
REMOVING GA CASE" By DEMURRER.
have very recently heard of droll
story told by my father at the table of
Governor Wentworth, in Portsmouth, at
dinner made for the court then in session,
and the bar then in attendance To make
it ineligible to my unprofossional readers
[ must premise that demurrer" is a
technical term of special pleading which
means that the party which resorts to it
dcmurs, or rests upon his law that is,
admits all the facts Of his opponent'a case
OF defense. As the lower courts have the
right TO try and determine questions of
fact, but only the righer courts can fuallg
determine questions of law--because these
determinations must be uniform for the
whole State---a kind Of factitious demur-
ror was made use Of to take the case from
lower to an upper court. That is, a
party would demur" to his opponents
case Of defence and us this raised
question Of law, the case necessarily went
up to the court that would determine the
law, and there the demurrer was waived
by agreement, and the whole case, as to
its facts as well as its law, was open anew.
This process, very common in Massachu-
sets and New Hampshire, aud, for what
know, elsewhere-waa called " taking a
case up by demurrer
My father who then praoticed ozten-
sively in New Hampshire, was laughing
at the lawyers assembled at the table,
about the utter ignorance Of pleading
which prevailed in that State. Some one
said, . But you make matters worse than
they really are; some Of US do know
something about pleading Yes" was
the answer, something; but have just
passed four days at court in Straford
county and I will tell you all [ heard
there in the way Of pleading. The crier,
Mr.. ---, whom some Of you know, was
something Of lawyer once. but fell into
dissipation aud broke down and his
friends procured for him the Office he now
holds The morning after I was there. |
went to court rather early. aud found Mr.
Crier on the floor, very drunk, SO drunk
that he couldn't step step up the stairs
| Two or three friends were about him, con.
sultinr how they should get him up with,
out compelling the Judge to notice bis CON
dition for they thought, if they coul.
once get him into his seat he could g
through his accustomed routine pretty
much as usual One and another sugges
ted this way and that and at last Mr.
| Crier who had sense enough left to SCI
the strait he was in, cried out, " Take M
up by demurrer for heavens sake, talk
me up by demurrer. Judee---doa'
kno,o enough of p1ead,0q 70 ,es tlroagl
that P"
HOW JUDGE PARSONS HELPED YoUSG Law
YERs
| have heard some anecdotes ndicatin,
that some Of the seniors were a little, o
not a little, jealous Of his kindness t.
young men. One, which comes to m
very directly, is this Mr. Elijah Fl
Mills, afterwards an eminent lawyer an,
statesmen of Northampton, was admitte
to practice as counsellor in the Suprem
Court about the same time my father b,
came Chief Justice. An old lawyer !
Hampshire county was prevented by il
ness from attending the court at Nortl
ampton and gave young ILLS his paper
with advice to employ some other counsC
to hep him through his business and /
also gave Mills a letter Of inuod1ction
my f9ther-Mills waited upon him, N
they had some chat, in the course OF whic
my father inquired particularly about h
studies, and probably saw what kind Of
man he was. Presently Mills stated th,
he proposed to employ senior counsel, an
asked some advice about it. Il thin
on the whole, said my father you ha
better employ no one. You and can {
the business about rs well as anybody
Mills had no unwillinguess to try al
everything went on we'll, with the holp
little hint here and a suggestion ther
and the term was ended Mills called
my father, the last evening, to thank hil
and say goOd-bye and while there
, prominent senior counsel game 10 ON {
! same errond Possibly he was one wi