The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1864-12-30


Another curious example may be read i'm a
familiar letter Of The poet Cowpcr, who writes :-
"l did actually live three years with Mr.. Chap
man, a solicitor; that 10 10 say, scptthreC years
iu bis house but lived, that Is 10 say, spent my
duys, ia southampton row, as you may well re
meml or. There was and the future lord chan
cclIor lIhur'ow) constantly employed from morn
ing TO night in idggling and making others gigglc
instead OF studyiu" the law
Instead of placing young men intended for the .
nHr iu he office Of AN attOreny or solicitor, 10 is |
now, wc believe, almost the universal practice for |
them 10 pass year or TWO In the chambers Of a |
special plV.GiuE equity craftsman, or c1nyeyauCcr,
but it may bc made question whether any
marked impIO. gmtuthas taken place in the prac- |
usiug section of the bar-the clas, from which
thrludIuIal body must be suppIcd. Most assu-
rCuly IT'S claims tO superior ggutiity have mate
rally declined since 1901 when (as we learn
from DugdalcI, more by way of confirming an
existing state of thing, than as AN innovation, q
royal ordinance, CuuntCrsigned by Bacon, pro-
yidCd that "uuue should be admitted of an inn Of
court that is not % gentleman by descent" And
those vCrc days when the Unauthorized assump.
uDu Of name, crest, or shield, subjected the self
dubbed armgcr 90 severe penalties.
At PRESENT ono Of the most marked features Of
what is called the ghcr branch of the profession
ls It's family or blood connection with the lower
no other words, the number of harri-tcrs who are
more or less related TO attorneys. There Is
hardly az CmiucuthIm lu town or country, some
partner iu which has not a son, brother, nephew,
cousin. broihcr-in-law, or SON in.law aJ the bar
] nc ltkulL was uNlulCQ out ny MT. Juhlte 1 dl-
! iourd in one Of his most eloquent essays. No
/ rule Of etiquette, as he jdstly remarks however
| stiCr, and no feelings OF dclicncy, however nice
| and generous, can prevent men who have con-
| ueCliOns or intimate aCquain'ruCes Of this sort,
| from possessing q great advantage over their
| equals who have none. " Without industry and
| talent they could have done little; but perhaps
| with both these they might have done less, If
their early EmC had not been nurured by those
to whom their success was fyOrite object
and whose zeal afforded them at once opportunity
and stimulus which to more elevated Adventures
are wanting
This is tantamouut to saying that these moro
| elevated adveuturCrs have hourly less and less
chance of obtaining the higher prizes; and SO
have all who, before securing firm hold on the
dispensers Of briefs have acquired name in lite
nature. Tic author Of "lOn' was the leader of his
| circuit, and q sergeant, before he vcntured to
| announce himself as the author OF popular
drama; and on the first night of It's performance
the stage box was exclusively occupied by his
brethren Of the bench
There is one road to promotion, much trOdden
Of late years, which renders the bench moro
easily accessible to he higher class OF aspirants
and so Compensates in one way for the mischief
il is supposed 10 work in another. When apreier-
| CnCe Is given TO members Of parliimcnt and
party services are allowed to do duty as make
weights what is lost in technical knowledge and
! professional expert nee may be rcganed in ready
Uloqueuce, in general accomplishments, in bear
ing and in tone All these are valuable, if not
essential, requirements in Il judge, who has TO 60
circuits and try causes as well as sit in bancO aud
give judgments on points OF law. 1t is an obvious
advantage that he should leave good impress
sion on the magistrates and jurymen with whom
he is brought in close contact At the HsslLes; ana
| considerable command of language is required
| 10 enable him to expose the suplistry Of counsel,
and pave the way Tor sound verdict, by a clear
| and sound summing up Besides, when the lord
chancellor or the Government is blamed for not
| accepting public or professional opinion as a per-
emptory guide in their selections, they may be
tempted to recall some remarkable instances in
which public and professional Opin.on was nOtO-
riously at fault
1t was taken for granted, when Sir James
Scarlet became Lord Abinger and chief baron,
that be would try causes TO admiration. But
it is difficult TO conceive more perverted use
of an unparalleled combination OF peculiar
faculties. The ingTaiued habits of advocacy
were too strong for him; instead Of aiming at
truth and justice he chose o side, commonly
the weakest and the worst, as atlOrdlng more
scope for ingenuity and employed his wonderful
power of selecting and mlrshaliug facts, for the
qualification of his vanity. The very jures at
length became alive to this defect.
When Sir r. Rolfe (Lord Cranworth), an
equity lawyer, was made a baron of the eX-
chequer, it was said that he hestated before
accepting the dignity, and 1t was expected that,
from want of practice in common law and crimi-
nal trials, he would cut bad figure for a season.
| He shOue forth mt once as one Of the best niSi
p,iUS judges ever known. At his very first cir
cult, 1t was an j. teectual treat TO hear him sum
up IN a complicated cause.
When the late Lord Campbell exercised his un-
doubted prerOgatiye as lord chancellor in nam
ing Mr.. Justice Blackburn to vacant seat in the
| Queens Bench, even the bulk Of the profession
were taken by surprise, and the appointment was
| loudly denounced as piece Of Scotch nepOtism
by the most Influential portion of the press II
| was stated and we believe truly when the pro
posal was first made 90 the dgnitAry elect, he
nistook it for an offer or local judgeship, and
asked time TO consider. Mr. Justice Blackburn
despite Of some uncouthness of manner) is con-
icssedly one of the main pillars of his court.
Having now shown plausible grounds why
some dminutiOn OF social Importance, II not OF
solid worth, may have been anticipated in the
judicial body, let us see how far the pri0ri and
possibly superficial argument is in accordance
with the facts.
Without pleading guilty to any cupable super
stitien as to Numbers we own to feeling of
regret when the twelve judges of England were
increased by three; for there is little chance that
, the English public will ever acquire for the
| fifteen the same prescrptve reverence which is
, | felt by the Scotch. "a mans aye the better
| thought o. in our country" was Dandie Dim
| monts reply to Counsellor Bleydell, "tor having
| been afore the Feitteen." Besides, the supply
, | was not more than equal 10 the demand prior to
| the augmentation, which took place in 1880. The
three principal commOn-law tribunals are now
| composed as follows -
; | The Queens BcnCh.-Chef Justice CoCkbum
Puisne Judges CromptOn, Blackburn, MellOr
! The Common Pleas-Chief Justice, Erie
| Puisne Judges Vaughan, Williams, Willes
| BylCs, and Keating.
I | The Fxchequer.- Chief Baron Pollock. PuisnC
y Barous Martin, Bramwell, Channel, and Pgou
/ The Lord Chief Justice Of England, Sir Alex.
G ander Cockburn, baronet by descent and q
@ ! member of family which has furnished al
ample share Of contemporary illustrations will GER
, | tanly not he cited as a judge whose birth and
e | breeding might prove out Of keeping with his
n | rank. He was educated at Trinity Han, Cam
bridge, and took his degree in civil law-an easy
G mode of graduating, which suited his careless
/ and peasuTc. loving disposition. At college, anL