Norfolk day book. [volume] (Norfolk and Portsmouth Va.) 1868-1880, 1869-07-03
THE DAY BOOK.
SATURDAY MORNING, July 8, 1859.
Scene i'm the Hastings Court
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PENITENTIARY.

court, Judge Olcott presiding,
for horse stealing. His Honor
having inquired Of the prisoner
if he had engaged counsel, and
after having received reply in
the negative, called upon A.
Noise, Esqr., and requested
him to defend him. Mr.. Noise,
in very respectful language ad-
dressed to his Honor, declined
doing so. Mr.. M. said that he
expressed his own sentiments,
and he believed that of every
gentleman Of the Richmond
bar, when he said that it would
afford him pleasure to comply
with any request which his
Honor might make, either in
his judicial or personal capaci-
ty, but he Mr.. M. felt himself
constrained to decline the de-
fence of the prisoner.
He would say, however,
that he would assign his rea-
sons for doing SO, and that if
his Honor decided that the rea-
sons were not satisfactory, he
would-waiving all his own
scruples-put his poor abilities
at the service of the prisoner.
Mr.. M. referred to many
jurors and others, at that mo-
ment in court, as to the fact
that no unfortunate man or Wo.
man, whether Ethiopian or
Caucasian, whether he had a
black skin or a white skin-who
had by the frailty of our nature
and temptation, been betrayed
into crime, had ever appealed
to him in vain for professional
aid, though for such service he
never expected to receive any
reward, except that reward that
the consciousness of having
done our duty never fails to
bring-t the smiles of an approx
ing conscience. But his Honor
having but recently taken his
seat, was not aware that there
is an army of professional negro
horse-thieves and burglars, who
throng this courthouse at every
term of this court, and who
make it a rule not to employ
counsel, expecting that the
court will furnish them with
legal aid, and that too, when
they have ample means to fee a
lawyer if he wanted to. In this
particular case one month had
elapsed since the commission of
the act for which the prisoner
was arrested, and yet, though
he had $45, he had failed to
procure counsel.
They say that the business
won't pay if they have to pay
what they make to lawyers.
The thing had become an in
tolerable evil. While it was
worthy of his profession that a
gentleman should occasionally
volunteer to defend some I'M
fortunate man or woman, yet
he must say, for members of
the bar to permit those people
to make convenience of them,
defending every robber or petty
thief for nothing, was undigni-
fed ard highly improper, and
while on the subject he would
go a step further-we would
say defending them for very
small fees, was not only to some
extent encouraging crime and
putting premium on dlshon-
esty, but was lowering the high
standard of the profession
These fellow we'll know that
when once a lawyer enters upon
his defence, both from motives
| Of professional pride and of
honor, he will exert himself as
much as if he had received "a
fee of $1,000. For his part he
would set his face against it,
and teach these thieves, bur-
glars and petty larceners that
the way of the transgressor is
not only hard, but very expen-
sive, and that if thay want our
services, they must pay for
them. In conclusion, Mr.. M.
said that having given his
reasons for not wishing to
comply with his honor's re-
quest, if these reasons were
not perfectly satisfactory to his
honor he would defend Howard
and do his best, which was, he
regretted to say, but little.
His honor, we please to say,
approved ofMr. Noises reasons
for refusing, and excused him
Gnr dnnlininnc tho uaru nllac-