Whig and tribune. [volume] (Jackson, Tenn.) 1870-1877, 1873-06-21

decalOgue for lawyers, any more
than for hing, partiZan or beadle.-
IL = forbidden by the law enacted J
by Jehovah himself. written by his
hsiy prophet upon tablsts OF cndu-
ring stone. published amid the thun-
derings Of Mt. Sinai. declaring that
'-thOu shalt not bear false witness
against thy HeiShbOr."
You must not understand ae that
YOU are 10 be governed By strained.
over-righteOus morality, or a rose
water cOnscientiousness, ia the man
a=emcnt OF your clients cause.-
YoH are not TO be the keeper OF his
conscience, nor are yOH TO be his
Judge The Office of an adv0aate j.
essentially different. As the law
does not propose % enforce or 10
protect, purely ethical rights, your
business is only 10 sec that his legal
rights arc asserted and secured
Unless il should be in one OF those
rare cases which scarcely ever Oc-
cars. ths; owing to peculiar circum-
stances, the enforcement OF the law
in the given case, would be so man
ifestiy wrong and unjust, that IL
would be shocking 10 the neral
sense: then YOU should cudeavOr 10
dissuade your client from insisting
Oh d.. and il he still persists, YOU
should dissolve yOur relations with
him, but at the same time, under no
circumstances. should you ever re-
veal 20 any one your reasons for do
/ ing 20; for however much you may
! tdisSpprove his cause, YOU are in
thonor bound not 10 betray him.
I Honor and fidelity in all yOur deal
! ings with your client. aud in ell
your intercourse with your brother
/ lawyers, is imperiOusly demanded
BY the public sentiment OF the pro
fession. There is no profession, IN
wh;ch good faith, and strict COM
| Plianoc with all agreements ADD una
dertakings with each other, is more
necessary than in ours. IL not an
frequently happens that Weare COM
PEELED to cORfide in the honor and
integrity Of each other, in matters
of the greatest importance 20 our
selves and our clienls-and IL law
yer once knowingly and PurpOsely
breaks his faith, he deserves, and is
certain To receive, the cxecration
and contempt Of his brothers. tits
sincerely TO be hoped hat the pro-
fession will retain this elevated
standard of morals, and not become
tainted with that general spirit Of
infidelity which unfortunately seems
TO he permeating the whole body
polite. OF Course [ 10 not refer to
that infidelity "that disputes the
ritual, OF shakes the rails around
the chancel." hut that diaOyalty 10
truth, honor. aud integrity, in the
performance OF obligations, both
public and private; that fnds Je-
suitical excuse, whenever the breach
results in emoiument. That infidel-
ity, which bows down every day ia
the week TO worship the golden
calf, no matter what the Sunday SER
vices were. The MOdoc Indian, A.
flame in the mountains, or the Cam
mancho roaming the tara cdlieRtac,
recks little Of the Athanasian creed,
the thirty-nine Articles, or the syn
cd of bort. but he knows full well
when treaty Is violated and a guar
anty is broken. lie may not appre-
/ ciatc the metaphysical refinement
which iustifies the subjective pro-
cess of determination, for the objec-
tive consideration Of acquiring his
home, and his hunting grounds, for
the demands OF civilization. While
be stands gazing upon the ashes of
his wigwam, when . holocaust has
] been made of the dead bodies of his
wife aud his children, he NAV not
understand that killing is no mur-
| der. because IL was done with the
I weapons used in civilized warfare;
but he knows fun well that when he
obeys the savage instincts Of his
savage nature, and demands zn eve
for an eve, and tooth for tooth,
that he Is hunted ike a wolf from
rock To rock, aud from cave 10 cave,
| in the subterranean reccsscs Of the
Lava Beds. lie may net under
stand the higher branches OF mathe-
matics, particularly the exalted the
oTy OF functions, but he knows the
proportion between fifty-three and
/ forty millions, aud that in a contest
with the millions, the fifty-thTee
must resort TO strategy, and irregu-
4 lar warfare. Ehe nOrHrsUft patTt-
| arch, surrounded by his hOcks and
his wives, smiles at the morality that
denounces poligamy, and elevates 3
shareholder in the Credit Ae6tlier
! TO the second highest Office in the
government The japanese, who
commits hCrTi-c0rTi when ne is un-
able to pay his debts. is astOnished
that SO many citizens of the Great
1 Republic survive defalcation. II is
l getting to be a debatcable question
| whether the humorist was altOgeth-
er right, VITO said, lit was fortu-
nate thing for our race, that Europe
| discovered America before Ameri-
ca discovered Europe. and set the
tide Of emigration the other way"
/ And now, in conclusion, my young
brothers, having said much 10 dis
courage You, permit me TO say that
| il is only the weak and faint-hearted
/ who fail in the end. The eXcep-
| tions are so rare that IL may truly
| be said that no lawyer who ever
| merited success, has failed 10 attain
/ IL. Ii is not the most learned and
intellectual, nor the most brilliant
men that succeed as lawyers, for q
man NAV have all these qualities and
! IL he does not possess that persist
| ent determination and resOlute pur-
4 pose which encounters difficulties
| only 10 overcome them, coupled
with sincere love for the profess
I
attain its honOrs, he will never
achieve any thing more than bar
rem lnediOcritv. You have before
YOU the most noble examples drawn
from the whole history of our race
TO stimulate your ambition. No
| profession has furnished more elo-
quent orators, more profound phi
losoBhers, or more learned histOri-
ans than ours. None has done so
much 10 secure and defend the
rights of man in al ages and III all
| countries, and few so much 10 pro-
mote and develope his civilization.
I Since the day-s Of Joseph OF Arima-
thea. a lawyer who, alone, OF all men
! Of Judea, dared 10 brave the frenzy
Of the mob who crucifed the Savior
of mankind and demanded his body
for decent burial and OF Gamaliel
another lawyer. who stayed the
hand OF persecution aud saved the
lives Of two OF the Holy Apostles
, from tnartvrdom and death, law
! vers have been the bravest and the
I abiest defenders of the injured and
! the innocent. Ii was > LAWYER who,
ia the language OF Livyy poured
! forth elOQuence unequaled by hu-
/ man voice" in defense Of the people
against tho imperialism OF Cesar
Ii was a lawyer who FIRST declared
that Magma Charter was no conces'
sion from the Kings of England
bur the inAlienable and indefeasib blt
right of the people OF England
! Which even its emnipotent Parlia
ment could not take from them. II
. was a lawyer who first proposed
and framed the Petition Of Rights
the Constitution Of AuglicaH liber
u. 1t was lawyer who, in 1865, il
, an obscure village in the State o