The Ottawa free trader., 1876-12-23
THE LAW!
a very Remarkable Trial!

that Emmett is dead, buthc amt, as VIII DC seen
why 500" said Portet, leaning his head on his
hands and splitting tobabco juice on the Stove Us
he thought of the glories Of the afternoon
"Oh, becaus"." replied Emmett, III he hasht
, he'll aAuse ii, wife and the whole oil her SEX
and sl,., .. our client is q woman, all I'LL be TO
; pay"
"Oh." said all, "pray the good gods that lie
has"
The above hopeful conversation took place in the
office Of Mason, Chi. OF Supreme Court OF :. Ot-
) tawa. And they were four, the plaintiff, Mrs,
Badry and her counsel the well known firm OF
J Emmett s, O'Connor, Portrt IL Rede, who sat on
the three legged stools OF the office, waiting
with anxious hearts and thoughtful mien the
} coming of the Oh. Justice, and the defendant
with his counsel. There was lawsuit coming
on, as may be inferred, Il great suit-a suit that
will be famous in the books and "red chip" in
the annals Of the South side Jurisprudence
suit discounting in celebrity and in value, rs
authority, the suits Of Noaks u.s. Stoaks, or Bull
lum rs Boatum, or any of the now famous causes.
The amount in dispute was not large-only IL
bts-but the principles that underlie all law and
equity were at stake-the question whether civ
ilizaton should 90 backward or press on to great
er glory-whether we should in the future wear
rubber boots or travel with wet feet. Such and
no less were the questions involved in the case
of Badry rs Porkbec,n, and all South Ottawa
awaited the verdict with fear and trembling.
And while they waited, the galleries of the
) court room filled with spectators-all the old
roOsters in the village, and some young ones,
too crowded to the front seats to see the plain
tiff and bid her. "give it to him, old gal" At
last the Judge stalked in, wiped his nose on his
coat.slecve, and orders the boy: Gully, stir up
the fire, and move the spit box toward Portet-
don't want to buy rubber boots today" BY
this time Porkbeem had arrived, counsel pro Sc,
assisted by the celebrated firm Of Gergg N Diel-
san.
} "Badry rs Porkheem,n said Gully, reading the
docket
Here, for the plaintif,n said Emmett.
81 appear for the defendant" said T.
"Open the case" said the Judge.
i Then up rose the "OConnor," counsel for the
plaintiff, who stated that She the plaintiff sued
for wages, she having lived in the family Of the
defendant in the capacity Of servant to the ex-
!. tent of the aforesaid S..311l. Counsel tor the
Honor, in support Of his notion Sec. ), ch. GS, K.
s. 1874, proIdng that the husband shall not be
liable for the debts of his wife contracted before
marriage. The Judge did not say he didn't give
a continental for the L. S." but he overruled the
, motion, and the cause proceeded to trial. EN-.
, nett O'ConnCr stated the case for the plaintiff,
about as follows, of course We cannot give the
ipSjSsiH,a ,yrJa: "The Common Law" he said,
"from the foundation Of the word to the present
time, notwithstanding numerous amendments
: and changes, has always had clause in it, in
red letters, providing that a man should pay his
hired girl: and no government can stand with
out such clause in its constitution. Look at
history. Rome fell when she beat her hired
girls out Of their wages. What was it Cicero
said 'Quo,SQgc taHGcn ohpste@tre nos'a oudaca,
,2ll}rWGYFn
lie paused for reply. Tie Court nodded cheer.
fully as much as to saY-"give 'em 'en;" while
the defendant made grab for the "Unabrdged'
and the Adventures of Blue Dick, the Pecler."
"Or if you will" said our orator, "look al
Glanvil, at this from the 18th vol he jGcct abGHjs
sataaam. Such has always been the practice at
common law both in Utica and in this country,
tremendous importance, and the life of this ma
ton is at stake, for what does the immortal Ba-
con say: cci eidj, cis, tcc ct ccrSd, which being
intcrpre eted-for the benefit Of the defendant
means-"make him pay up, or put head Oh him,
and il serves him right Bully"
Portct for the defendant, said his collegue had
so fully gone over the ground that he haa but
one suggestion to make and that was that hired
girls must get their ducas or the country goes
to eternal smash. As says Fleta, page l549, 1st
Ed, We Attd g;rluS ia cd,Na cat Patyocn'aa
i praestitel,nt testimoHum dicant"
"Oh, pull down your yest," said Porkbeem.
Rede, for the plaintiff, merely wished to quote
few fo?cible sentences from Justinian and
Lycurgus on the hired girl question, but the
Judge told him to wipe OF his moustache and give
him rest.
Porkbeem, for the defense, offered to set of
IS cents for extra gate iXings and things pur..
chased by him in order to be prepared in case
the hired girls bcaux should call around and
swing the gate oil the hinges. Motion ovcrruled
A whispered consultation then took place
among the defence rs 70 what course TO pursue.
"Give il to him IN Greek" said Gergg to Die-
san, who spoke first So he said
In the days ofthc Gracchi, the hired girls,
Never mind about the Gracchi," said the Judge
"he was a Norwegian and We don't want no
wegian law here"
"Hem" continued the orator, "when Dlogenes
crossed the Fox river-the Fox river--I say,
Gergg-what the devil did he do, anyhow?'
"Damiino," said Gergg.
Well he foundered around took fresh chew
of Fountain and sat down. Another consultation
took place among the three, in which it was
agreed TO leave their case in the hands of the
Judge. trusting 10 its merits and their good
looks to carry it through But as this case was
t o. too awfully thin-thc Judge entered up
Judgment for the plaintiff on the strength Of the
authorities, and the country was saved.