The Portland daily press., 1877-04-19
English Notes.
London, England, April 4, 1877.

III Which the arguments are presented, the Gu
rlous' hesitating, stammering delivery of the
| lawyers and the bruskness of the Judges make
| the whole scene, monotonous as it is, intensely
| interesting to stranger. The other day, hap
| pening to step into the division of the Chancery
Court in Lincoln's Inn where three judges sat
| to hear appeals, was surprised to see Short
| thick-set paunchy Queens Counsel, addressing
the court somewhat in the American style. BY
his side lowered a mass of papers and docu-
ments which irresstibly called to mind the
| great case of Jarndyce & Jarndyce in Bleak
| House, and left no doubt that the litigation had
been long and the fees heavy. But the stout
| little lawyer seemed no. at all like the other
English counsel who were present in swarms
He did not take kindly to the gown which was
| slipping from his shoulders. His wig seemed
/ burden. He smote his hands. He spoke in
i sharp, clear voice on a somewhat elevated
key and not as if his vocal organs had been
| carefully enveoped in wool. There was an
| evident but painfully repressed tendency to
harangue the three grave baronets who sat
benched in awful state in front of him. But
| presently the thread of his flowing discourse
was snapped by the presiding justice who sleep
| lily asked him question. He began to answer
| it, when second justice fatty contradcted
| him. He was 10 the midst Of an ingenious ex.
| planation when the third justice remarked that
what the counsel alleged was to be found neith-
er in the bill nor the evidence. Aroused but
not daunted, the short man after futile strug-
| gle with his escaping gown, entered upon an
| argument to show that his theory of the case
was justified by the facts, but again the justices
| in succession emphatically announced their dis
/ sent, and for good hour thereafter the discus
| sion between bench and bar was increasingly
| maintained until the fat and somnolent old
baronet who presided testify announced an in
| termission, and he and his two companions
/ strobe out OF court. Then learned that the
| crestfallen lawyer, who was now red in the face
and shaking with nervous agitation, was Judah
P. Benjamin, Confederate Secretary of State
| under JEFF Davis. How he happened to be la
boring under such evident embarrassment and
| perplexity on this particular occasion do not
| know, for he has risen to great eminence in his
profession here, and it is commonly reported
that he is presently to be raised to the bench.
| LORDS AND COMMONS.
Looking out of my window of an evening
| see far up the Thames light which seems to
come from the sky ITSELF it is 20 high above the
| rest of the town. But it really shines from the
clock of Victoria tower at Westminster palace,
l where Parliament is in session. must confess
that my Imagination was for many nights
| greatly occupied by this light. ':Ah," thought
I, "under that tower are sitting the great men
| who make laws for an empire on which the sun
| never sets. There, in gilded halls, each en-
| throned by himself and surrounded by all the
| insignia of rank and power, are assembled the
| intellectual giants whose names and deeds are
| flashed each day to the uttermost limits of the
habitable world At length came the happy
| day when L was to look with my own eyes up
i on the House of Commons Through st.
James Hall, with its wonderful carved oak
| roof under which Charles I. stood before his
| judges, through smaller but more beautiful
hall adorned with statuary ranged continuously
| along each side, through passages made note
| worthy at every step by historical paintings,
| we approached the gallery of the House. One
| thing is apparent at first glance-thls is not
| meant to be public entertainment. A few
benches, where the most supercilious of the
usher race preside and enforce, as only ushers
can, the great English lesson of the nothing
ness of all but rank, wealth or position, are al.
1
bers order has admitted There the unptying
menais roughly but in subdued tones command
| to make room for the new comers a thing not
done without many suppressed but hearty Eng
lish growls. And when all is done and we have
an opportunity to look at this carefully seclud-
| ed chamber, we rub our eyes in the vain en-
deavor to make them see something more near
| ly corresponding to the dreams of splendor with
| which the imagination had entertained itself.
| At the end of the hall opposite to Us sits in a
kind of glori6ed sentry-box what seems to be
an elderly lady of amiAb'e and highly respect
able appearance in the enjoyment of peaceful
and profound slumbsr. Such to unannointed
American eyes appeared in his gown and wig
looking as if cut out of an old.fashoned quilted
petticoat-the Right Hon. Fl. B. W. Brand
Speaker of the House of Commons. At the
table in front of the Speaker the clerk-uni-
versaly pronounced "cIarE" here-presents
much the same appearance as his chief except
that his repose is disturbed by troublesome
| Nightmares which impel the pen which he
holds in his hand to ftful activity. On the
| leather-coveied benches ranged along each side
| of the hall parallel with the central aisle sit
| few negligent gentlemen, most of them covered
Il
| of writing before them. crowded together
| like school boys in the recitation seats,
| their agonies are increased by an hon
| orable member who is saying,-'I thinker, il
| me right honorable and gallant friend who pre-.
| ceded me-er, had been-er, if / may venture
| to say so, quite sure that he had-er, informed
himself quite thoroughly in regard to what-er,
| 1 might perhaps term the basis or rather (pro-
nounced ra,gther) the fundamental principles
| er of this important subject he would not with
| the eloquence and the-er, ability which in so
! high degree-er"-and so on with such hesi-
| tation, such amplitude of qualifying and extern
| uating phrases, such absence of vigor and ami
| nation and such ponderous inanity as certainly
l was never exhibited outside the British islands
| Sir Stafford Northcote, Chancellor of the Ex-
/ chequer, and leader of the House since Dis
| raelfs elevation to the peerage, sits with his
hat drawn down over his eyes like man who
finds the weight of an empire a weary burden
and wishes somebody would take it off his
shoulders. Facing him on the other side of the
table where reposes the great and glittering
| mace which is the emblem of her Majesty's
| authority-a useless and costly anachronism
| like the Queen herself-sits the Marquis of
sition, and Mr.. Goschen, who was also men,
ber of Gladstone's cabinet. Presently Mr.
Goschen "gets on his legs and makes speech
as full of conventional phrases and laborious
exactitude as that of the Conservative who
preceded him. He has great reputation as a
Parliamentary orator, but the succulent theme
of property valuation and local rates gives
little scope for eloquenee, and except an occa-
sional drowsy 'hear, hear from the opposi-
ton benches there.is no evidence Of interest,
and the sleeping beauty in the Speakers chair
dreams undisturbed of the speedy coming Of
the day when, transferred like all his prede-
cessors to the House of Lords, he will continue
| his slumbers on the bright red upholstery
| of the other chamber. The room is gently
illuminated by mellow light falling from above
through yellow tinted glass with a purpose of
initiating daylight, but the actual effect is that
of feeble, hazy twilight It is dreamland