The daily gazette., 1879-02-25
Professional Manners OF Law
fHfff yeRs.

putatlOl OIL their personal ina1lntls.-
Many members Of the profession who
are gentlemen in ordinary social inter
course are among the most gorgeous Of
Tenders in The courts. Even the Infamous
Jelireys was a pl-asing and attractive
man In general society. This would
hardly be inferred from the dark port ait
painted OF him in the invective pages Of
Macaulay but Lord Campbell, who is
as unsparing as Macalllay In condcmnuc
the professional character OF tina odious
monster, does better justice to the social
side of his character. "But there can be
no doubt" says Lord Campbell, s'that he
circulated much in good society. He
was not only much at court, but he ex-
changed visits with the nobility and per
sons OF distinction in different walks of
life. In the social circle he disalmed the
censufe OF the world, and by the fascina-
ton OF his manners while he was present
he threw all oblivion over his vices and
crimes We prefer to illust, ate the dis
iinction between professional and person.
al manners by this example, because
there il 10 other which so signally dem
onstrates the powcrlessness of nriya,e
manners to shelter professional offender
from inIamy.
Jeilleys had the greatest ,alents Of any
law er who ever lived for the professional
rbaldry and caluInnious blackgua-disn
which form the disgusting stock in trade
OF some more .ecent practitioners. lie
carried his BLACKBOARD habits from the
Bar to the Beach, and was even more
conspicuous as IL judicial bulldoler than
he had been rs an INSCRIPTIONS bully
at the Old Bailey Bar, where he received
bis earliest training AS a lawyer.
HE scho Ia which be was formed is
thus described by Macaulay :-"DuIing
many years his chief business was to ex-
anime and cfoss-examine the most hard
ened miscreaots Of great capital. Daily
conflicts with prostitutes and thieves cali
ed out aud exercised his powers so efiec-
tually that he became the most consum-
mate bully ever known in his profession.
All tenderness for the feelings OF hers,
all self-respeet, all sense of the becoming
were ohllierated from his mind. He &C.
CURED u boundless command of the lhet-
orie in which the vulgar express hatred
and contempt. The profusion of male
dictions and vituperative epithets which
composed his vocabulary could hardly
have been rivalled in the fish market and
the bear garden. These Qualifications
he carried, while still young man, from
the Bar to the Bench" Any LAWYER
who, after two Centuries Of advancing
civilization, prepares himself to sit for
similar portrait should be regarded as
disgrace o his profession. We are will
Ing to believe that in the higher walks OF
the profess ion the number of such law
yers is growing small by deg,e es and
beautifully less" The most outrageous
OF recent specimens are teheld either in
| country lawyers VITO serve on Congress
sional committees or in lawyers from the
interior v no for some inscrutable reason
get fetainers iu important suits IN our
large cites.
Il requires 40 talent, and certainly no
courage, 10 conduct an abusive and Sian
derous cross examination. When law
yer DULLES and llbels witness he is pre-
tected by his prof, ssional privilege. lie
can give way TO the rnranest impuls es of
Il bad he arr without any fear + personal
consequences. a bully is generally a
coward, and a lawyer who, shieiIed by
bis professional privilege, plies an unie-
sistng witness With all sor OF insults
and deg aiding insinustions, would shiink
from such insolence IN any place where
he could he held PEI sonalY auswerable.
This KIND oi.torture is frequently plac.
Used upon Il helpless woman oI iii
dent citizen " no IS dlsl0LceI,ed and loses
his wits under sIcl treatment u he
presence of an audience. Sacl aitac X,
when they are wanton and uncaled for
Pa a. ~
| cowardly and disgraceful his firing upon
an unarmed person ii ON behind the sale
refuge Of bush or a stoue wall. So
much for the meanness Of this species Of
| dastardly insults.
As to the talent they require. tits of the
lowest posi- BILE description. A shrewish
woman very often get, the better OF these
ms )lent cross-examiners in their own de-
basing trade. A sharp-tempered and glib
tongued virago who has never before
been inside a court room sometimes puts
TO shame a wild beast of an attorney,
whose faculties have been sharpened 10y
n practice of twenty years. II She has
been accustomed to exercise her talents
upon her husband training is sure tomak e
her "A match for her iegal buldozer,
| which sufficiently illustrates the con-
| temptible nature OF tins species of talent.
Even the infamous Jetfreys, with his front
| of brass, was sometimes disconcerted by
the retorts of sharp virago There was
a good deal of scandal resi- Getting the sec
ond Mrs. Jetfreys, who had given birth
| TO her first child too soon after her mar
riage. While this awkward incident was
the talk of London Jeffreys was Disagree
ably reminded of it by IA hippant female
whom he was crossexaminiug an adam"
said he, "you are very quick in your an
swers." The reply came like Il flash,
"Quick as | am, Sir George, | was not SO
quick ~ your lady" The audiences in
such cases generally sympathizcs with
| the persecuted witness, aud when the bul-
| lying lawyer Is fully paid back in his own
coin there Is no species of retributive JUS
tice which is so keenly enjosed The
most amusing pant of the infinite fund of
anecdotes relating TO the Bar consists in
the clever retorts of ready-witted and UNI
Quailing witnesses. On one occasion a
witness in leathern doublet made out a
complete case against client ofJetfreys,
who began his cross-eXamination by
bawling forth, "You fellow in the leath-
ern doublet, pray what have you for
swearing 2" The man looked steadily al
his interrogation and answered, "Truly,
sir, if you have no more for lying than
have for swearing you might wear a
leathern douhlet as well as l." Our only
purpose in giving specimens OF such an
ecdotes is 10 show how contemplate Is d
talent which i so easily oveTn atched by
an unframed hut seif-poSSessed witness II