Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1879-11-07
Mr.. Pteirs's Address.

Inc subject OF the address oil lion. L. j.
Phelps, at the meeting of the Vermont Bal
Association, at Montpelier, was on "Obser
vatiOns on the English Bar" As reported by
the AjyllS, he said
Every member of the profession would
| feel an interest in exploring its origin. In
many cases, rs SAKE remarked it was peril
Gus to trace ones pedigree; but lawyers had
a very aristocratIc professional origin, for the
lawyers, for the first century and a half al
least, of which any trace is left in history,
were of the clergy. From the time of Viii
liam Rufus to the beginning of the fifteenth
century. in the reign of Edward the First,
the English JuStinian, all lawyers were
clcrgymcn. Edward decrced that the attOr-
neys-at-law should come from the laity Mr..
Phelps then traced the rise and growth of
the common lawyers, sergcants, barrlsters and
apprentices into the powerful and privileged
body which they had become by the reign of
James the First, and said that the origin of
the Inns of Court their great seats of learn
ing, is supposed To be coeval with the fixture
of the Court of Common Pleas in London, in
accordance with the provision in Magma
Chdrtd. He gave most interesting descrip-
ton OF the architecture, surroundings, COnsti-
tuition and life Of the Inns of Court, of which
the surviving are Inner Temple, Middle
Temple, Gray's Inn and Lncoln's Inn. He
believed that their influence upon the char
acter of the English Bar was immense
There they have studied, lived, practiced,
wOrshpped, and, in many instances been
buried. The halls are adorned with memo
rials of the illuSirious dead, and the living are
perpetually stimulated thereby to emulate
the virtues Of the great lights now quenchcd,
and 10 maintain the honor of the profession
unimpaired. Mr.. Phelps dwelt for some
time on the picturesque life OF the Inns;
described wildly the old churches in which
the benchcrs members and students wor-
shipped, the old halls in which they eat and
the chambers in which they studied and
prasticed, and in which many of them lived /;
and said that no American LAWYER could help
being greatly attracted and interested by
them. Adverting To the details of profession
al practice in England, he explained the
various grades oi lawyers which had existed
there until the passage of the supreme Court
of Judicaturc act few years ago, and dis
tinguished between scrgeants and harristcrs,
between inner harristcrs and outer barriSters,
and between barri~ters generally and attor-
news. To-day there are only two ranks,
barrsters and attorneys, and in his
opinion that distinction would soon be
oblterated and the American practice would
prevail In England he thought lawyers
were more complete and finished than in
America, and that was partly owing 10 the
subdivision of practice. Here Il lawyer must
not only Ne attorney aud harrister at once,
but he must be somewhat acquainted with
every branch of the law. There not only is
barristCr relieved from the labor Of making
plcadings aud preparing the evidence, but
he rarely ever prctcnds to practice in more
than one department of the law. y com
mcrca lawyer never tries a divorce case ; Il
criminal lawyer never tries civil ease of
any kind; II parliamentary counsel never
argues 10 a jury. THIS subdiyisi"ntcndcd 10
make them absolute masters OF their reSpec-
tive fields He praised highly their skill in
cross examination, hut sad that III oratory
they did not compare with American law
vers. In fact, IN Englishman was afraid to
say anything that rlacmhltd elogucncc and
their best jury lawyers merely talked Ia the
Jury in Il conversational tone. As an cN-
ample that American training in all phases
of the law was beneficial, Mr. Phelps
instanccd the rapid rise of Judah L.
Benjamin at the English Bar. and said
that he was now the leader of the North
crn circuit. and that his practice
was said to he worth C;O. 900 per year. 1t
was Bcnjamiu's practical knowledge Of the
law that gave him such lead. in his opinion
There Was one thing that struck him very
forcihly in England. AMI that was the al'so-
lutte confidence which people had in the up
rishtncss and integrity of the bench and hIr.
II was indeed true that when there was a
vacancy in the bench. the very best man,
and no other, WAS invariably appointed 10 /
fill it, and iudgr>hip there was such prize /
that the hest could look forward 10 il rs a .
full reward. He gave many interesting .
anecdotes illustrative of the strict etiquette .
of the English liar, and their drllcacy in the .
matter of fees. In fact, the address was re
plrtr with siiikiu. Illustrations, entertaining
and the sparkling wit, peculiarly I
OF NJ Phelps. which ne one
can hope To emulate, thuu"h all admire, and
which il is absolutely impossible Ia give even
an idea of within the limits of this report
lie closed with "a fine statement IF the noble
character If the law us Il profession, and said
ihat no one who lived below lis high stand
ard at all appreciated the great benefits it .
had conferred ON mankind.