, 1880-12-12

|
ncxt gay demanding in manner that he nude
no effort to conceal his annoyance: "Who were
So s1'sd
na1 a. boan stealing from the City Treasury
s,ns hnaes OF the culprits were unearthed and
Fire themr' was the only order in connec-
h;s ois y n H. tae natter And they were "fired
alS tsaf y 1ne mt time this story has ever found
1tseu Ill y nowapaper.
DEATH OF sM ALEX. cocKBuRN.
Tho British Lord Ch1ef-5ust1ce-A
Sketch Of 4Ai. Life.
| London Times. Nor. q.
The most brilliant of tbs Lords Chief7Jus-
tlces has suddenly passed from among us.
Sir Alexander Cockburn died: ate On Satur-
| day night, after what was little more than
momentary antter of parting life. We are,
indeed, now told that his physicians knew
that his health was fatally undermined,
| warning that came at the beginning II the
Long Vacation having been presage o1the
| approaching end, but the secret was ktpt
with all the tenacity Of professional honor,
| and the bearing Of the Lord Chief-Justice
in the Courts, in the discharge Of the bust
ness OF his exalted office, did not betray
any failure Of power. lie sat, indeed, in the
Court OF Crown Cases Reserved on Saturday
afternoon, only few hours before he was
but those who watched him thought he gave
promise of being another 0ctogenarian
Judge. Now aud then he withdrew FROM the
Bench for day or couple Of days, but for
many years he had not unfrequently, under
the pressure Of temporary ailments, escaped
from duties that must often be tedious and
burdcnsoMe to those who are no longer
young: Certainly these occasional absences
gave the friends of the Lord Chief Justice no
uneasiness. They were not displeased to
see that he had at length escaped
from an error, a pleasing error, to which
lie was once subject, OF acting as if he
years. They we're delighted to find that be
took proper care OF himself, especially as
lie continued to the last to demonstrate an
avidity for hard work. No one ever showed
case, whether + it vas before a jury ut Sisi ii
prius or involved an elaborate argument In
Divisional or Appeal Court; and it may be
said that his relaxatlons were OF a strenuous
August, he betook himself to his yacht, but
he did not abandon work even at sea Dur
ing this last autumn he. amused himself by
the composition Of some articles on the Laws
of the Chase, in which the learning of the
sportsman and Of the Judge were equally
conspicuous
Sir Alexander Cockburn had been so long
Judge tllat there are many who are unable
to remember him either as an advocate or as
he accepted the post of Lord Chief Justice
Of Common Pleas. For more than twenty |
one years he has presided in the Quee1l's |
been Chief of the Queens Bencl, so long.
Sir.Alexantler Cockburn was aconsumlnate |
advocate, and the qualities that excited the !
highest admiration for him as a Judge were |
precisely the same qualities that had made |
him SO conspicuOus a. an alyocate With /
great readiness and tirmness III the grasp of |
the leading facts OF a case, it might be said |
of him, as it. was OF another emf
than another mans argument, with most
conious vocabuiarv. a nictureu,,e and vivid
diction, and gifted with d voice flexible, rich.
and musical TO an extraordinary degree, the
from tie bench as Afr. Cockburn lad fascill-
ated them from the fIoor Of the Court And
it may be noted that the exploits With which
his name viii be longest and most Intimately
mainly forensic. the Speech By y" Which he
first attracted attention in Parliament inst |
thirty years ago, in the debate on Lord
ralmerston's foreign policy in connection
brilliant and powerful speech Of an advocate
trained in ali the best traditions and armed
with all the living forces of advocacy. Asau |
arbitrator i'll the Alabama case at Geneva, his
honest Indignation at the Injustice that was
the Government Of his country almost led him
to forget the neutrality of judge in the
ardor Ut his defense Of his native land. lie
himself felt that he had wandered little
from the Immediate duties Of his office and
could have been more characteristic, The
warmth and generosity of his temper and tile
elevation of his moral Judgment were con-
spjcuous in this yindicauon. Sir Alexander
1!nnl-hur7, ~ wac ,,avar - Isn;1an T., f:cham;a
~ IT, an;,,n,,+ s'n;oi nranas arI no r,n+h ~
uus ~ lals ctlte..t ooI,.t. faASGs u ~" s ~
llus1 lias !taot litui Hcuua!nted
&C one tine WIN many OF Us lnhapliahts, ana
It IS easy 70 understand now nuSy allQ
world may have thought him +
to be one of them. Ills election to Parlis- !
meut determined forever the course Of his
fife IL wac there that he fnmni ai1ns tn rail- |
fnrIb nti his nnwsrs and IN ' ,,nr;vaia1i |
Gij - ~, ~ n,aIae ~, +ha,'' cnnen;nro.. If;e
llelo " M"nS Al, .ISn I eonSp.e uout; 1Alo
career lieaccIultlt otcauls great il'n gIo"-
INK success. The more ne BECAME known