The daily gazette., 1883-06-27
below; and the parallel of resemDlaues

ducinR results which should be gravely con.
sidered. One result is the creation Of
class Of clients and litlgsuts who seek, an(
but too often obtain, from the legal profes
sion services Injurious TO the com mon
1 wealth. o az5. ~
Itfs obvious thst 70 maintain equality III
legal nghts, and to enforce legal remediet
regardless Of the inequality Of fortune ant
/ influence of the eontending parties, an In
dependent regulating and controlling powe
must be found, and its presence and actor
recognized BY the public, or confusion vii
i eneue. Fn'
1 q The solution of the great problem how 70
maintain Justice and preserve order and
| tranquility in society, remains for US to-day
and challenges our best faculties Of head
and heart. ITO
Power must exist somewhere, must be
somewhere, and In some hand deposited
Esufiiciently to maintain order, and yet moi
| invade personal liberty or the rights of pro.
perty, and must therefore be limited and
regulated itself; and TO secure this great
end all power In free state is exc cised
| under the laws, in their name, and within
their prescribed boundaries. tI'a-
The agency, and the only agency, which
can cope with, and restrain the selfish forces
| of our time and check the passions and sub
due those unruly elements of our nature,
which, as we have seen In other countries
and 10 our own day, have invited and per-
mitted despotism to preserve civilization a;
the cost of liberty, and plant absolutism on
the grave of anarchy, is a law, abiding spirit
In the hearts of the people, an instilIed be-
\ fief and trust in the justice of law, It's
efficacy to protect as well as to punish, and
in the purity Of its administration. '.i
BY whose influence can such q popular
sentiment be better assisted. promoted, forti-
| fed and established than that of the legal
| profession?
The members of the bar of the United
States should feel themselves to be by
special training and education dedicated to
priesthood In the temple of liberty.
Their highest duty is not to perform un-
hesitatingly the behests of wealthy and
POW erful clients, nor to conduct suits TO a
successful termination regardless OF the
moral and legal Rubicons that must be
crossed, nor blindly to obey the call of poll
tioal partisanship-but, to obey the law
proclaim the law-uphold the law. 70 in
culcate 1t In private counsel, to argue It In
the forum; but In private or In public, in
times Of placid security, or amid the clamors
of popular excitement, ever steadily to
stand by the law and insist upon its observ-
ance. ~ =
| -. Pro clientibus sepe g,fas &
Pro lege semper.
4
Character is the result of repeated action,
layers of habit hardened by time and custom,
"For use almost can change the stamp O
| nature" .r1, r.
National characteristics are not difficult to
trace In the perceptible chain Of cause and
effect, and are often found to originate ia
some legal institute planted In remote times
growing silently and bearing its fruit IN fai
on ages. To the laws Of the Saxon Alfred
well named "the Great" the founder anC
| organizer of local selfRovernment, we owe
the establishment of those minor and local
| tribunals, which brought law and justice
home to mems hearthstoues, and made them
their agents, and accustomed them to theiI
presence in the disposition and control OF
their daily affairs. Gradually instructed in
such ways of home rule, each man gave
freely aud did not sell, his share of duty in
maintaining good order and upholding the
| social fabric in the district where he lived
In these daily habits Of self-control and
self-reliance, will be found a force thai
Capitalization cap never supply, for it is en-
gendered, not by the accidental and individ
| ual virtue or capacity of ruler, but by
diffused national spirit, and the habits Of an
entire people, selt-trained and locally prac.
tised IN the discharge of political duties.
And what q healthful, moral and intel
lectual education is provided for a peopl,
In the habitqal contemplation of their public
duties an | affairs, expanding and elevatini
their thoughts, excluding NOR
narrow, selfish and mercenary themes
and fitting them for the duties of the ex
tensive sphere in our republican system
cussions is wholesome. and exhi
bits and induces an interest in the publi,
welfare that is safeguard to liberty, ant
keeps representatives and rulers in tn,
focus of public observation and criticism.
Interference by the central power will
these habits weakens them and tends tc
i their disuse, so that In seasons when popu
lar energy is needed, in national exigencies
the people will be found to have forgotten
how to act, and will look listlessly to tn,
seat of government for guidance and sup
port, without reliance on themselves.
A terrible illustration of the truth of thii
was given few years ago when the Frenct
nation, with military traditions second Il
none, after the unprecedented surrender a
Sedan by their last Emperor of vast army
intact, was found helpless to resist German
invasion, because vicious system of cen
tralization of power had demoralized tn
people, deprived them of the means Q
political education, and rendered them In
capable of seii-organization in their owl
defence 80 that, in the suprem
/
ment was found glued to its scabbard anl
too rusty from disuse to be suddenly draw
forth.
The overgrowth of the functions of
centralized government has the necessar
tendency to multiply its salaried agents
the evil consequences of which are measure
bly, before us to-day in our own country, an
need the check and sharp pruning knife Q
reform. The wise words OF an enlightened
, publiclst (Montalembert) are not inappro
pirate In this connection:
"Au unwise thirst after salaried publ
employment is the worst OF social maladies
1t infests the whole body polite with
venal and servile humor. 1t creates crow
of hungry suitors capable of every excess t
crafty their longlngs, and fit instrument
for any base purpose as soon as they are
i place."
Nearly three centuries ago the growth
/ mouopolIes and the abuse of power undt
) them aroused the English people and the
/ Parliament. These monopolies were create
Z under the royal prerogatiVe by the grant O
patents to deal exclusively In articles {
commerce, and usually the common pecet
+ sarles of life, which in consequence wei
/ only to be obtained by the consumers q
a | ruinous and excessive rates,
q These abuses, f flowing the law of the
: being grew with what they fed upon, unit
9 they encountered the full tide of an arouse
9 public opinion, and even the imperious wi
4 Of Elizabeth was compelled to bend an
: grant redress, by repeal of some of ii
e most obno xious measures, a suppression
& others, and withdrawal Of the use and e,
a eqution Of almost all the rest; so that tt
good OF the whole people was again pre-
"a ferred to the enrichment Of favorites