The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1886-07-20
ENGLISH LAWYERS.


49,, Traditional Peculiarly.
By an ingenious arrangement brought
about years ago, when those who bear
the bulk of the taxation In this country
had even less to do with the making Of
the laws that govern them than they
have at present, it was decreed that their
bringing or defending of any civil ac-
ton, as also in prosecuting an offender,
or defending himself against criminal
charge, the British subject should be
compelled to contribute twice over to
the Golfers of the legal profession
In the first place he must engage
lawyer, who, as the phrase goes, ''gets
up the case,' collects evidence, prepares
affidayits, sits evidence, and finally pre-
pares brief for counsel, for no lawyer
or solicitor is permitted to open his
mouth ,efore the Judges of the land,
either civil or criminal The lawyer
may air his elegance, quote his cases
and precedents, and generally trot out
his knowledge of the law to his
hearts content before the stipendiary
and unpaid magistrates, but when the
case once reaches the judicial courts he
must be mute as the proverbial oyster.
True it is that lie can and does continue
to swell his bill of costs against his un-
happy client until the jurymen have
pronounced their verdict, or the august
Judge has rendered his decision, but
once in the courts he becomes a minor
actor in the judicial drama. The bar
rister conducts the case, pocketing the
preliminary big fee or retainer" with
much equanimity, and the subsequent
weighty '.refreshers'' day by day as
long as the case occupies the attention of
the court.
In civil cases the plaintiff or defend
ant may, If he desires it, have one or
more consultations" with the barrister
or barristers retained by bis solicitor 70
conduct his case. These are usually
mere matter-of-form affairs, taking
day or two before the case comes on for
hearing. In nine cases out of ten they
are of little benefit to the litigant, who
is merely allowed the honor of occupy
ing a seat for ten minutes or so in the
dingy chambers of the grest legal lumi-
nary, while the solicitor and he con-
verse in legal jargon as to the advisa-
bilityi of raising this or that point of law,
or dilate upon the value of this
or that witnesses evidence. But
as these consultations afford a further
opportunity for extracting cash from the
luckless client, both for barrister and
lawyer, neither legal vulture usually is
averse to holding as many of them as
the innocent victim may desire. In
criminal cases the accused rarely sees
his actual defender until he is placed in
the dock. In cases where the defend
ant has been admitted to bail he can go
through the consultation farce if he so
wills il, but it is isafradig, for counsel to
visit a client in prison, so those who are
not admitted to bail have to instruct
their solicitor, or more often their solicit
tors clerk, and he in turn instructs the
barr:ster.
1t is one of the peculiarities of the
English that they have for hundreds of
years allowed this sort of thing to go on
without a protest, had almost writ
ten, without murmur. Why it should
be absolutely necessary that the lawyer
should step in between the client and
the barrister i have never heard salts
factorily or reasonably explained. Why
solicitor, a man learned in the law and
gentleman by act OF Parliament, should
be considered unworthy to plead or try
q, case as yeu have it in America before
the judges, / fail TO understand. Still,
so it is, and so it will be i suppose as
ng as the. legal professions are so
-fongly represented in the House of
A IL II Al
law lords WELD such powerful infu-
ence In the upper chamber-the House
of Lords. London Cor. San Francisco
M roso;nIo