Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1888-02-10

| ohttootiOu PlONCd w bC lu1OCCuk
of knowledge of that ancient worthy,
his commentaries or any other rudi.
ments of law But be pleaded for ia.
vor on the ground that he wanted to
ego West and grow up with the coun.
try" aud the examiners promised to
move his admission. But how to
comply with the rule of Court requir-
ing the Committee to certify that the
applicant was well-read in the ele-
ments of law and qualified to practice
that was the question. Pierce.
however, was equal to it. and moved
his admission in these words: MAY
it please your Honor. we have exam
ined this young man, and we fnd
him grounded in the law, and quail
fed TO practice-out West" +"
Courts are honorable institutions
where justice is dlspensed-not dis
pensed with, as disappointed suitors
sometimes are inclined to believe
Rightly constituted and conducted
their decisions should sand generally
do command obedience and respect
in settling disputed q uestions of fact
and law. Dignity ald gravity char.
acterize the bench; but occasionally q
cause gets into court, or witnesses in
support of 1t do, that prove too much
for she dignity of the Court itself
| Lave in mind such case occurring
in this district about ten years ago
| There are with esses and witnesses,
but perhaps the most trying of any
are the garrulous sort, generally old
ladies. This cause was, think, the re-
suit of an sffray of some kind 10 which
the witness and her two sons were
in some way mixed up. She was
from an outlying district. of full habit
of body and uIstayed by the trappings
of fashion. She was rather more than
flair fat and forty"-perbaps sixty.
Her features were round and dimpled,
with prominent eyes; ber voice was
low and soft, and her complexion, which
had once been fair had now chang
ed to the appearance of q et.pudding.
She proved to be, what her appear
ance indicated, great talker; indeed
one of those invetera;e takers whose
gift of CAB" is something wonderful
to those not 80 gifted. She went on
with her story for q. long time in
great detail, and then ran of. in her
soft t.insiuuating way, upon an outside
irrelevant, interminable matter in
greater minuteness Of detail and cir
cumstance, until the opposite counsel,
and then her own counsel, and then
both together in their united strength
| Of lung.power, tried to head her off
and bring her back to the case in
hand. 1t was of no use,' and they
gave it up. She still ran on and like
the brook in the song, seemed likely to
''go on forever" Finally the Judge
concluded to take hand 10 it aud
sharply accosted her several times;
but still the stream of Talk ran on like
food tide. She was irrepressible
and bound to finish that story or die
in the attempt. The Judge got tired
and gave it up as an incur
able case, and settling back in his
chair with an expression of enforced
resignation, said "She seems to
be wound up-let her run down."
The law is progressive in much the
same sense that theology is, perhaps.
Tested BY the smallboy idea. theolog-
ical advance is marked. The earli
est account I heard of the exodus
from Eden was from five year old
boy repeating his version of it fresh
from the lips of bis teacher "And
then the Lord He let the bars down
and said: Now you git.' and they
got!" From that to the last answer
of the bright Sunday school boy the
advance may be observed: Tommy,
will you tell these gentleman what
kind of boys go to Heaven" "Yes,
sir; only the dead ones "
The progress of the law is seen, Eot
only as science but as an art, in it's
practice and its practitioners 10 tie
matter of fees of counsel this Colony
in the seventeenth century not only
refused pay for legal services but put
each lawyer under bail not to tax" any
reward whatsoever for his pleading"
and the first case in which the coun-
sci was sllowei to "go snacks" with
his client was thought to cast great
reproach on ''the dignity oftbe robe"
The idea was, ] suppose. to save the
poor lawyers from the dangers OF the
gift bearing Greeks " Presidents
of the courts" were not always requir-
ed to be learned in the law. and SEN
tences varied from "adjudged to
shake hands and forgive each other"
to receive at the carts tail thirty-fve |
lashes on his bare back round two |
squares of this city and pay the COSTS
and ito stand in the pillory one hour
with the ofense wrote on his head"
Causes used to be, it is said, tried |
more by main strength. so to speak.
then by tact and skill in development
of evidence and application of the
law. Advocacy may be used as
bludgeon or rs rapier. The old
time country practitioner resorted |
sometimes to avocations more clumsy |
than the law, and thus perhaps |
brought TO the practice methods and
manners more awkward than were
suited to it. His Office did not entire
ly keep him. and he did no better By |
his Office. 1t was indeed dark and
dingy den, and black enough for
black. letter law; where the soil from
innumerable feet overlaid the |
floor and the accumulated dust of
years obscured the few and narrow
windows. The primitive yard square,
saw dust spittoon-if not thought too
luxurious to be INDUCED Informed
the central flower piece of this appro-
pirate surrounding 1 well remember
how forbiddng it looked to me as a
boy from the outside-was afraid to
venture inside, it seemed to my boy
ish fancy, colored 10y the popular no.
tions about lawyers, like vast spi-
der web spread to entrap uDwary hu'
man flies. What wonder that the
occupant should be called dry as-dust
and the law little musty and rusty,
emerging from such place!
All that is largely changed now
T o,u ofytcos oa a rnla arp 40 clauply