New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-03-17
J COURT SCENES.
THE THREE JUDGES-THE ATToRNEY2GEN-
ERAL.--SIR CHARLES RUSSELL
III

800" 500 90 London, March 1.
Sir James Hammer is the central figure OF TINS
nur;cus soene You might take him as type OF
1be English Judge of the highest class. The
har who ARE the best critics of the BENCH regard
him as one of the strongest judges now living; .
lawyer who is not merely learned, but lncid,
patient. capable of grasping both principles ana
facts, never losing his way In any OK the iegai
lsbyrinths which he hos daily to tread. 10
say that he is impartial is TO say what Is as
yunned Of every English Judge. Seldom inueeo
has the uprightness OF an English Judge peen
questioned till party necessities or sapposeo ne,
cessities, sought for political bias IN IuoieSi
record; sought and found it not, since TINS long
trial began, his face has gradually assumed .
pernanent expression OF patient benignity. II
aver mans patience was tried, Sir James Hannen's
has been tried. Solemn as the business before
him is. IL has at times been tedious; at many
ZINES and for long together. The teoium mas
EFT its stamp on these fine features The bemg-
nty is sti there but il is more patient pen'gni'y
than before You can see that he has nerved
himself 70 a great task Of endurance, OF long
suffering. vet with the mind ever on q strain;
ever watohful ever ready TO intervene upon the
ap,,eal of counsel and sometimes without IT,
There is resignation in the very folding OIL the
hands over the judicial notebook when, as happens
often, the pencil stops and the notes are inter
rupted Counsel might IL they would, take this
as a signal, but they will not. They plod on, re-
CARELESS Of the broad judicial hint addressed 70
them.
Counsel were. perhaps, at first, especially Sir
Charles Russell, slightly misled by the hndiiness
of Sir James Hannen's manner. IL was not long
before they felt the iron irmness beneath. Again
and again did Sir Charles try fall with Sir
James; never to his advantage. Against this
imperturlable smoothness Of solid strength, the
waves beat in vain. Sir Charles has tempera-
ment not at all moments entirely within his con-
trol--just touch of the irritabhty that so often
goes with genius. lie is used to having his own
way, even with q strong Judge, and he endures
with evident chatting tho rebuke which be occasion
ally invites. It is charming to see Sir James adj
minister IL: so gentle is he so judicial, and so
Enthusiastically the master in his own court
His two colleagues need hardly be mentioned
Both are able men neither feels called on TO take
an active part in these proceedings Mr.. JusHce
Day is eredibly affirmed TO have uttered but three
audible words in open court since last OCTOBER.
There are those who say he sleeps; an undouDteo
cal1mny The pile of books, of printed reports
of the evidence, of printed documents IN the
chair beside his, grows ever higher. On Thurs
49, N~-N-
he has created. Mr. Justice Smith is less of
lay figure. He has been known TO have put
question to witness. / have heard him do this
more than once. He, like Mr. Lockwood, Q. O.,
is draughtsman, and on Friday, the day after
Mr.. Justice Day upset his pile Of books, he spent
some asart Of the morning in furuvely sketcmng
Mr.. Richard Pgott Both these subordinate MEM
hers of the c0art are consulted, when occasion
arises, by the presiding Judge Once or twice
there has been prolonged subdued discussion
between them, due, thought to the fact that
the right ana left hand supporters Of Sir James
were agreeing against him on some awkward point
Of law. I don't doubt they collapsed ere the end
came.
A long, long row Of counsel sit facing the three
Judges: the interval Of space between bench and
bar being filed by persons and personages who
must be considered later, IL at all The counsel
stretch from one side of the court to the other
and the row is double; leaders in front. juniors
behind. I think we must leave most of them
unsnng. The two supremey interesting ones are
the two leaders, one on either side; the Attorney
General for The Times" and Sir Charles Russell
for Mr.. PsrneIL You may speak Of the former
as the Attorney General, or as Mr.. Attorney, by
which odd title he has from time immemorial been
addressed. or as Sir Richard Webster,
or more briefly, as Sir Richard. To
this string Of aliases may be added the
more familiar one of Dick Webster. by which you
sometimes hear his learned friends speak of him in
private. Perhaps they who know him least use
IL most. a distinguished artist, who has been in
court. complained Of the Attorney General as
commonplace. He looks TOO much like other
men, said this fastidious observer. Well, there
are points of resemblance no doubt: two eyes, two
Oh i.,<a 1ca Ia
nevertheless strong and strongly marked face,
not to be mistaken by the most careless for any
other face in court, Ny artist friend has Homo
Rule sympatbies probably he supposes them to
be opinions, and SO Sir Richard, being on the
wrong side in politics. falls short of the aesthetic
tests applied TO him in art.
He is, or was, supposed to be in training for the
Lord Chancellorship, and he has, whether for that
or some other reason, acquired slightly ecclesi-
astica cast Of countenanee; as If in memory Of the
early days when Lord High Chancellors were ec-
elesiasics, or, possibly In tribute to the church
manlilze qualities of such more recent keepers OF
Her Msiestys conscience as the late Lord Cairns
and the present Lord Seiborne. He is q good
lawyer, q good advocate, widely experienced at
the bar, where his practice equals the best ex-
pert h all causes Of business and commerce. In
this particular cause which has to do with neither,
the Attorney General seems little. il only little,
ont Of place, or, in the French phrase out Of his
own country. He conducts it as he would con-
duct an action on . bill of lading or promissory
note. He is too able man not TO do al the legal
part OF it thoroughly well. but tho political and
what may be called the popular part of it escape
him Now that the letters are known TO be forger-
les. Sir Richard Webster is made to bear his full
burden Of blame for them, and is ssvsgey attacked
by the more unmannerly part Of the Home Rule
press ! suppose his mistake was in not looking
beyond the four corners of his brief. Such, how
ever, is the habit of the English bar; hsbit that
springs from the strict distribution Of duties be
tween the two distinct branches of the legal pro
fession But that is too large a subject to enter