The Portland daily press., 1895-08-24

questions which show the fallacy-to the
judges mind-of the arguments of coun-
sci. The judge also, by taking a witness
in hand, generally gets a direct reply to
a question more quickly than the counsel
could, as the witness cannot very well
carry on verbal sparring match with the
judge, as he may with the lawyer.
| At the same time the practice is some
what liable to abuse by interfering with
the counsel's management of a case, and
| could not avoid the idea that q certain
petulance of manner observed in some of
the judges was to be in part attributed to
their getting into arguments with counsel
and witnesses.
| The judges themselves are the most in
teresting features of the English courts.
Behold the Lord Chief Justice of Eng
| land, Sir Charles Russell, with Mr.. Baron
Pollock, Mr.. Justice Grantham, Mr..
Justice Lawrence, and Mr.. Justice
Wright, sitting as an Appellate Court.
The Lord Chief Justice wears drak blue
silk gown, with a wide black facing i'll
the front, and with sleeves trimmed with
gray from the wrist to the elbow. Over
his shoulder and across his breast is
wound wide, bright red silk scarf,
while from his neck hang two white
starched ties. On his head is a wig, with
a red spot in the crown, all except the
crown being done up in little curls. On
his nose are gold spectacles, and from his
pocket he draws q large red silk hand
kerchief of brilliant design, and occasion
ally he takes % pinch of snuff. Altogether
the Lord Chief Justice is a picturesque
spectacle The other judges are attired
| in q very similar manner. The six-pence-
seeking doorkeeper assured me that to
see the five judges sitting together was
the grandest sight in the world.
The case ON trial was an appeal from
criminal case, in which the article stolen
was small quantity Of milk, of the value
of twopence, which the prisoner, being
thirsty, had drunk. The judges cut off
the arguments of counsel in short order,
and took occasion to say that, although
the case was so trifing in itself, it in
volved a question of great Importance in
preserving the system of trial by jury in
criminal cases, and thereupon two of the
|
| length. One cannot fail to admire the
character and intelligence visible in the
| face of Lord Chief Justice Russell. His
voice is clear and distinct, and his pro-
nunciation of words is in many cases not
distinguished by what we are accustomed
| to regard as an English accent. He does
not use the broad az to any such degree
as we hear it in New England even. He
pronounces ssask' and ''pass" and
'tlast'' as most of us do in Baltimore, and
he is not alone in this respect. A year
ago / listened to debate in the House
of Lords upon some branch of the Irish
question. The beautiful hall was crowded
with the nobility OF the land, and the
galleries were filed by peeresses in brill
liant evening costume. The speeches were
made by the Marquis of Salisbury, now
Prime Minister; by Lord Rosebery, then
Prime Minister; and by the Duke of Ar
gyll, and in none of the speeches was
there any such broad and deep pronuncia-
| ton of words. and especially the letter
| az, as we generally consider to be the
| English method. In churches, too. l
have heard the most eminent preachers,
whose speech was of the same character.
! Among these men, who were represen-
| tatiyes of the highest development in the
political, judicial and religious life of
England, there was but slight difference
| of pronunciation from that used by the
same class of Americans. Indeed listen
ing to an inspiring sermon by. Canon
Wilberforce in Westminster Abbey last
Sunday, it occurred to me that there was
little in the voice or pronunciation OF
this preacher, said to be the most eloquent
| in England, to distinguish him from the
best type of clergymen in Baltimore or
New York.