The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1897-07-02

cestors for six generations belongs 10
me or 70 one 800 miles off.
say these things to show you that
there has been prejudice going on
down against that profession from gen.
Grafton to generation. | account for 1t
on the ground that they compel men to
bay debts that they do not want to pay,
Snd that they arraign CRIMINALS VINO
want to escape the consequences OF their
crime, and as long as that is so, and IL
always will be so, just so long there
will be classes of men who Will attect
at any rate to despise the legal profess
sion. know not how it is in other
countries, but / have had long and wide
acquaintance with men of that protes-
sion. have found them in all my par
ishes. tarried in one of their offices
for three years, where there came real
estate lawyers, insurance lawyers, GRIM
inal lawyers, marine lawyers, and L
have yet to find class of men more gen
ial or m ore ghtforward. There are
in that occupation, as in all our occu-
pations, men utterly obnoxious to God
and man, but if | were on trial for my
integrity or my life and l wanted even
handed Justice administered to me l
would rather have my case submitted
to jury of IL lawyers than to jury
of ~ cIergymen. The legal profession,
| believe, has less violence of prejudice
than is to be found in the sacred call
ing.
Earthly Resources.
There is, however, no man who has
more temptations or graver responsible
ties than the barrister, and he who at
tempts to discharge the duties of his
position with only earthly resources is
making a very great mistake. Witness
the scores of men who have in that pro-
fession made eternal shipwreck. Wit
ness the men who, with the law of the
land under their arm, have violated ev-
cry statute of the eternal God. Witness
the men who have argued placldly be-
fore earthly tribunals, who shall shlyer
in dismay before the Judge of quick and
dead. Witness Lord Thurlow announc-
ing his loyalty to earthly government
in the sentence, eff l forget my earthly
sovereign, may God forget meP' and
yet STOPPING to unaccountable meanness-
es. Witness Lord Coke, the learned and
the reckless. Witness Sir George Mac
Kenzie, the execrated of all Scotch Gov
enanters, so that until this day, in Gray
Friars churchyard, Edinburgh, the
children whistle through the bars of
the tomb, crying:
Bloody Mackenzie, come out if you daur,
Lift the sneck and draw the bar.
No other profession more needs the
grace of God to deliver them in their
temptations, to comfort them in their
trials, to sustain them in the discharge
of their duty. While 1 would have you
bring the merchant to Christ, and while
l would have you bring the farmer to
Christ, and while | would have you
bring the mechanic to Christ | address
you now in the words of Paul to Titus,
"Bring Zenas the lawyer" By so much
as his duties are delicate and great, by
so much does he need Christian stimu-
lus and safeguard. We all become eli
ents. do not suppose there is man 90
years of age who has been in active
life who has not been afflicted with
lawsuit Your name is assaulted, and
yon must have legal protection. Your
boundary line is invaded, and the courts
must re-establish it, Your patent is in
fringed upon, and you must make the
offending manufacturer pay the penalty.
Your treasures are taken, and the thief
must be apprehended. You want to
make your will, and you do not want
to follow the example of those who, for
the sake of saving 500 from an attor-
ney, imperil $3.50, 900 and keep the gen.
Grafton following for 20 years quarrel
ing about the estate until it is all ex-
hausted. You are struck at by an as
sassin, and you must invoke for him the
penitentiary. All classes of persons in
course Of time become clients, and there
fore they are all interested in the moral
ity and the Christian integrity of the
legal profession. "Bring Zenas the
lawyer"
A Bad Cause.
But how is an attorney to decide as
to what are the principles by which he
should conduct himself in regard to his
clients? On one extreme Lord Broug-
ham will appear, saying: "The inno-
cence or guilt of your client is nothing
to you. You are to save your client re-
gardless of the torment, the suffering,
the destruction of all others. You are
to know bat one man in the world
your client. You are to save him though
you should bring your country into con-
fusion. At all hazards you must save
your client" So says Lord Brougham,
but no right minded lawyer could
adopt that sentiment.
On the other extreme Cicero will
come to you and say, "You must never
plead the cause of bad man." forget
full of the fact that the greatest villain
on earth ought to have fair trial and
that an attorney cannot be judge and adj
vocate at the same time. 1t was grand
when Lord Erskine sacrificed his attor-
ney generalship for the sake of defend
ing Thomas Paine in his publication of
his book called 1.-THE Rights of Man,
while at the same time he, the advo- |
cate, abhorred Thomas Paine's irrell- |
gious sentiments. Between these two OPP
posite theories of what is right what
shall the attorney do? God alone can |