Connecticut western news., 1897-07-01

1 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 responsibili- ties than the barrister, and he who att 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 placidly be- fore earthly tribunals, who shall shiver in dismay before the Judge of quick and dead. Witness Lord Thurlow announc- ing his loyalty to earthly government
 in the sentence, "If forget my earthly
 sovereign, nay God forget mep and yet stepping 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 I would have you
 bring the merchant to Christ, and while I would have you bring the farmer to Christ, and while I would have you bring the mechanic to Christ, I address you now in the words of Paul to Titus, Bring Zenas the lawyer" By so much as hls duties are delicate and great, by so much does he need Christian stimu- Jus and safeguard. We all become eli
 ents do not suppose there is man 50 years of age who has been in active life who has not been afflicted with a lawsuit. Your name is assaulted, and
 you must have legal protection. Your boundary line is invaded, and the courts must 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 $100 from an attor- ney, imperil $250, 900 and keep the gen eration following for 20 years quarrel ing about the estate until it is all ex- bausted. 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 but 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 D 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 ful of the fact that the greatest villain on earth ought to have fair trial and tLa+ ha o,,l o1 vocate at the same time. It 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 ''The Rights of Man, while at the same time he, the advo-
 cate, abhorred Thomas Paine's irreli- gious sentiments. Between these two op- posite theories of what is right what shall the attorney do? God alone can direct him. To that chancery he must be appellant. and he will get an answer in an hour. Blessed is that attorney be- tween whose office and the throne of God there is perpetual, reverential and
 prayerful communication That attor-
 ney will never make an irreparable mistake. True to the habits of your profession, you say, "Cite us some au- thority on the subject.'' We'll, I quote
 to you the decision of the supreme court
 of heaven, ''If any lack wisdom, let
 him ask of God, who giveth to all men | literally and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him.
 What scene is the office of busy attorney! In addition to the men who | come to you from right motives, bad men will come to you. They will offer | you large fee for counsel in the wrong | direction. They want to know from you l how they can escape from solemn mar | ital obligation. They come to you want | ing to know how they can fail advan- | tageously for themselves. They come to | you wanting to know how they can l make the insurance company pay for a | destroyed house which they burned down with their own hands, or they | come to you on the simple errand of
 wanting to escape payment of their
 honest debts. Now, it is no easy thing | to advise settlement when by urging litigation you could strike a mine of
 remuneration. It is not very easy
 thing to dampen the ardor of an in- | famed contestant when you know
 through prolonged lawsuit you could | get from him whatever you asked. It is
 no easy thing to attempt to discourage
 the suit for the breaking of will in the
 surrogate's court because you know the | testator was of sound mind and body
 when he signed the document. It re-
 quires no small heroism to do as I once
 heard an attorney do in an office in a
 western city.
 | I overheard the conversation when he
 said, "John, you can go on with this
 lawsuit, and will see you through as
 well as can, but want to tell you
 before you start that lawsuit is equal