The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-06-28


earthly resources, is making a very great
mistake. Witness the scores of men who
have-in that profession made eternal ship
wreck. Witness the men who, with the
law of the land under their arm, have vio-
lated every statute of the eternal God. Wit
ness 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, announcing
his loyalty to earthly government in the
sentence: If l forget my earthly SOW
ereign. may God forget me-" and yet
stopping to unaccountable meannesses.
Witness Lord Coke, the learned and the
reckless. Witness Sir George Mackenzie,
the execrated of all Scotch Covenanters,
so that until this day, in Gray Friars'
churchYard, Edinburgh, the children whis-
tie 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 / would have you bring
the merchant to Christ and while l would
have you bring the farmer TO Christ, and
while l would have you bring the mechan
ic to Christ, l address you now in the
words of Paul to Titus: Bring Zenas the
lawyer" BY so much as his duties are
8ielicate, and great, by so much does he
need Christian stimulus and safeguard.
We all become clients. | do not suppose
there is a man fifty years of age, who
has been in active life, who has not been
afflicted with a lawsuit. Your name is as
saulted, and you must have legal protec-
ton. Your boundary line is invaded, and
the courts must re-establish it. Your
patent is infringed upon, and you must
So, he
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 attorney, i'm
peril $2500OO. and keep the generation fol-
lowing for twenty years quarreling about
the estate, until it is all exhausted You
are struck at by an assassin, and you
must invoke for him the penitentiary. All
classes of persons in course of time be-
come clients, and therefore they are all
interested in the morality and the Chris
tan integrity of the legal profession.
Bring Zenas the lawyer
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 Brougham
win appear, saying: THE innocence or
guilt of your client is nothing to you. You
are to save your client regardless 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 confusion. At all hazards
you must save your client" So says Lord
Brougham. But no rght-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." fOrgetful of the fact that the great
est villain on earth ought to have fair
trial and that an attorney cannot be judge
and advocate at the same time. 1t was
grand when Lord Erskine sacrificed his
attorney generalship for the sake of de-
Tending Thomas Paine in his publication
of his book called 1.-The Rights of Man."
while, at the same time, he, the advocate,
abhorred Thomas Paine's irreligious SEN
timents. Between these two opposite
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 between whose
office and the throne of God there is per-
petual, reverential and prayerful commu-
nication. That attorney win never make
an irreparable mistake True to the hab-
it's of your profession, you say; Cite us
some authority on the subject well, l
quote to you the decision of the supreme
court of heaven: If any lack wisdom. let
literally, and upbraideth not, and ii shall
be given him.
What a scene is the office of a busy at
torney! In addition to the men who come
to you from right motives, bad men will
come to you. They will offer you a large
fee for counsel in the wrong direction
They want to know from you how they
can escape from solemn marital obliga-
ton. They come TO you wanting to know
how they can fail advantageously for
themselves. They come to you wanting
to know how they can 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 err
rand Of wanting TO escape payment of
their honest debts. Now, il Is no easy
thing TO advise settlement, when by urg-
ing litigation you could strike a mine of
remunera ton. IL Is not a very easy thing
to dampen the ardor of an inflamed con-
testant, when you know through a pro-
longed lawsuit you could get from him
whatever you asked. IL Is no easy thing
10 attempt 70 discourage the suit for the
breaking of a will In the surrogates court
because you know the testator was of
sound mind and body when he signed the
document. IL requires no small heroism
to do as / once heard an attorney do in
an Office in a western city. l overheard
the conversation, when he said: John,
YOU can so on with this lawsuit, and / will
see you through as well as / can; but
want to tell you before you start that a
lawsuit Is equal 70 a fire" Under the
tremendous temptations that come upon
the legal profession, there are scores
of men who have gone down. and some Of
them from being the pride OF the highest
tribunal of the state, have become dis
grace to the Tombs court room. Every
attorney in addition to the innate sense
OF right, wants the sustaining power OF
the old-fashioned religion OF Jesus Christ.
Bring Zenas. the lawyer"
There are two or three forms Of tempta-
ton to which the legal profession Is espec-
tally subject. The first Of all is septic
ism. Controversy Is the lifetime business
OF that occupation. Controversy may be
incidental or accidental with US: but with
you " Is perpetual. You get so used 60
pushing the sharp question "Why2" and
making unaided reason superior TO the
emotions. that the religion OF Jesus Christ.
which is "A simple matter OF faith, aud
above human reason. although not con-
trary TO it, has but little chance with some
OF you. A brilliant orator wrote a book.
on the hrst page Of which he announced
this sentiment: An honest God Is the
noblost work OF mani Scepticism is the
| u1lnhtioaf termination Of tho Iaoat 49,.