Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-03-23
BARON PoLLoCK's "REMINISCENCES
OF CONFEDERATE SECRETARY.
The Latter, Ex-senator, Ex-Attorney-
General, Had to Begin ut the Bot-
the Ladder-Stories About Him.
New York SUM-

are called In England. Several of Pol
locks pupils became lawyers of emf
nence, but shortly after his nomination
as Queens Counsel he took into his offic
the most extraordinary pupil an English
lawyer ever had, in Judah p Benjamin
then 50 years of age, who, though he ha,
behind him long and distinguished ca
reer at the bar Of the United States Su.
preme Court and at that OF Louisiana
had served two terms as United State.
Senator, and had been Acknowledgement
secretary Of War, and Secretary of State
OF the Confederate States. was obliged
In order to practice his profession in the
English courts, 10 begin at the bottom
again. entering himself as a student at
ldhcolns Inn, and reading law once more
IN a pracucing lawyers office Benja-
MINIS probation lasted for six months
TWO years and a half of the prescribed
time for preparation being dispensed
with, and he quickly worked his way to
the front at the English Bar when once
ADMITTED to practice. Shortly before his
death Baron Pollock wrote down some
| interesting "reminiscences of his strange
pupil, which appear i'm the last number
or the Fortnightly Review. He was at
Hrst disinclined to accept Benjamin as
pupil but visit made by the latter to
FOlockS father, then Lord Chief Baron,
made him change his mind. The visit is
described thus by his sister:
ION February 3, 1866, my father brought
down Mr. Mason and Mr. BENJAMIN TO
sleep for couple of nights, and a few
| county neighbors came to meet them.
had not seen Benjamin, and had pictured
| 10 myself an American Of the jefferson
| Davis type. To my surprise, when he
entered the room / saw a short. stout
| genial man of decidedly Jewish descent
| with bright, dark eyes, and all the polite
ness and bonhommie Of a Frenchman,
looking as If he had never had care in
his life. Next morning 1 was down early;
so was he, and he gave me most interest
ing and thrilling details of his perilous
escape at the end of the war | was
much struck by his generous candor l
asked him what the northerners would
have done to him if they had caught him,
and he said probably they would have
put him to death. When / exclaimed in
horror at such an atrOcity, ne said, apollo
getically, that party feeling ran so nigh
just then that his side might have done
the same had the circumstances been re-
versed."
Baron Pollock continues THE day
after this visit my father, seeing me in
court, sent down a note, saying: Have
you done wisely in declining to take Ben
jamin as your pupil?' l gave him my
reason; to which he replied: Benjamin
has no need to learn law; all he needs
is to see something Of the practice of our
courts and to obtain some introduction
TO the English Bar On this | thought
l had been wrong, and, fortunately, was
i'm time 10 revoke my first decision, and
within a week Benjamin was in my
chambers, greedily deyourng every paper
that came before him, and writing sound
opinions.
with reference to the peculiar circum-
stance in which Benjamin was placed, l
thought it in better taste not to ask him
questions as to the previous history, and
the part he had taken in the civil war;
but he spoke freely of these and other
incidents of the secession in the pupil
room, where the conversation was often
not only interesting, but full of humor.
Benjamin, however, often came to dine,
or to spend an afternoon with me at Put
ney, and then told US many anecdotes |
connected with the war, always cheerful |
ly putting forward the amusing side of |
things. The only two injurious acts done |
~ MN ~ lllC llOl AllNlIltlo Vi WHICH ne 1
spoke with anything like bitterness were |
that they burned his law library and |
drank his cellar of old Madeira, a wine
much cherished in New orleans.
"lu June, 1866, Benjamin was called to
the bar by the Benchers of the Inner
Temple, and certainly no jealousy Of
new and dangerous rival prevented his re-
ceiving a kindly welcome from all men,
bers Of the profession who had made his
acquaintance, or come to know OF his
singular position, and the interest which
belonged TO it.
"One great and early advantage held by
Benjamin as a lawyer was this-that he |
was a native of and educated within the !
State Of Louisiana, which was one of the
French Colonies, and, therefore, the law
taught and administered within it was
that which took its origin in the code OF
Justinian, and was afterward adopted by
he nations Of Europe. and continued to
be the law Of France until the Code Ma
oOleon. The principles and practice of
his great system of law Benjamin knew
md appreciated thoroughly, and he was
1t all times ready TO point out its leading
eatures and how they differed i'm princi
de from English law. This also gave him
! distinct position superior 10 his brother
'dvocat0s when arguing, before our Ju-
icial Committee of the Privy Council. !
Ippeals. from those of the English Colo
lies OF French origin which were ceded TO
England before the Code.
His power Of applying the theory OF
aw to daily practice was great, and 1t
eemed 10 him real pleasure TO explain
o others what he knew and valued so
much himself. Few works on English
aw have been so readily accepted and
20 universally used as Benjamin on
iales' which has gone through several
ditlons"
Baron Pollock gives some interesting
tories OF Benjamin's career at the bar:
''The chambers In Lamb buildings soon /
ecame we'll filled with briefs and cases q
or opinion, and there from early morn
ne TO late evening was Benjamin 10 be l
Ound. steadily disposing of all that came '
D him with as much zeal and energy as
@ could have shown were he n young {
IAN for the first time earning his liveli- !.
God. But for all this he never closed .
is door 10 any friend who came for a =
hat or TO obtain his views on some nice =
oint of Anglo-American jurisprudence. g
once went 20 him myself 10 ask for the q
Splanation of a new system which had n
rown up in the export trade from New p
ork to Liverpool. He gave me az once n
was his manner. a short and clear ac- n
)unt of the practice, and also explained v
he legal results ana the rights of the b.
lrties a
This led 10 "A curious sequel. for with W
few weeks l was retained for al
antiff I'm chancery against two de- m