The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1899-08-25
NO ENGLISH LAW.

small city OF southern Iowa, a short
time ago, | got into conversation with
a well-known lawyer, and remarked
that the death of Sir Joseph Chitty
had removed the one prominent law
Yer who would have been anything
like match for anyone in the arts of
rhaif and word fencing. The General
seemed surprised that lawyer named
Chittv had been alive within the pres
ent year.
"Why, bless my SOUL" he said,
''nearly half century ago when | be-
gan to study law, | used to tear my
hair over one Chitty, whose books on
pleadings was as hard as nails, and
over another book written by man of
the same name on contracts"
| told him that for five or six gener-
ations there had always been some
man named Chitty in the front rank
of the legal profession.
A fter few other "reminiscences the
Iowa lawyer turned to me and said:
"Let me tell YOU what l remember
about Chitty, and | hare never been
in England. Like most young men of
my time in Iowa-about the middle of
the century-I had to hustle to get a
profession, and when | got it the diff
Guilty was to make anything out of it.
l hung out my shingle, and for many
a weary month watched it rusting and
swinging in the breeze.
Suddenly came the call for action.
A neighboring farmer bought a horse
that soon manifested all the defects
that such animals are capable of pos
scssng The IA, inner came to me as
client and told me he wanted to get
his money back and to return the
horse. | went into the facts with him,
and from what he told me / felt able
to advise him that the seller had given
him verbal guarantee of soundness.
This was enough. He told me to pro-
ceed with the case.
"Thc trial was to take place before
a Justice of the Peace in an adjacent
township. So on the day appointed |
borrowed a horse, put on black coat
and plug hat, and with copy of
Chitty-thc only law book | possessed
bearing on the case however remotely
in my saddIe-bag, | went on my
way. In those days we took our law
wherever we could find it, and law
books were scarce. After my state
ment of the facts | produced my Chit
ty and read what the great legal light
had to say on the subject of verbal
guarantee.
"And, then, while working up to
my :peroration, | closed the book and
laid it on the table The opposing
counsel who, by the way, was local
roustabout that had never been admit
ted to the Bar-took up the book and
opened it at the title page. He read
it carefully, his bleary eyes following
slowly his dirty thumb. He looked
up at me with scowl, threw fierce
glance around the room, and then fixed
his eyes on the Judge.
''When | was through. quite satisii-
ed that the Judge had been impressed
by my argument and authorities, Jim
Burton-that was the other fellows
name-bounccd to his legs. Yer
honor he said, this is a most extra
ordinary way for 4 lawyer to defend
his cause in your court. | hold in my
hand the authority from which SO
much has been quoted. You may like
to hear something about this wonder
ful authority in law. Here it is, right
on the first page. This old book, with
the broken back to indicate the rotten
ness Of the law it pretends to expound
was written, it seems, by man
named Joseph Chitty, Esi., barrister-
at-law, of Lincoln's Inn, London, Eng
land. Your honor never heard Of
Joseph Chitty, Esq, no more than |
did, bet. No man in this court ever
hear tell of him y Nobody in this town
ship knows who he is or was. Barris-
law!
Nv hats that In the name of all
that's holy! We've hcerd of attorney
and solicitor, counsel, advocate judge,
jury ansl prisoner at the bar but who
ever hrerl tell of l,arrster before this
The only fair presumption, Yer Honor,
is that It's some scallywaN that was
brought up to the bar to have drink
tho whisky l,ar~-an' they call such
f, llows in England harristcrs! An We
see such presumption must be right,
because the writcr-who, for all we
know, may hr unthin' more than a
plagucr>l lives in an inn, a common
low dive of 4 place, 4 tavern. third
rate hotel rs yer Honor knows such
places are called in England.
Yer Homer. are we here in Iowa
TO take our law from some travelin
circus man that was brought up to
the whiskcy bar an lives in one o.
them drns of iniamy, that the British
ers call an inn Yer Homer, | want to
ask the Court if the law made here in
the United States of America isn't
good enough for us? When we have
to decide on the merits of a horse,