The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1899-07-05
NO ENGLISH LAW.
AN IOWA JUDGE WHO WOULD HAVE
NONE OF IT IN HIS COURT.

Said of Chitty.
While sitting at hotel table In q
small city of southern Iowa, short
time ago / got into a conversation with
well-known lawyer, and remarked
that the death of Sir Joseph Chitty
had removed the one prominent lawyer
who would have been anything like a
match for anyone in the arts of chaff
and word fencing. The General seemed
surprised that a lawyer named Chitty
had been alive within the present year.
"Why, bless my SOUL" he said, near
ly half century ago when l began to
study law, l used to tear my hair over
one Chitty, whose book 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-
atlons there had always been some man
named Chitty in the front rank of the
legal profession.
After few other "reminiscences the
Iowa lawyer turned to me and said.
Let me tell you what l remember
about Chitty, and I have never been
in England. Like most young men Of
my time in Iowa-about the middle of
the century, had to hustle to get a
profession, and when l got it the diff
Guilty was to make anything out OF it.
/ hung out my shingle, and for many
a weary month watched it rusting and
swinging in the breeze.
Suddenly came the call to action. A
neighboring farmer bought horse
that soon manifested all the defects
that such animals are capable OF pos
sessing. The farmer 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-
coed with the case
THE trial was to take place before a
Justice of the Peace in an adjacent
| township. SO on the day appointed
| borrowed horse, put on a black coat
| and a plug hat, and with a copy Of
| Chitty-the only law book | possess
| ed bearing on the case however re-
motely-in my saddle-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 I produced my Chit
ty and read what the great legal light
had to say on the subject of a verbal
guarantee
And then, while working up to my
'perioratlon,' closed the book and laid
1t on the table. The opposing counsel
who, by the way, was a local rousta-
bout that had never been admitted to
the Bar-took up the book and open
ed 1t at the title page. He read it care
fully. his bleary eyes following slowly
his dirty thumb. He looked up at me
with a scowl threw a fierce glance
around the room, and then fixed his
eyes on the Judge.
when I was through. quite salts
fed that the Judge had been impress
ed by my argument and authorities,
Jim Burton-that was the other fell
lows name-bounced to his legs. Yer
honor he said, this is a most extraor-
nary way for 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 wonderful au-
thority law. Here it is, right on the
first page. This old book. with the
broken back to indicate the rottenness
of the law it pretends to expound, was
d
Joseph Chitty, Esq, barrister-at-law
of Lincoln's Inn, London, England
Your honor never heard OF Joseph
Gritty, Esq, no more'n I did. I bet
No man in this court ever heard tel
of him. Nobody in this TOWNSHIP
knows who he is or was. Barrister.
at-law!
Whats that? In the name of al
that's holy! We've heerd of attorney
and solicitor, counsel advocate, judge
Jury and prisoner at the bar but who
ever heerd tell of barrister before this
The only fair presumption, yer Honor
Is that tits some scallywag that wac
brought up to the bar to have drink
the whiskey bar-an' they call such
fellows in England barristers! An W
see such presumption must be right
because the writer-who for all We
know, may be nothn' more than
plaguerist-lives in an inn. a common
low dive of a place. a tavern a third
rate hotel, as yer Honor knows such
places are called in England.
eyer Honor are we here in Iowa tC
take our law from some travelin' cir
Gus man that was brought up to the
whisky bar an lives in one of then
dens of infamy, that the Britishers cal
an inn? Yer Honor, l want to ask tn,
Court IL the law made here in the
United States of America isn't goo(
enough for us? When we have to decid,
on the merits of horse. owned by {
reputable farmer in the State of Iowa
must we go for instructions to one O
them bloody, brutal Britishars that W.
kicked out of this country SO man,
years ago? Yer Honor will of course
dismiss this case, en- send my FRIEND
with the plug hat back to his hom,
with a flea in his ear. ar broken
backed Chitty, Esq, Of the London tav
ern to keep him company.
"This was said with a fury tina
reused the angry passions OF the Cour
and court room. The case is dismiss
cd said the Judge; we don't want NJ
British law from the dwellers in Lon
don taverns in this court. You're right
Jim Burton. The Court Is with YOU