The Washington bee., 1899-07-01
NO ENGLISH LAW.
AN IOWA JUDGE WHO WOULD HAVE
NONE OF 1T IN HIS COURT.

Word "Barrister"-what Jim Burton
Said of Chitty.
While sitting at a hotel table in a
small city of southern Iowa. a short
time ago got into a conversation with
a 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 lawyer named Chitty
had been alive within the present year.
why. bless my soul" he said, near
ly half century ago when | 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-
ations there had always been some man
named Chitty in the front rank Of the
legal profession.
After a few other "reminiscences the
Iowa lawyer turned to me and said:
Let me tell you what l remember
about Chitty, and l 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.
i hung out my shingle, and for many
weary month watched it rusting and
swinging in the breeze.
Suddenly came the call to action. A
neighboring farmer bought a horse
that soon manifested all the defects
that such animals are capable of pos
sessing. The farmer came to me as a
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.
''The trial was to take place before a
Justice of the Peace in an adjacent
township. So on the day appointed I
borrowed horse. put on black coat
and a plug hat. and with copy of
Chitty-the only law book l 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 | produced my Chit
ty and read what the great legal light
| had 10 say on the subject of a verbal
guarantee.
And then, while working up to my
'perioration.' | closed the book and laid
it 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 it at the title page. He road it care
fully. his bleary eyes following slowly
I 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 | was through. quite satis-
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 a lawyer TO defend his
cause in your court hold in nv 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
written. it seems. by a man named
joseph Chitty. Esq. barrister-at-law,
of Lincnln's Inn. London. England
Your honor never heard of Joseph
Chitty, Esq. 10 mOre'n | did. | bet
No man in this court ever heard tell
of him Nobody in this township
knows who he is or was Barrister-
at-law!
What's that? In the name of all
that's holy. We've heerd 0f 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 was
brought up to the bar to have a drink
the whiskey bar-an' they call such
fellows in England barristers, An We
see such presumption must be right.
because the writer-who. for all we
know. may be nothin' more than a
! plaguerist-lives in an inn, a common.
low UlN6 Vi Dldce. tavern. q THRU
rate hotel. as yer Honor knows such
places are called in England.
Yer Honor, are we here in Iowa to
take our law from some travelin' cir
Gus man that was brought up to the
| whisky bar an lives in one of them
1 dens of infamy, that the Britishers call
an inn? Yer Honor. | 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. owned by a
reputable farmer in the State Of Iowa
must we go for instructions to one OF
! them bloody, brutal Britishers that We
! kicked out OF this country so many
years ago? Yer Honor will. of course
| dismiss this case. an send nv friend
with the plug hat back to his home
with a flea in his ear. an broken
backed Chitty, Esq, OF the London tav-
ern to keep him company.
This was said with a fury tha:
reused the angry passions of the Court
and court room. The case is dismiss
ed said the Judge; we don't want nc
British law from the dwellers in Lon
don taverns in this court. You're right
! Jim Burton. The Court is with you
Leaving the room. had a talk with
my client. and told him that Of course
We would take an appeal. Young
man. he said. lis that straight what