The morning news., 1899-02-12
A FAMOUS JUDGES JEsTs.
Witticisms by Sir Henry Hawkins,
EngIand's changing Judge"

VII, hunlOIs OF fndIdCAtfs
During the hearing of the Tranby Croft
baccarat case much comment was caused
by the manner in which Lord Colerdge
allowed the bench to be occupied by lady
spectators. Shortly after this case Mr..
Justice Hawkins had to hear libel ac-
ton arising out of some criticisms Mr..
Parkinson, of the London County Coun-
Gil, had passed upon the moral character
of some marionettes which were then being
exhibited at the Westminster Aquarium.
The marionettes-two male dolls and a
female tigure-were produced in court
where shall we put these fgures?'
asked counsel
Il suppose the lady" said Sir Henry,
maiiciousy, ought to be accommodated
with a seat on the bench"
Mr.. Justice Hawkins once had to SEN
tence an old swmdler, and gave him seven
years. "Oh, my Lord whined the man.
"Tn never live half the time" The judge
took another look at him and answered:
II don't think II is at all desirable that
you should"
On another occasion the usual Formally
was gone through of asking a prisoner
who had been found guilty if he had any
thing to say. Striking theatrical pos
ture, and with his right hand in the air,
the man exclaimed; MAY the Almighty
strike me dead if don't speak the truth
am innocent of this crime" Judge Haw-
kins said nothing for about minute. Then
after glancing at The clock. he observed
in his most impressive tones: Since the
m % bae M aa ~ in
viii now proceed TO pass sentence"
AS a junior counsel Mr.. Justice Haw-
kins was once practicing before Lord
Campbell who was somewhat pedantic
In addressing the jury Mr.. Hawkins, in
referring to a brougham pronounced the
word with two syllables-bro am. Elk
cuse me, said his lordship blandly, but
/ think that if instead of saying "brough-
am you we're 10 say broom you would be
more Ineligible 10 the jury, and, more
over, you would save a syllable" II am
much obliged to your lordship." quietly
replied Mr.. Hawkins, and proceeded to
bring his address to a close Presently
the judge, In summing up, made use of
the word, omnibus" Instantly up rose
Mr.. Hawkins, and exclaimed Pardon me,
m lud but l would take the liberty of
suggesting that instead of saying 'omni-
bus your lordship should say bus, and
you would then be more ineligible 10
the jury, and besides you would save two
syllables"
To the representatives. of the press dis
charging their duties In his court he was
invariably courteous but even they did
not always escape his quiet sarcasm. Dur
ing the hearing of a case at Norwich AS
sizes women and children were ordered out
of court. Counsel subsequently called his
lordship's attention to the fact that the
messenger boys of the papers remained,
and was met with the quiet rejoinder:
They are members of the press and prob
ably the evidence cannot corrupt their
minds"
Until his death, a few years ago, Jack
the fox terrier, was Sir Henrys lnsepa-
rable companion and friend. He was
present from the late Lord Falmouth.
Many good story Is told of Jack and his
master. Once in a crowded assize court,
Jack was sitting at the judges feet when
a barrister commenced to cross-examlne
a witness in a loud and angry tone of
voice. Jack took offense and barked lus-
tily. Dear me, dear me, pray let us
have quiet" said Sir Henry, 81 wish gem
tlemen wouldn't bring dogs into court"
The caustic remarks of his lordship have
not alwbys been confined to the bench
At the opening Of an assze the chaplain
preached what he conceived to be a dis
unctly good sermon and he had the tenn
Gritty 10 sound Mr.. Justice Hawkins on the
subject. Did you approve of my sermon,
my Lord?' he asked. Il remarked in your
sermon" Mr. Chaplain" was the prompt
reply, 1.-TWO things which, to be candid,
did not approve of, and which / have,
am glad to say, never remarked on a sim
liar occasion "They We're, my Lord?'
was the anxious question Of the preacher.
THE striking of the clock" answered Mr.
Justice Hawkins, twice, ar"
Sir Henry was once presiding over a
long, tedious, and uninteresting trial, ana
was listening apparently with great atten-
ton to very long -winded speech from a
learned counsel. After a while he made
pencil memorandum folded it, and sent II
by the usher 10 the Q. G. In question who.
unfolding the paper, found these words:
patience competition. Gold medal. Sir
Henry Hawkins; honorable mention. Job"
When dealing with children, either In the
witness box or IN the dock, Sir Henry has
always displayed a kindly disposition He
was once testing whether a boy witness
understood the nature of an oath In the
course of his questions he said 10 the lad,
IF were to say that you had an orange
in your mouth, would that be the truth? 20
mo, IL would be a lie." "And IL / said you
ndH one III your mana r 'lndt would he
another lie" And If | promised you bag
of oranges and then didn't give them to
you, what woum that be?" THAT would
be lie" And if did give them to your"
THAT would be the truth" "Very wen; I
will" and he did.
decision OF the learned Judge. which
at the time excited considerable attention,
was that which he gave in bigamy case
at Derby Assizes. A boy and girl married
in 1884 and in three months discovered
that they were too young to know their
own minds, so they quietly agreed to sep
arate. There was no cruelty, no suspicion
of adultery, nothing 10 enable either of
them to appeal TO the law. They had. while
under age, simply made "a matrimonial mis-
take and corrected II in the easiest way
After six years of single blessedness they
both married again happily this time-and
Il was in evidence that they had led repu-
table lives with their new sDouses from
1891 to 1898. Then neighborlng busybodies
interfered. and procured the arrest Of the
husband and wife on the charge of big
amy, in the interests of Justice" Justice
said that the interests OF human
ity were superior 10 those Of legal Justice
and that the alleged bigamists should have
LOT 81. l.