Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-07-22
FOR A BRITISH LAW SCHOOL.
English Attorney Generals Scheme
Lord Chancellor's Objections.

From the Pail Mall Gazette.
The British attorney general It is well
known. has recently been engaged in evolv-
Ing a magnificent scheme for the fsunda-
ton of a great national school of law, tho
nucleus of funds for the foundation Of
which is thought to be opportunity furnish
ed by the sales of the two last surviving
of the old inns OF chancery. The idea Is
singularly happy, since the inns of chan
Gerry We're the establishments of the Lowest
degree, just as Serjeant's Inn was the high
est, In that complete system Of legal e.i;l-
cation devised as long ago a in the reign
of the English Justinian' edward H. And
II has !atelv been felt that the inns of
court. which are the only portions of the
old scheme which still remain are not
equal alone to provide a satisfactory ana
systematic course of legal education AMI
that their work needs TO be assisted hv
some institution created by them partly at
Their Joint expense, to provide at the Joint
cost of the nation. acting on behalf Of its
colonies. OF the four inns and of the In
cGrporated Law Society
Some great school of law has ba.n
dreamed Of and in these days worked for
by ali large minded legal reformers from
the days Of Henry NIII-who issued a
commission to Sir Nicholas Bacon. the dis
ungushed father of the great Lord Bacon
70 report on the inns of court-down to Sir
Richard Bethel, aftcrward Lord West
bury-of Sir Rounded Palmer. first Lord
kllloWen Each OF these in his turn work
ed strenuously for the establishment of a
school of law
The present attorney general as has been
said. seized the opportunity to effect the
creation of this which is now apparently
AFFORDED by the breaking up recently of the
last surviving of the inns OF chancery
With the aid of other still living workers
in the same direction. such as Lord Davey
and Lord Macnaghten, he has lately OBJ
tanned from representative committee
which he got the inns OF court to create
for inquiry, a scheme which II was pro-
posed should be in due coruse submitted
by the learned attorney general for the
approval of the court of chancery All was
proceeding well with this till the present
week The scheme had been PROFESSIONALLY
approved of by the middle tempt the at
torney generals own inn of court of which
he Is this year treasurer Lncoln's inn
many distinguished members of which have
fathered a scheme of legal education also
gave its adherence to this scheme So too
did Gray inn.
The inner temple however has among
its benchers the present lord chancellor
whose dislike to the establishment of a
school of law" appears to be as great rs
his objection to an extension of the jurs-
diction of county courts. So his lortiship
set himself TO oppose the one of these non
ular demands strenuously as he has
till now, successfully, resisted the other
Under his inspiration, and with the aid
or the following which a lord chancellor
Is sure to find among his fellow-benchers
of the inn of court to which he belongs
the liner temple on Tuesday last deter
mined to withhold its further adherence
to the attorney generals scheme. This
therefore. has, for the present, received
a check which We trust, however, will not
prove disastrous, and may. hope soon
be removed, with the concurrence of tho
lord chancellor himseif-for we are conf
dent that we shall be able, at no very dis
tant date, to report that the inner temple
has fallen into line with the other inns of
court and that IL longer offers Stub
born resistance to a great scheme. the re-
alization of which Is certainly demanded
both by the general public and by large
majority of representative lawyers.