The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1905-04-18
ENGLAND HoNoRS cHoATE
Greatest Gathering Of Kind in His.
tory Of Inns Of Court.
Banquet by Famous London Bar Associ
alton Given Our Retiring .''''z'
Ambassador.

London, England. Farewell, re
joice! He goes back to bis home witt
his duty well and no51y done, taking
the universal respect and admiration
Of kindred nation and his own"
Thus concluded Lord Chancellor
Halsbury's tribute at parting with
American Ambassador Choate, who re-
Gently was uniquely distinguished by
election as member of the Middle
Temple, who was honored by the
greatest gathering of the kind of the
bench and bar in the history Of the
Inns of court.
The Attorney General, Sir r. B. Fin.
lay, seconded the toast, saying:
This is no ordinary occasion. Never
has a worthfer man occupied the post
of Ambassador to Great Britain, and
none has carried away deeper affec-
ton. Never was there a more wei.
come guest at the Inns than this con.
summate advocate, great diplomatist
and genial man of the world"
The assembly was an extraordin.
airy one in character. and numbered
nearly 400 members of the bench and
bar, including almost every leading
Justice and barrister in England. Mr..
Choate sat between Lord HaIsbury and
Lord Macnaghten, Lord of Appeal in
Ordinary. Ranged on both sides were
the venerable Privy Councillors, each
wearing his decorations and orders.
Other notable personages present
were Lord Alverstone, Lord Chief Jus.
tice; Sir Richard Hem Collins. Master
of the Rolls; Viscounts Knutsford and
LANDAU, Lords James of Hereford
and DunbOyne, Fl. III. Asquith, former.
ly Home Secretary, and all the mem.
bers of the American Embassy.
The great dining hall Of the Middle
Temple is a vast oaken chamber. its
high roof supported by heavy beams,
the sides Of the walls panelled with in
sets of coats of arms, its windows of
stained glass. At one end of the hall
Is Watts masterpiece of fresco. Leg.
islation," representing lawmakers from
the time of Moses.
AT the other end is a screened musi-
clans gallery, ornamented with carved
lifesized figures. 1t was occupied by
a few select women guests, not dining,
but simply looking on. On high NOV
able pedestals huge roasts were carved
before the guests by the Inns carver
perched above the assembly.
The entire scene had a strange. but
delightful, Old World air. AS the
guests took their places they remained
standing until the Lord Chancellor had
pronounced grace, "Benedictus, bene-
dictam."
Tho fret 400 CT rryaS ,5r,,4t- = eAo,. ~, =.
simple words, 1.-THE King, The sec
ond, pronounced by the Lord Chancel-
Tor, was THE President, the great
Magistrate of great Nation"
Mr.. Choate arose, looking somewhat
pale after his recent illness. He was
greeted with prolonged but dignified
applause. He spoke at considerable
length, addressing the assembly as
Brothers ALL" He said in part:
Words cannot express my gratitude
for this unique and overwhelming
honor For an American lawyer to be
the guest of the bench and bar of Eng
land on an occasion graced by the APP
plauding presence of so many of their
most distinguished members overc0mes
him with a sense of his own unWorthi-
ness. can only suppose that in my
person and over my head you intend
an unexampled honor to the country
represent. thank you all from the
bottom of my heart 1 am especially
grateful to my friend, the Lord Chan
cellor'
Mr., Choate paid tributes to his per-
sonal friends, Lord Chancellor Halls.
bury and Lord Chief Justice Alver-
stone, and said that the new diplomacy
to which the Lord Chancellor had said
he belonged had made his task here
easy.
The men with whom he had had to
deal at the Foreign Office. the late
Lord Salisbury and Lord Lansdowne,
We're both of that school, saying what
they meant and meaning what they
said. He had always found them anx-
ious to maintain the friendliest rela-
tons, always willing to meet America
half way, and never with card up
their sleeves.
His task had been easy because
there Were Queen Victoria and King
Edward on one side and President Nc
Kinley and President Roosevelt on the
other. The English people and Amerl,
cans We're ever determined to be
friends.