The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1908-07-19

ngham the Btnocuro OF the .h-oueekeopar-
ship Of the Excise Office In Broad street.
London. When Frederick was beginning
to make his way In the world It used to DO
whispered that his grandmother had been
a h~ousekeeper. The "Reminiscences was
unfair. for the young mans uncle. Sir
Frederick Thesiger, had been an Admiral.
and his father had been Secretary toad
miral Bentinck, Governor Of St. Vincent.
The future Lord High Chancellor himself
at the age Of IL was sent to a naval academy.
and in the following year entered the navy
as a midshipman and smelled powder with
the expedition under Cathcart which
seized the revived Danish feet In 1907.
On the death OF his elder brother, however.
he was taken out Of the navy, and after
spending o couple Of years in q private
school prepared to assume the manage
mont Of the p~aternal plantation in st. Vim
cont and to combine that vocation witha
practice at the West Indian bar. Subse-
quently he obtained his father's permission
to try his luck at the English bar. and he
was called in November. 1918. His rise
in his profession was not notably swift,
but in 1884. being then 40 years of age.
Thesiger was made a Kings Counsel by Lord
Brougham.
Throughout the years of political excite
ment which followed the great reform bill
he enjoyed a lucrative practice before COM
mittees in the House Of Commons. In ad-
dition to great industry and a vigorous and
logical understanding Thesiger was en-
dowed with physical gifts which were denied
to many of his competitors. Standing over
six feet high, OF a muscular and manly
build. n possessed of a handsome and
vivacious co~untenance. animated also In
his gestures, he quickly gave juries a pre-
possession in favor Of his client. Carefully
eschewing any pretence Of eloquenoe. he
would put his points plainly n forcibly
to this court or talk to a jury in q sort OF
homely chit-chat which robbed them OF all
suspicion. He possessed q gift Of narration
which seemed to render comment super
fuous. and he was particularly adroit at
examination in chief. taking the witness
by the hand ard conducting him through
his story without allowing him to drop
anything by the way. His high sense OF
honor. courteous bearing and kindness Of
heart made him justly popular among his
brethren OF tho bar. His love OF a joke
was irrepressible. "Hallo6!" called out a
man in the robing room. whose castor is
t~his3'-for in those days beaver had not
been replaced by silk. "Pollux [Pollock'sl
OF course" was Thesiger's instantaneous
rejoinder. Another Of his humorous re-
marks is reproduced in the book before us.
In a own on the home circuit the High
Sheriff for the year. though q young man.
happened to be afflicted with a dubious
nose that famed in the forehead OF the
morning sky" Somebody in Thesiger's
4hna~,al xhak IL -aa -1kht-r a.
the nasal organ by which the Sherif's
father had been distinguished. -Ah. I
see" said Thesiger, 4damnosa hereditas."
Thesiger's first attempt to enter Parlia-
ment, made in 1899. was unsuccessful,
but In the following year be obtained a seat |
for Woodstock. which he occupied until his
as Solicitor-Ge ner in 1914.
In the following year Thesiger. now be-
come Sir Frederick, became Attorney
in Sir Robert Peel's last Ministry. |
and in 1862 resumed hat place in the Ad- |
ministration formed by Lord Derby. Two
years later he refused the offer of a puisne
Judgeship. and it proved fortunate that he
had done so. for in 1883. when Lord Derby
again formed a Government. he received
the Great Seal, with The title Of Baron |
His want Of acquaintance |
with the practical work Of the Equity side
was d grave disadvantage to him as a
Chancery Judge, but his industry. his native
aoumen and his resolve to do Justice were
rs conspicuous on the bench as at the bar.
devoted his vacations and such time as
could spare during terms to a severe
course Of reading in the reports and teXt
books. and In his autobiography he recalls
with satisfaction that during his first tenure
of Office only two OF his DEGREES were re-
1ersed. He performed his part in the
Court Of Chancery as we'll as most common
aw Chancellors. y is the moderate encomium
IF Lord Selborne, @and there, as every
else. his tact. kindliness and courtesy
him popular When Lord Derby
,gain became Prime Minister in 1896 Chelms-
lord returned to the woolsack, and his
second tenure Of office lasted for rather
more than eighteen months. The sunset
II the Chancelior's life-he passed away
n 1878 at the age OF S4-wRs frightened by
he conspicuously rapid rise Of his third
ION. Alfred. who after a short period Of
success in his father's pro-
iession wa made in 1877 a Lord Justice
II Appeal straight from the bar. at the age
If 80.
nv.
John, Baron Campbell, the son OF a min
ster OF the Kirk OF Scotland. was born
n 1870. At the 9 Of seven he began his
at the grammar school Of his
native town n four years later entered
It, Andrews University. At the age Of
fifteen he obtained the degree of A.. NJ.
lie was destined for the ministry and pro-
'eeded to study theology at a divinity hall,
nut in his eighteenth year he received the
'fer Of a private tutorship in London.
which he accepted. After spending two
ears as -bear leader" he became a Parlia-
reporter on the Morning Chronicle,
nd hen Parliament was not sitting he
cad law. In 1905 he became a barrister Of
I~incoln's Inn. Retainers came very slowly
or a time. but by 1914 he was able to
on his professional income at little
hort Of e.. 900. Our author tells us that the
etters and fragments of autobiography
which cover Campbell's career on the Ok
ord Circuit provide the racieet reading.
here is no other such chronicle Of the UPS
downs. the hopes and fears of a fighting
'~arrister. 1t cannot be said thai the candor
Z the disclosures is always in the writer's
avor. Warm hearted and affectionate as