New-York tribune., 1910-01-30
Anglo-American Memories
Or KINGS soLcrroa-A GREAT LAwysR-A
GREAT SOCIAL FORCE
oopyT'sht 1910. by George W su.u.

'pieholo- But the misery he has eoothed
anu TIE social disruptions and disturb
ana farreaching disasters he has
prevented are tribute more splendid
s'ih And perhaps never has the value
OF MS advice been SO evident as when
III has been rejected.
In the matter which shook London So
Cety. more than any other of recent
years. Sir George Lewis. on one side.
and brilliant young solicitor, Mr.
Charles Russell. son of the late Lord
chief Justice. on the other. had come
TO an agreement. The instrument they
mao drawn Jointly was ready for sigma
ture- So quietly had all this distressing
business been transacted that, had the
instrument been signed then and there,
the world would never have heard there
had been disagreement till it learned
1here had been a settlement But out
SIDE influences intervened. One OF the
TWO signatures was withheld. Then
scandal broke loose and the sewers OF
London overf1owed all winter. There
were reproaches. recrimnations. di-
visions: all London taking one side or
the other. Then in the spring the same
instrument. word for word. was signed.
The solicitors had never wavered, nor
perhaps ever doubted. that since they
We're agreed THEIR clients must ulti-
rnately agree. 1t is typical example
Of Sir George Lewis's methods. But the
mischief that had been done by in
.truders could not be undone
Sleeping for half q century or for only
years and months in the black japanned
tin boxes which line the walls in
Ely Place and in his safes were papers
enough to compromise half London and
scandallze the other half. Sir George.
rejecting some years ago on this state
OF things, looked through the collection
and then burnt the whole That is the
best possible answer TO the foolish story
that he intended writing his memories.
His sense of professional etiquette and
HIS sense of honor may both be judged
in the light of these flaming documents.
1t had been necessary, of course. to pre-
serve some of these papers for a time,
on the chance of their being needed
again. But think of the relief with
which hundreds and hundreds of people
heard OF the burning! 1t is almost as il
the tragedies of which all record was
thus destroyed had never happened.
Sir George Lewis could coerce as well
as coax. He could use threats, but
never threat he was not ready to full
fl BY and by his character came to be
so we'll understood that a letter from
Ely Place became almost a summons to
surrender. But always on reasonable
terms. With all that. he had a kindness
Of heart 70 which thousands of people
can testify. / suppose no lawyer ever
did SO much for clients without fee or
reward. If you were his friend, If you
were of a profession. if you came to him
with 8 letter from some friend, If you
came TO him in poverty with a case
of oppression, he would take infinite
pains for you and no fee. He had all
sorts Of out-of-the-way knowledge;
copyright law. for one. on which he was
an authority, and in which few solicitors
are authorities There Is this link be-
tween copyright in books and in plays
and theatrical contracts-the contract
is commonly drawn by the publisher or
manager, who is man of business. and
the author or actor, who is not. is ex-
pected TO accept II. II was this So
licitors pleasure to redress that balance.
He was a law reformer. Again unlike
most successful men who are apt to
be content with things as they are. The
letters he wrote to THE Times" on such
matters as the creation of a Court Of
Criminal Appeal, alteration in the law
Of Divorce. the Administration of Jus
tice and other high legal questions show
him great scientific lawyer. with a
mastery of principles. He had essentially
z legal mind. and he wrote with d
luminous precision and force not always
characteristic of the legal mind. And
he had what every Judge on the bench
ought TO have, and a few Of the greatest
really have, an unerring perception of
such facts as are essential, and power
of disrlissing all the rest. Sir George
Jessel had that: one Of the greatest of
Judges. Students of ethnology may re-
mark with interest that both were Jews.
When such man quits the stage II is
an irreparable loss to his friends, TO his
clients and to the world generally. The
feeling is more than regret for ties are
broken which never existed before and
will never exist again. Sir George
Iewis's position was unique because his
personality was unique. So will his
fame be. Reputation in the law is for
the most part transitory. But this will
endure. IL W. .