The Washington herald., 1910-07-31

to severe account in the event OF their
doing any thing "unbecoming OF an ad-
vocate and unbeComing of a gentleman. 80
and in extreme cases expeIing them from
the inn. which. Of course, is equivalent
10 disbarment.
No lord chancellor would dream Of
handing TO any member Of the bar a pat
ent as Kings counsel without having
previously obtained the most satisfactory
assurances as 10 the character and record
Of the candidate for "the silk from the
benchers of his inn. and from this it
viii be seen that before a man can hope
Tor appointment to a seat on the bench
he must have furnished abundant evil
dence as TO HIS fitness for the post
The minor judgeships in England are in
the gift Of the lord chancellor, who. as
the judicial member OF the cabinet. is re-
sponsible TO Parliament for the nominal
lions. Moreover. he possesses the power
OF removal, which is, however, rarely ex-
ercised. The judges OF the higher courts,
as in the case OF the judges Of the
Supreme Court OF the United States, can
only be removed Tor cause" by means
Of parliamentary impeachment. There
have been very few cases indeed OF re-
mova!s since the days OF King Edward 1,
from whose reign the present system of
judiciary really dates. and In the rare
instances OF unworthiness on the part
Of the judges they have been held up 10
such everlasting obloquy in history as 10
constitute q terrible warning OF the
never ending exec:ation that the Eng
lish people have In store for those who
soil the purity OF the judicial ermine
on the continent of Europe the selec-
ton Of judges is entirely different. They
constitute distinct and separate profess
sion and are nominated while mere pro-
bationers to the most inferior and least
important of judicial offices. and gradually
rise in the course Of years to the higher
courts by means OF successive promo
lions. AS a general rule the most bril-
liant. Of law students make up their mind
TO devote themselves 10 practice at the
bar, in which they see both fame and
fortune It Is their less gifted classmates
who, fully assured that in the face OF
of even earning mere competence as
advocates. in despair turn to what Is
known as the "magistrature, that is "a
say. judicial career.
Celebrated and silver-tongued lawyers
with huge practices are TO be found in
every capital Of continental Europe and,
while some Of them become ministers OF
state or even presidents Of republics.
such as for instance. the late Jules
Grevy, yet one never hears Of any Of
them condescending to accept seat on
the bench. the very occupancy Of which
implies a confession Of medioerity.
Under the circumstances. IL is not sur
prising that the pay Of judges on the
continent of Europe should be ridiculous
ly small. and the salary Of the highest
judicial funttionary in France, namely.
the president OF the Court OF Cessation
chat is to say. Of the final court of ap-
peaD. contrasts somewhat dismally with
the $4,000 year Of England's lord chief
Justice
The other judges OF the French Court
of Appeals receive salaries ranging from
50. 500 to 5000. while in the provinces ju-
dicial salaries range as low as $500 a
year. These rates Of judicial pay are
pretty uch the same all over the con-
tinent, and while the judges are theoret-
ically irremovabIe, except for misconduct,