The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1912-02-07

Nation. But there are many other
duties that the lawyer owes directly
to the State. The ordinary citizen is
under certain obligations to the State.
and failure to keep, or q wilful 'vio-
lation Of these obligations, renders the
offender liable to punishment. Upon
admission to the bar the duties and
obligations of the citizen remain, and
the duties and obligations of the law
yer are added to them. The State has;
through one Of its agencies, theCourts
conferred upon the lawyer, upon his
admission to the Bar,'a new standing
in the community in which he lives.
It has granted him new powers and
privileges. It is proper, therefore,
that it should exact greater accounta-
bility from him, than from the ordi-
nary citizen" The duty Of the lawyer
as q ;citizen*is paramount to-, that
which he owes to his client.
Z" Another duty though generally ov-
erlooked, arises from the fact; that
the people, by constitutional and stat
utory provisions, have constituted the
legal profession, the sole and exclu-
sive trustee, to administer justice In
the judicial department Of the gov
rernment, as no one can either preside
;as Judge, or practice If the Courts,
except those who have been duly ad-
tnittsd as attorneys. As we have just
shown, the fact that a lawyer Els a
trustee for one department 'necessar-
lily imposes upon, him the moral duty
to aid IN the administration Of the two
other departments, SO as to enable
the. judicial branch to accomplish
more successfully the = purposes for
which 1t was created. This does not
mean that tt Is incumbent on him to
hold office In the other department
merely: BECAUSE he is lawyer. o. !
duty is imposed upon. the
lawyer, byireason' of the fact ttat the
people, in the exercise of the'electiye
franchise have entrusted the members
:of the legal fraternity with the admin
istration of the 1egislatsvesand Gxecui
tive departments to far greater exT
tent than they; have entrusted the
members Of all other classes or cpro
:fessions.. =. ':.U 10 80: A. ::"i-%a > ;
!. The following statement uplpieeaars ia
ia note on page 50: of Legal Etfics".
by Warvilie: at s'said' that twenty
AVE out Of iftyy-six isfgners :" St" Tie
Declaration Of Indepehde dence,, fifty out
of hfty-nve members Of TIL. Cohven:
ton which framed our Federal consti-
tuition, nineteen out of 'twenty-fourr
PPresindents, seventeen out Of twenty:
Ithres vice-presidents Of the, United
States, and two hundred and nineteen
out of: two hundred and thirH!!foaf
Cabinet officers, were lawyers that
more than two thirds Of the United
States Senators and about one-half Of
our'Representatives in Congress-; and.
Governors Of the several States, and.
the majority Of jooaf diplomats and rep
resentativea in foreign countries, have
been lawyers" ~ ~ '''..' ;;, =; -, :,
The following statement Is taken
from the Green Bag: "rhe govern,
rrdent Of the; United States is appar,,
entity in the hands Of the lawyers. Of
the 4SO members Of Congress. both
senate and House s04 are !; lawyers.
The judicial branch il, of course, CIV
en- over ',;7; entirely to lawyers.'.f And OF
the thij executive branch, President TAFT
is lawyer, and seven out Of 'nine
members Of the Cabinet have, had a
legal training" IT Win thus be seen.
that the lawyer is morally RESPONSE.
BILE to greater extent than ali 9TH
ers for the due administration of the
law, In every department Of the gov
ernment. . '''''''. " ',>
The The lawyers 5y1 are are the, only body Of
men set apart from the study: and
practice of government, and the
chances are that they will be called
upon to take an active part in the sew;
eral branches thereof. For this .rea-
SON some writer's have contended that
there; should be preparatory train
ing in the study of Jurisprudence,
whose foundation should be laid in
an acquaintance with the masters of
thought on moral and political ques-
tions; and that the first books placed
in the hands Of the student Of law,
should be those which treat Of the
principles of general jurisprudence,
apart from the peculiarities of any
particular system; that the able and
instructive treatises by such writer's
as Paley, MontesQueu, Burlamaqui,
Rutherford, Vattel and Wheaton.
which naturally cognate to the course
Of Constitutional law, would instruct
him as to his moral duties, as well as
prepare him to be statesman. 49,.
Several years ago a banquet was
given in hon nor Of Mr.. Justice Harlan
in commemoration of the twenty-dfth
anniversary Of his tenure of office as.
a Justice Of the Supreme Court Of
the United Safes Among those pres