Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1914-04-25

! l. Sir Edward Carson /
trade. He relinquished office-he, who
had seemed but a4impet Of office. He
went out Of public life. The issue. had
/ found him mere party echo; II left
! him q hero. II 10 fine to thing that In
the vague hinterlands of most OF us
! there Is that latent passion for some
thing for which we are ready to die ii
THE call eomes-this latent heroism,. to
| balance, perhaps subdue, the darker
possibility that also sleeps or wakes
within US. 80.
Ulster Leader no ldeaiist.
| Now can imagine no head around
which an aureole would look more ri.
diculous than Sir Edward Carson's. He
lie the very perfect knight, not of the
Round Table, but of the bar mess,
learned in the crooked ways OF men,
cynical, Astounding In animal spirits,
loving equally joke or row, with
something of the gay swagger as we'll
| as the brogue of the squireen Of the
West-a man Of the type who takes
| his Iu6dG dllu W At6hGy ,"ISuOuS
water. An ideal would wither in his
presence Even Joseph Surface would
not have tried a sentiment" on him,
and poet before him would be dumb
l-hypnotised like rabbit before a
python. Is
There is something in the, mere
presence Of the man that is SCATTERING
and masterful. The retreating fore
head with the black, oily hair brushed
close to the crown, the long, Ratchet
face, the heavy-lidded eyes, at once
dreamy and merciless the droop OF
the mouth, the challenging thrust OF
the underlip, the heavy iaw-aH pro.
claim the man capable de tout ct pire.
He might pass for a. Sioux chief who
had left his 'scalps at home, or for an
actor who plays the bold, bad baron,
or for member Of another and still
more strenuous profession.
A barrister, said Carlyle, is load
ed blunderbuss; If you hire it, you
blow out the other mans brains; II
he hires 1t, he blows out yours. Sir
Edward Carson is the most formid-
able blunderbuss to be found in the
Temple. He is one of those men
who always have easy cases. With
weak man on the bench he simply
walks over the course. 1t is so much
easier for Judge to agree with him
than to differ from him -: so much
pleasanter; and after all, does not the
maxim tell US to- let the sleeping dogs
lie2 Live pleasant" says Burke, and
the old judge, nodding on the bench
and smiling down at Sir Edward, finds
himself In entire agreement with
Burke. In these circumstances the
great advocate is graciousness itself.
He is sweet and kindly even to the
poor plaintiff, who sees all his hopes
vanishing before some magic solvent.
Vainly his counsel wrestles with this
intangible influence. He advances his
most powerful line of attack. Sir Ed.
ward gently drums his fingers on the
table and murmurs, my lord, must
object" And the court holds its
breath as If there is thunder in the
air. But the judge averts the storm
and mods a profound conviction. 1t
is all a delightful comedy and every
one goes away happy except the poor
plaintiff, who takes a walk on the en-
bankment and thinks with some bit.
terness of Lord Halsbury. Perhaps
he looks at the water. But if the
judge is of harder metal. then the
note is changed. He must blow the
plaintiff to pieces himself; he must
overawe the jury himself. Then who
so ruthless as he, who so artful in
playing upon the political string. who
so subtle in suggesting hidden mo-
tives? The heavy, vibrant voice fills
the court, the blows fall with ruth.
less crash, all the resources of his
dominating personality are brought
into play to stampede the silent men
in the box.
Example Of the Carson Wit.
He has the gaiety of high animal
spirits and the rough wit of the
street "Are-re We a teetotaller?" he
asks Of the bottle-nosed man in the
witness box. mo, I'm not" says the
bottle-nosed man with resentment.
"Ar-reye a modtherate dhrinker?" No
answer. Should I be right if 1 CALI
ed We a heavy dhrinker?" That's
my business" says the bottle-nosed
man stiffly. Amy other business? ?"
1t is the knockout blow of the SPAR.
er who plays lightly with poor anita
gonist and sends him spinning with a
scornful flick of the finger. But when
he is engaged with more formidable
foes his methods are coarser. No one
in politics has a rougher tongue than
he or uses it more freely. 81 am not
| paid 5000 pounds a year for splitting
out dirt he says, referring to Mr..
Birrell, who has spat out less dirt in
a lifetime than is contained in that
one sentence. Il have taken the op
portunity of congratulating Sir John
Benn that Ananias is still flourish
ing" is his retort to mere state