The sun., 1919-09-07

NNE OF tne most reihatkaote examples
" of commingled success and failure
ever known in the case Of an eminent
English lawyer is recorded in The STORY
Of My Life, by the Right Hon. Sir Ed
ward Clarke, K. c., just published in this
countr, by E. P. Dutton & Company.
This book abounds in useful lessons for
lawyers everywhere and is likewise full
Of interest for those innumerable laymen
who like to read about celebrated cases in
the law courts. II is an autobiography
which teaches that hardly anything is
more detrimental TO successful career in
public or professional life than TO become
known as man with q grievance. Sir
Edward Clarke ranked among the fore
most leaders Of the English bar, on the
common law as distinguished from the
ehaneery side, during many years Of the
Victorian period; YET this personal
memoir gives the reader the impression
that even in his own estimation he was q
legal light that failed. Instead Of dwell
ing on his achievements, he repeatedly
recalls his disappointments in life and
magnifes their importance.
The titles under the authors name ON
the first page epitomize his career thus:
Associate in Arts Of the University Of
Oxford, Associate of the City of London
College, Honorary Fellow Of Kings Col
lege London; Member of Parliament for
Southwark, February March, 1880; for
Plymouth, 1SSo-1s00; for the City Of
London, January-June, 1906; Her Maj
esty's Solicitor General, 1SS6-1S92; treas
urer Of Lincoln's Inn, 1906, and Privy
Councillor, 1908. Sir Edward Clarke is
by no means boastful concerning his ped
igree. He tells US that his ancestors were
a family Of undistinguished yeoman
farmers, but his father seems to have pre-
ferred business life, for as youth he
was apprenticed to a firm of silver
smiths at Bath, and subsequently he set
up in business for himself as jeweller
in London, where Edward was born on
February Is, 1841. When the boy was
old enough he helped his father in the
shop, and on one occasion he tells us that
he helped himself to some money out of
the til! to buy books With The book
which he bought with the stolen money
was "a Pair Of Gloves" by j. Hahn
Friswell. The story turns upon the old
rule of the law Of England which prohib-
tied a wife from giving evidence in be-
half of her husband. Forty years later
Sir Edward Clarke was largely instru-
mental in bringing about the passage Of
the criminal evidence act, which abolished
this cruel and absurd rule.
II.
The typical career of the most highly.
successful lawyers in England contem-
plates not only distinguished profess
sional achievements in-the trial and argu-
ment Of cases in court, but also the at
tainment Of prominence as a member Of
Parliament while acting as a Law Officer
of the Crown-Solicitor- General and
then Attorney General finally judi
eal preferment as Lord Chief Justice of
England or Lord Chancellor, depending
upon whether he belonged to the common
law or chancery bar. Sir Edward Clarke
became Solicitor General in 1886, but
never held the higher Office of Attorney
General He was aggrieved because he
was not appointed Law Officer of the
Crown at an earlier date, in which event
he believed that he would have been made
Lord Chief Justice in 1900, instead of
Sir Richard Webster lord Alverstone) J,
who gave the decisive vote in favor of the
United States in the Alaska Boundary
Commission. In politics Sir Edward
Clarke was Conservative; but he dis
agreed with the course of his party lead
ers in respect to the Boer war and the
Venezuela controversy with this country
and was consequently constrained to re-
-linquish his seat in Parliament. Lord
Salichpry affa~ox L.. A. ~o.:k.1- -