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COCK BURN 127 baronet. This gentleman, who in 1757 sold Langton, Derby winner Running Rein — in substance to deterwhich had been the seat of the family since the fourteenth mine, if possible, the vexed question whether Running century, had a large family. His three elder sons held Rein was a four-year-old or a three-year-old when he was the title in succession, while the future Lord Chief Justice racing as the latter. Running Rein could not be proof England was the only son of the fourth son, Alexander, duced by Mr Wood, and Baron Alderson took a strong and eventually in 1858 followed his uncle, Sir William view of this circumstance, so that Cockburn found himself Cockburn, dean of York, as tenth baronet. Mr Alex- on the losing side, while his strenuous advocacy of his ander Cockburn, the father of Sir Alexander, was British client’s cause had led him into making, in his opening Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the speech, strictures on Lord George Bentinck’s conduct in the State of Columbia, and married Yolande, daughter of the case which had better have been reserved to a later stage. Yicomte de Yignier. Young Alexander was at one time He was, however, a hard fighter, but not an unfair one,— intended for the diplomatic service, and frequently a little irritable at times, but on the whole a courteous during the legal career which he ultimately adopted he was gentleman, and his practice went on increasing. In 1847 able to make considerable use of the knowledge of foreign he decided to stand for Parliament, and was elected languages, especially French, with which birth and early without a contest at Southampton, standing as a Liberal education had equipped him. He went eventually to and a reformer. During his first year or two in Parliament Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where he did well, winning he showed himself to be a useful speaker on topics of prizes for Latin and English composition, and appearing legal reform, and gained the respect of his fellow members ; second in the first class of the law-tripos in 1825, although and in 1850 he had a chance, of which he availed himself he does not seem to have proceeded to his degree until to the utmost. The “ Pacifico ” dispute with Greece 1829. He was elected a fellow, and afterwards an related, it will be remembered, to the treatment of a M. honorary fellow of his college, and having entered at the Pacifico, and other persons said to be British subjects, by a Middle Temple in 1825, was called to the Bar in 1829; Greek mob, and to the forcible methods of Lord Palmerston but though he had shown himself a young man of in causing a British fleet to blockade the Piraeus in order to considerable gifts, he had not exhibited promise of the enforce attention to his demands for compensation. The industry and energy which, in spite of a pleasure-loving Government was defeated in the House of Lords on this temperament, ultimately won for him success. He joined question, and in the House of Commons had a hard fight the Western Circuit, and for some time such practice to carry the vote of confidence proposed by Mr Roebuck, as he was able to obtain lay at the Devon Sessions, member for Sheffield. A lawyer was wanted to bring Quarter Sessions at that time affording an opening out the legal position of the Government. Mr Crowder, and a school of advocacy to young counsel not to be afterwards a judge, was not equal to the task; but on found anywhere fifty years later. In London he had so the third night of the debate Cockburn moved the little to do that only the persuasion of friends induced adjournment of the House after Mr Gladstone had him to keep his London Chambers open. Three years spoken, and on the following night made a speech, after his call to the Bar, however, the Reform Bill was of which Lord Palmerston wrote to Lord Normanby :— passed, and the petitions which followed the ensuing “As to Cockburn’s, I do not know that I ever in the general election gave rise to a large number of new course of my life heard a better speech from anybody, questions for the decision of Election Committees, and without any exception.” Cockburn made another excellent afforded an opening of which he promptly availed himself, speech very soon after this on the question of the treatThe decisions of the Committees had not been reported ment by Austria of the Magyar rebels; and when, less since 1821, and with Mr Rowe, another member of the than a month later, Sir John Jervis retired, and Sir John Western Circuit, Cockburn undertook a new series Romilly was promoted to be Attorney-General, he became of Reports. They only published one volume, but the Solicitor-General and was knighted. He succeeded to the work was well done, and in 1833 Cockbum had Attorney - Generalship in 1851, on the appointment of his first parliamentary brief on behalf of Mr Henry Romilly as Master of the Rolls. Lytton Bulwer, and Mr Ellice, Secretary to the Treasury, In February 1852 the Ministry resigned, and Cockburn the sitting members for Coventry. In 1834 Cockburn vacated his post. During the short administration of was well enough thought of to be made a member of Lord Derby which followed, Thesiger was Attorney-General, the Commission to inquire into the state of the corpora- and Cockburn was engaged against him in the case of tions of England and Wales. Other parliamentary work R. v. Newman, on the prosecution of Achilli. This was followed; but he had ambition to be more than a parlia- the trial of a criminal information for libel filed against mentary counsel, and he attended diligently on his John Henry Newman, who had denounced a scandalous Circuit, besides appearing before Committees. In 1841 and profligate friar named Achilli, then lecturing on he was in a position to take silk; and in that year a charge Roman Catholicism in England. Newman pleaded justifiof simony, brought against his uncle, the dean of York, cation ; but the jury who heard the case in the Queen’s enabled him to appear conspicuously in a case which Bench, with Lord Campbell presiding, found that the attracted considerable public attention, the proceedings justification was not proved except in one particular : a taking the form of a motion for prohibition duly obtained verdict which, together with the methods of the judge and against the Ecclesiastical Court, which had deprived Dr the conduct of the audience, attracted considerable comCockburn of his office. Not long after this, Sir Robert ment. The verdict was set aside, and a new trial ordered, Peel’s secretary, Mr Drummond, was shot by the crazy but none ever took place. In December 1852, under Lord Scotchman, M‘Naughten, and Cockburn, briefed on behalf Aberdeen’s Ministry, Cockburn became again Attorneyof the assassin, not only made a very brilliant speech, General, with Bethell as Solicitor-General, and so remained which established the defence of insanity, but also secured until 1856, taking part in many celebrated trials, such as the full publicity of a long report in the Morning Chronicle the Hopwood Will Case in 1855, and the Swynfen Will of the 6th of March 1843. Another well-known trial Case, but notably leading for the Crown in the trial of in which he appeared a year later was that of Wood v. William Palmer of Rugeley in Staffordshire,—an ex-medical Peel {Times, 2nd and 3rd July 1844), the issue being man who had taken to the turf, and who had poisoned in form to determine the winner of a bet (the Gaming Act a friend of similar pursuits named Cook with strychnine, in was passed in the following year) as to the age of the order to obtain money from his estate by forgery and