tion of Sir John Romilly to the bench as Master of the Rolls, Sir Alexander Cockburn became Attorney-General, and held that office until he went out with Lord John Russell in February, 1852. In De cember of the same year he came in again with the Coalition Ministry, and was first law officer of the Crown until' 1856, when, upon the death of Sir John Jervis, he was appointed Chief-Justice of the Common Pleas. He left the bar with the greatest reluctance. He was satisfied with his stand ing and popularity in the House, and was earning a very large income as AttorneyGeneral. He accepted the post, however, and held the office until June 24, 1859, when he was made Lord Chief-Justice of England. This latter office he held for twenty-one years, and occupied the judicial bench alto gether twenty-four years. His charges to juries were masterpieces of popular oratory; and there was little chance for the most skil ful counsel if the Lord Chief-Justice became convinced of the duty to sum up against him. His considered judgments were marvels of exposition. An indisputable merit was the pains he took with his work, especially with such portions of it as came into more than usual publicity; and he would, in- important cases, find some reason for adjourning the court, in order that he might prepare a judg ment or a charge which would be of classical excellence. The,most famous case which came before him as Chief-Justice was that of the cele brated Tichborne claimant. The tedious and patient investigation of this case, together with the humorous and elaborate summing up by Chief-Justice Cockburn, which lasted eighteen court days, are comparatively fresh in the memory of the legal profession. Never, perhaps, was a judge's temper more tried by counsel than on that occasion. Sir Alexander Cockburn served on several commissions, and was chairman of the Cam bridge University Commission in 1877- 1878; but his most important function, outside the
duties of Chief-Justice, was to act as arbitra tor for Great Britain at Geneva in 1872, in the settlement of the Alabama claims. His conduct as arbitrator has been -severely com mented upon, notably by Mr. Caleb Cushing; but the existing fact that the sum awarded on that occasion in favor of the claims of the United States exceeded by some millions of dollars the proofs subsequently admitted, so that a large surplus remains still unaccounted for, may perhaps be received, now that ani mosities are hushed in the silence of the tomb, as some extenuation of a protest that doubtless was made honestly and patrioti cally, even though ill-judged and without avail. In private life, Sir Alexander was a warm friend, and many instances are given of his kindly nature. One in particular deserves special mention. At an early stage in his career he witnessed what he conceived to be a miscarriage of justice in the case of a prisoner of the name of Galley, who was con victed and sentenced to transportation for life. It was a case in which he had no per sonal interest, he being simply present at the trial as a member of the bar. He attempted, however, at the time, to bring the case be fore the authorities and get the sentence reversed, but in vain. A short time before his death the case of this unfortunate man was unearthed, and again did Sir Alexander come forward as his champion, and move the Home Secretary to remit the nominal remainder of the sentence, and allow Galley, a respectable Australian citizen, to end his days free from the stigma of an unjust con viction. Failing in this, he did not rest until he had brought the case before Parliament, and finally succeeded in his generous object. He was a man of varied accomplishments, a keen sportsman, a skilful yachtsman, a so ciety man of the best type, and finding also in his leisure moments time to contribute to the periodicals of the day; his last effort in that respect being entitled " A History of the Chase," in which he exhibited much archaic, classical, and sylvan lore.
