remark by Lord Coleridge is very amusing when we reflect that the chief legal dignitary of England, the Lord Chancellor, goes out with his administra tion, and one did once go out in six months. Until 1846 all the judges of New York were appointed and held till sixty years of age. They now hold fourteen years. In many other States they have terms almost equally long. In Massachusetts (and several other States, we believe) the judiciary are appointed and hold for life or until some fixed advanced age. All the Federal judges are appointed and hold for life, and two of the chief justices together sat more than, sixty years. There is one judge in that court now who has sat there more than thirty years — Mr. Justice Field, brother of the late David Dudley Field. The present chief justice of New York has sat more than twenty-four years, and another judge of the same court has been a judge twenty-eight years. Another went out of the same court a few years ago who had 'been a judge more than a quarter of a century. There are undoubtedly many other in stances of equally long service. Indeed, one would not risk a great deal in asserting that the average length of judicial service in the Eastern and Middle States, and probably in some of the Southern, exceeds that of the English judges. It may be questioned, moreover, whether there is not such a thing as too long a term of judicial service. At all events, we cannot recall an instance, in this country, where a leading law journal has deemed it its duty to hint to a chief justice that he ought to retire because of his somnolency on the bench!
King Philip. — Still in this vein reminiscent of Lord Coleridge, we may warrantably narrate an in cident of a dinner at the private table of the afore said chairman, his lordship's host, on the same pro gress, in which the late Elliott Shepard, his lordship's ckerone in this country, and his lordship were the chief interlocutors. The genial host had told an excellent anecdote of that same United States sen ator, Roscoe Conkling, illustrating his fearlessness and independence. He had been arguing a case before some judge who too manifestly took up the side against him and exhibited an undue amount of heat. Conkling wound up his argument shortly, saying that he would leave the further consideration to his honor's calmer moments. "I will appeal," said he, "from Philip drunk to Philip sober." " By the way," said Shepard, " I think the origin of that phrase is not generally understood. King Philip, the Indian chief, celebrated in early New England history, had taken a white man captive, and being somewhat excited by ' fire-water,' condemned him to be burned alive. The captive then exclaimed, ' I
appeal from Philip drunk to Philip sober,' and the King let him go." There was an instant's silence, so thick that you might have cut it with a knife. This tale was more than Lord Coleridge could stand. His eyes were nearly dropping out of his head with amazement, and leaning across the table toward Shepard, who sat directly opposite, he exclaimed in a tone of almost sorrowful expostulation, mingled with profound courtesy, " Oh, but my dear Shepard! that was not King Philip, the Indian, don't you know? — that was Philip of Macedon! " It is safe to say that Shepard was the only unembarrassed man at the table.
The Deceased Wife's Sister. — This trouble some factor in society has again made her customary triumphal progress through the House of Commons and met with her customary snubbing by the silkvested, shovel-hatted ecclesiastics in the House of Lords. A majority of nine, composed wholly of this class, we believe, has again defeated the will of the Commons. Once the majority was only two, and the pillars of the constitution shook almost as horribly as when wager of battle was abolished within this century. It is, and will always be, difficult to make the commonalty understand why this pro posal is wicked, and yet it is quite regular for a widow to marry her dead husband's brother, and why God inculcated the latter observance upon the Jews. Probably so long as the kingdom preserves this very useless appendage of its governmental machinery, this state of things will continue. But there is one remedy for it — the parties, who not having the fear of the established bishops before their eyes, desire to contract such incestuous alliances, may conveniently do so by emigrating to this country, or even to any one of the English colonies. Matrimony is freer from theological quibbles in Australia or Canada. Of course they would have to continue to live out of England, but we can imagine worse things.
NOTES OF CASES. Dangerous Premises. — In 6 Green Bag, page 249, attention was called to an Indiana case holding that the widow of a fireman cannot recover damages for his death caused by the collapse of a defective and dangerous building on which he was standing while fighting the flames. Similar doctrine may be found in Gibson v. Leonard, 143 Illinois, 182; 36 Am. St. Rep. 376, which holds that the owner or occupant of a building is not liable to an under writer's fire patrolman who forces his way into a building to save property from fire, without invitation.
