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The Editor will be glad to receive contributions of articles of moderate length upon subjects of inter est to the profession; also anything in the way of legal antiquities or curiosities, facetia, anec dotes, etc. THE GREEN BAG. Editor the " Green Bag. I have read with great pleasure and satisfaction Hon. Charles Hamlin's interesting sketches of the late Jonas Cutting and Edward Kent; so long asso ciate justices of the Supreme Judicial Court of Maine. I have a reminiscence of Judge Cutting which I think will be of interest to the profession and have a salu tary influence upon those members of the Bar who have an inclination to indulge in personal invective. An important case occupying several days was being tried in the Supreme Judicial Court of Knox County, Maine, at the March term of 1873, presided over by Judge Cutting. Two able counsel were pit ted against each other, who had during the progress of the trial become very bitter and hostile, and had indulged in many personal epithets unworthy their distinguished ability and learning. When the Judge charged the jury he criticised the course pursued by the counsel in the following incisive and effective but scholarly manner : — "Now, gentlemen, the arguments of the counsel in this case have been very able upon both sides. I have known these gentlemen for many years. I ad mire them as jurists. I admire their eloquence as advocates. But at the same time there has been ex hibited to you in this trial a certain element which I regard as extremely objectionable, because it has had no tendency to aid in disclosing the truth which we are seeking to arrive at. The object of counsel should be to argue upon the evidence and to present the tacts in the case, and not to charge each other with oppro brious epithets. That has nothing to do with the case. It does not disclose anything which you can consider on the case. It is crimination and recrim ination, and tends only to satisfy the morbid sensibil ities of a portion of the audience. If they would study human nature; if they would study Shakespeare, who lias disclosed the nature of the mind perhaps better than any other author, they would then perceive that
such epithets are detrimental and make no part of the attributes of any orator. "You all recollect, if you have read Roman history, that Brutus, who pretended to be a great patriot, murdered his emperor, Caesar. That scene has been described by Shakespeare. There was Antony, who was hostile to Brutus, inimical in every respect. He delivered the funeral oration over Caesar, his deceased emperor. Did he, on that occasion, vituperate and charge Brutus as being an assassin, a murderor or a traitor? No. He knew better than that. That would create indignation among the Roman people. Brutus had his friends and Antony knew it. And what did he say? He said Brutus was an honorable man. Now, if counsel would only recall that speech, however hostile they may be to each other; and say they are all honorable men, it would be far more respectful and would give far greater weight and force to their arguments than to call each other villains, or apply to them any other opprobrious epithets : be cause that is language which anybody can use, how ever low and degraded he may be. Those epithets are vulgar and never should be introduced in a court of justice. If the facts disclosed in the evidence will not disclose the character of the parties, nothing that counsel can add will do it." T. R. Simonton. Camden, Me. LEGAL ANTIQUITIES. The Coronaior (coroner) is so called because in ancient times his business principally was with pleas of the crown. The office was instituted in Richard I's reign, in 1194, when the coroner was ordered to be elected in every shire by the freeholders of shire. This office was soon de prived of its principal dignities; for by Magna Charta it was enacted that no coroner should hold pleas of the crown, these being expressly reserved for the justices in eyre. The statute De officio Coronatoris, of 4 Edward I, Stat. 2, laid down in detail the position and duties of a coroner.
FACETIÆ. When Judge , of the North Carolina Su preme Court, was on the circuit bench some years since, an action for damages sustained by an
