London Legal Letter.
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bar would seek judicial office, or accept it if In the history of the country these men had offered; that the judges were too often displayed a truly chivalric and public spirit. They had not only been the defenders of elected, and, finally, that there was too pro fuse an output of published legal decisions. liberty, but they had been the defenders of those great constitutional safeguards in which Referring to the selection of judges by elec tion, he admitted that a judge was not less a the rights of liberty, of life, and of property worthy judge because he was popular, but were all secured to the people. Success at looking to the fact that it was not possible the bar in the United States depended upon for a constituency to be as good a judge of the same conditions as in England. He had the right man to select for a given work in known personally nearly all the eminent a particular department as those intimately leaders of the profession in America for the acquainted with the character of the work last twenty years. No two of them agreed in and the men from whom the selection was personal qualities, but they all had one to be made, popular election could not, on faculty in common upon which success the whole, be satisfactory. And the reason, turned — a grim tenacity of purpose which mainly, was that in the case of popular carried them through from the beginning to election there was no sense of individual the very end of life at the sacrifice of what responsibility, whereas in the case of a ever was necessary, except honor and selection, even by such weak and erring character, to achieve success, and it was persons as Lords Chancellors, there was the that which enabled each of them to reach sense of individual responsibility, checked his goal. He agreed to the uselessness of and controlled by strong, healthy public so many reports of judicial opinions, and in regard to the change from an elected to an opinion. As to the multiplicity of law books, he said that in England there was a appointed judiciary, he had often contended library of some thousand volumes, mostly for the same doctrine which the Lord Chief reports, and he thought half of them could Justice advocated, but that fight had been be burned without any very serious injury fought out with the people of America fifty accruing; but fortunately the output of law years ago, and the battle was ended. No reports was now reduced to seven or eight matter what observers might think of the a year. On the other hand in America defects of the system, he was confident that they had the Federal reports and the State justice was administered in America to the reports in each State, so that there were satisfaction of the people, and it was brought between three hundred and four hundred to their doors, for law was cheap. He volumes a year. He suggested to Mr. closed a dignified and entertaining address Choate that the international accord now by an eloquent tribute to the character and happily existing between the two countries power of the Supreme Court of the United should be celebrated by grand bonfires of States. law-books, to which every English lawyer It too often happens that the manner in would be glad to make contribution. which judges exercise their authority is con Mr. Choate, in responding to the " Ameri sidered harsh and arbitrary, and it is there can Bench and Bar," amused his auditors at for a pleasure to record what must be con the start by stating that he spoke for ninety sidered a thoughtful, kindly, and touching thousand professional brethren. These act on the part of one of them. Mr. Justice American lawyers were all barristers, all at Bucknill, the last judge appointed, when on torneys, and all solicitors. Every one of them circuit in the Midlands, sentenced a young was entitled to go into the highest courts in girl to three months' imprisonment for con the land, and plead any case entrusted to him. cealing the birth of her child. Before
