MR. JUSTICE KEKKWIfH either forsake it altgoether, or give it an imperfect, hasty and divided attention — consequences that inevitably result from the attempt to conduct causes before two judges sitting at the same time in different places. I have therefore resolved to refuse any business which may tend to prevent me from giving my undivided attention in court to matters that may be heard before the Lord Chancellor. " ' Sir Lancelot Shadwell was a man of remarkable physique and at an advanced age bathed all through the winter in the Thames. His home, Barn Elms, famous in the days of James I for its duels, stands on the banks of the river. One vacation he is said to have granted an injunction while pur suing his favorite pastime. Unfortunately the fashion which he had set of a ChanceryLeader restricting himself to one court and which in his case was entirely beneficial, degenerated in his own court into a system in which counsel and judge seemed to have exchanged places. The tail wagged the dog. Richard Bethell was called to the Bar in 1823. He and Sugden (Lord St. Leonards) were the first Lord Chancellors who practiced in the Equity Courts from the date of their call. In 1841 Bethell took silk 2 and became the leader in the Court of Vice Chancellor Shadwell. The influence which he exercised over the Vice Chancellor was distinctly prejudicial to the cause of justice. True words are often spoken in jest. "Why," asked the jester of those days, "is Vice Chancellor Shadwell like Rehoboam?" "Because he sets up an idol in Bethel." Lord Westbury in the judgment of most lawyers is only second to Lord Cairns among the Victorian Chancellors. He was not only a profound lawyer and eloquent judge, but he was also a zealous and wise law reformer. Lord Westbury clothed his judgment in classical English. It is difficult to decide whether the reasoning or the style excite 1 Gentleman's Magazine, Vol. 34, p. 545. 1 Taking silk is the phrase used when a Junior becomes a King's Counsel: henceforward he wears a silk gown and not a stuff one.
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our admiration most. Had Bethell devoted himself to literature instead of to law he would have proved a rival of Macaulay and Matthew Arnold. If Bethell escaped in this life punishment for "the fantastic tricks" he played in the Vice Chancellor's Court, his reputation after death has severely suffered for them. This fearless and inde pendent judge is now remembered by lay men mainly as the author of bitter and illnatured remarks. Possessing one of the most complex of characters and lacking in hardly any intellectual gift, this "Keeper of the Queen's Conscience" is now regarded as a man who owed his rise to irony and insolence. Assuredly the last Vice Chan cellor of England has not been unavenged. The Court of Chancery has recently lost its oldest Judge in Mr. Justice Kekewich. Sir Arthur Kekewich had much in common with Sir Lancelot Shadwell. Both were educated at Eton, which means starting in life under a cloudless sky and with favour ing breezes. Both were gifted with bright intellects which ensured them first success at the University and subsequently at the Bar. Both were essentially gentlemen and lovers of sport. Sir Lancelot entered Par liament; Sir Arthur failed though he tried twice. None the less his appointment to the Bench was a political one. The best side of the late judge's character was shown in Chambers. An immense amount of important business dealing with large sums of money and complex interests under Wills and Settlements is transacted in Chancery Chambers. Mr. Justice Kekewhich used to master all his papers (often very voluminous), was never over technical in his- decisions, and was patient and courteous to those practicing before him. The well known mot about the late Judge was quite untrue, when he sat in Chambers. There he was quick and rarely wrong. In Chambers he seemed to have taken Lord Westbury as his model. That bril liant ex-Lord Chancellor devoted the last year of his laborious life to his duties as
