blade of Damascus. In all our forensic contests, thrusts and cuts must be received as well as given. If received from the polished shaft or blade of courteous though keen debate, they heal by first intention, and leave no scar; if received from the bludgeon of angry words, bitter epithet or coarse personality, the wounds are contused. They heal slowly, and leave ugly scars in memory.

There is nothing in the public life of the lawyer so little understood by the laity, as these public disputations in the trial of causes in court. They appear to forget that every cause has, in fact, two sides; that the reasons which lie on the weaker side of a cause are just as legitimate as those which lie on its stronger side; that in many cases the reasons on either side are so evenly balanced, that the desputants themselves are unable to say which, if either, is the stronger side. That each lawyer is confined in his employment and duty to one side of the cause; that a like duty as to the other side of the cause is upon the other of the disputants; that these two, together, carry on, in a public way, that same process of reasoning which every man carries on in his own mind, before acting in any important matter connected with his private business.

These disputations are absolutely necessary, though they may appear unseemly to those who do not understand their office and use. If in conducting them lawyers forget to be courteous, they are unseemly-they are the retorts in which proud falsehood and oppression are consumed, and the gold of right and truth and liberty is refined and purified. They are trials by battle, presided over by the genius of reason, and in which justice wins more and brighter victories, than upon any other field of human action.

Lastly, this Association has undertaken to build up and "cherish a spirit of brotherhood among the members of the legal profession." On its success in this undertaking, depends the life of this Association, and its past and future reputation. In a measure, every man is, and has a right to be, selfish in the objects and results of his business life. He must be, and is, the center of his own personal world,-his home. From this center, all of his interests, duties, obligations and affections radiate towards his household, his kindred, his neighbors, his town, his county, State and Nation. The lawyer is no exception to this rule, but it is a very narrow view of his vocation that would allow him to make the pursuit and practice of his profession wholly selfish. His duties lie farther out from his personal self than those of the citizen whose occupation is purely private and personal. He

professes a knowledge of the laws which quietly stand as sentinels at the side of every citizen, to protect him in obedience to, and punish him in disobedience of, the laws. He holds himself out to the public as an arm of the law, to aid in holding evenly the scales of justice. The public accepts him on his profession, and trusts him accordingly.

Knowing the law, he knows its imperfectness, and when, and where, and in what manner, the exigencies of business, and the advance of civilization require new laws to be made, or old ones modified, amended or repealed. This knowledge belongs to the public, and should be utilized for its benefit. Every citizen owes to the community or State, that quality of service that he, better than others, is qualified to render. If the lawyer understands the necessity of any reform in the law, and the means by which such reform can be effected better than other citizens whose knowledge and skill lie in other directions, he owes a corresponding duty to the public to bring about the needed reform. Public measures looking towards reforms, can only be carried by combination and cooperation. By unity of purpose and unity of action among many, or as our constitution expresses it, by cherishing a spirit of brotherhood. But it is well to remember that the domain of a brotherhood which seeks to confer public benefits, lies outside of and beyond the central world of self. The spirit of such brotherhood may well recognize that measure of selfishness by and through which each one provides for his own; but it reaches out beyond this, and spins golden threads which reach from one self to another self, and still on, and on, until a large number of men, with like tastes, or pursuits, or interests, are united in the cherished. bonds of brotherhood. This is the spirit which this Association has sought to invoke among the lawyers of Illinois. It has sought to bring them together to discuss the reason and philosophy of the law, and compare notes as to its practical operation in the administration of justice. It has sought to lead the way in the growth and symmetrical development of our system of jurisprudence. In this work it has been at least partially successful. Many papers have been read here that were of profound interest to those who heard or have read them. Questions of great public interest have been ably and exhaustively discussed before this Association. These discussions have tended to prepare the public mind for the legal reforms which they foreshadowed. But they have not been as influential in that direction as they should have been, and one reason is that we have not given them as wide publication and circulation as was necessary to secure their proper consideration by the general public. Another reason is, that

we have not been as aggressive in presenting such measures as we approve and recommend, to the Legislature, and urging their adoption. We have, possibly, not been sufficiently specific in formulating the legislation we have recommended. We have not taken care to place in the Legislature men who are indentified with us, and imbued with the spirit of our work.

We must recognize the conservative forces of society, which breed caution in regard to all proposed changes of established customs or laws, and not expect results without labor persistent and continued. The fact that, while this Association has met with neither discouragement nor opposition from others, members of our own profession have been exceedingly reluctant to take part in its deliberations, and in the discussion of legal propositions in which their private interests are in perfect harmony with their public duties, has given your executive committee no little concern in regard to the ultimate success and permanency of the organization. Some lawyers who habitually complain of the decline of legal business, when invited into this service, have found the earnestly desired excuse in business engagements and want of time. This has not been wise in them, even from the standpoint of selfishness. It enters into the experience of those who have attended these annual meetings, and participated in them, that they have returned to their offices better equipped for the discharge of their professional duties. The bonds of professional brotherhood have been lengthened and strengthened by their enlarged acquaintance with members of the profession in all parts of the State. Their views of professional duty and obligation have been improved. The standard of professional character has been elevated and dignified.

Especially is this so in the case of young men who hope for much and expect much of the future. For them, if they so will it, this organization has in store opportunities not found elsewhere, of improvement and promotion. To the young lawyers of Illinois, whether here present, or elsewhere, I will say that this is the hour and the occasion of great opportunity for you. You cannot stand still. You must advance with the civilization that surrounds you. Other professions are moving rapidly to higher planes, and you must keep abreast with them. You should lead them. All the other professions have their organized associations for mutual improvement and advantage, and you must have yours. Fill up the ranks of this Association, and in the unity which it gives you, you will find strength. Put the fresh warm blood and active brains of your young manhood into its service;

cherish and keep in your hearts the living spirit of a true brotherhood. Look high for all your standards. Assiduously cultivate the science of jurisprudence; carefully, but with zeal and courage, promote every reform in the law that promises good to the community or State. Use all your professional skill and knowledge to "facilitate the administration of justice." Demand of those who enter the profession a "thorough and liberal legal education." Bear aloft in public and private life the standard of spotless integrity, unsullied honor and knightly courtesy. "Keep innocence, and take heed to the thing that is right; for that shall bring a man peace at last."

UNANIMITY OF JURIES.

SIGMUND ZEISLER, OF CHICAGO.

READ BEFORE THE ILLINOIS STATE BAR ASSOCIATION, JANUARY 14, 1890.

Mr. President and Members of the Bar Association:

That trial by jury, in theory, is an excellent method of determining controverted questions of fact, everybody will admit. That, in practice, it often results in a travesty upon justice, no observer can deny. That, in theory, it is a palladium of liberty, is the just boast of all English-speaking people. That, in practice, it often becomes a means of unjust conviction, but oftener a protection for the criminal, is the comment of all thinking people and lovers of fair play. That, in theory, it is a means of arriving at absolute truth, is the very essence of the institution; but that, in practice, it is very often a snare and a delusion, is a fact to which we cannot shut our eyes.

The question then arises, what are the practical elements in our sytem of jury trials which so detract from their theoretical value, which so materially affect their ideal usefulness, and so frequently render them impediments to the attainment of justice? The question is one of supreme importance-one which concerns every lover of free institutions. For, unless we discover those defects which lie at the very root of the evil, and find appropriate remedies for the same, there is great danger that the already widespread dissatisfaction with trials by jury will assume more threatening proportions-that the whole institution, even now the subject of scorn and derision in many quarters, may fall into disrepute, and eventually be sacrificed to popular prejudice systematically engendered through the unsatisfactory results of its practical working.

It would far exceed the natural limits of an address upon an occasion like the present-in fact I might consume days instead of minutes-were I to discuss in detail the many directions in which our system of jury trials are open to, and needful of, reform. The method of making up jury lists and supplying the different courts with jurors, though it has recently been somewhat reformed in our State, is far from satisfactory; the material of men we usually get on juries is far below that standard of intelligence which the nature of many of the cases submitted to them seems to require; the practice of summoning talesmen by special venire is vicious in itself, and a powerful aid to those who practice the art of jury packing; the rules regarding competency for jury service, and especially those disqualifying persons who have formed or expressed an opinion based upon information other