"The Advocate must look upon his Profession, like every other "endowment and possession, as an Instrument, which he must use for “the purposes of Morality. Το act rightly, is his proper object: to "succeed as an Advocate, is a proper object, only so far as it is con"sistent with the former. To cultivate his moral being, is his highest "end; to cultivate his Professional eminence, is a subordinate aim. "But further, not only is the Advocate to cultivate and practise "his profession in subordination to moral ends, and to reject its Rules “ where they are inconsistent with this subordination; but moreover, "there belong to him moral ends which regard his profession; namely, "to make it an Institution fitted to promote Morality. He must seek, so to shape its Rules, and so alter them if need be, that they shall be "subservient to the Rules of Duty. To raise and purify the character " of the Advocate's profession, so that it may answer the ends of jus"tice, without requiring insincerity in the Advocate, is a proper aim "for a good man who is a Lawyer ;—a purpose on which he may well "and worthily employ his efforts and his influence.” Whewell's Moral Philosophy. Εἴ μοι ξυνείη φέροντε μοῖρα τὰν εἶσεπτον ἁγνεὶαν λόγων ἔργων τε πάντων, ὧν νόμοι πρόκεινται ὑψίποδες, οὐρανίαν δι αιθέρα τεκνωθέντες, ὧν Ολυμπος πατὴρ μόνος, ουδέ νιν θνατὰ φύσις ἀνέρων μήν ποτε λάθα κατακοιμάσει μέγας ἐν τούτοις θεὸς, οὐδὲ γηράσκει. Sophocles. Ed, Tyr. AN INAUGURAL LECTURE ON THE STUDY OF THE LAW, AND GENERAL JURISPRUDENCE, DELI- Introduction, § 1. I do not think I can more appropriately commence an inaugural Lecture upon the study of the Law, than by felicitating you, and indeed the whole body of your fellow countrymen, upon this auspicious day, which sees in actual operation the functions of the newly founded Professorship of Law; because of all the many important events which have of late been crowding into the history of this country's advancement in civilization, I know none which is more likely to be attended with a wide spread influence, reaching to the very door and roof-tree of every individual of the entire nation, if only its onerous duties be adequately discharged. For the office, to fill which first, I have had the high honour to be selected without solicitation on my part, aims, if I mistake not, at something more elevated and elevating than the mere delivery of a dry course of Lectures: its object is essentially a practical one; to train up a competently instructed body of Pleaders, who may spread themselves through the Mofussil Courts, and introduce a total revolution in the present practice of the administration of the Law. NOTE. This Address is reprinted from a published copy, to which most of the present Notes were appended. They of course formed no part of the address as it was delivered. It has been thought desirable to give the notes as well as the text in the present edition; as they contain much matter in the way of illustration which may be interesting to the reader. 1 205 EXISTING NATIVE BAR. Pleaders of the present § 2. It is not my wish to decry the day. existing order of Pleaders and Practitioners; I am free to acknowledge their possession of much subtlety of genius; considerable practical acquaintance with the Regulations and Circular Orders; a mastery of the Procedure of the Courts: but their knowledge is at the best empirical; they have never enjoyed the advantage, or even the opportunity, of any instruction in the elements upon which all Law is founded; they have not been grounded in the rules of Evidence; they know nothing of the principles which should govern pleadings; and the consequences naturally are, feebleness, uncertainty, prolixity, and confusion, so far as they themselves are concerned; accompanied by much unnecessarily increased expense to their clients individually, and litigation to the Community and State in general. § 3. I much fear too that there does not at present exist that high sense of honour which ought to characterize the members of a profession bound together by a common esprit de corps. Each individual practitioner regards himself and his own interests as totally isolated from his competitors. There is no common point to which our Pleaders can look; no rallying-place to which they can resort; no tie to bind them together; no fear of censure visiting them from the opinion of their contemporaries and the result of this is that the practice of the Law, for study properly speaking there has been none, has come to be generally regarded solely as the means of enriching the practitioner at the expense of the litigious public. Effect of Law studies upon this. : § 4. Now all this I take it must necessarily be altered by the institution of a professorship of Law, and the consequent grant of diplomas to distinguished students, who will thereby be proclaimed qualified to undertake the conduct of causes, and PROFESSIONAL HONOUR. 206 who will go forth into the provinces, to lighten the darkness which there prevails, disciples of a new school, apostles of a new doctrine, not only to introduce new methods of practice themselves, but by precept and example to inculcate a spirit of emulation, and a desire to reform themselves, in others. Professional honour. § 5. If this chair be worthily filled, the completion of each curriculum of Lectures will send forth among the people a body of men founded at any rate in the rudiments of Law, and prepared to practice upon well understood and settled principles; thus too there will be raised up a Profession of the Law, the members of which will have somewhat in common; for I bid you earnestly remember that the honour of all is committed to each individual's keeping, a sacred trust, which neither dishonesty, nor avarice, nor any meanness must be allowed to sully: temptations you will doubtless meet with, both from your own hearts, and the enticements of others to swerve from that lofty ideal of a Pleader's character which you must endeavour to set before yourselves; but perhaps there is no stronger or surer safeguard in such moments, than to call to mind, that in yielding, not only does the individual lower himself in his own estimation, but he betrays the honour of his whole Order: no dirty action but it reflects its discredit and disgrace upon the entire Profession; all suffer reproach for the misdeeds of one. Lawyers. § 6. Perhaps none or few of you are acCharacter, of English quainted with the sneering tone in which Lawyers are often spoken of in my country. (1) Black sheep there must be in every walk of life; but I do 1. "The first thing we do," Shakespear makes Dick the Butcher say in Cade's Rebellion, "let's kill all the Lawyers." "Nay that I mean to do," answers Cade.-2. Henry VI. A. 4, Sec. 2. See Bentham's Rationale of Evidence, passim. See Gulliver's Travels (to the Honhynyms). Diodorus Siculus tells us that the Egyptians expressly forbade 207 ATTORNIES BARRISTERS. conscientiously believe that the taunts in common vogue are very little merited; and that the unthinking Public is guilty of great injustice in not acknowledging the obligations which it lies under to the great body of legal Practitioners. My firm conviction is that the Attornies, as Attornies. a body, keep far more business out of Court than they bring in; that they prevent litigation, and soothe quarrels, instead of fomenting disputes, and pandering to the excited passions of angry disputants. Were it otherwise, there would be a perfect hell upon earth, and no man could long escape the inconvenience of a Law Suit. Barristers. 7. Again; in regard to my branch of the profession, the most extraordinary ideas seem to be abroad regarding the latitude in which it is supposed Counsel may indulge. You must have heard of Lawyers' "quibbles ;" and it is a vulgar error, that a Counsel, in pleading for his client, may pledge his belief in the justice of his client's cause,-in which even such a moralist as Paley could see nothing wrong, though Whewell far more justly argues that in such a case an Advocate sells to his client not only his skill and learning, but himself-may misrepresent facts, and in short be guilty of positive untruth.(1) If silence advocates pleading, because they darkened the administration of justice. Sir Thomas More in his Utopia excludes Lawyers, and Milton (Prose Works IV. 278) says the Muscovites of his day made every man plead his own cause. Plato says Lawyers and physicians are the pest of a country. Ferdinand, sending colonies to the Indies, would not allow any law students to go with them, thinking law suits a bad importation into the New World. When Peter the Great was in England, he was much surprized at the number of Lawyers. "I have," said he, "but two in my kingdom, and I mean as soon as I return to hang one of them." Professional advocates were not suffered by the laws of Lycurgus. 1. The ancients had a laxer notion of the liberty of Counsel. Cicero thought that a good orator and a good man may tell a lie with a good motive. Cic. off 11. 14. 16. 17. Quintilian says that the ignorant may be misled with a view to their own good, that the mind of a judge may be led aside from the contemplation of truth. LVIII. 7. 25. VI. 2. 5. that we may speak in favour of vice, to promote a virtuous object; |