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TRUTH IS POWERFUL,
*
“POhs TNL
« SKECCHES OF THE IRISH BAR.—Ne. II,
a : Hall ef the Four Courts, &c.
a FE * (Coutinued from our laet.)
‘Such is the part, and a very small part, of the probationa-
ry discipline to which the young candidate for forensic emi
neace inust be prepared to submit : and if he can hold out for
den or fiiteen years, his superior claims may begin to be known
and rewarded. But auccess will bring no diminution of toil
and self denial, The bodily and mental labour alone of a suc-
~lcessful barrister’s life would be sufficient, if known beferehand,
rubs and annoyances. His lite is passed in a tumult of perpe-
\ ‘qual contention, and he must make up his sensibility to give and
‘receive the hardest knocks. Jle has no choice of cases; he
wust throw himself heart and. soul into the most unpromising
‘that is confided to him. He must fight pitched battles with
obstreperous witnesses. He mast have lungs to outclamour
the mast clamoureus. Ye must make speeches without mate-
vrials, He must keep battering for hours at a jury that he sees
“<1 53.49 he impregnable, . He is before the public, and at the mere:
of public opinion, and if every nerve be not strained to the ut-
most to achieve what is impossible, the public, with its usual
ty in the advocate; to any thing rather than the. badness of
the cause. Finally, he must appear to be sanguine, even after
a defeat; and be prepared to tell a knavish client, who has
been beaten out of the courts of common law, that his ‘*is a
clear case for relief in equity.” The man who ean do all this.
‘deserves to succeed, and will succeed; but uniess he be gifted
‘with the rare qualifications of such men as Curran, Bushe, and
Plaukett, or be lifted by those fortuitous aids upon which few
“have aright to count, he cannot rationally expect ‘to arrive at
“eminence in his profpasion upon less rigorous conditions.
*« Bitherto,”’ continued my informant, “I have been speaking
_ef such as come tothe bar as simply and solely to a scene of
| professional exertion ; but there is anvther and a stil' more nu-
merous class who are sent to it for the sake of the lucrative
oo. pffices with which if abounds. It was po sooner discovered
is. that our bar was influenced, and likely on occasions, to be a
troublesome body iv the state, than the most decisive measures
were taken to break its spirit. , Places were multiplied beyond
all necessity and all precedent in England. By a single «ct of
a parliament, two-and-thirty judicial offices were created, to be
held by barristers of six years’ standing, and averaging each
» from five to eight hundred pounds a year. This was one of
the political measures of the late Lord Clare, an able lawyer—
an excellent private character; but like many other sound
lawyers and worthy gentlemen, a most mischievous statesman.
Ife had felt in his own “experience how far the receipt of the
‘publie money may extinguish a sensibility to public, abusea.—
And he planned and passed the bar-bill. The same policy has
Leen continued to the present day. The profession teems with
places of emolument; and the consequence is, that every sub-
+ division of the ‘parliamentary interest’ deputes its representa-
tive, to get forward in the ordinary way, as talents or chance
. / ‘may favour, bim, but at all events to receive in due time his
“distributive portion of the general patronage,
* « The views ef Lord Clare, aud his successors. have been to
a certain extent attained.’ The Irish bar no longer takes any
» ‘part as a body in public concerns; but if it were expected that
they were to be disciplined into a corps of corrupt and violent
© partizans, the plan for the honour of their country and their
“profession, has failed. } could collect that it is very unusual
for any of these, either expecting or enjoying the favours of
the goverament, ever tomake themselves unworthily conspicu-
eus, by clamouring for a continuance of the system under which
they thrive, If they have not the high virtue to sacrifice their
* personal interests to the public good, they at least have the
... dignity to abstain from all factions co-operation with the party
: . to which they are considered to belong; and, in [rish polities,
* ©" neutrality of this Kind is no ordinary merit,
: _ #E must also add, as highly to the credit ofthe Irish bar, that
their personal independence, in the discharge of their profes-
sional duties, has continued as it used to be in the best dayn
of their country. The remark ‘applies to the general spirit of
. the entire body. There may be exceptions that escaped my
observation ; but [ could perceive no symptoms ef subservien.
cy; Do surrender of the slightest title of their clients’ right to
tue frowns or impatience of the bench. U was rather struck
by the peculiarly bold and decisive tone-with which, when oc-
casions arose, they asserted the privileges of the advocate. An
“3 tdea has prevailed of late, let me hope incorrectly, that withas
a political defendant has adifficulty in finding’ an advocate,
upon whose nerves and zeal he can rely. Such a suspicion
has never been entertained iu [reland. Humbled and exhaust-
, ed as she has been, her bar has not been drained of its purity
and strength. In that country an obnoxious defendant has
mach to fear,and from many quarters; but when the hour of
his trial approaches, he has, at least, the consolation of know.
io appal the stontest, Besides this, it. has its many peculiar |
good mature, will attribute the failure to want of zeal or capaci- |
WAW TORE, SATURDAY, PUNE B, 1S
their trast, and intrepidity in discharging it, he may confidently
repose,
“ While [am upon this subject, [ cannot omit a passing re
mark upon another quality, by which [ consider the gentlemen
of this bar ‘to be pre-eminently distinguished ; the invariable
courtesy of manners which they preserve «midst all the harry
and excitement of litigation. The present Chancellor of Ire-
land, himself a finished gentleman, was atruck upon his arrival,
‘by the peculiarly gentlemanlike manner in which he obses ved
business transacted in his court.’ [ have given an instance of
this forensic suavity in my notice of Mr, Bushe. He is the
great model ot this quality. | He hands up a point of law to the
bench with as much grace and pliancy of gesture as if he were
presenting a court Jady with a fan, This excessive finish is
peculiar to himself; but the spirit which dictates it is common
to the entire profession. -Scenes of turbulent altercation are
inevitably frequent, and every weapon of disputation ; wit and
sneers, and deadly brain-blows must be employed and encoun-
tered; but the contest is purely intellectual : js extremely
rare indeed that any thing approaching te an offensive prrsona-
lity escapes, | confess that I far preter this'systematic respect
for the high feelings of the gentleman to the less courtly usage
of our.bar, where { have not unfrequently heard flat contradic-
| tions, and unqualified imputations of professional ignorance,
| very liberally bandied to and fro between the learned comba
| tants. Nothing of this ultra-forensic warmth occurs in the
Irish Courts. It is aveided “on common principles of goad
taste: it is also prevented, if I am rightly informed, by the
understood feeling that any thing bordering on personal rade-
ness must infallibly lead toa setilement outof Court.”
When I first frequented the courts in Dublin, | went entirely
with the view of witnessing the specimens of forensic talent dis-
played there. The result of my observations upon these will
come in more naturally in connexion with the particular cha-
racters of whom I propese to treat., But {| found more than |
had expected ; and one circumstance that very forcibly struck
me demands a few words apart. | would recommend to any
stranger wishing to obtain a thorough insight into the state of
manners and morals ia the interior of Treland, without incur.
ring the risk of a visit to the remoter districts, to attend upona
few motion days in any of the h courts of common law,
large portion of these motions relate to. ineffectual attempts to
execute the process of the law; and’ the facts that daily come
out, offer a frightful and most disgraceful picture of the law-
less habits of the lower, and also, I regret to add, of the higher
orders of the community. One of the Judges in Westminster
Hall would start from his seat in wonder and indignation at
the detail of scenes to which the Irish judges, from long fami
liarity, listen almost.unmoved, as to mere ordinary outrages of
course, The ofice of a process server, in [reland, appears to
be, indeed, a most perilous occupation, and one that requires
no common qualitics in the person that undertakes it; he must
unite the courage and strength of the common seldier with the
conduct and skill in’ siretagem of the commander ;_ for
woe betide hia, if he be deficient in either,” The moment this
hostile herald ef the law is known (o be hovering on the con-
fines of a Connaught gentleman's domain, (that sacred terri-
tory into which his Majesty's writs have no ‘right to run,) the
proud bloed of the defendant swells up to the boiling point,
and he takes the promptest measure to repel and chastise the
intruder : he summons his servants and tenatns to a council of
war; he stiffens their fidelity by, liberal doses of “ mountain.
dew ;”"* they swear they will stand by *! his honour” to the last.
Preparations as against a regular siege ensue} deors and’ win-
dows are barred; sentinels stationed; blunderbusses charged;
approved scours are sent out to’ reconnoitre ;’and skirmishing
parties, armed with cudgéls and pitchforks, are detached slong
every avenue of approach. Having taken these precautions,
the magnanimous defendant shuts himself up in his inmost ci-
tadel, to abide the issne. © The issue may be anticipated ; the
messenger of the Jaw is either deterred from comming near, or,
if he has the hafdihuod to facethe danger, he is waylaid and
beaten black and blue for his presumption; if he shows the
King’s wril, it is torn from him, and fung back in fragments ia
bls face, Resistance, remonstrance, and entreaties are all un-
availing ; nothing remains for him but to effect his retreat, if
the power of moving be left him, to the nearest magistrate, not
in the interest of the defendant, where with the help of some
attorney that will venture to take a fee against “ his honour,”
he draws yp an. affidavit, to ground a motion that { another
writ do jssue?” or, as it might be more correctly worded,
«That another process-server do expose himself to as sound a
threshing aa the last.” "This is not an exaggerated picture :
and in order to complete it, it should, not be omitted that the
instigator of the outrage, as soon as he can with safety appear
abroad, sill to a certainty be found among the most clamorous
for proclamations and ijusurrection-acts, to keep down ihe law-
less propensities of his district. °» . : : .
. ‘ MR. PLUNKETT. > :
Mr. Plunkett's father was a Presbyterian clergyman in the
North of Ircland.: He died during the infancy of his children,
leaving them and his widow without any provision; bat leatn-
>
ing that he can never want the support, and to any number he
may wish, of able and honourable men, ia whose loyalty to
. . , : ’
tuinous tracts,
aurea var me
Fiheit Whiskey—so culicd, from boing generally disulled on the moun
. = . ‘
AND WILL PREVAIL,
WOs BBs
ing has always been cheap in Lreland, and Mrs. Plunkett cons
trived to procure for her son a Classical education, The sub.
ject of the present notice was at au early age befriended by
the late Lord Avonmore.- | have conversed with one or two.
persons who recollect to. have seen him a constant inmate at
his Lordship’s house, and their report ef him is, **that Ke was
a clever, bard headed hoy, very attentive to his studies, and
very negligent of his person,” He paased in due course through
Trinity College, Dublin: and was called 10 the Irish bar in
1787; his professional advancement was rapid and steady.—
The first public notice that 1 can find of his name is upon the
trial of the Sheareses. in 1798: he associated with Curran and
Ponsonby in the defence of the unfortunate brothers, and, like
them, vainly urged every topic that legal ingenuity could devise
to avert their doom, {4m not aware that Mr. Plunkett aps
peared as coun-el for the prisoners in any subsequent state
trial.. He became a member of the Irish Parliament in 1797.
On the question. of the Union, he took the side of his country =
his speeches on that occasion contain many fine specimens of
reasoning. invective, and deliberate enthusiasm. | A single sen-
teace will convey an idea of their general spirit: —“ For me,
{ do not hesitate to declare, that if the madness of the Revolu- «
tionists should tell me ‘you mast sacrifice British connexion iu
preference to the independence of my country ; but I have ag
little hesitation io saying, that, if. the wanton amb‘tion of # mi-
nister shoudd assault the freedom of Ireland, and compel mete
the alternative, I would fling the connexion to the winds, and I
would clasp the independence of my country to my heart.” Bat
the senate was answered by no echo from without.”
nation was panicstruck; gold and promises were profusely
scattered; the majority of the “ Honourable House,"’ were im~
patient to be sold, though the wxges of their sin was death,—
The people had nothing to offer but gratitude and fame—the.
minister had titles, offices, and pensions, and the Lrish Parlia-
‘ment was knocked down to the highest bidder. —
fu 1803 Mr, Plunkett appeared as one of the counsel for the
prosecution on the trial of Mr. Robert Emmet.’ One particular
of his conduct on that occasion exposed lim to great, and, as
it appears to me, most unmerited reproach. . The unfortunate
prisoner made no defence—in truth, he had none to make: he
produced no evidence, and bis counsel announced that they
would state no case to the jury. On this ground, they con-
tended that the counsel for the Crown should not be allowed to
address the jury a’ second time, Mr, Plunkett insisted upon
his rights the Court decided the question in his favour, and he
proceeded to comment at length upon the conduct of the pri-
soner, and upon the wildness and guilt of the conspiracy of:
which he had been the projector, © Emmet's youth and talents,
and his deportment ou bis trial, excited universal sympathy :°
almost all, even those who would not consent to spare him, ‘
pitied him as a: victim—many admired and deplored him as a
The latter exclaimed against Mr. Plunkett’s exercise
ilege to speak tothe evidence, as au act of gratuitous
inhumanity.” I confess] see the matter in quite another light
Mr, Plunkett was a public man, whose opinions hed great
weight with the community; and I conceive it to have been
both natural and laudable, that he should have seized the op-
portunity of reprobating in the most emphatic terms the vie
sionary projects of revolution that still prevailed.) Curran,
from a similar impulse of public dnty, had done the same thing
a few days before ou the defence of Owen Kirwan, where we
find him digressing from the Immediate case before the jury,
into an elaborate and glowing exposition of the guilt and hope-
lessness of attempting to better the condition of Ireland by
force. But the enemies of Mr. Plankett were not satisfied with
a general assertion that his conduct had been unnecessarily
harsh. To atlixa deep stigma ou his character, it was induse
trionsly circulated that he had been a constant guest of Emmet's -
father, at whose table he had incujcated political principles -
upon the son which now brought. him ty the grave; and, to’
give credit to the calumny, a passage was interpolated in the
report of Emmet’s addeess to the Court, in which the dying
enthusiast was made to pronounce a. bitter. invective against
“the viper that bie father had auret in his bosom.” : Mr. Plun-
kett was compelled to resort to @ publi¢. vindication of his
chhracter. » Ele instituted legal proceedings against a London,
Journal in which the libel was inserted, and obtamed a verdict:
he also published an affidavit, positively denying every mate
al fact in the accusation, He might have gone, farther, and
have traly sworn that the accusation was never made until after’
the supposed accuser was in his grave. I have conversed with’
severnl who were present at the trial, one or two of them
friends and admirerg of Emmet; they ail solemnly assured ine,
that not a syllable escaped his lips bearing the remotest allu-*
in those days, as was remarked, “the voice of the patriot in
The °
sion to the charge} and the omission in Mr. Plunkett's affidavit <
of this conclusive circumstance, was pointed ovt to me as a
singular absence of sagacity ina man so notoriously sharp-
sighted where the concerns of others are confided to his care.
Lshould not have dwelt thus long upon this transaction, wera
it not that “ Mr, Plunkett’s conduct to Robert Emmet” is, ta
this day, {requenily adverted to, by persons acquainted with
the particulars, as an indelible blemish upon kis reputation.
Me, Plunket was made solicitor gereral ia 1905, ‘and attors