Law and Laughter   By: George A. (George Alexander) Morton (1857-)

BY GEORGE A. MORTON AND D. MACLEOD MALLOCH

ILLUSTRATED WITH PORTRAITS OF EMINENT MEMBERS OF BENCH & BAR

T. N. FOULIS LONDON & EDINBURGH 1913

Published October 1913

Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO. at the Ballantyne Press, Edinburgh

TO THE MEMORY OF D. MACLEOD MALLOCH

"As crafty lawyers to acquire applause Try various arts to get a double cause, So does an author, rummaging his brain, By various methods, try to entertain."

PASQUIN.

PREFACE

The scope of this volume is indicated by its title a presentation of the lighter side of law, as it is exhibited from time to time in the witty remarks, repartees, and bon mots of the Bench and Bar of Great Britain, Ireland, and America. The idea of presenting such a collection of legal facetiæ originated with the late Mr. D. Macleod Malloch, and it is greatly to be regretted that by his untimely death, his share of the work had reached the stage of selecting only about one half of the material included in the book. His knowledge of law, and his wide reading in legal biography, was such as would have increased considerably the value of this volume.

In addition to sources which are acknowledged in the text, I have to mention contributions drawn from the following works: W. D. Adams' Modern Anecdotes ; W. Andrews' The Lawyer in History, Literature and Humour ; Croake James's Curiosities of Law ; F. R. O'Flanagan's The Irish Bar ; and A. Engelbach's comprehensive and entertaining Anecdotes of the Bench and Bar . I am further indebted to Sir James Balfour Paul, Lyon King of Arms, for permission to include "The Circuiteer's Lament," from the privately printed volume Ballads of the Bench and Bar , and to the editor of the Edinburgh Evening Dispatch for a number of the more recent anecdotes in the Scottish chapters of the book.

GEO. A. MORTON.

LIST OF CONTENTS

I. THE JUDGES OF ENGLAND PAGE 3

II. THE BARRISTERS OF ENGLAND 67

III. THE JUDGES OF IRELAND 107

IV. THE BARRISTERS OF IRELAND 127

V. THE JUDGES OF SCOTLAND 153

VI. THE ADVOCATES OF SCOTLAND 199

VII. THE AMERICAN BENCH AND BAR 223

LIST OF PORTRAITS

LORD THURLOW Frontispiece

From a painting by Thomas Phillips, R.A. By permission of the Trustees of the National Portrait Gallery.

EARL OF ROSSLYN Page 8

EARL OF MANSFIELD 16

EARL OF ELDON 20

By permission of the Trustees of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.

LORD KENYON 24

LORD ERSKINE 32

LORD WESTBURY 36

LORD BROUGHAM 40

LORD CAMPBELL 44

By permission of the Trustees of the National Portrait Gallery, and Mr. Emery Walker.

LORD CHELMSFORD 48

SIR ALEXANDER COCKBURN 52

By permission of Harry A. Cockburn, Esq.

LORD BRAMPTON (SIR HENRY HAWKINS) 56

THE HON. MR. JUSTICE DARLING 60

From a photograph by C. Vandyk.

SIR SAMUEL MARTIN 64

THE HON. MR. JUSTICE GRANTHAM 72

From a photograph by Elliott & Fry, Ltd.

JOHN ADOLPHUS 76

SAMUEL WARREN, Q.C. 80

LORD ROMILLY 88

SERJEANT TALFOURD 96

VISCOUNT CARLETON 112