Humors of Law.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 11 July 1911, Page 4

Humors of Law.

A successful banister was «%sked recently a« to his possible hours of relaxation, and .lie answered .docidedr ly, "Oil, yes; 1 make a point of knocking 'off work every week, on M':i;:y evening :-t B.'JO —and have the rest of the (lay to myself." This, according to Mr George A. Macdonald's latest sheaf of gleanings from the haw Courts, describes tile state of a sucecsful advocate who has almost reached the top of the tree. "That barrister is a judge to-day. If ho. were not it is likely that by this, time there would be a. stone <at Kensal Green, recording his talent and virtues." In spite of all this previous industry—or perhaps bccau.se of it--a judge may sometimes find himself set over matters unfamiliar. The Court which deals with Admiralty cases remembers gratefully how Mowed, th? wittiest judge who has on the English bench within living memory, hoped plaintively that there '•might be no moaning at the bar when lie put out to sen." And it was there that another great judge (unused, .however, to sea-far-ing cases) looked over his spectacles at the close of the second day's evidence in a trial concerning tv collision on the high seas, and enquired., "Were there two ships in th/is collision, Mr James?" —a question which convulsed certain sailor witnesses. Sailors as witnesse bare their own originalities. Like Emerson's great- men. they refue to take things seriously. "There is a. story of one of them whose answers under cn;.s-oxa mi nation evoked first dismay and then wrath from the learned counsel. Finally. the judge interposed, IDo von really mean to tell the court that you cannot tell the court that you cannot tell green from red?' ' Lor, bless you. no. sir.' answered the merry mariner: i was only pulling his kg!' " That it is not customary t': amuse yourself in this way while ->n oath, was a thing'that never entered the simple sea-faring head. Juryman have -been food l foir mirth sir..v Pickwick's time. This article cites only two examples—one of a cheerfully irresponsible type who admitted that he did not take the trouble fo listen to anything, "being sure that the judge would give the jury the right tip." And the other belonged to a iury quite too conscientious altogether. Interrogated afterwards as to their reason for awarding extraordinarily heavy damages, a juryman replied, "We did it in a very simple way. Wo each wrote down what we thought the plaintiff ought to have, and then we totted it up."