BRITISH LAW.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXV, Issue 4758, 1 October 1924, Page 4

BRITISH LAW.

HOW AN AMERICAN SEES IT. SIMPLE, EFFICIENT, AND SOLID. A remarkable impression was made on the members of the American and Canadian Bar Associations during their recent visit to London by what they saw and by the way in which they were received. They were evidently impressed by the dignity of our public life, and what they saw may well' have far-reaching consequences in days to come. The Hon. Robert Lee Saner, a former president of the American Bar Association, tells in the “Daily News” of the impression made on him by this remarkable visit. “We members of the American Bar” he said, “have long looked forward to our visit to England, and the impressions we have received. this week have not disappointed us. This meeting in London is the first foregathering in recorded history of Eng-lish-speaking lawyers from .the far corners o£ the earth. It is not only a notable event in itself, but it is also an evidence of. the continuing contributiop,of the lawyer to the development of Anglo-Saxon civilisation. “In returning to England, the cradle of our laws and institutions, many of us for the first time have realised both the kinship and the difference between our. institutions and these of Great Britain. “The wonderful dignity and ceremonial, the gorgeous robes and uniforms, the ancient buildings in which British legal institutions are shrouded, have made a profound impression on us. We get on very well without them ; but you get on very well with them. No lawyer would treat these things lightly, however useless they might seem to some people, because we lawyers realise that behind each of them is an historical reason which has proved its worth, "British legal, methods, in spite of all the ceremony, strike me as being bo,sb, simple and efficient. '“I visited Lord Darling's Court, and I sat as a guest on the Bench at the Old Bailey. I was struck by the thoroughness and .the humanity of the legal processes. 1 sa.w a little girl witness treated with such patience and kindness as I have never seen before, and could not hope to see surpassed; I saw how glib and perhaps unreliable ■witnesses cape under the influence of, the legal atmosphere and took up the general attitude of respect for the judge as the representative otthe Law. The .calm demeanour of all concerned, the respect shown to the judge and by counsel to each, other, the habit of understatement rather, than overstatement, could not help but impress one coming from a country .Where our different mentality and circumstances lead us sometimes info rhetoric and sometimes into exaggeration, and also sometimes i* l * o an acidity of„which I have seen no trace this week. THE ENGLISH WAY. , “No part of the ceremonies of this week impifcsed us more than the Lord Mayor’s banquet. It was the most magnificent affair I have ever attended in the course of my career. It seemed characteristic in two ways. ■ Its form and dignity were almost solemn, in striking contrast to what we are accustomed to, but what also impressed us was its smooth-running efficiency. Englishmen act slowly but accurately ; when they do a thing it is thoroughly dofie, while we Americans frequently ' rush impetuously ahead to get things done, sometimes on the hit or miss principle. The Englishman’s respect for the past and his sense of history appear in all he does, and they make a very strong appeal to the members of a younger nation like our own. The quiet way in which the organisers of the; visit moved into action to deal with a larger number of people than had been expected, and dealt efficiently wifh all of them, impressed the American visitors with the. high standards of English efficiency and organisation.

“We found our British brothers reserved, quiet, and undemonstrative. The. formal British handshake and

the calm welcome, I know, almost de.pressed. some of us, but wfe soon found that British thoroughness' goes into hospitality. Once the ice was broken we were treated with the warmest cordiality, and we found ourselves entertained in homes and clubs witn princely warmth and received with the finest, hospitality in the world. ENGLISH REGARD FOR TRUTH. “This is,only one of the solid. qualities we' havei been impressed by tn the Englishmen we have met. Another one is the English regard for truth, it its difficult to give instances of what I mean, but I have felt that Englishmen do. not handle the truth carelessly. If a thing is not true,, an Englishman accepts the fact; he does not try to cover it up, or misrepresent it. The very sobriety of his language leads to this am! does not tempt Englishmen to exaggeration, and the natural solidity of theii’ character does the re,st. It is this solidity and sense of tliie past, conservatism if you will, that we see Written over the fact of everything English. It .is the foundation of your civilisation, and if we were inclined to criticise We should remind ourselves that our civilisation is essentially youmi. “The same characteristics of repose and solidity come out in Englisn oratory, We have listeni&d to some of the greatest British jurists this week. We have’ been delighted with the expression (of them. This oratory alone would give the clue to British character. Iti fe finished, complete, quiet, but sincere, and, above all, restrained. Repression is the characteristic which impressed, me most. Not a single speaker failed to give the impression that he haid left something unsaid; that behinil what he had given forth lay other reserves which could still be called on. ! To Americans accustomed to dramatic, impetuous, forceful, and sometimes flamboyant oratory, this calm, deliberate understatement appeals grfeatlj?. It seems to fit in with

all we have seen of English habits and thought. LIVING. .LIFE SLOWLY. . “We have always been told that in England people live more slowly than in the United States. It is trulev but it is also true that they live differently. They may live more slowly, but they get much out of life. Whether they are producing literature or merchandise, they do it well, We tend to get nervous and worried, but I think I find in England a happy and a hopeful nation. Your production may be smaller, but*what you get out of life is greatly satisfying. “Shall we go back to America and imitate you? I think not. We/respect and admire many of the things we have seen this we,ok in ways I have tried to point out. We realise our tremendous debt to England for the.basis of our national life. No lawyer can ignore our debt to England for such things as the .method of trial by jury, the judicial determination of disputes independent of the executive power, and our general Parliamentary reforms. SOME RESULTS. “But America is a young nation, and the United States arfet not imitative. She will borrow and adopt, but she will not copy nor follow. That '.s why the effects of this week may be slow in developing. The ; end of them will not be seen in our lifetime. But we have seen ourselves in th'ei mirror of English life, with the background of history behind it, and when a wise man has seen himsfelf like that he usually finds it necessary to make some changes® We shall go back home from this visit with a deepei sensb of the value of the AngloSaxon contribution to the world, and with a deeper desire to seek our lessors in the history and institutions' of the past,”