PROFESSIONAL ETIQUETTE.

Inangahua Times, Volume IV, Issue 29, 15 June 1877, Page 2

PROFESSIONAL ETIQUETTE.

(TOO3C THB OLOSS.) There existsjin every profesifoii, w^ *■ or less, a certain feeling of *prtt de corptp ■•, and it is felt tbat those are the best regulated which are most governed br the roles of an unwritten code. No small woof of the eetat of military jifeiaa country where happily warfare and active service are only exception*!, depends oor,a r , the strict rale which associates m tbs> same phrase the conduct of an <*»«•* *»■ that of a gentleman. lootlerprofessioiit regulations, all pointing more or less m the same direction, have been from time to time prescribed and obeyed, m the members are themselves the beat .;;, preservers of that etiquette which ttakesv for the general good. Some years a*o physicians could not recover their fees ift Haw court, and the right had to be mm ,• them by « statute. But eventheLegisktfire took cognisance of the wwraleut feehnfc and the very Act of ( Mm!.w» * allows duly registered medieiiftsetitioners to maintain an ae&on rar rawr. charges, is qualified in its generality by • « section which adds that any college of physicians in the United Kingdom may make a bylaw that their fellows oj ; members shall not sue for their few, ma that incase of such an action beiiMr brought, the bylaw may U pleaded, to , bar. And it would appear that the BoyaT College of Physicians has passed a by mt disentitling Fellows of the College tnm maintaining mch an action. It was* thought no doubt wisely, that *h» dignig , of a learned profession wouMbe uphe» - by such a regulation, ana that it did net become the most eminent of its membert to be found In law courts litigating with ' thei* patients. The rule that* ftefofj"; doctor seen in consultation should J» v } greater than in cases where no olMr doctor intervenes, enables a physician in, very great practice to double his earning*. f » Several of our ablest London nbyricifciif , find the demands of work so pressing thai 4 by adopting this course they •*• enaWe^ , to take several guineas instead of wf^i It may, be said, on the one band, tipt> this i« a heartless regutttfcn, but if nre* eminence at other professions receives* substantial pecuniary recognition it ought not to be denied to that of nxdiein* A great portrait painter miy make what charges he likes ; an author sell hi* copyright to the highest and most satisfactory purchaser ; it is well known that a heavy fee marked on a brief give* a valuable stimulus to the eloquence of advocacy. But a physician's fee, to thepatient who vinits him at this house, hat from time immemorial been limited, to» one guinea, unless be sees the patient in. . consultation. The rule, therefore, retlly oolv prescribes how a charge may be* made which otherwise would be directly enforced. it the bar the rules of eUqoHte areeven more tyrannical than m other professions. But there, too, the despotism* has been relaxed, and many ofth* rule* hive already become obsolete; Tkereare Judges, and silkgownsmen, however, still alive who can remember when it was not allowed a barrister to travel on circuit in a staee coach. These were taw day*. , . when railway engineers had not yet entered on their levelhag careerBarristers went circuit in postehatses. an* two, and sometimes three, formed a load. It might be tfat when the bar went forth from the assise town there would be onemember of it left unprovided, tor. Other parties would be filled ufctadhtw (unluckily) the one ov«. Thessjiiitr of the rule would be relaxed in his favor. He was not called upon to undergo theexpenses of ft special chaise for himself, but might take his seat in the public stagecoach. Still, if there were two barristers, passengers in the vehicle, the fact wm sufficient proof against them, *nd both* were fined. We can see vestiges, JbCnir rule even in the present day which s> barrister is not allowed to travel second*elass on circuit. A very short tame ag» it was scarcely within etiquette merely to take a bed at the hotel in the assise town, and even now the Bar wci'd not be foi»i in the coffee-room. U ©an seawsiy bedoubted tbat rules sw* as these do good in keeping up the dignity of the pfofession. If law were sytairawteied w tfc* country in the free-and-easy fasbjoa which obuins fteross the Atlantic, w» should not find the wme samp of Ben either on the bench or •*^b**whole profession is bw****;. % "Hf* which may seem to bear > little heavily on indiyidudl members of it In the archives of the MAUn* Circuit H will be found recorded how one barrister « pre^ted * another for baring bee* seen to dance at tho assise ball with the daugkter of • "J«f^ The charge Was folly made w* and the penalty of half a-crown ww ****** » the benefit of the wme fund. Itsg pears that the convicted barrister sougut to turn the tables oo his oppooent, and « presented" that the latter would have danced with the same young lady if he could. This charge^too.J w*s W™** out, an«l a farther fine of heJsW^wowa Wrded in favor of th# same fund. It is needless to say that these a« merely instances of " chaff," tbowh they servo to show that at that period there was • feeh'ne that the two branches of theprofession were distinct, and ougbt to be kept distinct. In these days such a view would obtain less ftvoc. Pfcrhsps in the case of the Bench alone is the country tolerant o f parade, and of what Mr Garlyle has taught us to call "sham." The Chelsea philosopher may not be wholly right in his crusade. From the most prosaic and unsentimental

point of view, it is right that the ad« ministration of justice should be attended with s certain amount of majesty. In t ! i«ory, tne sovereign still sits on the bench aad deals impartial justice amongst bis subject?; It is for this reason that a justice m ii'mere ranks with the king, whom 1il» actually represents, and it is said that n J'ltige on circuit would take precedence crsn of the Prince of Wales. Edmnnd Burke -rlkd elrivalry the cheap defence of nauonw Perhaps etiquette may, in its limited way, have a similar protective influence over the classes it is said to rule. It is on the different cir» ctrits that qncstioi s of etiquette ere most frequent and wost imperative^ and custom has an ipflaence that is almost tyrannical. Ie is said ti.at once inttbe old days, the eitemt van, rliich contained the robes of the ivhole Bar, arrived at Oakam after the day fixed for holding the assize there. The trials had to go on though the counsel wore ia mnfti, and long after tint, r.ud even Trben railways made such errors improbable, it remained the custom of the Bar when pleading in the court bouse of the capital of the smallest county in England to appear before the Judge unrobed.