ENLISTING A LAWYER

Wairoa Bell, Volume V, Issue 226, 1 December 1893, Page 4

ENLISTING A LAWYER

An old recruiting Sergeant tells the following : —‘ It was on the 11th May, 1862, I ’listed a recruit in Dublin and put the question to him, a 3 is usual, and gave him the shilling, and walked him to barracks as fine as a fiddle Well, in a few days he was claimed as a ’prentice, and so he was up before the Major, and he committed him for trial At the following ’sizes I was as a witness, and the lawyep who c . a ‘' , ’--w told roe that I didn’t ’list defended nm, , J)j,! you put the him ‘I did, says I. question to him rightly / f a says I, ‘ By' the virtue of your oath, n«? irsays he ; ‘just ask me the questions, for I don’t believe you asked him ’ ‘ flow do you know ?’ says I, ‘ for by this and by that, you weren’t by/ 6 None of you* busi-

ness,' says he. ‘ and he held out his hand, and accordingly i pulled out. a shilling and clapped it in hi® fist, and then I asked him the questions, and he said yes to them all.’ 1 Were those tbe same questions you put to the prisoner?’ says he, * Yes, they were,’ says I. 4 Well, here’s yer shilling back for ye,’ says he, ‘I can’t take it, sir,’ says 1. ‘ Why not F’ says he, ‘Why?’ says I, ‘ Why, sure I can’t take it back till ye go before the magistrate and pay r the smart money,’ 'Which every recruit must pay if he wants to he released from service.) 4 You be hanged.’ says he, and he put the money in his pocket, and I called to his lordship on the bench for a witness that I had ’listed him : and, oh, but there was a roar in the court ! Begorra, the judge laughed till the tears ran down his face. Well, the decision of the Court being in my favour, I axed the judge if I might take away my new recruit, and they all roared again, and the counsel got as red as a turlcev-cock and nearly mad. At last he made the best he could of it, and says I, ‘ Don’t ’list in the liue next time, sir.’ ‘What then?’ says be snappishly. ‘ Oh, yer oner,’ says I, ‘ stick to the rifles, that’s more in your way.’ Well, begorra, when I told the Major, I thought he’d die ; and when he’d done laughing he bid me keep the ‘ smart money for myself.