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in such a case! Why don't the fellow get one lawyer?" Now, our counsel insisted that the de fect in our title was no defect, that "any lawyer will say so; " but I settled him by reminding him that we might not always meet " lawyers," we might have to do with a " member of the bar," and what he might do the Lord only knows. Many of them are like our late Judge who was said to be " the twin brother of necessity; " or might equal the sapient judges (a minority) of our Supreme Court who decided that it was a criminal violation of the license laws to ship liquor by express, C. O. D., but not to ship it without this provision! (that is, in shipping out of one county to another where there were no liquor licenses). This is the kind of "law " that makes the layman cuss both law and lawyers. Volume I. of the "Green Bag," beautifully bound in half morocco, now ready. Price, §5.00.
LEGAL ANTIQUITIES. An ordinance of Charles VI. of France in 1413 says that —
and they are forbidden in future to engage in the unseemly strife of mutual abuse in any manner or degree, or to say anything which tends to vilify another, and is not necessary for establishing the facts of the cause in which they are engaged.
The following is one of the most remarkable laws which ever graced the statute-books of any State : — The General Assembly of Maryland on the 23d of February, 1822, passed the following resolution in favor of one Luther Martin : — tfcsolved, " That each and every practitioner of law. in this State shall be and he is hereby com pelled from and after the passage of this resolu tion to obtain from the Clerk of the County Court in which he may practise, a license to authorize him so to practise, for which he shall pay annu ally on or before the first day of June the sum of five dollars; which said sum is to be deposited by the Clerk of the County Court from which he may procure such license, in the treasury of the west ern shore or eastern shore, as the case may be, subject to the order of Thomas Kell and William H. Winder, Esqr's, who are hereby appointed trustees for the appropriation of the proceeds raised by virtue of this resolution to the use of Luther Martin," with proviso that it should be only ne cessary to obtain license in one court and the reso lution to continue in force only until the death of Luther Martin.
"Advocates as well as attorneys in all the courts of the kingdom are accustomed to extort from our poor subjects too great fees and profits which they have not earned, in the matter of written proceed ings, which they make longer and more prolix than necessity requires, and we forbid the aforesaid ad vocates and attorneys, on the oaths they have sworn, and under pain of exemplary punishment, to take I any other fees than such as are moderate, or to use prolixity in their writings; but they must make them FACETIÆ. as short as the case will allow. And if it is found that they do the contrary, we strictly enjoin upon A coroner's jury, after listening attentively to the the members of our present and future parliaments, and upon all to whom it may appertain, to punish evidence given in a case of suicide, brought in the and correct the aforesaid persons rigorously, and following sage verdict : " We are of the opinion in such a manner that it may serve as a warning that the want of the common necessaries of life drove the deceased to commit the desperate act to all others." with the greatest deliberation; therefore we find And in the famous ordinance of Charles VII., him guilty of culpable insanity." in 1454, which was issued on the subject of "law reform," we find the following in regard to advocates : — A Cass County justice of the peace, comment ing on Judge Gresham's leaving a life position for •: They are accustomed in their pleadings to use a short term in the Cabinet, remarked that he could harsh and opprobrious language towards the oppo not understand Judge Gresham's motive, unless site side, which serves no good purpose, but is a it was that, he was tired of leading a judicious practice contrary to reason and all proper decencv, to the great scandal of justice; " — life.
