Conservatism in Legal Procedure
91
counsel is to enforce his remedy against soon the alien race was absorbed by the native, that this should have continued counsel for that negligence is not appar ent, for it would seem that his cause of so long. For three hundred years, long action must abate at the moment it after English was the language of every fully matured. It is interesting to note, day life among all classes of people, however, that a right of action exists French remained the language of the and is based, not upon the mistake of profession, and when it was discontinued it was not for the convenience of liti counsel, but upon his negligence. The law which a man is held to know gants, but, if we may credit Blackstone, for the vainglorious reason that Edward should be within the reach of his under the Third, having subdued the crown of standing. The procedure to be fol lowed in the assertion and vindication France, it was "unbeseeming the dignity of his rights should be plainly marked of the victors to use any longer the lan out and easy to be pursued, if not by guage of a vanquished country." And himself, at least by those who are the change made was but a limited one. accredited as competent to guide him. The language spoken in the courts was There should be in it nothing savoring of English, but the pleading, whatever was put in writing and placed on record, the mystery of a craft. The substantive law is fairly free from was done in bad Latin, while the reports this reproach. On its ethical side it is of adjudicated cases made by the lawyers brought into accord with the expanding for the use of the profession continued sense of justice and the growing spirit to be in Norman French. And so it of humanity of the people, and upon its was until the time of the Common wealth, when the Latin was banished conventional side it is made to harmon ize with the needs and conveniences of from the records and the French from the reports, not, however, without great business as these are developed by in dustrial and commercial progress, and regret on the part of many lawyers. Styles, in his preface, says: — in this work of adaptation to new stand ards and new conditions the bench and I have made these reports speak English, bar have borne an important part. But not that I believe they will be thereby more so much cannot be said for the formal generally useful, for I have been always and yet am of opinion, that that part of the law, and it is for this the lawyers are common law which is in English, hath only especially responsible. Here reform has occasioned the making of unquiet spirits conmoved always with a laggard step. tentiously knowing, and more apt to offend Against every proposal of change has others, than to defend themselves; but I sounded the cry, " Nolumus mutare have done it in obedience to authority and to stop the mouths of such of this English leges Anglice." From the beginning age, who, though they be confessedly differ there has been strenuous insistence upon ent in their minds and judgments as the the existing methods, and even when builders of Babel were in their language, yet the old order changed, giving way to do think it vain, if not impious, to speak and the new, the spirit of the old seemed understand more than their mother tongue. He thought it dangerous that men yet to pervade the new. should really know what they were pre It is not strange that with the Norman conquest the Norman language should sumed to know, and so many were of come into use in the English courts, but his opinion that with the Restoration of it is passing strange, when we consider the Stuarts the Latin was restored to the nature of that conquest, and how the courts and continued in use for the
