REMARKS 
 
 UPON 
 
 THE JURISDICTION 
 
 OF THE 
 
 INNS OF COURT. 
 
 BY 
 FREDERICK CALVERT, ESQ., Q.C. 
 
 " Audi alteram partem." 
 
 LONDON : 
 WILLIAM RIDGWAY, 169, PICCADILLY, W. 
 
 1874. 
 
 Price One Shilling.
 
 uiuc
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 All institutions are on their, trial. To the 
 Clergy new plans are propounded for Convoca- 
 tion ; the statutes of every college at Oxford and 
 Cambridge have been revised; purchase is abo- 
 lished in the aiTny ; the navy and the dock yards 
 are subjected to severe scrutiny; and our system 
 of Judicature is cast in a crucible, in which it is 
 to assume as much of novelty as can be safely 
 adopted. The Benchers of the Inns of Court, 
 seeing all these changes around them, must not be 
 surprised, if their quiet Courts are invaded, and if 
 they encounter some strong attempts at innova- 
 tion. Twice within the last thirty years they 
 have met public inquiries, and have afforded the 
 fullest information upon their affairs. They know 
 that they hold their rights and privileges for the 
 benefit of the comitry at large ; and, so long as 
 they exercise them in that spirit, and feel con- 
 fident that they do good service to their profession, 
 it is their duty to speak in their own vindication, 
 and to struggle for the maintenance of their esta- 
 blished authority. They will only ask that the 
 accounts given of their conduct may be accurate 
 and true. 
 
 Fast Events. — The following events with refer- 
 ence to this subject have already taken place. On 
 the 8th of April, 1846, a select Committee was
 
 4 
 
 appointed by the House of Commons " to inquire 
 into tlie present state of legal education in Ire- 
 land ;" and on the 5th of May following that Com- 
 mittee was instructed to " extend their inquiry 
 and consideration to the state improvement and 
 extension of legal education in England." On 
 the 5th of May, 1854, "a Commission issued 
 to inquire into the arrangements of the Inns of 
 Court for promoting the study of the law and 
 jurisprudence, the revenues properly applicable, 
 and the means likehj to secure a systematic and 
 sound education for studerits of law and provide 
 satisfactory tests offtnessfor admission to the Bar." 
 Each of these inquiries is as general as possible. 
 The authority of the Inns of Court in respect of 
 legal education was clearly within the scope of 
 each of them. 
 
 Before the commencement of the session of 
 1872, a legal association was formed professing 
 to have the following objects in view — " first, the 
 establishment of a law university for the profes- 
 sion of the law; secondly, the placing of the 
 adjnission of both branches of the profession on 
 the basis of a combined test of Collegiate educa- 
 tion and examination by a public board of ex- 
 aminers.' 
 
 On the 1st day of March, 1872, the present Lord 
 
 * For the sake of convenience the Committee Eeport of 
 1846 is quoted under letter A; the Eeport of the Commission 
 of 1855 under letter JB,
 
 Cliancellor, then Sir Roundell Palmer, brought 
 forward his resolutions for the establishment of 
 a general school of law. They were rejected by 
 a majority of 13 in a House of 213 members. 
 
 The Interview with the Association. — The next 
 public event connected with this subject was 
 the interview of a deputation from the asso- 
 ciation with the Lord Chancellor. It took 
 place on the 12tli of December last. Mr. Amph- 
 lett^ now Mr. Baron Amphlett, who introduced 
 the deputation, commenced his remarks by a refer- 
 ence to the debate of 1872 j and the Lord Chan- 
 cellor strongly asserted his adherence to the 
 opinions, which he had expressed in that debate, 
 and also his intention to endeavour to give effect 
 to them on the first favourable opportunity. I 
 must therefore take up the subject as from that 
 debate. 
 
 The Delate of 1872.— The course which the 
 debate took directs our attention peculiarly to the 
 speech of Sir Eoundell Palmer.* During his speech 
 there was a fair attendance of Members. At the 
 close of it many Members left the House. Not more 
 than forty or fifty were present during the greater 
 part of the debate. At one time the House was 
 counted ; and the debate narrowly escaped a pre- 
 
 * In commenting upon the Lord Chancellor's speech in 
 that debate, I take the liberty of using the name, which he 
 bore at that time. The quotations from his speech are taken 
 from the report in the Times.
 
 6 
 
 mature termination. The speakers were, with few 
 exceptions, lawyers ; but many lay members had re- 
 ceived notice from attornies, their constituents, that 
 their votes in favour of the resolutions were 
 earnestly desired. A little while before the division 
 tookplace,about 150 Members came into the House. 
 Many of them had heard Sir Eoundell Palmer's 
 speech, so that the division depended in a great mea- 
 sure upon the statements which he made. It is 
 probable that a large proportion of Members pre- 
 sent had but little previous acquaintance with the 
 merits of the question ; and the general idea of un- 
 professional Members seemed to be, that the whole 
 question should be settled by the professional Mem- 
 bers. This is much to be regretted. The ques- 
 tion at issue is one, in which all classes are 
 interested. 
 
 Public interested in the character of the Benchers 
 and of the Bar. — It is of great importance to the 
 public, that a very high tone of feeling should be 
 maintained at the Bar. Great moral as well as in- 
 tellectual qualities are required for the high places 
 of the profession. A Barrister should be thoroughly 
 imbued with the scientific principles ofthe law, and 
 capable of applying them in practice. He should 
 be able to analyse facts, compare statements^ 
 balance argument against argument, detect falla- 
 cies, and to bring the rights of a case conspicuously 
 into view. He should be fearless in maintaining 
 his opinion, honest and trustworthy, and indepen-
 
 dent in Lis bearing towards all classes, the Bencli, 
 the attorney, and his client. Above all things he 
 should prefer character above professional emolu- 
 ment. Of such a stamp ought those men to be, 
 by whose opinions the law is from day to day 
 administered ; and on whose authority, when they 
 are raised to the Bench, the lives and properties of 
 Her Majesty's subjects must frequently depend. 
 Moreover, the system of instruction required for 
 the Bar should be one, which will not only prepare 
 men for practice as Barristers^ but also for active 
 life in many other capacities ; for instance, as 
 magistrates^ Members of Parliament, and for judi- 
 cial of&ces in British dominions abroad, or in 
 diplomatic posts of high responsibility. The 
 Benchers have been a class of men well fitted for 
 the superintendence of such an education as is 
 required for these objects. They are most of them 
 men of highly cultivated minds, possessed of an ex- 
 tensive knowledge of the world, acquainted with the 
 wants and interests of lawyers, and extremely con- 
 siderate in the exercise of their jurisdiction. 
 
 Men of high moral character and great intellec- 
 tual attainments have risen in succession under 
 the Inns of Court. And the public are deeply 
 interested in the character of the Benchers, as well 
 as of the Bar. In the debate in 1872,* the present 
 Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, speaking of 
 * Hansard, vol. 209, p. 129.
 
 8 • 
 
 the Benchers, remarked, *' it would be a mistake 
 and a failm*e to raise up by their side a shadowy- 
 institution, that would in vain attempt to rival 
 their wealth, reputation, and influence." 
 
 Present Proposals. — It is now proposed that a 
 totally new system shall be introduced; that in spite 
 of the very distinct recommendations of the Com- 
 mittee of 1846, and afterwards of the Commission 
 of 1855, the education of the Bar shall be subject 
 to the superintendence of a mixed body, partly 
 Barristers, partly attornies; and that students for 
 the two branches of the profession shall be edu- 
 cated together. 
 
 Subject as regards England.— 1 may remark, 
 that I confine my observations to the subject, as 
 relating to England. In Ireland, although the law 
 is generally the same as in England, there are 
 peculiarities connected with the government of 
 the profession, which prevent the question from 
 assuming the same aspect in both countries. 
 
 The Question at issue. — Under these circum- 
 stances, I propose to bring forward some conside- 
 rations, which have not in recent years been fully 
 explained. One portion of the matters, formerly 
 in dispute, is so no longer. For many years 
 past there has been no controversy as to the 
 expediency of scientific education for the Bar. 
 But there have been very different opinions upon 
 the expediency of a compulsory examination.
 
 9 
 
 That point is now settled. Hereafter no one 
 will be called to the Bar, who does not pass such 
 examination as is required. The one point really 
 remaining in dispute is, whether the superinten- 
 dence over admissions to the Bar should or should 
 not be separate from the superintendence over 
 admission to practice as attorney or solicitor. 
 ' I have before me the prospectus of the associa- 
 tion : but I think it hardly worth while to make 
 any remarks upon it ; as such will be necessarily 
 included in my observations upon the debate to 
 which I have referred. 
 
 Debate^ 1st March, 1872.— The debate of 1st of 
 March, 1872, was the last occasion, on which legal 
 education was discussed in Parliament ; it therefore 
 requires our especial notice. Attention is prin- 
 cipally due to the speech of the present Lord 
 Chancellor, then Sir Roundell Palmer, who moved 
 the resolutions. His speech requires notice, not 
 merely on account of its influence upon the 
 division which we have already mentioned, but 
 also on account of his peculiar position. His 
 remarkable pre-eminence at the Bar, and his high 
 personal character, invested his remarks with 
 peculiar authority, not merely among Members of 
 the House of Commons, but also throughout the 
 country at large. On examining the speech I am 
 certainly surprised at what he stated, and still 
 more at what he omitted to state. The difficulties, 
 which he described as encountered by a student of
 
 10 
 
 law, are tliose wliicli were encountered at the time 
 when he was called to the Bar. He apparently 
 overlooked the changes which have since taken 
 place. '^ The whole debate turned," as Mr. Lee- 
 man observed,* "upon the alleged abuses of the 
 Inns of Court." An accurate statement of the 
 events which have occurred will shew to what 
 extent the charges of abuse are justified. 
 
 Past conduct of Inns of Court. — Sir Eoundell 
 Palmer said, " the Benchers have not shewn them- 
 selves in past times capable of doing the public 
 work/' in respect of legal education. And again, 
 ^'I stand on great principles, and I say that 
 the Benchers have not in past times done that 
 amount of good which they ought to have done." 
 ^^ Past times ^ is a phrase of very indefinite mean- 
 ing. It is an important element in each of these 
 passages. Sir Eoundell also said,| " What is our 
 system in this country ? I shall presently remind 
 the House of some of the judgments passed upon 
 the system by very high authorities, but I will 
 say that it is in truth a hand to mouth system. 
 Everybody is left to pick up his own instruction in 
 law as well as he can, entirely with a vicAv to 
 practice, and by doing it in that manner with the 
 assistance of those who are themselves engaged in 
 
 * Hansard, vol. 209, p. 1288. All tbe references to Hansard 
 are to this volume. 
 
 ■]• See these passages iu tlie Times report of Sir Eoundell 
 Palmer's speech.
 
 11 
 
 practice, it is impossible that any foundation of a 
 scientific knowledge of the law can be laid, how- 
 ever desirable it may be, and as a matter of fact 
 it is not." And then he quoted from the report of 
 the Committee of 1846 the following passage : — 
 " That it may be asserted as a general fact, to which 
 there are very few exceptions, that the student, 
 professional and non-professional, is left absolutely 
 to Ms own individual exertions^ industry^ and 
 opportunities^ aiid that no legal education wm^thy 
 of the name is at the moment (1846) to he had in 
 either England or Ireland.^'' This quotation of 
 the state of the education of the Bar in 1846 is 
 thus made in a debate in the year 1872. The 
 House must have assumed it to be a correct repre- 
 sentation of the state of facts in the latter year. 
 If it could not be relied on for this purpose, why 
 was it made ? Sir Eoundell afterwards quoted a 
 passage from the report of the Commission of 
 1855 which refers exclusively* to education in a 
 Barrister's chambers ; but he omitted the following 
 passage contained in the same report of 1855 :j" 
 " In the year 1851 the present Solicitor- General 
 caused a general meeting to be convened of the 
 Benchers of the four Inns of Court, with a view 
 to provide for the better instruction of the students, 
 and the result was the establishment of a Council 
 
 * I cannot find this passage in that report ; but the same 
 idea is frequently expressed by witnesses of high authority, 
 t See Eeport of 1855, p. 13.
 
 12 
 
 of legal education, consisting of eight members, 
 two being selected by Benchers respectively of 
 the four Inns of Court^ and holding their offices 
 for two years^ and the passing of definite regu- 
 lations for providing readers who should give 
 lectures and hold private classes for the better 
 instruction of the students. The Eeaders under 
 the direction of the Council at stated intervals 
 conduct a voluntary examination of the students : 
 the attendance at the lectures being compulsory, 
 unless in case of those who submit themselves to 
 such voluntary examination. Public examinations 
 are held three times a year, and studentships of 
 fifty guineas a year have been founded by the 
 Inns of Court, to be held for three years by the 
 student on each occasion passing the best ex- 
 amination; and certain other advantages are 
 offered to those, who distinguish themselves in 
 such examination." Sir Eoundell also omitted to 
 mention another important matter. A Committee 
 was appointed in 1852 by the several societies of 
 Lincoln's Inn, the Middle Temple, the Inner Tem- 
 ple, and Gray's Inn, on the subject of legal edu- 
 cation. That Committee presented a report to 
 the four Inns, which was adopted, and directed to 
 be carried into effect, and which contains the 
 following, amongst other regulations. *" Tliat the 
 duties of the readers (subject to regulation of the 
 standing Council) shall consist of the delivering of 
 * See Eeport of 1855, p. U9.
 
 13 
 
 tliree courses of lectures in each year, of the forma- 
 tion of classes of students for the purpose of giving 
 instruction in a more detailed personal form than 
 can be supplied by general lectures, and of afford- 
 ing to students generally advice and directions for 
 the conduct of their professional studies. ^^ This 
 Eeport was signed by 31 distinguished Benchers — 
 amongst others is the signature of " Eoundell 
 Palmer." 
 
 That the matter may be made still clearer, there 
 is in the Eeport of 1855* the abstract of the 
 accounts of the Council of legal education for the 
 period between the 8th May, 1852, and the 
 1st September, 1853, containing certain specified 
 payments from each of the four Inns, and amount- 
 ing in the whole to £3948. 145. 
 
 Now it must be recollected that the debate 
 turned, as Mr. Leeman said, upon the abuses of 
 the Inns of Court. The question was argued by 
 Sir Eomidell Palmer himself, as depending in 
 a great measure upon the conduct of the several 
 Benchers^ in past times. And yet their course of 
 conduct as to legal education, commencing in 1852, 
 and ever since prevailing, was not explained by 
 him. How could he expect the House to under- 
 derstand the true bearings of the question, when 
 he omitted the history of their conduct during the 
 last 20 years ? 
 
 Motion at variance idtli principles of the Com- 
 * p. 157.
 
 14 
 
 mittee o/1846. — yir Eoiindeirs speech must be ex- 
 amined upon another very miportant point. " It 
 may be said/^ he observes, " that this measure 
 being more compreliensive than that recommended 
 by the Committee of 1846 and the Commission of 
 1854, is at variance with the principles of the 
 recommendation of those bodies : but that is not 
 tlie case^ and the very men who signed those 
 recommendations, or at any rate the great ma- 
 jority of them, approve what we are doing and 
 prefer the larger system." 
 
 The recommendation of the Committee of 1846 
 was, that* " the Institution {i.e, a law university), is 
 to be sought rather in the application, if possible^ of 
 old establishments than the erection of new ones, 
 from the guarantee which the former give of 
 order, efficiency and permanency; and that such 
 institutions are, to a great degree, to be met with in 
 the Inns of Court in both countries (England and 
 Ireland). In direct connexion with the Bar under 
 the superintendence of its highest authorities, the 
 Judges, or of its most distinguished members the 
 Benchers, with old prescription, ancient privileges, 
 very large accommodation, ample funds, and vener- 
 able associations, immediately interested in the 
 progress and honourably jealous of the fame of the 
 profession, no bodies could be more appropriately 
 selected, if willing, or likely to be more willing. 
 
 lix.
 
 15 
 
 when once they have 'entered upon the task, than 
 the Inns of Court. No violent or inappropriate 
 innovation is attempted to be pressed upon them. 
 They resort only to their own ancient statutes and 
 practices, and resume anew the original objects of 
 their institution. That to give effect to this appli- 
 cation of the Inns of Court to the purposes of 
 a special or professional law college, it appears 
 much more advisable that the several Inns in this 
 country should co-operate; and, instead of eacli 
 providing for its own use or that of its students, a 
 system of lectures, on all the great departments of 
 Civil and English law, it should rather furnish each 
 its quota to the general course in that department, 
 which is most congenial to its constitution ; and to 
 admit indiscriminately on payment of the same fees 
 all students of the Inns of Court, no matter of 
 what Inn, without distinction. The four Inns 
 would thus form for all purposes of the institution 
 a sort of aggregate of Colleges ; or in other words 
 a species of Law University." 
 
 The Commission of 1854. — The Commissioners 
 of 1854 say,* " We deem it advisable that there 
 shall be established a preliminary examination 
 for admission to the Inns of Court of persons, who 
 have not taken a University degree, and that 
 there shall be examinations, the passing of which 
 shall be requisite for the call to the Bar: and 
 that the four Inns of Court shall he united in 
 
 * p. 17.
 
 16 
 
 one University for the 'purpose of ihese exami- 
 nations^ and of conferring degrees."* Thus the 
 proposal of each of these bodies was, that the 
 Benchers should superintend the education of the 
 Bar without any interference on the part of the 
 attornies.| Sir Roundell Palmer proposes to edu- 
 cate the two branches of the profession together 
 under a joint body of the two classes. Are not 
 these proposals at variance with each other ? When 
 the object was to explain to the House of Commons 
 the true bearing of the question, ought not these 
 opinions expressed by these two bodies to have 
 been specifically stated to the House ? Again there 
 were fifteen members of the Committee of 1846. 
 The report appears to have been agreed to unani- 
 mously in the presence of five, acting on behalf of 
 the entire fifteen. Which of those fifteen have 
 repudiated their opinion ? Ten distinguished men 
 signed the report of 1855. The name of one, 
 namely, Lord Hatherley, stands in the prospectus 
 of the Association ' as assenting to their proposal. 
 But I ask, which of the other nine have repudiated 
 their opinion ? What communications upon the 
 subject the Lord Chancellor may have received in 
 private, I cannot tell : but I am not aware of any 
 proof, hitherto made public, that the great majority 
 of members of the Committee of 1846, and also of 
 the Commission of 1855 approve of what the Asso- 
 ciation are doing. 
 
 * p. 11. t p. Ixii.
 
 17 
 
 Scope of the Inquiries. — Sir Eoundell appears 
 to have been misled as to the scope of the two 
 inquiries of 1846 and 1854 : for he says, " Neither 
 of those bodies extended its views practically 
 beyond the consideration of the Inns of Court and 
 the preparation for the Bar." 
 
 The Committee of 1846 inquired generally into 
 " the means of further extending and improving 
 legal education."* The question whether the Inns 
 of Court were the best body to superintend it was 
 fully investigated. The Commission^ of 1855 also 
 entered into the question; they repeatedly mention 
 the Inns of Court as the best authority. Indeed, 
 as w^e have seen, the Commission was ordered to 
 inquire not merely into the arrangements of the 
 Inns of Court, but also, as we have already seen, 
 " into the means most likely to secure a systematic 
 and sound education of students of laio and provide 
 satisfactory tests of fitness for admission to the Bar^ 
 As the present Master of the Rolls said, in the 
 debate, " the recommendations of the Commission 
 were, so far as the Inns of Court were concerned, 
 substantially the same as those previously made 
 by the Committee." 
 
 The Commissioners! of 1855 themselves say ; 
 " The expediency will be conceded of having one 
 system common to all Inns of Court for testing 
 the general knowledge of persons to be admitted 
 as students, and the legal knowledge to be required 
 
 * Hans., vol. 209, p. 1285. t Tor instance, B. 1206. 
 % B. pp. 16 and 17. 
 
 B
 
 18 
 
 as a condition for a call to the Bar. We think, 
 moreover, that considerable advantage would re- 
 sult to the Bar, as a liberal profession, from a 
 better recognized and more definite and permanent 
 combination of the Inns of Court in reference to 
 legal education and examinations than exists at 
 present in respect to the Council of legal educa- 
 tion ; and that the Inns might be united in a Univer- 
 sity, still preserving the independence respectively 
 as distinct societies with respect to their property 
 and internal arrangements." So distinct was the 
 opinion of the Commissioners of 1855, as well as 
 that of the Committee of 1846, in favour of the 
 principle of the arrangements which have been 
 adopted. 
 
 Mr. Lowe's Opinion. — Sir Eoundell relied upon 
 Mr. Lowe's authority ; no doubt a very great 
 authority upon questions of this description. He 
 quoted Mr. Lowe's statement that according to 
 his " impression the Inns of Court as then con- 
 stituted were as an University in a state of decay ;" 
 and further, that " what is needed is some central 
 authority to confer the degree of Barrister, some- 
 thing answering to the Senate of the University 
 of London, or to the governing body in Oxford 
 or Cambridge."* There Sir Eoundell stopped 
 in his quotation. Had he continued it to the 
 very next line, he would have quoted language 
 
 * The present Solicitor- General also appealed to Mr. Lowe 
 in the debate of 1872. Hans. vol. 209, p. 1288.
 
 19 
 
 which showed Mr. Lowe's opinion to be quite 
 at variance with his own — to be, in fact, that 
 the Inns of Court were the proper sources of 
 authority, without any admixture of solicitors : 
 for Mr. Lowe continues his evidence from the 
 paper quoted by Sir Eoundell, in the following 
 words : — " I would not allow the Colleges, analo- 
 gous to which I consider the Inns of Court to 
 be, to have the power of conferring a degree. 
 The power ought to be given to some central body 
 composed out of tliem^ but not identified with any 
 one of them."* The question was put to him, 
 " Would you have a body, which should be elected 
 by them?" Mr. Lowe answers, " I think that the 
 Inns of Court might appoint such a 5ocZ?/.""j" 
 
 Lectures. — The great remedy by way of education 
 was stated by Sir Eoundell Palmer to be education 
 by lectures, and he quoted the Scotch system, the 
 Commentaries of Chancellor Kent, and the treatises 
 of Story and Savigny, and Blackstone's lectures, 
 and Austin's. He omitted to state, that the Inns 
 of Court had maintained for twenty years this very 
 system of education by lectures. 
 
 Foreign Law Institution. — It is hardly worth 
 while to follow Sir Eoundell Palmer in his 
 remarks upon foreign systems of law education. 
 In no countiyf are there bodies similar to the 
 Inns of Court. In all countries§ the systems 
 
 * B. 1617. 
 
 t B. 1618, 
 
 X B. p, 10, 
 
 § A. 25. 
 
 
 B 2
 
 20 
 
 of law are essentially different from that of 
 England. For instance, throughout Germany 
 every appointment in the law, from that of Notary 
 public to the judicial bench, is in the hands of the 
 Government, and under the patronage of the minis- 
 ter of justice : and the training necessary to qualify 
 the candidates for such offices is strictly the subject 
 of Government regulations. We will not for one 
 moment suppose, that Sir Eoundell Palmer or the 
 Association would wish such a principle of depen- 
 dence upon Government to be introduced into 
 England.* 
 
 Scotch System. — Sir Roundell spoke highly of 
 the Scotch system. It was adopted in 1863 after a 
 consideration of the system of different countries, 
 particularly of the English improvements of 1852. 
 I have before me the general report of the Commis- 
 sioners Tuider the University (Scotland) Act, 1858. 
 It bears date 1863. It states "that the legal edu- 
 cation of the country is for the most part carried on 
 in the Universities."! I have also several works 
 relating to the Scotch system, and among them "the 
 Universities of Scotland past and present, and possi- 
 ble," and "the regulations as to Intrants." There 
 is now no proposal to make our law education de- 
 pendent on Universities. Education in the neigh- 
 bourhood of the Courts of Justice is evidently 
 
 * One of the first acts in the French Eevolution was to 
 abolish the privileges of the Bar. Napoleon restored them. 
 See Hortensiiis, by W. Eorsyth, Esq. Q.C. pp. 311, 31G. 
 
 t p. XXXV.
 
 21 
 
 preferred. The degree of L.L.B. is rarely taken. 
 The real comparison in respect of the Scotch 
 system must be with the education of advocates 
 under the " regulations as to Intrants." I cannot 
 discover any superiority in the Scotch system over 
 our own. If there are any classes included in the 
 Scotch^ and omitted in our own, I am sure that 
 they would readily be adopted by the Council of 
 Legal Education. It may reasonably be asked, 
 whether the Lord Chancellor, or any one else, has 
 ever pointed out such omission to the Council ? 
 
 Studies mentioned in Report of 1846. — In 
 the Eeport of 1846 there is a comprehensive 
 description of the studies, which are to be 
 embraced in a general school of law. *" Instruc- 
 tion in Civil law, as bearing particularly on 
 Canon or Ecclesiastical, for which there is a direct 
 demand in our Prerogative and Ecclesiastical 
 Courts. Constitutional and Parliamentary law, 
 not only in relation to our own country but to 
 others ; administrative law^ in its connection with 
 magisterial and official duty : International law, 
 as it affects our relations to our sister nations ; but 
 above all, the great and enduring principles, on 
 which all law, whatever may be its local or tempo- 
 rary modifications, should rest, and which is no 
 more than the highest morality directed by the 
 highest philosophy of action ; this is the appli- 
 cation and honourable vocation of an University 
 law school or faculty, and which, while it in no 
 
 * A. p. ilviii.
 
 22 
 
 way militates against or supersedes the peculiar 
 province of the special professional institution, 
 will give a higher and more scientific tone to the 
 entire study, and, if carried out in a manner worthy 
 of its dignified ends, will go far to replace law in 
 its legitimate position^ and from being as it now is, 
 an act depending, like others, on more or less ex- 
 perience, more or less dexterity in practice, will 
 elevate it once more to the noble science, next 
 to religion, the chief instrument for the civilization 
 and happiness of mankind."* These are the terms 
 in which the Committee of 1846 describe the studies 
 through which they required the Inns of Court to 
 lead the students of law.| They are intended to 
 prepare men for Parliamentary duties, for the 
 duties of Magistrates, for the Bar and the Bench, 
 for offices in India and the Colonies — in countries 
 where the laws of Holland, France and Spain, 
 Hindoo or the Mahomedan law are to be adminis- 
 tered. The Commission of 1855 adopted the same 
 view. 
 
 Conduct of Inns. — The conduct of the four Inns 
 may be not unfairly tested by the inquiry how far 
 they have complied with the requirements of the 
 Committee. A return has been made in every 
 year since the year 1852 of the subjects of the 
 private classes and public lectures, and of the 
 numbers of the students who have attended them 
 in each yeai\ In the return for the year ending 
 
 * A. 89, 98, 128(3, 1U7. f x^^i'i- ^sxiv.
 
 23 
 
 10th January, 1872, the subjects are as follows: 
 Constitutional and Legal History ; Jurisprudence ; 
 Civil and International Law ; Equity, elementary 
 and advanced; the law of Real Property, &c., 
 elementary and advanced ; the Common Law, 
 elementary and advanced ; Hindu and Mahomedan 
 Laws. The number of students attending the 
 lectures and classes is as follows : — 
 
 Public Lectures. Private Classes. 
 
 Inner Temple ... 128 29 
 
 Lincoln's Inn ... 101 30 
 
 Middle Temple ... 98 35 
 
 Gray's Inn .... 8 5 
 
 335 99 
 
 The students were actually obliged to attend the 
 public lectures. They could attend, or not attend 
 the private classes at their option. A large pro- 
 portion of them, as appears from an examination 
 of these numbers, preferred studies in the private 
 chambers of conveyancers, special pleaders, or 
 equity draughtsmen. Thus the Benchers were so far 
 from being backward in meeting the recommenda- 
 tions of the Committee, that they actually provided 
 for private classes far beyond what the students 
 were willing to turn to good account. So utterly 
 groundless is the charge which has been brought 
 against the Inns. 
 
 The next document still more strongly supports 
 this remark. It is an Abstract of the accounts of 
 the Council of Legal Education, for one year, from 
 the 11th January, 1871, to the 10th Januaiy, 1872.
 
 Dr. go Sums JllJClliUfltl. 
 
 Contributions from the Inns of Court foe the 
 Eeaders' Stipends, the Studentships, and 
 THE Exhibitions. — 
 
 £ s. d. 
 
 Lincoln's Inn 300 
 
 Inner Temple 300 
 
 Middle Temple 300 
 
 Gray's Inn 300 
 
 Fees eeceived op Students. — 
 
 Foe the Public Lectures. 
 
 Inner Temple ..... 
 
 Lincoln's Inn 
 
 Middle Temple .... 
 Gray's Inn 
 
 Fees paid by Students. — 
 
 Foe Admission to the Peivate Classes.— 
 
 Middle Temple .... 
 Lincoln's Inn .... 
 
 Inner Temple 
 
 Gray's Inn 
 
 Hindu Law Reader 8 8 
 
 Fees paid foe Admission Forms undee Clause 9 
 of the Consolidated Regulations. — 
 
 Inner Temple 154 7 
 
 Middle Temple 144 18 
 
 Lincoln's Inn 113 8 
 
 Gray's Inn 16 16 
 
 429 9 
 
 1200 
 
 
 
 
 672 
 
 530 5 
 
 514 10 
 
 42 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2958 15 
 
 183 15 
 
 157 10 
 
 152 5 
 
 26 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 519 15 
 
 Contributions from the Inns of Court foe 
 Contingent Expenses. — 
 
 Lincoln's Inn . . . . . 60 
 
 Inner Temple . . . . . , 60 
 
 Middle Temple 60 
 
 Gray's Inn 60 
 
 240 
 
 £4156 7 
 
 Balance of Cash Account to 11th January, 1871 . 967 
 Less Balance to 10th January, 1872 . . . 214 1 9 
 NetBalanceofCashAccounttollth January, 1873 £752 18 9
 
 SH ^ums laid. 
 
 Cr. 
 
 Stipends of the Readers. — £ s. d. 
 
 The Five Eeaders, one year's Stipend, at the rate of 
 
 36420 each Reader 2100 
 
 The Reader in Hindu Law, «&c. . . . _ • 315 
 J. F. Leith, Esq., for Special Examination in Hindu 
 
 Law, &c 52 10 
 
 Gekeeal Examinations, Studentships, and 
 
 Exhibitions. — 
 6 Studentships of £52. 10s each . . . . 315 
 6 Exhibitions of 3626. 5s each . . . . 157 10 
 
 Examinees appointed by the Council to conduct 
 THE Examinations of Students on the sub- 
 ject OF THE LeCTUEES AND CLASSES. — 
 
 4 Examiners at £10. 10s each . . . . 42 
 July Exhibitions. — 
 
 10 Exhibitions of £31. 10s each . . . . 315 
 
 4 Exhibitions of £21. each 84 
 
 Tees distributed to the Readers. — • 
 EoE Peivate Classes. — 
 
 Amount of Fees received of Students for admission 
 to the Private Classes, and distributed to the 
 Readers, in accordance with Clause 35 of the 
 Consolidated Regulations .... 
 
 Amount of Fees received of Students for Hindu, 
 Mahoramedan Law, &c.. Classes 
 
 Peeliminary Examinations under Clauses 1, 2, 
 3, 4, 5, 6, AND 9 OF the Consolidated Regu- 
 lations. — 
 
 15 Examiners, as per rota [42 attendances at the 
 Middle Temple, after the rate of £5. 5s for each 
 attendance] ....... 
 
 And for the services of Mr. Purdue, as Secretary 
 to the Board 
 
 Contingent Expenses. — 
 
 Sundry Bills for Printing, to Christmas, 1871 
 
 Amount of Bills for books, stationery, postage- 
 stamps, and petty cash payments 
 
 Salaries to the Clerk of the Council, the Usher of 
 the Hall, and Laundress 
 
 220 10 
 21 
 
 81 11 10 
 
 27 8 11 
 110 15 
 
 3381 
 
 519 15 
 
 8 8 
 
 241 10 
 
 219 15 9 
 
 £4370 8 9 
 
 Audited and found corrrect. 
 June 18th, 1872. 
 
 C. S. Whitmoee. 
 HoLDSwoEiu Hunt.
 
 26 
 
 Similar accounts have been published in each 
 succeeding year since 1853. Sir Eoundell Palmer 
 brought forward his charges against the Inns of 
 Court on the 1st of March, 1872 ; why he omitted 
 to state the contents of documents such as these to 
 the House of Commons, it is hard to understand. 
 Sir Eoundell further observed, " would it not be 
 better, that our students should be encouraged and 
 assisted, at least as much as any public institution 
 can encourage and assist them, to lay the founda- 
 tion of tlieir legal knowledge of principles, and of 
 the study of the law upon a large wide liberal and 
 scientific basis." If he had laid before the House 
 the statements contained in these documents, and 
 in others of the same kind annually published, 
 they would have seen that this encouragement is 
 precisely that which the Inns of Court had been 
 diligently affording since the year 1852. 
 
 Examination. — The one ground of complaint 
 against the Inns of Court has been their unwilling- 
 ness to establish compulsory examination for the 
 degree of Barrister. The proposal was much debated 
 about thirty years ago, and was at that time rejected 
 under the advice of the most highly educated lawyers 
 of the day: It was feared that an examination would 
 deter men, who did not intend to practise, from 
 coming to the Bar. It was thought, that such a con- 
 sequence would be a great public evil. 
 
 To put the examination for the Bar on the same 
 footing as an examination for the profession of an
 
 27 
 
 attorney or of a medical man is quite a mistake. Per- 
 sons who require the aid of an attorney or a doctor, 
 go directly to them. They may sustain serious 
 injuiy, if any one is allowed to offer himself to the 
 world in general, as a practitioner in either of those 
 professions, without having proved an adequate 
 amount of proficiency. But persons, who require 
 the aid of a Banister, do not go directly to him. 
 They consult their attorney, and through the 
 attorney as intermediate agent consult the Barris- 
 ter. A Bamster obtains no employment* from his 
 mere call to the Bar. Thus the call injures no one. 
 A Barrister must gradually establish his reputation 
 as a competent man ; and in doing so undergoes 
 practically a kind of examination, which is in effect 
 compulsory. It is said, that there are numerous 
 offices, in which a call to the Bar is a qualification. 
 But a man cannot be appointed to any one of them, 
 merely because he is a Bamster."]" Unless he has 
 shewn practical ability in actual professional work, 
 no Government will venture to appoint him. 
 Very few people would be inclined to say, that 
 Benchers are now to be regarded as unfit to super- 
 intend legal education, because they formerly 
 objected to compulsory examination. For in- 
 stance, is the Lord Chief Baron unfit for the per- 
 formance of such a duty ? He is paraded by the 
 Association as one who approves of their objects. 
 
 * A. 3S02. B. 18, 39. f B. 40.
 
 28 
 
 Yet in 1852 he gave evidence against compulsory 
 examination. 
 
 The Inns of Com't, by the course which they 
 have now adopted, have placed the examination for 
 the degree of Barrister upon the same footing as 
 the examination at Oxford and Cambridge for the 
 degree of Bachelor-of-Arts. The object is to as- 
 certain that the student comes up to a certain 
 standard ; if he does so, he obtains the degree. In 
 other words it is a compulsory examination for a 
 minimum. And this examination is not competi- 
 tive. There remains the voluntary competitive 
 examination corresponding to the University exa- 
 mination for honours. This struggle draws out all 
 the best qualities of the student. Different motives 
 induce different men to enter the lists. A man 
 may desire merely to make a fortune ; to gain 
 credit for himself, and to reflect credit on his 
 family ; to fit himself for services in the high 
 walks of his profession ; or he may feel, that it is 
 his duty to cultivate to the utmost those talents 
 with which God has endowed him, and to do in the 
 most exemplary manner his duty in that state of 
 life, in which he is placed. High qualities will be 
 fostered and encouraged and rewarded by the 
 voluntary examination, which the Inns of Court 
 have established. But let it be observed, that the 
 kind of examination, which gives this encourage- 
 ment, was established by the Inns of Court as long 
 ago as the year 1852.
 
 29 
 
 Indirect aid. — While the fniis of Court have 
 directly promoted study by the establishment of 
 tutors, and lecturers, public and private, they have 
 indirectly given much further assistance. The 
 vulgar idea is, that the Inns of Court have merely 
 enabled students to eat their terms^ '' that," as Mr. 
 Morgan said in the debate, "the Inns of Court have 
 hitherto done absolutely nothing to insure the com- 
 petency of those they admitted to practice at the 
 Bar."* The establishment of compulsory examina- 
 tion has put an end to the idea of merely " eating 
 terms." In truth the Inns of Court have been 
 incessantly exerting themselves in the improve- 
 ment of the condition of the students. They have 
 provided convenient chambers, and an excellent 
 library, meals at convenient hours, and constant 
 opportunities of intercourse, in which students may 
 meet together and derive no small professional 
 advantage from daily association. I must not omit 
 the jurisdiction of the Bench of each Inn over the 
 Bar, to the extent of disbarring in case of gross 
 misconduct. This jurisdiction is exercised with 
 most scrupulous care and delicacy and forbearance. 
 To members of the Bench it is very painful, but 
 very advantageous to Barristers ; as it relieves 
 them from the evils of bad example, and from the 
 presence of any one, who is unworthy of their 
 society. 
 
 When the resolutions of the Lord Chancellor 
 
 * See Times report.
 
 30 
 
 were brought forward, the actual conduct of the 
 Inns of Court should, for the guidance of unpro- 
 fessional men, have been distinctly stated to the 
 House of Commons. I read the report of the debate 
 of 1872 with infinite regret. I thought that the 
 charges brought against the four Inns were ground- 
 less. Until the 13th December, I ventured to 
 hope, that the different speeches made in the debate 
 had warned the Lord Chancellor that he had been 
 mistaken as to the conduct of the Inns, when he 
 charged them with neglect and unfitness for the 
 discharge of their duties. The meeting of the 
 12 th of December extinguished this hope. His 
 opinion is apparently the same. There remain 
 his charges against the Inns of Court, of one of 
 which he is a member ; and I am a member in 
 another. Of course his Lordship believes these 
 charges to be just. I believe them to be thoroughly 
 unjust. My refutation of them is simply a state- 
 ment of facts. Defence, and not defiance, is the 
 spirit in which I write. I will not add one 
 unkind word. But I will add this comment 
 upon the debate of 1872. Suppose that the 
 members who took part in the division had 
 been told, not that the education of Barristers 
 was a hand to mouth system^ not that the law 
 student was left to pick out Ms way as well as 
 he could ; not, that the Inns had absolutely done 
 nothing towards his competency; but that the 
 Benchers had provided for twenty years a very
 
 31 
 
 learned body of professors and tutors directly 
 ordered to teach and guide and assist in every 
 possible way in public and in private eveiy student 
 wlio chose to apply to them ; that the lectures and 
 private tuition had been uniformly given for all 
 that period, and that the Inns had contributed 
 largely to the expense. Suppose the return of 
 studies and students, and the abstract of accounts 
 which I have quoted, had been laid before the 
 House: suppose the House had been informed 
 that, having regard to the peculiar relations be- 
 tween barrister, attorney, and client, the Inns of 
 Court had long declined to enforce an examination 
 for the Bar, but that^ in deference to a strong 
 growing opinion, they had at length established 
 it : suppose that the House had been further in- 
 formed, how zealously the Inns had always encou- 
 raged and promoted voluntary study by all the 
 appliances that they could command, and had 
 fostered and rewarded a healthy and active thirst 
 of competition, and endeavoured to draw out the 
 talents of their most spirited students : suppose 
 the resolutions of 1846 and 1855 had been read, 
 and the entire disagreement of the Committee and 
 of the Commission and of all the principal witnesses 
 from the proposed resolution had been made 
 clear : had all these suppositions been realities, 
 the division would have taken place upon a true 
 statement of facts, and with as much information 
 as can be communicated in the course of a debate ;
 
 32 
 
 and I feel sure, that under those circumstances the 
 resolutions would have been rejected by a far 
 larger ma-jority. 
 
 Principles of the Committee and Commission 
 opposed. — The Lord Chancellor still suggests that 
 he is supported in his present movement by the 
 opinions of the Commission of 1855. He is reported 
 to have said at the recent interview with the 
 members of the Association, "that it would be 
 expedient also to deal with the constitution and 
 government of the Inns of Court, and he proposed 
 to do so in accordance with the principles put for- 
 loard in the report of the Royal Commission which 
 some time ago sat upon this subject." The 
 Eoyal Commission agreed with the opinion of the 
 Committee of 1846, to the effect that the education 
 of the Bar should be governed by the four Benches. 
 That government is now in reality the sole point 
 in dispute. The Lord Chancellor proposes to 
 substitute the government of a body consisting 
 partly of barristers, partly of attornies. I cannot 
 see that his Lordship is acting " in accordance 
 with the principles of the Commission.'' 
 
 Objections to Benchers Authority. Self Election. 
 — I pass to some other questions relating to 
 the several Benches. An objection has been raised 
 on the ground that they are self-elected.* 1\\ 
 
 * Mr. Lowe says, " I think the Inns of Coui-t would be 
 more in harmony with the feelings of the Bar generally, if the 
 Benchers were not self-elected." B. 1622.
 
 33 
 
 respect of Queen's Counsel, the admission to the 
 Bench always takes place, unless a certain number 
 of the members of the Bench think proper to op- 
 pose it. The Lord Chancellor for the time being is 
 really the person, who elects this class of Benchers, 
 although subject to a veto on the part of the existing 
 Benchers. They are about four-fifths of the entire 
 body. In reality they become Benchers, because they 
 have advanced themselves to the first rank of the 
 profession. The other members are elected by 
 the Benchers. They are very important members. 
 They are selected as men individually of very high 
 character, who in office or in politics or in litera- 
 ture have done credit to their Inn. And they are 
 the more valuable, as their election marks the 
 independence of the Bench. The Lord Chancellor 
 can, upon mere political reasons, refuse to an 
 eminent lawyer the rank of Queen's Counsel. He 
 cannot prevent him from receiving, as a reward 
 for good conduct and for the useful exercise of 
 great abilities, advancement to the rank of Bencher 
 in his Inn.* 
 
 Benchers the Pi^ojper Authority. — I cannot think 
 that objections such as I have mentioned supply 
 any reason for taking away from the Benchers 
 
 * When Lords Brougham and Denman were appointed 
 Counsel to Queen Caroline, tbey had precedence in that capa- 
 city. They applied to Lord Eldon and asked to be made 
 King's Counsel. Lord Eldon refused. The Benchers of 
 Lincoln's Inn admitted them to their Bench. 
 
 c
 
 34 
 
 the superintendence over the education of the 
 Bar. It matters not to what class of witnesses 
 reference is made. Lecturers, eminent prac- 
 titioners, men at the head of the profession, 
 such as Lords Brougham, Campbell, Westbmy; 
 indeed all witnesses examined before the Com- 
 mittee or Commission concur in saying that the 
 Benchers have on all accounts* the best means 
 of conducting their superintendence, that they 
 thoroughly understand the profession, that they 
 know what it requires and that they are versed in 
 the mamtenance of its discipline. Above all, that 
 they are quite free from political bias, and that 
 they have always shewn a most honourable inde- 
 pendence. The English Bar have a high charac- 
 ter for independence. That great quality derives 
 ample encouragement from the character of the 
 body by whom the Bar are governed. Eespecting 
 the fitness of Benchers for the discharge of their 
 present duties. Lord Westbury is most positive. 
 "Would you object," he is asked, "to a govern- 
 ment commission, composed partly of Judges and 
 partly of Benchers of the Inns of Court, in addi- 
 tion to official members, so as to give it a more 
 authoritative character, and such as would ensure 
 a greater uniformity ? " " Yes," he says, " I should 
 object to it, because there are ample and sufficient 
 means for the attainment of that object in exist- 
 
 * A. xlviii. 273, 3760, 287, 2819, 293, 3847.
 
 35 
 
 ifence; and I think it will unquestionably be 
 attained by those persons, who up to the present 
 time have been most usefully made depositaries of 
 power and authority with regard to the regulation 
 t)f the Bar, and admission to the Bar." In con- 
 sidering this answer let our readers recollect, that 
 t)f all the advocates of good legal education, Lord 
 Westbury was far the earliest, the most diligent 
 and persevering ; and we may perhaps add, him- 
 self the most highly educated. The Committee 
 of 1846 were most distinct in the statement of their 
 opinion. " The Pi'ofession in these countries have 
 a recognized organ for professional instruction 
 in the Inns of Court, requiring no innovation but 
 such modifications only as existing society may 
 demand to fit them for places of special legal educa- 
 tion." 
 
 Union of the four Inns. — The question arises, 
 whether these societies should act independently, 
 of each other, or co-operate, each in its own 
 sphere, for one general end. '^The great ma- 
 jority of the witnesses decide in favour of the 
 latter proposition." " The several Inns would 
 thus form the colleges, as it were, of one common 
 university."* To maintain an esprit de coips in 
 each Inn is one object. To have one and 
 the same system of instruction is another. For 
 the former object a separate establishment is requi« 
 
 * A. xlviiii. 3840. 
 (J 2
 
 36 
 
 site: for the latter a certain amount of union. 
 And this is precisely the plan which has been 
 adopted. The Inns retain their separate and in- 
 dependent existence, except in that respect in 
 which a common action is necessary : that is, 
 where studies common to all, and one uniform 
 system of instruction and of examination ought to 
 be arranged. An opinion in favour of this 
 arrangement was expressed by almost all the wit- 
 nesses before the Committee of 1846. 
 
 Should the Benchers he united hy a Charter. — ■ 
 A complaint is made, that any one of the four 
 Benches may withdraw their members from the 
 legal council: that on the one hand the system 
 may in this way be at any time dissolved ; that on 
 the other, while it continues, the Council cannot 
 act without continual reference to their constituents. 
 
 If there is any deficiency in this respect, there 
 will be no difficulty in correcting it. The Crown* 
 may grant an Act of incorporation, by which the 
 powers of the legal council, their permanence 
 and their responsibility may be distinctly defined 
 and established. 
 
 Present plans of education. — I have made these 
 remarks upon the nature of the body, who have 
 hitherto superintended the education of the Bar, 
 and upon their conduct since the year 1852. 
 
 * A. 115, 1173, 1415, 1548, 3747. B. 576, 120G, 1617, 
 1618, 2313.
 
 37 
 
 I may now add the arrangements which they 
 have made with a view to the fatm-e. A very 
 slight sketch of them will suffice for om' present 
 purpose. " No student shall be called to the Bar 
 unless such student shall to the satisfaction of 
 the Council of Legal Education, have passed a 
 public examination for the purpose of ascertain- 
 ing his fitness to be called to the Bar, and have 
 obtained from the Council a certificate of having 
 passed his examination. The Council of Legal 
 Education shall consist of twenty members, five to 
 be nominated by each Inn of Court. The Council 
 shall appoint four professors and as many tutors 
 as they deem necessary, to give instruction m pri- 
 vate classes." 
 
 ^' They shall also appoint six examiners." 
 The subjects of instruction, shall include, Juris- 
 prudence, International law, Public and Pri- 
 vate Eoman civil law, Constitutional law, and 
 legal history. Equity, the Law of real and personal 
 property^ Common law, Hindu and Mahomedan 
 law, and the laws in force in British India. These 
 being the subjects of study, the Benchers under the 
 consolidated regulations of Michaelmas term, 1872, 
 have greatly increased their contributions to- 
 ward the necessary expenses. They have shewn 
 the strongest desire to include every branch of 
 law, for which they can obtain pupils ; and they 
 have been extremely careful in selecting proper 
 men as professors and tutors. The Inner Temple
 
 38 
 
 have at tlieir own expense appointed five tutors, 
 each for a distinct branch of those studies, which 
 form subjects of the public examinations. The 
 Inner Temple have also private examinations of 
 the pupils. 
 
 Scientific education. — I will now allude as briefly 
 as I can to some of the reasons, why the education 
 of the Bar should be under the superintendence 
 of the leaders of their own branch of the pro- 
 fession. The first inference from the reports of 
 1846 and 1855 is the absolute necessity of making 
 progress in the scientific education of the Bar. 
 Many Barristers have hitherto learned legal prin- 
 ciples, as it were only by accident. In consider- 
 ing authorities connected with their practice, they 
 have encountered precedents which are inconsistent 
 with one another. They have thus been driven 
 to the original principles of jurisprudence. All 
 the witnesses of high authority concur in saying, 
 that students should learn principles first, and 
 practice afterwards. In harmony with this advice 
 is the recommendation of the study of civil law, 
 which contains the foundation of all law. Men, 
 who are duly imbued with it, can easily master 
 Spanish, or French, or Dutch, or international law. 
 " There* are a great variety of laws, but many 
 common principles." To English lawyers a know- 
 ledge of this civil law is peculiarly necessary, on 
 
 * A. 3522 and 3592.
 
 39 
 
 account of the Colonies where they plead, or, what 
 is still more to be considered, hold judicial offices. 
 
 The intellectual object in view is to improve 
 the scientific knowledge of the Barrister. — Is it then 
 wise to hamper the lecturers with the presence of a 
 class of pupils, to the great majority of whom 
 routine and common practice are all in all, and 
 science is often unnecessary ?* No doubt there will 
 be a certain number of articled clerks, possessed of 
 refined and acute minds, and able to master the 
 most subtle and scientific departments of law. But 
 the system must be made for the mass, not for the 
 individual ; and the mass of attornies will aim at 
 the practical work, not at the scientific niceties of 
 law.f 
 
 Until the consequences which would necessarily 
 flow from a combined system of education are fairly 
 considered, the retrograde character of such a com- 
 bination cannot be distinctly seen. The matter is 
 of serious importance. — '' The public,'^ said Mr. 
 Amos, " have a strong interest in the lawyer being 
 scientifically educated; but the advantages of a scien- 
 tific legal education are experienced more later in 
 professional life." J Proximate objects are the most 
 attractive to young students : to a great number of 
 them practice in early days is absolutely essential. 
 
 * A. p. 279, 3784. ; A. 178, 2347 ; A. 103, 1353 ; A. p. 18, 
 218 ; p. 51, 627 ; p. 54, 659 ; p. 62, 744. 
 
 t A. 2569, 2173. X A. 1353, 1354.
 
 40 
 
 Some strong counterpoise is required, wliich may 
 incline the student's mind towards the more dis- 
 tant fruit of scientific exertion. This is a strong 
 reason, why the body which superintends the Bar- 
 risters' education should consist of men, who can 
 thoroughly appreciate, and illustrate by their own 
 example, the advantages of legal science ; and are 
 certain to maintain this peculiar class of study, and 
 to reward very highly those young students, who 
 distinguish themselves by scientific attainments. 
 
 Attorneys' System.— The regulations for the 
 admission of attornies are very important elements 
 in this controversy. They have been made under 
 the provisions of 23 and 24 Vict. c. 127. First 
 there is a preliminary examination* in general 
 knowledge before the articles of Clerkship are 
 entered upon. These examinations are held at the 
 Incorporated Law Society's Hall in Chancery Lane, 
 and at thirty of the principal Towns in England.^ 
 It is not necessary to detail the exceptional cases, 
 in which those examinations are not required, j: 
 
 Clerks are articled for definite periods ; and, at 
 the conclusion of one half of their term of articles, 
 or in one of the two terms next before or next after 
 that period, they are required to pass another exa- 
 mination, which is called the intermediate examina- 
 tion. The subject of it includes all elementary 
 
 * A. 73, 843. t A. 843. 
 
 X "The examinations are in the main excellent," per At- 
 torney-General. Hans. 209, 1248.
 
 41 
 
 books of the law of England and mercantile book- 
 keeping by single entry. At the expiration of the 
 terms of the articles, or in the preceding term, there 
 is a third examination, before the Clerk can be 
 admitted as an attorney. The Law- Institution has 
 been established by solicitors at their own cost, 
 not less than £90,000. They regulate their own 
 lectures, and adapt them to the wants of gentlemen 
 studying for their branch of tl;e profession ; and 
 the education is different from the education re- 
 quired for a Barrister. Thus there is a most ela- 
 borate system already framed for the education of 
 Attornies ; and the Incorporated Law-Society are 
 a body most watchful in enforcing as far as possible 
 good conduct among them. The Solicitors also 
 are in exclusive possession of five Inns — Clement's 
 Inn, New Inn, Staple's Inn, Barnard's Inn, and 
 Symon's Inn. 
 
 " On the whole," says the report of 1846, " in 
 England at least a separate but cognate institution 
 for solicitors appears desirable."* Two eminent 
 solicitors took part in the debate upon Sir Eoun- 
 dell Palmer's resolutions, Mr. Gregory and Mr. 
 Leeman. Both of them expressed themselves ex- 
 tremely averse to any alteration of system as re- 
 garded their branch of the profession. Mr. Leeman 
 said, " that as one, who had for 40 years practised 
 as a solicitor, he should like to ask, what better or 
 
 * B. i29, loG2 ; I. B. 1561, 1580 ; A. liii.
 
 42 
 
 more competent tribmial for examining articled 
 clerks, desiring to fit themselves for practice as 
 solicitors aud attornies, could be found than the 
 Law Institution, as it had been working for the last 
 25 years ? He for one should be very sorry to see 
 those resolutions passed, because he believed that 
 the right place for the education of young solicitors 
 was in the offices of Attornies, instead of an Insti- 
 tution in London."* 
 
 Two Complete Systems. — Thus, when the ques- 
 tion whether the two branches of the profession 
 should be educated together is approached, it 
 must be remembered, that there is already a 
 perfectly good system of instruction for each branch 
 separately ; that for each branch the studies have 
 been arranged, so as to be adapted to their peculiar 
 wants ; and that for each there is superintendence 
 by a most capable body, which has matured the 
 system as It is at present, and is only too anxious 
 to adopt any improvement, which experience may 
 suggest. In each branch too the numbers are 
 sufficiently great for a separate establishment of 
 students. For the Bar about 250 are admitted 
 annually ; and a much larger number are articled 
 with a view to the practice of attornies. 
 
 Age of Students. — The age of the solicitor students 
 is to be carefully considered. Sir George Stephen 
 says,! " They are generally articled at sixteen and 
 
 * Hans. 209, 1288. t ^- 2012, 1001, 2023.
 
 43 
 
 leave at twenty-one. There are several instances^ 
 which I know of, where young men have been in 
 fact introduced to an attorney's office at fourteen. 
 I know of many instances ; but as a general rule I 
 should say that sixteen or seventeen is the age." 
 " The necessary period of clerkship is five years." 
 It appears that attornies in the country frequently 
 commence business at twenty-one. "In towns many 
 of them at that age become salaried clerks or 
 even partners." It is clear from Sir G. Stephen's 
 account that, after a man has become a salaried 
 clerk or partner, there is not much time for the 
 study of law as a science, or for attendance on 
 classes. The business of the day requires constant 
 labour during all the hours which are available."]* 
 At an earlier period, and, while he is under arti- 
 cles, one hour a day seems to be the utmost that 
 can be allowed for attendance on lectures; and, 
 the time being so short, those which he attends 
 must be arranged exactly in accordance with the 
 instruction which he requires.^: " I think," Mr. 
 Cookson says, " that the lectures, which we give at 
 our Institution, are well adapted to the gentlemen, 
 who are studying for our branch of the profession." 
 It seems that the expense of education, and the 
 nature of the professional knowledge to be acquired 
 render it impossible to begin the term of a solicitor 
 or the entry into actual business at later periods. 
 
 t A. 2023. B. 1581. X B. 1564.
 
 44 
 
 Mr. Hardy,* quoting Mr. Lowe, said, " most of the 
 attornies are under the necessity of earning their 
 bread at an early period of their lives." Mr. 
 Maugham, the secretary and solicitor to the Incor- 
 porated Law Society, expressed a doubt whether 
 a solicitor student would effectually go through 
 the subordinate business, if he entered upon it, 
 highly educated at the age of eighteen or nineteen. 
 The consequences flowing from those circum- 
 stances are very plain.f All teaching must be 
 practical teaching, that is, of theory connected with 
 practice. The future solicitor especially has very 
 little time for any teaching which is not directly 
 ancillary to his practice.lj: 
 
 To the future Barrister an university life is of 
 great advantage. Thus he probably commences 
 his professional studies in his twenty-second or 
 twenty-third year. It is hard to say, how a 
 lecturer or tutor can accommodate his teaching to 
 both classes at the same time ; to the boy of six- 
 teen, who has merely the learning of an ordinary 
 school-boy ', and also to the bachelor of arts, who 
 has the learning and experience of an University, 
 and also some knowledge of the world. The 
 solicitor student has completed his education 
 before he has reached the age at which the 
 young Barrister's education commences. The two 
 classes can no more be united in a class than the 
 
 * A. 2172. A. 780. 
 t Hansard, 1280. % A. 2012, 2666.
 
 45 
 
 boys of a public school with the young men at 
 Oxford or Cambridge. Indeed^ they are still 
 more distinct fi'om one another in age and expe- 
 rience, and habits and associations. 
 
 The plan of joint education becomes still more 
 impracticable, when the different grades of society 
 from which the ranks of solicitors are recruited 
 are carefully considered. 
 
 In the evidence of Sh- George Stephen are the fol- 
 lowing passages : — " I should say that the attorney 
 was selected from three classes, sometimes trades- 
 men and shopkeepers have a very extensive busi- 
 ness arising from their book debts and doubtful 
 securities, and they consider it would be worth 
 their while to place a son in the profession, in 
 order that he may enjoy a business of that descrip- 
 tion. Merchants, for a similar reason, but with a 
 higher class of business in view, are very fre- 
 quently in the habit of placing their sons witb 
 solicitors. Another class, I may say, consists of 
 gentlemen of moderate means, of small and inde- 
 pendent fortunes, not adequate to sustain the 
 expense of more than one son or two for the Bar 
 or Church. Then there is a third class of attor- 
 nies, who come from a much lower stock ; they are 
 young men, who have probably been introduced 
 in their early boyhood, at the age of ten, twelve, 
 or thirteen, as soon as they could write, into an 
 attorney's office, and employed as copying clerks." 
 Sir George Stephen describes their progress, and
 
 46 
 
 adds, " You may say with respect to a man of tliat 
 sort that he is suckled and cradled as an attorney. 
 A very considerable number of our profession are 
 raised from that class."* 
 
 From all the evidence obtained upon the subject, 
 it follows that the education of each branch of the 
 profession should be arranged so as to meet the 
 peculiar circumstances of each branch. But it by 
 no means follows that all students, who intend to 
 be solicitors, should be excluded from lectures 
 intended peculiarly for young barristers. If the 
 lectures and classes are arranged so as to meet 
 the interests of young barristers and barrister- 
 students, the number of solicitor students, who 
 will wish to attend them will be small ; but in 
 common with all other classes of persons who 
 are not members of the Inns of Court, they ought 
 to be admitted upon such terms as the Council of 
 Legal Education may think it proper to establish. 
 Their examination with a view to their admission 
 to practice as attornies ought to be, as it has long 
 been with very great advantage, in the hands of the 
 Law Institution.! 
 
 Relation between Barrister and Attorney. — A 
 joint system of education, and a joint body of men 
 to superintend it, are hardly in keeping with the 
 general arrangements of the profession. The 
 division of labour has been almost universally 
 
 * A. 1964-5. t A. 778.
 
 47 
 
 approved of. Even in countries in which barristers 
 and attornies are united in one firm, the partners 
 act separately, each transacting the business of 
 his own department. In England it is also im- 
 portant to maintain such relations between the 
 two classes, that the barrister and solicitor may 
 be respectively independent of each other. Cir- 
 cumstances without number may be suggested, in 
 which the benefit of this independence is sensibly 
 felt. 
 
 Narrowness of the System. — The Lord Chancellor 
 claimed for the system proposed by him the advan- 
 tage of being " not narrow" but " comprehensive." 
 '^The idea," he adds, "is to have a great school, 
 where the best possible instruction upon subjects, on 
 which instruction is best worth 'having, should 
 be given— a school for all students of the law, 
 no matter what branch of the profession they 
 propose to follow: a school also for all who 
 desire to qualify themselves for public employ- 
 ment, for the work of legislation in Parliament, 
 for the magistracy : a school, in short, for any 
 body who may be willing and able to profit by it." 
 I believe that the Lord Chancellor's plan will 
 not produce the best possible instruction. If the 
 evidence taken before the Committee and Commis- 
 sion can be relied upon, the existing arrangement 
 is far superior. The two branches of the profes- 
 sion require different kinds of instruction. The 
 present plan embraces studies as extensive as those
 
 48 
 
 included in the new proposals. The superiority 
 consists in offering to each branch just that instruc- 
 tiouj which each branch requires. The two plans 
 are equally comprehensive. The existing plan, 
 as regards solicitors, has long been complete. Com- 
 pulsory examination as to the Barrister's degree 
 having been introduced, the plan as to Barristers 
 is now equally complete. 
 
 The question may be shortly put in this form. 
 What advantage can be obtained from the united 
 system, which the separate system will not supply ? 
 I believe — None. On the other hand, what 
 advantage will the separate system supply, which 
 the imited system will not supply ? I answer 
 that it will accommodate itself to the classifi- 
 cation of the profession, which has been adopted, 
 simply because it has been found to be practically 
 the best : and it will insure to the students of each 
 branch the peculiar knowledge and training, which 
 are adapted to its circumstances. 
 
 Summary.— J. venture to think, that I have com- 
 pletely answered the charges brought by the Lord 
 Chancellor against the Inns of Court. I have also 
 mentioned some of the many reasons, why education 
 for the Bar should be kept quite separate from educa- 
 tion for practice as an Attorney. It follows of course, 
 that the separate system of education should be 
 subject to the regulation of separate bodies. I by 
 no means say, that the Inns of Court have framed 
 a system which is perfect. I am sure that they
 
 49 
 
 will readily adopt any real improvement. But I 
 say that the resolutions of the Lord Chancellor 
 Avould, if adopted, prove a check to scientific 
 education, and lead to evil consequences, the 
 extent of which it is hard to foresee. I would 
 urge every agitator against the Inns of Court 
 to consider the benefit, which their careful super- 
 intendence and wise and mild government have 
 conferred upon the Bar, and upon the entire 
 profession, and, abandoning a struggle in which 
 failure is not impossible, to co-operate with 
 them in all their efforts to improve legal edu- 
 cation ; to press them forward, if they show 
 symptoms of inactivity, and to check them, when 
 they are moving in a wrong direction. T would 
 respectfully ask those, who are themselves members 
 of the Inns of Court, instead of striving to impair 
 the authority of themselves and of the other 
 members of the Bench, to apply their efforts in 
 perfecting the Institution, of which they are mem- 
 bers, and to act upon a principle consecrated by 
 experience. 
 
 Spartam nactus es : banc exorna. 
 
 FREDEEICK CALVEET. 
 
 January, 1874, 
 
 Upper Grosvenor Street.