The English Law Courts.
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also suffered), he gained a footing at the General ( 1844), Attorney-General (1845), bar by his appearance as junior counsel for on the death of Sir William Webb Follett — the defence in Queen Caroline's case, and an infinitely greater lawyer — and Lord rose with remarkable rapidity through the Chancellor as Baron Chelmsford in 1858, usual grades of professional distinction to under Lord Derby's ministry. The most in teresting event in his subsequent career was the woolsack. He was a most patient, com petent, and enlightened judge. He died his being passed over by Mr. Disraeli, in in 1865. 1868, for the Chancellorship, in favor of Robert Monsey Rolfe, Baron Cranworth Lord Cairns. " He dismissed me," Chelms (1790- 1868), did his most distinguished ford said, speaking of the Conservative Pre mier, " with 110 greater ceremony that if I judicial work as a Baron of the Court of Ex chequer. He held the Great Seal from 1852 had been his butler." Chelmsford's friends to 1858, and again on the resignation of Lord raised a great outcry over this dismissal, and Westbury, from 1865 to 1867. He was a it is still sometimes ignorantly spoken of as Liberal in politics. His death in 1868 was a job. In point of fact, however, Mr. Dis attributable to the phenomenal heat of the raeli knew what he was about and acted with weather. He died without issue. perfect propriety. Although a facile and Frederick Thesiger, Lord Chelmsford, was pleasing speaker and a fairly valuable poli tical henchman, Chelmsford was not the the seventh son of Charles Thesiger, Collec tor of Customs in the island of St. Vincent, kind of Chancellor that Disraeli needed. and was born in London in 1794. He was The Conservative party were weak in the educated at Greenwich, and before betaking country and in the House of Lords, and himself to the law served as a midshipman their leader required a representative in that at the bombardment of Copenhagen. He House who would do his work not only com was at first designed for the West India Bar, petently, but supremely well. No man with and joined the society of Gray's Inn merely such an end to attain could hesitate for a with a view- to acquiring the formal degree single moment between Chelmsford and of barrister at law. But the pleader in Cairns. Chelmsford was in his seventywhose chambers he read strongly advised fourth year, and he was only an average debater, an average politician, an average him to try his fortune in London first. Al lawyer, and an average man. Cairns was though hopeless of success, Thesiger hear kened to his counsellor, and commenced his only forty-eight; he was a debater of the career as an English barrister in the end of highest ability; he was a statesman as well as 18 18. His unfavorable expectations were a politician; he was, in Disraeli's own lan disappointed. He picked up some briefs at guage, " great in counsel "; as a lawyer he sessions; then he made a good appearance has 'had no equal in the present century, ex in defending Hunt, who was tried along with cept Jessel, and he was also naturally a man the infamous Thurtell (the author of the of the greatest force and breadth of charac modern English scaffold) in 1824, for the ter. It is ridiculous to impute unworthy murder of Mr. Weare, and in 1832 won a motives to Mr. Disraeli when reasons of such solidity and sufficiency for his promotion of great ejectment case at Chelmsford — a vic tory from which he derived his title, and Lord Cairns over Lord Chelmsford's head can be given. » which he always considered to be his palm ary triumph. Probably outside critics would Lord Campbell (1781-1861) need not assign this place to his cross-examination of long detain us here. The story of his life the forger Provis in the Smyth estate case. is familiar to everybody. The son of an Thesiger became successively Solicitor- established church minister in Fife, he began
