London Legal Letter. aspire to a seat "within the bar," or in other words, to take silk" and become a King's counsel. This is a momentous step. Many juniors who have acquired a large clientele and vho are apparently justified in thinking that their powers of advocacy will command work as a leader find that they have made a fatal mistake. The qualities that enabled them to settle pleadings with success and to advise safely in the preparation of a case for trial are not always those which ensure suc cess in the conduct of the case at the bar of the court. If, however, the step is success ful they may then properly indulge the am bition of ultimately being called to the bench. The appointing power is vested solely in the Lord Chancellor, who is accountable to no individual and no law in making his judi cial selection, but to public opinion alone. Theoretically, he selects the best available man to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death or resignation of a judge. He is him self a political officer and a member of the government of the day, and therefore retires when a political change occurs. He may, if he likes, appoint only his favorites or his partizan friends, and as appointees hold for life an office of great power and dignity, and an emolument of $25,000 a year; the natural instinct of the politician would, in some countries, be likely to influence his choice. But fortunately, in England, such a result very rarely occurs. The present Lord Chan cellor has, within the past few days, com pleted, in two terms, a period of service of fifteen and a half years, and has, therefore, held office for a longer time than any of his illustrious predecessors save only the emi nent Lord Eldon. He has had the privilege of appointing to the bench no less than thirty-two High Court judges and an even greater number of County Court judges. With the exception of possibly four of the High Court justices no appointment of his can be traced to political influence or parti zan pressure. On the other hand, several of
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the High Court appointments have been of men, who prior to their elevation to the bench, were extreme partizans of the opposi tion, while nearly half of the County Court judges were Liberals in politics. It is a tra dition of the bar that once a judge is ap pointed he must know nothing of politics, and so strictly is this observed that it would puzzle the present generation of active ju niors to ascertain what, if any, political sym pathies the majority of the present bench had prior to their elevation to that dignity. The Lord Chancellor has acted in accord with the sentiment which requires that the best available talent at the bar be promoted to the judiciary. Within a comparatively few weeks a new judge has been appointed to the Chancery bench who was a Liberal, and a new judge to the. Common Law bench who was a Conservative, and in neither case was politics considered, but simply the con spicuous fitness of the appointees. A va cancy has occurred during the present week by the resignation of Mr. Justice Wright. who is in a precarious state of health, and it is rumored that Mr. Justice Wills, the se nior Common Law judge, who has had nearly twenty years of service, will resign on account of his advancing years. To fill these vacancies it is generally understood that two eminent lawyers, one a King's counsel, and one a junior, will be appointed, one of whom is a Liberal and the other, if he has any politics at all, is a Conservative. While upon the question of judicial ap pointments it may be noted with interest that the six Lord Justices of office who sat in the appelate courts, have each served on the иш prins bench, having between them an average of eight year?' experience in the lower courts before being promoted to the higher. What the gain to the bar is by the appointment of men of ripe experience as lawyers to the nisi priiis bench and of tried and tested judges to the appelate courts, can only be properly estimated by those earn
