The Maxims of a Judge Walk—Work—Read—Have a Hobby

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 175, 20 April 1929, Page 17

The Maxims of a Judge Walk—Work—Read —Have a Hobby

Lord Alness, the great Scottish Judge, at a recent meeting of the Glasgow Juridical Society, delivered a speech on the way to s ucceed in life. The following is from the “Scotsman’s” report of his speech:—

'y ORD alness > in S iv W ‘ Tlle Glasgow Juridical Society,’ disI cussed the qualities that made for success. Lord Halsbury was I reported to have said that the requisites at the Bar were: first, I J health ; second, health; third, health; adding that if they knew a little law it would'do them no harm. Some,men inherited good consitutions. If so, they ’were thrice blessed. Others might not be so fortunate. Even so, he was there to say to them that they could do much to counteract, and even to overcome, any disability of that kind from which they suffered.

' ' “He, at anv rate, could lay claim to have found a simple and inexpensive prescription, by means of which illness and he had remamed aloof from one another for many years. What was it? It might be one word— walking! If he might.be pardoned a personal allusion, he walked several miles each morning before taking his seat on the Bench, and, in summer, at any rate, he walked several miles in the afternoon as well. He had no doubt at all that the time was well spent. When they were nex tempted to take a car or bus keep their penny in -their pocket, and not only their purse but their health-as well would benefit by the choice they had made.

“The next part of his prescription was equally simple and easily remembered—work! Professional success was impossible—apart from adventitious circumstances—without hard work. Work, said Voltaire, was a protection against three enemies—vice, want and tedium. But industry was not an agreeable doctrine. Most of them were by nature indolent. It would be mere affectation to deny it. Lord /Balfour recently emphasised the fact. While that was so, he made bold to say that, if they eliminated work from life, they eliminated one of its chief interests. j t “The men who possessed the most agile and alert minds the men, therefore, who had the most excuse for slacking—were, in point of fact, the hardest workers. He had in mind an eminent .Judge who answered the description which he had given, and who, after a long day spent at Court, would be found at his desk for several hours every afternoon, and again for several hours every evening.

“He had in mind an eminent ex-Lord Chancellor, Lord Birkenhead, who told them that on one occasion he wrote eight drafts of his judgment ‘speech’—before it was finally delivered in the House of Lords. He had in mind several Cabinet colleagues of his — e.g., Mr. Bonar Law and Mr.'Winston Churchill—whose brilliancy was. a by-word, and who nevertheless toiled terribly. •

“He had in mind their fellow-citizen, Lord Strathclyde, in his day one of the greatest platform forces in the country—who wrote with his own hand every line of his speeches, and then memoriesd the speech word for word* before delivery. When he bcame a Judge he dispensed with both typist and shorthand writer, and wrote every line of his considered judgments in his own hand, 'if one was concerned not only with what one said, but also with how one said it, that appeared to him to be—if laborious—the best, and indeed, the only satisfactory method.

“The next part of ins prescription was equally brief —read! General reading must not be neglected. But let their general reading be discriminating. Again, in their reading, choose a subject, and master it. He knew a Judge who made it his business, in his leisure hours, to master the science of chemistry, and he had avowed that in practice, and in particular in the cross-examination of witnesses in certain types of cases, the study proved to him of'inestimable value. Read also around the art of advocacy. “Few were aware of how much had been written on that subject which repaid perusal. The library of "one of the most brilliant and successful pleaders in London to-day was stuffed with books on the topic, ranging from Quintilian onwards. Next, endeavour to gain useful experience of life, as opportunity offered. That experience could be gained in many ways. “One of these was travel. Travel would lift them out of the ordinary rut of their environment. It would inform their mind, and broaden their outlook. It would give them much that they might turn to professional advantage. He would add—take a part in public life. He cared not whether they served on a town council or a parish council, or, best of all, in the House of Commons itself, if they could compass it. , “All these things were aids to success. But something else was required, and he confessed that the exact definition of that ‘something else’ eluded him. He feared be could not come .nearer to it than this they must have a practical turn, a forensic instinct —what, for want of a better word, he would term a legal ‘knack’ in order to succeed. “With that ‘knack’ commonsense and caution, of course, went hand in hand. ■ Finally, he would say—Have a hobby. He cared not what it was —collecting stamps or rearing stocks. Ornithology, architecture, photography—any of these things, or many otlierjiursuits, would serve the purpose. “After he had prepared the observations which he had just made, Lord Alness continued, he chanced to tell that eminent Judge, Lord Shaw 7 , of the subject of his speech, and asked him to give him in a few sentences his views regarding the qualities that make for success at the Bar. Lord Shaw’s reply w 7 as : — “ ‘I was once at the Bar myself, but this is all I can remember about its qualities:— ■' '- ‘“(1) Go straight. Rather ruin than a deviation from that. “‘(2) Learn-’Jaw as other people have set it down in, text books. Get your terminology all right; and, as for the rest, if the law agrees with what you feel to be a'■ straight deal, then you are getting to the hidden treasure called “principle.” If it does not, keep a look out I for a chance to knock it on the head. “‘(3) Work in the same way with what we call “the authorities.” Let them guide your judgment, not drown it. Do not forget that truth and sense are occasionally found in decided cases. “‘(4) Be a cultured man as well as a lawyer; therefore let your love for letters always grow. So you will be a man w’ith a vision and a penetration which will guide you in labyrinths and stormy places, and bring illumination and effectiveness into the daily task. “'(5.) Be brave amid disappointments, and let these inspire you to greater knowledge and greater accuracy.’ ” ,