PAGEANT OF JUDGES

Evening Post, Volume CIV, Issue 143, 14 December 1922, Page 9

PAGEANT OF JUDGES

EMBLEMS OF THE LAW

A PICTURESQUE DISPLAY,

AT REOPENING OF BRITISH LAW

I On the day the English Law Courts reopen after the Long Vacation, in October of every year, the public have an opportunity of witnessing an imposing procession of His.Majesty's High Court Judges, both at Westminster and Temple Bar. It is the only occasion on which the Judges of the several divisions are to be seen assembled en masse. Attired in their glowing robes and. dignified .wigs, they pass in solemn order before the public gaze, and in the long processional line are a number of officials carrying emblems and symbols of the law. These ornaments are few in number, much fewer than are borne in many processions of organised workmen from the Embankment to Hyde Park, writes a correspondent in the "Daily Telegraph." But they possess a quality comparable only to the Royal regalia for grace of form, rich embellishment, and rare .historical interest. . Insignia in the Eense of being badges of individual position they for the most part are not, though their general symbolism includes personal power and authority. Apart from the variation in the colour and ornamentation of the robes Worn by The Judges in the different divisions and by the heads of divisions, there are no distinctive decorations _of a personal kind, except the beautiful and famous "S" chain or colI lar and the scarlet shoulder knots worn by the Lord Chief Justice of England. The wigs, which more than anythng else create the impression of legal dignity, are identical in form. As to the sword, its use as an emblem of the law is limited to very few places—amongst them the City of London, that wonderful container of privileges and exceptions. By reason of his office the Lord Mayor of London is a Judge, ahfl he has an imposing armoury of swords for use on various occasions. But the sword does not appear in the Michaelmas procession of Judges. EVOLUTION OF THE MACE. ..Nor are the glistening Mace and the Purse of State, then carried before the Lord High Chancellor, symbols exclusively of Judicial office, 'for they both have association also with legislation, and accompany the Lord Chancellor whether he be acting as n Judge or be sitting on the Woolsack as Speaker of the Upper Chamber of Parliament. What a history has the Mace—springing from a primitive weapon little more than a club, carried by ancient servitors to repel attacks u*xm their masters; passing, when those rlays were gone, to more peaceful use as a 'symbol of authority^ and now. become the most imposing- of State and .'civic emblems. One | notable reversion to its original use as a weapon of offence was made during this evolution, for was it not with his Lord Mayor's Mace that Sir William Walworth struck the rebel Wat Tyler from his horse when he approached Richard 11. with evil intent? To put the Lord Chancellor's Mace to such use would certainly secure effectiveness, but would require an uncommonly burly wielder, for the instrument weighs twenty-four pounds.. The Lord Chancellor has two Maces, one being kept in reserve in case the other needs repair. That generally in use is of the date cf Charles 11., and has the 'Royal cyplier of the monarch upon it, being therefore trie immediate successor of the maligned instrument which Cromwell called a "bauble." The fact that the other bears the stamp "G.R." is no evidence of modernity, for it dates from the.; time cf William the Third. Both are silver gilt. If it be asked by what subtle process the Purse of Stato comes to be associated with the judicial office of the Lord Chancellor, the answer is that it is the time-honoured, though now quite imaginary, receptacle for the Great Seal, Used under the authority of the Lord Chancellor in the appointment of Judges! There was a time when the "pestiferous lump of metal," as Roger | North derisively described the Great Seal, was actually carried in the Purse, but the practice .was long ago discontinued for the very sufficient reason that the implement weighs seventeen pounds, and cannot conveniently be carried for any length of time. Legend has another quaint and humorous, to give for the abandonment of the old practice, to the effect_ that owing to a careless seamstress omitting to sew up the bottom of the bag securely, the Great Seal once . fell through and damaged the big toe of a Lord Chancellor who was acting as his owm purse-bearer at the moment. Although the Purse is now merely an ornamental symbol, it retains its original form of a .pouch, rather over,a fpot square. The front is embroidered with the Royal Arms in heraldic colours, the inside is lirjed with crimson silk, and twisted silk «ords terminating in heavy tassels hang from the corners. Dignified usage does not spare it the common fats of things exposed to light and dust; it becomes faded and soiled. Consequently a periodical renewal is necessary, and this takes place at the instance of the Lord Chancellor, in consultation with, the Treasury. It follows that through the centuries a sreat number have fallen into disuse. What has become of them? They are a perquisite of the Lord Chancellor, and have become precious mementoes in eminent leeal families. . During his long tenure of office Lord Hardwicko acquired about a score, and they were used for the adornment of the crimson velvet drapery of a state bed-room and ,a state bed at Mimpole, the family seat. Others have been converted into chair upholstery, and one into a fire screen. A great deal has been said and written about the Lord Chief Justice's collar by learned antiquaries anxious to explain how each alternate link came to be .fashioned in the shape of the latter "S." So far there has beer no agreement. Nobody has been satisfied to accept, as an explanation of the adoption of this particular shape of liuk that it is perfectly suited to a pliable ornament like' a chain. So we have many ventures at a more erudite explanation, none of which is wholly conclusive. In the courts as they existed at Westminster the chief ot each division, King's Bench, Common Pleas, and Exchequei, had his own chain. That worn by the Chief Justice of the Common Pleas was. State property, but those of the King's Bench and the "Exchequer were provided by the chiefs themselves, and on their retirement or death were ither retained as family heir- j looms or sold to the successor in the judicial office. The chain wora by the illustriour Coke in the Common Pleas was also worn by Lord Coleridge, the last chief of that division. The Kino's Bench collar worn by Sir Matthew Hale and succeeding great chiefs eventually passed by purchase to Lord Ellenborough, who on his retirement took it with him, thereby withdrawim; from the division an .ornament of exceptional historic interest. Since that happened there have heen thvec new collars in the King's Bench, Sir Charles Abbott (afterwards Lord TentwdeiO, Lord Campbell, and Sir Alexander Cockburn each having bought a new one. When Cockbum i retired in 1880 he entailed the cms he

provided upon all succeeding holders of the office, and it is now being worn by j Lord Hewart. A curious fats befell I Lord Denraan!6 chain. Campbell, •who succeeded Denman, declined to purchase the chain, so Denman sold it to the Corporation of Derby, and it is now thfl official badge of the Mayor of that ancient city. In its present form this famous ornament has the rose at its base, a portcullis on either side, and ' for the rest of its length is made up of twenty-eight "S" links and twenty-seven Garter knots, the whole containing some 41b of gold. No ornament borne in the judges' yro^ cession is quainter and more artistic in appearance than the "Silver-Oar" of Admiralty carried before the President of the Admiralty Court, and always swpended in front of his desk when he sits to decide Admiralty causes. This instrument is shaped like an ancient paddle, and is 2ft 9in long the blade composing one-third of its length. On one side the blade is quite plain, but on the other is superposed a heraldic shield bearing the . arms of Henry VII. ; the armorial bearings iof William, Duke of Clarence, brother of George IV-., and afterwards William IV., who. was Lord High Admiral in 1827; and, embossed in high relief, the anchor and twisted cable, badge _of Admiralty. In these things there is suggestion of Tudor origin. But as the eye travels down' the shaft it encounters marks which somewhat disturb that impression, until the very base is reached, when the first theory receives support by the fact that engraved round the rim is the; name "Jasper Swift, Marshale of the AdmiraJe." Jasper Swift was Marshall in the rei<m of Elizabeth, the last of the Tudors. THE TIPSTAFF, Two minor emblems require notice. One is the staff of the Marshal of the Admiralty Court, which the Marshal himself bears in front of his chief. This is a rounded shaft of black -wood, barely 12in long, surmounted by a silver crown, and with a silver badge at the base. That now in use is of quite modern manufacture, and an exact replica of one used in 1739, when Sir Humphrey Hugh Lindsay was "marshal" of the Court. Though the second minor emblem is here mentioned last, it actually comes first in the Judge's procession, being borne at the very head. It is the inconspicuous staff of the tipstaff of the High Court, the modern representative of a very ancient order indeed, who may be referred to as the constable of the Courts, charged with the duty of taking into custody any person -committed for contempt, and transferring him or her to prison. Formerly there was a tipstaff in both the King's Bench and Chancery Divisions, the appointment in the latter case vesting in the Marshal of Fleet Prison, an officer "who disappeared along with- the famous and disreputable old penitentiary. Now there is but one tipstaff, and his post is happily 1 almost a sinecure. If records are reliable, the emblom he carries was at one time tipped with bull's horn. But the instrument which Mr. Daniel Grummer, the tipstaff' described by Dickens in "Pick-wick Papers," who arrested Mr. Pickwick and his ■fri«nd Mr. Tupman on a charge of meditating 'a duel, was not-so ornamented. He, as representing "law, civil power,, and exekative," produced from the breast pocket of his coat a short truncheon surmounted by a brazen crown, • which crown genial Sam Weller described as "very pretty" and "uncommon like the real one." The 1 brazen crown has now given place to one of silver gilt, with a purple plush lining. The staff is about a. foot long, made of black polished wood and. bound by three silver bands, the centre- one hiding a screw, so that the staff can be halved for package when not in use. The staff you now see was presented in 1884, the year the Law Courts were fully opened, by the Earl of Selborne, Lord Chancellor At one time the staff was a perquisite of the retiring tipstaff, but now it passes with the office, and a small pecuniary solatium has taken its place. THIS YEAR'S CEREMONY. Brilliant weather largely accounted for the unusual number of spectators of this year's ceremonial, and certainly no, such crowd has gathered in the Great Hall of the Courts in the last twenty years. There was, moreover, a slight revival of those demonstrations when popular Judges pass by which used invariably to occur until some ten years ago, andi then unaccountably- ceased. The onlookers had_ the'great satisfaction of seeing pass before them in long single file all but five of the whole body of thirtythree Judges now constituting the Supreme Court. Lord Justice. Atkin, Lord Coleridge, Mr. Justice Bailhache, Mr. Justice Rowlatt, and Mr. Justice M'Cardie were the absentees. They also witnessed what was an entire novelty in the procession, the doyen of the Bar, Sir Edward Clarke, K.C., walking alone behind the two Law Officers and at the head of the Bar, wearing, not wig and gown, but the uniform of a Privy Councillor. Sir Edward, now 81 years of age, with a career, even as King's Counsel, carrying him back to a period before some who followed him were- born, was greeted most lieartily. Actually the reopening' proceedings begin with Divine services at Westminster Abbey ,and Westminster Cathedral, attended by the Judges. The culminating and most impressive event is this procession of Judges at the La,w Courts. Neither time nor repetition appears to reduce- the public interest iv it. Rather, as the attendance on this occasion tends to show, does interest increase. Arid there is about the ceremonial a vivid. colouring and evidence of power and authority which: must always impress., those who love spectacle. There was, indeed, a time .when this reassembling of tihe Judges brought society back to town with more alacrity and certainty than did the reassembling of Parliament. The people then might witness Judges riding to Westminster on mules. A Judge riding even a thoroughbred to Temple Bar on ordinary days has no more been seen since Mr Justice Grantham passed away. But, though the now prosaic motor-car haß supplanted the more picturesque brute as a means of conveyance to the Courts, the scene is as dignified and brilliant as of old. AVhen the Judges had all assembled at the entrance to the Courts they were marshalled,. and walked in file, accompanied by their retinues of clerks and secretaries and ushers, down the whole length of the Central Hall, between two packed crowds of people. The slanting sunshine coming through lofty windows brightened the scarlet and gold of their robes, and glinted on the shining emblems borne amongst them. The Tipstaff was at the head. Then came the Lord Chancellor, Viscount Birkenhead, in blade and gold, with a heavy train to his robe, and after him, in succesi sion, the Lord Chief Justice of England, Lord Hewart, in scarlet, the Master of the Rolls, Lord Sterndale, in black and gold, and the President of the Probate Divorce, and .Admiralty Division, also in black and gold. These were the supreme head of the Judiciary, and the heads'of the different divisions comprised in the Supreme Court. Next came four out of the five Judges of the Court of Appeal, Sir John Kldon Banks, Sir Thomji.B Rolls Warrington, Sir Thomas Edward Smitten, and Sir Robtrt Younger, all. ngnin, in black and gold. The scnrbt-cliid Puisino Judges followed, not according to the divisions n which they sit, but in order of their appointment, and it may be observed that they represented a period between 1637, the year of Mr. Justice Darling's

elevation, and 1922, when Mr. Justice Romer, son of the late Lord Justice Romer, attained the Bench—that is to say, a period of twenty-five years. The order was as follows: Mr. Justice Darling, Mr. Justice Bray, Mr. Justice Eve, Mr. Justice Avory, Mr. Justice Horridge, Mr. Justice Lush, Mr. Justice Sargant, Mr. Justice Astbury, Mr. Justice Shearman, Mr. Justice Sankey, Mr. Justice Hill, Mr. Justice Salter, Mr. Justice Roche, Mr. Justice P. 0. LawI rence, Mr. Justice Greer, Mr. Justice Russell, Mr. Justice Rigby_ Swift, Mr. Justice Acton, Mr. Justice Branson, and Mr. Justice Romer. After the Judges came the law officers, Sir Ernest Pollock. K.C., M.P., Attorney-General; and Sir Leslie Scott, K.C., M.P.; then the distinctively clad and welcome figure of Sir Edward Clarke, K.C., and last a strong of welj-known_ King's Counsel and members of the junior Bar. On passing out of the hall the Judges went to their' private room, or, such of, them as were . transacting business, to their particular Courts.