TALES OF THE NEW L.C.J.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume III, Issue 361, 21 February 1914, Page 1 (Supplement)

TALES OF THE NEW L.C.J.

— I THE GREAT LAWYER HAS RISEN FROM SHIP-BOY TO LORD CHIEF JUSTICE. Some gr<>a-. legal lights are neves, heard of among the general public. ■ Others are as well-known to the man in the street as a famous actor or cricke- I ter. Certainly the most talked-of law- ■ yer of all is the new Lord Chief Jus- ; tice of England—Sir Rufus Isaacs, who | for many years has been the most fam- • ous counsel in England'. j His career has been a quaint and var ; ied one. He started lift —after running away from school—as a ship’s boy. By ' the time the ship had reached South America kicks and brasswork-cleaning had robbed the sea of its charms, and he ran away again—ashore this.time, only ( to be brought back to his ship and car- ! ried on to India. * i A few years later he was a member of ■ the Stock Exchange, where he won some ! fame as a boxer. A few years later still ! he had turned barrister. | WAITED TWO YEARS FOR A BRIEF. | The law is a profession which, as a great judge has said, nobody should en- ■ ter unless they are prepared to live on ! sawdust for ten years. The Lord 1 Chief Justice-to-be had, indeed, to wait a cou- ; pie of years before getting his first brief. But before he had ceased to be a young man he was earning one of the biggest incomes ever made at the bar, an income that must have topped £20,000 a year. Work poured in on him to such an extent that for years it was his habit to get up at four in the morning to tackle briefs. A This fact gives point io a remark he made a few years ago when, addressing a law students’ debating society. “ Gentlemen, the law is never a bed of roses. If vou are unsuccessful it is no roses and all bed. If you swe successful it is all roses and no bed!” . . ! Unlike other famous cross-examining counsel, Sir Rufus Isaacs’ methds. were I always friendly, and almost coaxing. j Lying witnesses, whose/prepared stories armed them at all points against the ( bullying methods of the average cross- ; examiner, were helpless in his hands. ; The cross-examination would begin in a sort of friendly chat between counsel and witness. Counsel, sympathetic, and smiling and helping matters along with a little joke now and then, readily accepted anything the witness told him.

Witness,, relieved that the f amous terror of witnesses seemed such a “soft mark,” always talked too freely. As time went on counsel would begin innocently asking how details that were’ being added now fitted with those the witness began with, and the end of the scene often showed a witness gulping and perspiring and explaining away thmgs that could not be explained. NOTHING LEFT BUT BONES. (Even quite innocent witnesses felt the strain of “a chat with Isaacs.” A surgeon met the new Lord Chief Justice in the street one day and remarked: “Do you know, Mr. Isaacs, I’ve hardly slept since yon had me in the box last Friday. Last night’s nightmare was worst or all. I dreamt I was In the box again under your cross-examination, and that I had nothing on but my bones!” No counsel ever knew better the. value of a soft answer to a "hostile witness. Cross-examining a lady once who was claiming damages against a railway company for injuries received, the great Jewish barrister remarked : “ But really, aren’t you quite alright again now ? Hasn’t younfaee healed perfectly?” “Nota bit of it,” was the sharp answer. “If you came closer you could see for yourself.” Counsel paused, and replied gravely: “I would do so gladly, but—well, this is as close as they allow me to get.” A smile flickered round the court that turned into a roar, while the lady blushed and smiled. The new L.C.J., as the world of the Law Courts knows the holder of the Lord Chief Justiceship, is pale and slight and black-haired, with finely cut features. He is quite the most popular man at the Court ,a.nd may very possibly be known as “Rufus” still, as he always has been to everyone, from judges to ushers. Sir Rufus Isaacs is the first Jew to held the post of Lord Chief Justice in England, though not to hold a judgeship. His speciality has always been commercial work. He has a memory.as tenacious as a rat-trap for commercial facts and figures. A friend has declared chaffingly that he spends 'his leisure, time enjoying favourite . passages from railway timetables. ’