Page:Dictionary of National Biography. Sup. Vol III (1901).djvu/344

 judge of the high court), by a small majority. In 1887 he resisted the passing of the coercion bill of that year in a speech of considerable power.

In 1888 the Parnell Commission Act was passed. Its object was declared to be to create a tribunal to inquire into charges and allegations made against certain members of parliament and other persons by the defendants in the recent trial of an action of O'Donnell v. Walter and another. Three of the judges were appointed commissioners, and the sittings began on 22 Oct. Russell appeared as leading counsel for Parnell, and the attorney-general, Sir R. Webster (now Lord Alverstone and lord chief justice) was on the other side.

The cross-examination of many of the Irish witnesses called by the attorney-general devolved upon Russell, and was conducted under great difficulty and with great success. He had no notice of the order in which they would appear, and had little information about them. Yet it was said that few witnesses left the box without being successfully attacked and disparaged. His famous speech for the defence occupied six days, and was concluded on 12 April 1889. It was well suited to the occasion and to the tribunal, and was undoubtedly his greatest forensic effort. The delivery was so slow and so deliberate as to divest the speech of all oratorical character. It began with an account of the land legislation in Ireland of much historical value. His comments upon the witnesses were in his best form, and his criticism upon the conduct of those who had been imposed upon by Richard Pigott [q. v.] were strikingly keen and sagacious. The touching words with which he closed his speech are classic. They were spoken with an emotion which in court he had never shown before.

In 1889 he defended Mrs. Maybrick on the charge of poisoning her husband. The case excited extreme interest, and Russell felt very deeply his failure to save her from a capital conviction.

In 1890 he spoke in the debate in the House of Commons on the report of the special commission. His speech was described in the 'Times' as being that of an advocate, but 'a very able speech in which argument, invective, cajolery, and eloquent appeals to prejudice or sentiment were blended with practised skill.'

In 1892, on the return of Gladstone to power, he was again appointed attorney-general, and was once more returned for Hackney by a large majority. In 1893, together with Sir R. Webster, he represented Great Britain in the Behring Sea arbitration. The points in controversy were these. The United States, by an alleged purchase from Russia in 1867, set up as matter of title an exclusive jurisdiction over the sealing industry in the Behring Sea. This was denied by Great Britain. Independently of this title the United States claimed to be the lawful protectors of the seals bred in the islands of the Behring Sea, as trustees for all nations. In support of this contention a novel legal doctrine was advanced by Mr. Carter, one of the counsel for the United States, and was supported by an address of great length and ingenuity. The arbitrators were invited to apply to the question of pelagic sealing what were called ' principles of right,' viz., those rules upon which civilised nations ought to be agreed. This, it was said, was international law. This contention was combated with vigour, and necessarily with great labour, by Russell and Sir R.W T ebster, the former speaking for eleven and the latter for five days. They contended that international law consisted of the rules which civilised nations had agreed to treat as binding. These rules were not to be ascertained by reference to 'principles of right,' but were to be found in the records of international transactions. It was argued that, apart from actual consent, so ascertained, there was no universal moral standard. The award on these points was in favour of Great Britain. The discussion as to the future regulations for the management of the sealing industry occupied eight days. Russell's services were acknowledged by the conferring upon him of the grand cross of St. Michael and St. George.

In May 1894 he succeeded Charles Synge Christopher, lord Bowen [q. v. Suppl.] as lord of appeal, and was raised to the peerage for life by the title of Russell of Killowen. In June of the same year, on the death of John Duke, lord Coleridge [q. v. Suppl.], he was appointed lord chief justice, and entered upon that part of his career in which he earned the reputation by which he will be best remembered. As chief justice he was as masterful as ever, but he was patient, courteous, and dignified. In his knowledge of the law and in those qualities requisite for the discharge of his great duties, he was the superior of many of his illustrious predecessors. No judge gained more speedily and enjoyed more fully the confidence and goodwill of the public.

Outside the range of his judicial duties there were subjects in which he took a deep interest.

In 1895 he supported the judges of his