Page:Heroes of the hour- Mahatma Gandhi, Tilak Maharaj, Sir Subramanya Iyer.djvu/270

 appeal, and relying on the inherent righteousness of his cause rather than the legal sanction it may have, he seems to enforce an opinion not for the sake of a client but for the sake of justice.

One may call this an art, a capacity, a witchery, or anything else one may please to term it, but there it was in him and it distinguished him above all the lawyers of his day, some of whom in mere "legal legerdemain" might have been more astute and painstaking than Subramaniem was. If this characteristic has been found in him only as a lawyer, it may be said that he was simulating for purposes of professional success a certain kind of superior sentimentality or sincerity. On the other hand, it has been with him in every other concern in which he has taken part. It was with him when as a young legal practitioner he took legal steps for the refund of Rs. 40,000 by a Trustee of the Madura Temple who had misappropriated it. It was with him when as a nominated member of the Legislative Council, he exposed the inutility of the constitution of these Councils at the earliest opportunity when he attended the first session of the National