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 The Law School of Osgoode Hall. exercise as may satisfy the Society of his ac quaintance with Latin and English Composi tion; and that no person who cannot give these proofs of a liberal education shall here after be admitted upon their books." This was not a very severe curriculum, but was sufficient for the time. In the year 181 8 the educational advantages in the Province were not very great. The Bench

ers of the Law Society were not disposed to give the student more intellectual food than the means at his dis posal would enable him to digest. We shall see, as we get further on, that the Benchers have throughout kept to one principle, and that has been that the student should have a liberal education be fore entering upon the study of the law, and that the course of study has always been shaped by the op portunities afforded for a complete primary equipment. As time went on, the benchers, barristers, and stu dents alike were alive HON. EDWARD to the necessity of the students having some kind of exercise in legal discussions. To this end, in the year 1822, a voluntary association called the Advocates' Society was formed, which seems to have been a combination society, made up of barristers and students alike. In imitation of the Law Society, they elected one of their number to be Bencher, — who was not necessarily a Bencher of the Law Society, — a Treasurer, Secretary, Librarian, and other officials. There was a book kept of their proceedings, which has been pre served and presented to the Law Society

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by Sir Adam Wilson, Ex-Chief-Justice of the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice. I find recorded in this book that this Advocates' Society (which was in effect a Law School or quasi Law School) met on the 20th January, 1823; that the journals were read and the Bencher made the following report from the Legal Sitting : " On this day three several cases were argued : (1) A demurrer in an ac tion on a bail bond. (2) Case, — verdict subject to the opinion of the court in an action of slander. (3) Practice, — case as to service of process." The conclusion of the last case is, " After hearing counsel, held the rule be dis charged. A. Chewett, Bencher." The counsel en gaged in the above cases were Robert Baldwin, afterward the Hon. Robert Baldwin, Attorney-General, Premier of Canada, and the distinguished leader of the Reform Party of his day; BLAKE, Q. C. Mr. Notman, and Mr. Richardson (of Messrs. Smith and Richardson). On the 30th January, Mr. Bencher Chewett's address to this Society was reported and submitted to the body at large. This address will well bear perusal in its entirety. The whole address will be found at page 45 1 of the " Lives of the Judges." It is too long to be -given in this paper, but I will venture some extracts from it, as I think the address shows what a lively interest was taken at the time (1823) in the legal educa tion of the students.