Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 06.pdf/472

 Ctje <&mn BagPublished Monthly, at $4.00 per Annum.

Single Numbers, 50 Cents.

Communications in regard to the contents of the Magazine should be addressed to the Editor, Horace W. Fuller, 15% Beacon Street, Boston, Mas. The Editor will be glad to receive contributions of articles of moderate length upon subjects of inter est to the profession; also anything in the way of legal antiquities or curiosities, facetia, anec dotes, etc. THE GREEN BAG. A PENNSYLVANIA correspondent offers the following suggestion : — Editor of" The Green Bag" As a remedy for an evil of increasing extent — namely preferring a member of one's family as a judgment creditor, to the injury of general busi ness creditors — permit a suggestion. Let a statute law be enacted in each state requiring judgments given to cover money advanced by members of a family to be entered within fifteen days after the giving of the judgments. Judgments not so entered to be void; and also providing that judgments given to cover the loans mentioned above shall be given within ten days after the loan is made, else to be void. Lancaster, Pa. Benj. C. Atlee.

LEGAL ANTIQUI I ES.

Bishop Burnet relates a curious circumstance respecting the origin of that important statute, the Habeas Corpus Act. " It was caused," he says, " by a odd artifice in the House of Lords. Lord Grey and Lord Norris were named to be the tellers. Lord Norris was not at all times at tentive to what he was doing; so a very fat lord coming in, Lord Grey counted him for ten, as a jest at first; but seeing Lord Norris had not ob served it, he went on with this mis-reckoning of ten; so it was reported to the House, and de clared that they who were for the bill were the majority, and by this means the bill passed."

FACETIÆ. A number of years ago in the Superior Court for New London County, Conn., a witness whose first name was Thomas, and who was the son of

the plaintiff, testified to a certain important date, and on cross-examination having testified that he had refreshed his memory as to the date by a memorandum made at the time, was asked to produce the paper, which he did. The paper was seized by the cross-examiner and read aloud. It was as follows : " Tommy, do not forget. It was July 25th." The value of "Tommy's" testimony was destroyed. In a certain town in Nevada there was at one time a justice of the peace, who had been born in the Emerald Isle, and whose blunders occa sioned many a smile to the better educated members of the community. A subpoena had been issued from his court to another Irishman to attend as witness in a case where James Smith was the plaintiff, and Isaac Williams et al. were the defendants. Michael Fennessey, the desired witness ap peared in court before the trial commenced, and during an informal preliminary conversation he asked bluntly, " Judge, who in the wurld is 'et al.'t That's fwhat Oi'm wantin' t'be towld." "Well, well, Moichael," exclaimed his honor, in utter amazement, " Oi must say Oi'm a bit surprised that an Amirican citizen, an' a man av orthinary intilligince, should not know the manin' of et al..' But for the binifit av the witness an' any other gintlemin prisint that moight be ignor ant as well as Moichael Fennessey, Oi will ex plain. It is dirivated from two Latin wurrds conthracted, an' manes in its litheral an' Amiri can sense, " at all, at all!"

In a case in which a man was accused of forg ery, the counsel for the defense drew from a wit ness the following statement : — "I know that the prisoner cannot write his own name." "All that is excluded," said the judge; " the 437