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 Historic Collisions between Bench and Bar. "This shall not rest here. I will bring the subject under the notice of Sir George Grey, and very probably your removal from the bench will be the result." With other instances of barristers punished (by fine or commitment) for contempt on grounds to tally different to those in question, there is no need to deal here. There are some historic precedents of im passioned dialogue between the representa tives of the two orders. To begin with, there is the classic story of Wedderburn in 1757. Lockhart, being against him in the Inner House at Edinburgh, showed "even more than his wonted rudeness, and superciliousness," and called him " a pre sumptuous boy." "When," says Campbell ( Life of Lord Loughborough in the Chan cellors, vol. 6, p. 47), "the presumptuous boy came to reply, he delivered such a furi ous personal invective as never was before or since heard at the Scottish bar." Wedderburn's language, reported by Campbell, was an outrage on decency. " Lord Presi dent Craigie, being afterwards asked why he had not sooner interfered, answered, ' Because Wedderburn made all the flesh creep on my bones.' But at last his Lord ship declared in a firm tone that ' this was language unbecoming an advocate and un becoming a gentleman.' Wedderburn, now in a state of such excitement as to have lost all sense of decorum and propriety, ex claimed that ' his Lordship had said as a judge what he could not justify as a gentle man.' The president appealed to his breth ren as to what was fit to be done, who unani mously resolved that Mr. Wedderburn should retract his words and make an hum ble apology, on pain of deprivation. All of a sudden, Wedderburn seemed to have sub dued his passion, and put on an air of delib erate coolness, when, instead of the expected retractation and apology, he stripped off his gown, and, holding it in his hands before the judges, he said : ' My Lords I neither retract nor apologize; but I will save you

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the trouble of deprivation; there is my gown, and I will never wear it more —-virtute me involve.' He then coolly laid his gown upon the bar, made a low bow to the judges, and, before they had recovered from their amazement, he left the court, which he never again entered." Another Scotchman, who also rose to be Lord Chancellor of England, played a nobler part in his contention with the bench. In 1784 the Dean of St. Asaph was in dicted at Shrewsbury for seditious libel, and he was defended by Thomas Erskine. The jury found him " Guilty of publishing only." Buller, J. : " If you find him guilty of pub lishing, you must not say the word ' only."" Erskine : " By that they mean to find there was no sedition." — Juror: "We only find him guilty of publishing. We do not find anything else." — E. : "I beg your Lord ship's pardon, and with great submission. I am sure I mean nothing that is irregular. I understand they say, ' We only find him guilty of publishing.' " — Juror : " Certainly, that is all we do find." — B. : " If you only attend to what is said, there is no question or doubt." — E. : " Gentlemen, I desire to know whether you mean the word 'only' to stand in your verdict." Jurymen : " Cer tainly." — В.: " Gentlemen, if you add the word ' only ' it will be negativing the in nuendoes." — E. : "I desire your Lordship, sitting here as judge, to record the verdict as given by the jury." — В.: "You say he is guilty of publishing the pamphlet, and that the meaning of the innuendoes is as stated in the indictment." — Juror: " Certainly." — E. : " Is the word ' only ' to stand part of the verdict?" Juror: "Certainly." — E. : "Then I insist it shall be recorded." — B. : " Then the verdict must be misunder stood; let me understand the jury." — E. : "The jury do understand their verdict." —• B. : " Sir, I will not be interrupted." — E. : "I stand here as an advocate for a brother citizen, and I desire that the word ' only ' may be recorded." — В.: "Sit down, sir,