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 Battles of Great Lawyers: Patrick Henry THE BRITISH DEBTS CASE Bv ARTHUR WAKELING

TRICK HENRY, when he was a young married man of twenty

three years, was a complete failure. He had tried clerking, farming and keep ing a country store, all with equally negative or disastrous results. “Best of all," he said cheerfully to

himself, “I will become a lawyer." Six weeks he allowed himself, as a

matter of formality, to prepare for the bar. During this time he read one book-"Coke upon Littleton"—sup plemented by an equally strenuous perusal of the "Digest of the Virginia Acts.” His examiners,

Wythe,

Pendleton,

common law to the most intricate and subtle points of international jurispru dence.

When the Circuit Court of the United States opened at Richmond in 1790 a number

of

cases

were

brought

by

Englishmen to whom money had been owing by American debtors before the Revolution. The various defendants joined together and retained Patrick Henry, John Mar

shall, Alexander Campbell and James Innes as counsel. Messrs. Ronald, Baker, Wickham and Starke appeared

for the plaintiff in the test case of William Jones, a surviving partner in the Eng

Peyton Randolph and John Randolph, hardly knew whether to be more amazed at his ignorance of law or his profound knowledge of history. After no little

lish law ﬁrm of Farrel and Jones, against

deliberation, he received his license.

in the suit, for he had, as Governor of Virginia during the Revolution, been

"Mr. Henry," John Randolph ex claimed enthusiastically after his exam ination of the young neophyte, “if

Dr. Thomas Walker.

The action was

brought on a bond dated May 11, 1772.

Patrick Henry was peculiarly involved

responsible in large part for an act of sequestration, which provided that

your industry be only half equal to your

"it should be lawful for any citizen

genius, I augur that you will do well and become an ornament and an honor to your profession." This was in 1760. Thirty years after

of this commonwealth, owing money to a subject of Great Britain, to pay

ward, at the end of a long and successful career as a lawyer, statesman and

executive, Patrick Henry fought the greatest legal battle of his life. This action, known as the British

debts case, was not only one of unusual importance, but it was also one of the greatest diﬂiculty. It involved legal questions ranging from the simplest and most self-evident propositions of

the same or any part thereof, from time to time, as he should think ﬁt, into the loan oﬁice of the state; taking thereout

a certiﬁcate of the same in the name of the creditor, with an endorsement

under the hand of the commissioner of the loan ofﬁce, expressing the name of the payee, and delivering such certiﬁcate to the governor and council, whose

receipt should discharge him from so much of the debt." The defendant held that debts were