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“The Genius of the Common Law” they raised fresh diﬁiculties almost at

every turn, and in the ﬁrst half of the nineteenth century the confusion of common law pleading had become, as

Sergeant Hayes found it, more intricate than ever. I have not heard that in any Ameri can jurisdiction there was any judicial or other regulation whose effects were as disastrous as those of the New Rules made by the English judges in 1834, but

I suppose that on the whole complaints of the same kind were pretty common, as otherwise it would be hard to account for the existence of modern codes of procedure in New York and other states,

habitual, do not undertake at this day to subvert the law, but only do their best to thwart or evade it in their own particular interests. Various modern theorists, political or economical, are hostile to particular

legal institutions or their existing forms; and hence it is easy for their opponents, and sometimes proﬁtable, to charge them with conspiring against the very exist

ence of the law.

Concerning Socialism

in its many forms there is plenty of room for legitimate criticism, but the antino

main heresy seems to be about the last kind that it can be reasonably accused of.

For the one thing in which all

and for various alterations short of actual Socialistic plans agree is in requiring not code pleading. from the simple and al less legal compulsion than is imposed by most patriarchal method of Vermont. existing civilization, but a great deal which Mr. Phelps described to me many more. Herein we may note that some persons years ago, to the more elaborate scheme of Massachusetts, resembling, in a general who have been called, or have even called way, that which satisﬁed our courts in themselves, Socialists, were really An England under the Common Law Pro archists; William Morris, for example, as shown by his "News from Nowhere,” cedure Acts, from 1852 to 1875. which, whatever else it may be, is the

IV. ENEMIES IN THE GATE So far we have spoken of the dangers to the common law within her own house hold. Before we can understand the

limits and the difﬁculties of possible remedies in the Middle Ages we must consider the outside foes which had to

most delightful exposition of paciﬁc anarchism in our language. Our Lady does not care much by what name the Chief Magistrate is called, whether his ofﬁce is elective or heredi tary, whether he has as much active discretion of his own as the President

be fought at the same time. One kind of these, as they were the most shame

of the United States or as little as a

less, were the most formidable. namely, men who were strong enough, in parts of England remote from the central authority, to defy legal justice and legal

she does care for is ‘that government, whatever its forms, shall be lawful and

modern king of Great Britain.

What

not arbitrary; that it shall have the essential attributes for which Chief process openly. We ﬁnd the danger of Justice FOI'tCSCUC'S word was "politi great men defying the law not only cal" as far back as the ﬁfteenth century. She looks for trusty servants who recognized, but prominent in the dooms will stand by her in the day of need. She of the Saxon kings. Next we have to consider the enemies

demands fearless and independent judges

of the law and legal order in modern times. We do not mean ordinary crimi

drawn from a fearless and independent

nals,

straight path to the right hand for any

for

lawbreakers,

occasional

or

bar, men who will not swerve from the