THE BAR AND THE LIBERTY OF THE SUBJECT.
A few days ago a case was called on in one of the "Superior" Courts, when an application was made to put it off because Mr. Bodkin could not attend. One of the judges asked with very natural surprise, "Is not the man in prison?" upon which the counsel of the "man in prison" got up, and admitted such to be the fact; but added that he, the "man in prison," was his (the counsel's) client, and that he (the counsel) was perfectly willing "to accommodate Mr. Bodkin." The accommodation of Mr. Bodkin was, no doubt, desirable in its way; but, as the accommodation of a prison is not always agreeable, we are disposed to agree with the learned judge, who thought it rather awkward—not to say, hard upon "the man in prison" to have his case adjourned for the convenience of counsel.
We are disposed to sympathise with the unfortunate who was deprived of his liberty, not by his prison's bars, but by a portion of the Bar of England, which often proves harder and more difficult to contend against than the most inflexible iron. Nevertheless he, of course, cannot complain, as although he was shut up in a jail, his own counsel who represented him in a free and open court was "perfectly satisfied," and most anxious to "accommodate Mr. Bodkin." If the accommodation could have been mutual—if, for example, the prison "accommodation" and the counsel's "accommodation" could have been in some way equalised—we might have seen more justice in the arrangement than either ourselves, or the learned judge who expressed his surprise on the occasion, have been able to discover. We must all admire the extreme spirit of accommodation that prevails among many of "the gentlemen" of the Bar who—though they bully each other's clients and witnesses, waste the money of suitors by neglecting to attend to their briefs, and even occasionally suffer the postponement of the case of an unfortunate captive—are nevertheless always ready to fraternise with their "learned friends," and make any concessions to each other, of which their clients have to bear the penalty.