JOHN CLERK, LORD ELDIN.
John Clerk (Lord Eldin) was one of the best-known advocates at the Scottish Bar in the first quarter of the nineteenth century, and probably the last of them to retain the old Scots style of pronunciation. His voice was loud and his manner brow-beating, from which the Bench suffered equally with his brother members of the Bar. He suffered from a lameness in one leg, which was made the subject of a passing remark by two young women in the High Street of Edinburgh one day as Clerk was making his way to Court. "There goes John Clerk the lame lawyer," said one to the other. Clerk overheard the remark, and turning back addressed the speaker: "The lame man, my good woman, not the lame lawyer."
The stories of his advocate days are numerous, and many of them probably well known. In his retention of old Scots pronunciation he got the better of Lord Eldon when pleading before the House of Lords one day. "That's the whole thing in plain English, ma lords," he said. "In plain Scotch, you mean, Mr. Clerk."—"Nae maitter, in plain common sense, ma lords, and that's the same in a' languages." On another occasion before the same tribunal he had frequently referred to water, pronouncing it "watter," when he was interrupted by the inquiry, "Do you spell water with two t's in the north, Mr. Clerk?"—"No, my lord, but we spell mainners wi' twa n's." And there is the well-known one of his use of the word "enough," which in old Scots was pronounced "enow." His repetition of the word in the latter form drew from the Lord Chancellor the remark that at the English Courts the word was pronounced "enough." "Very well, my lord," replied Clerk, and he proceeded with his address till coming to describe his client, who was a ploughman, and his client's claim, he went on: "My lords, my client is a pluffman, who pluffs a pluff gang o' land in the parish of," &c. "Oh! just go on with your own pronunciation, Mr. Clerk," remarked the Lord Chancellor.
His encounters with members of the Scottish Bench were of a more personal character. Indeed, for years he appears to have held most of them in unfeigned contempt. A junior counsel on hearing their lordships give judgment against his client exclaimed that he was surprised at such a decision. This was construed into contempt of Court, and he was ordered to attend at the Bar next morning. Fearing the consequences of his rash remark, he consulted John Clerk, who offered to apologise for him in a way that would avert any unpleasant result. Accordingly, when the name of the delinquent was called, John Clerk rose and addressed the Bench: "I am sorry, my lords, that my young friend so far forgot himself as to treat your lordships with disrespect. He is extremely penitent, and you will kindly ascribe his unintentional insult to his ignorance. You will see at once that it did not originate in that: he said he was surprised at the decision of your lordships. Now, if he had not been very ignorant of what takes place in this Court every day; had he known your lordships but half so long as I have done, he would not be surprised at anything you did."
Two judges, father and son, sat on the Scottish Bench, in succession, under the title of Lord Meadowbank. The second Lord Meadowbank was by no means such a powerful judge as his father. In his Court, Clerk was pressing his construction of some words in a conveyance, and contrasting the use of the word "also" with the use of the word "likewise."
"Surely, Mr. Clerk," said his lordship, "you cannot seriously argue that 'also' means anything different from 'likewise'! They mean precisely the same thing; and it matters not which of them is preferred."—"Not at all, my lord; there is all the difference in the world between these two words. Let us take an instance: your worthy father was a judge on that Bench; your lordship is 'also' a judge on the same Bench; but it does not follow that you are a judge 'like wise.'"
When Meadowbank was about to be raised to the Bench he consulted John Clerk about the title he should adopt. Clerk's suggestion was "Lord Preserve Us." The legal acquirements of James Wolfe Murray were not held in high esteem by his brethren of the Bar, and when he became a judge with the title of Lord Cringletie, Clerk wrote the following clever epigram: