The Legal Profession

Since the first settlement of the U. Statesi awvers have held a prominent place n the ïublic councils, nnd shared Inrgply of public iffices nnd emolumenta. Eppecially has this been the case since the adopiion of a rcptiblican covernnient. Ii luis now become an esablislied mn.x tn thnt the le-ral profesa ion is ihc high rond to pol:tical dittinction, to pub lic honors, and to privnte ueulih; nnd fnthpre are found constnnily urgni their sons to enter the law, as the legitímate means of obtainin? renown for themselves nnd a share in the power of ccntmlling th( nntion. The youth is pointed to the lesfons of experience. Every Prestdent of the United States except one has been a lawyer, viz: the tvvo Adams'. Jeffereon, Mndison. Monroe, J.ickson, Van Buren, Harriion, Tyler, and Polk. Washingtonnnly wns not a lrtwyer. All their competitors were Jawyers. eo fnr ns tlifir urofession is knov.n to ns. The Vice President? an-1 their numerons compeiitors wpre also lawyers. In examining the list we do not perccivê n single excepitnn. Il' now wc look nt the distinguishcd individuals wliose names hnve been mentioned for the highest offices of the nation, how mnny enn we find tint aro not Inwyers Websier, Davis, Fillmore, Birney, Seward, Frelingliuysen, Bnchannn, Von Buren, Rivn?, Clay, Culhoun, McLcan, McDnffip, Walker, and mnny others are lawyers. A mnjority of the Governora of the States we presume nre lnwyors. A few years si nee, S9 of the 48 U. States Senators were lawyers. And if ihey are thus euccessfol in filling the highest cffiers of the notion, we may be preily certain thai they nlso hold n large proporlion of the inferior offices. They take the lead in the legislativo halls - they are prominent as speech makers in every public nsscmbly - they are intimately connected with the bunking and monicd institutions of the country, and hrve a large control over the Press. Yet the Inwyers are few in number, compared with the farmers, merchante, or most classes of mechanics. In Michigan it is suppoi=ed there a ie 350, ora litllö m re than one lo a thousand of the poptibtion. The propoition is prot:ab!y considerbly le?s in theEastern and Sotuliern btates. Ihe actual nuniber in the whole country may not be fur froti 12 000. Il breóme?, then, matter of eome interest to the other c'asses of community to nscertnin, if posslblc, liow t is that a very t-mall minority - a thnusnnlh pnrt of the w hole - enn poceibly out6trip them in the mee of political ambition, of pnblc fame, and of nat'u'nal emolomentf, nnd nppropriute to themsclves aimost ony porlion ihey please. Is the pre-eminence the resnlt of tlieir business, or of tb?ir superior mental endowments, or greater knowledge? Thero must be some adpqmte eason for a resuk which has prevailed tor po ong a time, through so niany State?, and which is yet in fu II oporation. There is no reason to supposo that fawèrp re endowed by nnuue boyoml the jrcneralitv of men. In original dipth ond (-olnliiy ot mind, they ore not superior tü the clerpy, themedical tocufty, or to me more imeurcnmi )oríinn of t he meich&nis, farmere, or mechan es. Nor is (heir pre-eminence to bc attribnred o their superior advaiiioges for education: for many of the most eminent of thm, like Henry Clay and Tliotr.os Morris, never had tlie advantages of a coüegiate coursc uf study. Nor do they mnke their way throiijrh the world by lnrpe furUine!-, power fnl friends, or palrician ancesiors. A larrro portion of thein are from the mtddl.ng and lower rnnks of socirly. But they owc their sdccpfs in life mainy to the iKthire oj their businrss. This will be seen by nnalyzing it in a few pnrticulürs. 1. A knowledge of the Ltw invohes a knowledg of the fundamental pnnnples vp on which all govenimrnls are adnvnislerrd. Ilence, in fact, ihe btudy of ilie Luw embners the Bitidy of allthut is most valuable ia Polilics or the science of Government. No man can be even a tolerable lawyer without, undcr standing the Constitution of Jiis country and of bis i articular Stale, and the rights and duties of citizens, and those general maxims of expedieney and of moru] obügation on which ni! laws ore founded, in all countries. But a man rnny bnild nn excellent sliip or n steam engine, or an el"gant house, or lie may be a sküful farmer, without understanding the powers and dutics of a President, a Secretary of S'.ote, of a Governor, or indeed of any public officer. He may hnve excellent jndgement and obility in lus profcssion, but without a knowlcdge of the general principies of government he will not be qiialified to govern, nor wül he be elected to fill an office of which he knowe nolhing, while there are multitudes aspiring to the situation who are fumiliar tvilh its dnties, and quaüfied to discharge tlieiu creditably to themselves, and wiih advantage to the State. Suppose a ship'a crew of 500 persons to be wrecked on a dese-t island, and about to settle there, and establish a permanent government. Suppose a committee to be appointed for that purpose, would not a perfon who had been all hi? d'iys familiar witfo tbe principies of law and government be more likely to obtuin a situation on t lint committee hin one who hud nevrr bostowed a momeni's thougbt on the subject? And after ihe government liad been establislied, would not thoFe who were familiar with the dutics ol public üfficers be quite as likely to fill them at; th 6C who were uttorly ignorant of their requirements? These principies are operat'ng with u every day on a large scale. Thof e who have acquainted theinselvrs with the principies oi government, an the manner ol governing, will be called to administer the government n preference to those who are uninformed respecting both. 2. Anotlier reason of the great influence of lawyers, s the amount of general informa' tion they possrss on topics oj pvblic interest.-- The farmer, if faithful to his business, is ne cessarily cut off from the general intercourse of society a considerable part of the time. - The same is true of the day laborer, and to n .considerable extent, of mechanica generally. Wherea8 thelawyer is occupied every day in the year n a manner that must make bim ncquamtod with all that is transneting inty. His business s to rcud, write, ond talk continuallyjand his pen, thought, and tongue are occupied with the usual trnnsnctions of society. Henee, from the very nature of his business, he mu6l be informed on mntters of public interest to a greater exlent than those who pet their living by their physical labor. Henee, in a promisciious assembly, lawyers, as a class, vvill oppear to better advantage thnn any clas" of laborers. S. A third teason is found in the ability thëy ncquire of putting their ideas readilyand rorrectly vpon paper. A superficial thinker mny perhsps regard this as a very email Bttoinnient; and vet it is most int imaíely connected with all inlellcctual progresa, and is a pre-requis:e for permanent intellectuol distinction. He who enn think profoundly, has one important element of gira'ness: he who can coney his thouphts with force and effect upon pnper, has another and valuable qualificiition Tor eminence. Dr. Fronklin esteemed this latter acquisili' n important enough to require lons continued and pystemntic cfforts for its acquisition. Beside?, the power of writing readily and cfficienlly, is a qunlification not so generlly posse.sed as supposed. Vastnumbers of biitfineps men find a difiiculty in writing an ndvertisrment of ony length fora newspuper.The farmers and mechantes, who comprise niiïè'een twentieths of the people, rorely practice in compofing. The merchants confino their iritellcctüal interconrse ebtefly to their nwn business; the physicians have iltle occasion to write except for friendöhip or nmiisenaent, while clergymen are precluded by their profession from the arena of politics and bnsmesa. Whereas in ihis arena it is that the lawyer has his chief scope of aclion. and by continued practice, he can ecarcely fnil to express himself in writing wit.li facilitr, 'vliile the many ca' ches in his prnfesiion vvill lead him to discrimínate cIoeoly as to the expressions he ues. In this respect, then - in focilüy of inteliectual composi'ion ?;oi business transactions, the lo w vers have the means of biing ahead of every olher class of persons. 4. Another roason of the prominence of lawyers is the habit of spraking: in public. A rppubhenn ofovcrnnicnt has been justly ternied o "Logoniacy," or governnipnt by speechmaking. Not on cvent of any importance whntever can tbke plice without one or more speeches npon it. When a President is to be elected, it is lone by innumerable speeches: his first business is to toke ihe oalh of office and mnke a speech: when he travels he is rreetrd evory wherc hy speeches, vvhich compliments lic muft repay in spopches; he makes speeches annnally while in tiffire, and when hft dies, his virtues are every where celebrated in .peeches. ]f n railroad is to be built, a church to be Phlarged, ?wo school districts to be made into one, a pnstmaster remoled, or n forp.itrn nation attaclind to ourp, it cannot be done without speeches: and they who are familiar wilh public spreakinp wil! bethe most acceptahle to the henrprs, will bp. called upon ■he mnst, and will tliereby acqnire a prominonce and influence far grpater ih.in they areentitled to by thrir extent of knowledge or rïolidity f jmlpment. It is seldoni that you can find a farmer or mechnnic who can sprak at lengtli to the gratifica: ion of nn andience; id unless the Ritdience are grntified thpy will not bc di.oposed to hear or profil by hia counsel. On nll sueh nccafim, furmers and meehnnirs rtiiirt therefore Hifihr thpmselvps to be eclipsed by lawyers who mny be fur their inferiora in memel powei and energy. 5. The last reason we shnll mention of the great influence of Inwyers is, th'ir intímate onnection toilh the mnsl important transitetions oj society. All importnnt transfers of real petate pass throngh their hnnds, and all disputes bout real or ppr.onal property are discosst'd by lawyers at the bar. and determined hy lawyers on the bench. The lawyers write the aareerronts of thelivincr, ond the Ia6t will nnri lestnment of those who are about to die. Thpy draw the contractsfor railronds-, nnd arjjne the constitutionality of haiiks. Tliey ulso take charge of the livcs and personal liberly of all their fellow citizens. Is any one acensed of crime? He straitway commits himself and his desiiny 'o the advocacy of a lawyer. They are the living exponents of all lavv. Not only so. but they have a very greit influence in making the laws.- To be convinced of their nscendency in the Legislaturr, we. have only to consider that tho population of the State iu neorly 300,000: that the whole ntimber of Legislators 'va 70, being one Legislatorto 4 300 ppople: that the whole nmnbe of lawyers in the State is about 350: ond if each calling and profession were entitled to its jusl proportion of memberp, the. immber of lawyers in the State mu6t be doubled to entitle the profession to one member in the Legislature. Whereas the nuniber of lawyers in the lnsV Legislature we suppose was at least a dozen, and probably more, thus showing that the lawyer had a representaron about 24 times greater than that to which their numbers entitled them. But this is not all: for every one knows that in the actual business of legislation.. the lawyers exert nn infinence vaslly superior to that of the same numberof the other members. They do nearly all the lalking, write most of the.reports, and tuke the lead on committees, and on tho nipst important items of business. Most of the olher members do but little besides voting yea and nay on propositions originated by lawyers. Thus the profefsion act not only as the sole expounders of the Iaw8, but they have a potent if nota controlling inflnence in giving them exis:ence, form and shape. If, then, the ascendency of lawyers in political life be oving to their business, - or, in other words, to their knowledge of the general principies of government , to their familiarity with business affaire, to a facility of ppeaking and writing upon them readily and acceptably, and to the importonce of the interesls committed to thent . - it is evident that no other class of men can hope jo rival ;hem in public estimation until they can justly lay claim to their qualifcatiens. Accordingl)', we find that there are but two classes which approximate to them in politica! influence - editora and politicians by profession, opprobriously callcd "office -geekere"- and theee ottain the