1
:
}
580
Council or to the Government and posing as the chempion
of injured solivilors against the Chief Justice: to pre-
vent in fact what actually took place in the present
ORES.
a
The Society was duly formed by ell the momborc of the
profession, and Committee elected. The notion of the
sigantories of the letter woe therefore an infraction of
the rules of the Society which they themselves had acson-
ted to. I referred to this in a private letter to Mr.
Howitt, pointing out to him that the action of the Chan-
ber in countenancing this wos highly detrimental to the
public life of the Colony, and that the La Dociety
deserved as malen consideration as the Chicuiber of COLNSTOS
itself. To the Mir. Heri Lt prid no attention. But, one
thing the whole profession realised including the signa-
tories to the letter,vus that the branch which had been
fostered by Mr. Heritts:11-judged notion put the existen-
ce of the Law Society in jeopardy.
the
22. The position of affeirs described in the foregoing may
be thus sumarised
-
The Chief Justice had taken a step which ho tac justified
in doing under the Ordinance: he had taken it solely in
the interests of the public and with a view to improving
the administertion of justice: the Solicitors of his
Court had been stirred up in opposition by the Chairman
of the Chamber of Commerce in an underhand way, which was
disapproved of by the rest of the profession: the ques-
tion had been dealt with by the Chairmen of the Chamber
in the most unfair way possible, distorting the intention
of the Chief Justice, and the newspapers had followed
suit, making most unjustifiable attacks upon the Chief
Justice: the ill-feeling which had been stirred up shewed
signs of spreading: the solicitors who had signed the
letter to the Chamber vere in doubt as to what attitude