J
What I want to call your attention to is
this neither the Committee of the Chamber of Commerce, nor the public, nor you, Sir," who hold the bladder of the Remembrancer to the public mind, ever raised a protest. against the wicked barristers last year in enforcing a three months' leisure on the Court. Perchance it escaped eyes other- wise so vigilant of the public weal, yet, Sir, if then you had brought that bladder of yours down with a thwack upon the public head, the reverberations would have awaked echoes throughout the Colony;; united action would have caused the offen- ders to see the error of their ways, and I should have been spared the friendly belabouring of a whole week's press.
May I also point out what seems to me a lacus in the arguments now set before the public. I cannot see what connection there is botwoon the question how many judges are necessary to carry on the work of the Court from November to August and the question what respite from that work those Judges require in September and October. If there were three judges at work in Original Jurisdiction the argu- ment in favour of the Long Vacation would be the same.
But, of course, Sir, there is a personal side of the question.
The continuous strain involved in pre- paring arguments as well as in listening to them, in standing in Court all day, pro- poanding them eloquently, and in sitting in Court all day following them dispas- sionately, sifting the logic from its envelop- ing eloquence, does, after many days, somewhat dull and fag the brain as well as tire the body. And I am sure, you will believe me, Sir, when I say that after the very strenuous time we had last summer, which was typical of the two previous summers and of the summers ahead of us, we had all come to our last gasp, and it would have been physically impossible to go on with the hearing of another heavy
case.
The argument of the solicitors, which I gather has been adopted by the Committee of the Chamber-as they treat the three separate extensions as "42 days"-is that almost half the year is holiday already, But, with deference, whoever treated the working year as 365 days and deducted the 60 odd Sundays and Feast Days as holi- day? If a clerk in an office asked for a fortnight's holiday in the summer, would he be told, "Sir, you shall not have it, for during one-sixth of the year, you I already make holiday?" But this opposi
tion has dwindled away, yielding to the force of reason. Was it not Lord Bram- well-at least it sounds like his voice- who once referred to the "shifting sands of fact?"
At first it was "the majority of the solicitors of the Colony" who opposed: then it was "many of the solicitors."
We have heard there were "eight firms," and those have I think, dwindled to "eight solicitors; "nud, then there were none.
Has not the time arrived when all the opposition shall resolve itself into good humoured laughter and a good natured recognition of the force of circumstances? I am, yours, very faithfully,
F. T. PIGGOTT. Hongkong, February 27.
473
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.