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WALTER GREENWOOD
his expressions. On one occasion an opponent complained that his truculence in court was quite intolerable and Francis responded by saying of the opponent's speech "such stuff as that is rubbish". In 1883 there was criticism of his ungentlemanly behaviour when prosecuting R. Fraser Smith, the Editor of the Hong Kong Telegraph and a frequent sparring partner, for libel. The criticism may well have arisen out of disappointment at Fraser Smith's acquittal. As time went by he tended to assume omniscience and in 1887 an opponent was moved to say of him "my learned friend appears to think that he is not only an authority on law but on every department in the colony”. Francis was minded to treat that as a statement of the obvious. However Hong Kong was well used to robust and idiosyncratic characters and indeed it had all the flavour of a frontier town. In 1859 the Secretary of State, the Duke of Newcastle, said that "Hong Kong must be protected from the reckless libels which have so long poisoned the very atmosphere of the colony”. Francis was not only outspoken in Court. The Hong Kong Telegraph in its obituary said “his outspoken utterances estranged many persons who would otherwise have employed him professionally. But his talents were so conspicuous, his experience so great and varied, that he was bound to make his way to the front". The China Mail said of him that “he had a ready temper but bore no malice". A sort of verdict on him in his lifetime appeared in the Hong Kong Telegraph in 1891 in a series of articles on "The Local Devil's Own". It reads "John Joseph Francis Q.C. is Hong Kong's leading counsel and one of its most prominent citizens. He served with distinction in the army and having acquired a taste for the Bar while serving Her Majesty elected to serve behind it, and by sheer hard work and natural ability succeeded beyond his most sanguine expectations. It is popularly supposed that to have Francis on your side means winning a case with the special exclusive order of Hong Kong jurymen. He is a warm hearted man in his own fashion and has done a lot of good for a certain class in Hong Kong”. The only deliberate act of discourtesy by him in his professional life that I have found was when the Chief Justice of the day refused to accede to his request not to sit after lunch on a Saturday and he did not attend. Francis said later that he had an engagement he could not get out of. On an occasion when he was twenty minutes late and said he had forgotten he was engaged in court the Chief Justice
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22
WALTER GREENWOOD
his expressions. On one occasion an opponent complained that his truculence in court was quite intolerable and Francis respond- ed by saying of the opponent's speech "such stuff as that is rubbish". In 1883 there was criticism of his ungentlemanly behaviour when prosecuting R. Fraser Smith, the Editor of the Hong Kong Telegraph and a frequent sparring partner, for libel. The criticism may well have arisen out of disappointment at Fraser Smith's acquittal. As time went by he tended to assume omniscience and in 1887 an opponent was moved to say of him "my learned friend appears to think that he is not only an author- ity on law but on every department in the colony”. Francis was minded to treat that as a statement of the obvious. However Hong Kong was well used to robust and idosyncratic characters and indeed it had all the flavour of a frontier town. In 1859 the Secre- tary of State, the Duke of Newcastle, said that "Hong Kong must be protected from the reckless libels which have so long poisoned the very atmosphere of the colony”. Francis was not only outspo- ken in Court. The Hong Kong Telegraph in its obituary said “his outspoken utterances estranged many persons who would other- wise have employed him professionally. But his talents were so conspicuous, his experience so great and varied, that he was bound to make his way to the front". The China Mail said of him that “he had a ready temper but bore no malice". A sort of verdict on him in his lifetime appeared in the Hong Kong Telegraph in 1891 in a series of articles on "The Local Devil's Own". It reads "John Joseph Francis Q.C. is Hong Kong's leading counsel and one of its most prominent citizens. He served with distinction in the army and having acquired a taste for the Bar while serving Her Majesty elected to serve behind it, and by sheer hard work and natural ability succeeded beyond his most sanguine expectations. It is popularly supposed that to have Francis on your side means winning a case with the special exclusive order of Hong Kong jurymen. He is a warm hearted man in his own fashion and has done a lot of good for a certain class in Hong Kong”. The only deliberate act of discourtesy by him in his professional life that I have found was when the Chief Justice of the day refused to accede to his request not to sit after lunch on a Saturday and he did not attend. Francis said later that he had an engagement he could not get out of. On an occasion when he was twenty minutes late and said he had forgotten he was engaged in court the Chief Justice
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