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THE LIFE

OF

LORD CHANCELLOR WESTBURY

ENGRAVED EY6.J.3T0DAHT FROM Ji. MINIATURE PAINTED ABOUT 1S25

London Rjchard Bentley & Son 1887

THE LIFE

OF

RICHARD LORD WESTBURY
jFormerlj? JLotn J£igi) CfmnceUor
WITH SELECTIONS FROM HIS CORRESPONDENCE

BY
THOMAS ARTHUR NASH, B.A.
BARRISTER-AT-LAW

WITH TWO PORTRAITS

IN TWO VOLUMES— VOL. I

LONDON
RICHARD BENTLEY AND SON
^uWtsters in ©riinata to pjer JKajcsts tfje ©item
1888

Printed by R. & R. Claris, Edinburgh

PREFACE
In the autumn of 1883 there appeared an an
nouncement that a Life of the late Lord Chancellor
Westbury, by Mr. R. N. Kennard, was about to be
published. The work was, however, delayed by
various causes, and its completion was finally in
terrupted by the illness and death of the writer.
That Memoir consisted principally of materials taken
from public documents ; and the only part to which
this observation does not apply was that which
professed to give the personal recollections of the
writer. These recollections formed the subject of a
biographical sketch which appeared in Macmillari s
Magazine for April 1883. It was evident to those
who were intimately acquainted with Lord West-
bury that the writer had an imperfect knowledge of
his subject, and this made his sketch incomplete.
After Mr. Kennard's death the Memoir upon which
he had been engaged was placed in my hands by Mr.

PREFACE

Bentley, and subsequently, with the concurrence
of Lord Westbury's family, I began an entirely
new biography. I am, however, indebted to Mr.
Kennard's Memoir for the insertion of a few
anecdotes and for the occasional use of a refer
ence to professional matters on which he may
have had good opportunities for information.
The lapse of fifteen years since Lord Westbury's
death has made the task of preparing his biography
in some respects difficult. Except for a few weeks
late in life, he kept no diary or record of personal
events, and a valuable portion of his correspond
ence was soon after his death accidentally destroyed.
Much also of the material which might have been
collected from the personal recollections of con
temporaries and other sources is no longer avail
able. Under these circumstances the work would
have presented still more formidable difficulties,
had not Lord Westbury's family afforded me the
advantage of the most unreserved communication,
and placed at my disposal the whole of the corre
spondence and other documents in their possession
which were material to my purpose, without impos
ing any restraint whatever as to the treatment of
the life.
To the Hon. Mrs. Adamson Parker, whose

PREFACE

knowledge of her father's life was from their long
companionship the most complete, I am under great
obligations. Mrs. Parker has allowed me to make
use of a monograph from her own pen, which is
incorporated in the chapters in which the earlier
years of Lord Westbury's life are described, and
she has supplied numerous and valuable notes of
personal recollections. I have also to thank the
Hon. Slingsby Bethell, C.B., for the loan of several
letters and papers, and the Hon. Walter Bethell
for many interesting details of his father's country
pursuits. To Eleanor, Lady Westbury, I am indebted for
much important information and for access to some
private letters.
My warm thanks are due to Mr. Augustus B.
Abraham, brother-in-law of Lord Westbury, whose
recollections have furnished much of the material for
the early life, and who has rendered most valuable
information, advice, and assistance with respect to
other portions of the work. To other members of
the family and to many of their friends who have
given me much kind aid, I tender my grateful
acknowledgment. For the privilege of being permitted to publish
some of the correspondence, I am indebted to the

PREFACE

Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone, Earl Granville,
Lord Moncreiff, the Hon. Evelyn Ashley, Mr.
Henry Reeve, C.B., Mr. Jeune, Q.C., and to
several others. To Lord Moncreiff, Mr. Frederic
Harrison, Professor Jowett, and the Rev. C. J.
Hume, I must express my grateful thanks for the
interesting sketches of various portions of Lord
Westbury's life which they have contributed. I
have also to acknowledge the kindness of Mrs.
Harvey, of Ickwell Bury, Lord Thring, and Mr. A.
W. Kinglake, in communicating their recollections.
Much useful information with regard to Lord
Westbury's professional career has been received
from Mr. Napier Higgins, Q.C., Mr. Cookson-
Crackanthorpe, Q.C., Mr. Vaughan Johnson, Mr.
B. B. Rogers, Mr. Percy Gye, Mr. Charles Skirrow,
Mr. Charles Harrison, Mr. W. W. Aldridge, and
others. Finally, I must heartily thank my friend,
Mr. Patrick F. Evans, of the Inner Temple, for his
valuable aid in revision, and for many excellent
suggestions. The biography has been mainly treated as that
of a public man whose career is inseparably con
nected with the legal history of his time. In dealing
with Lord Westbury's resignation, an effort has
been made to spare the susceptibilities of persons

PREFACE

still living, as far as was possible, without any
sacrifice of the truth. The public events which led
to the resignation are matters of record, and I have
therefore confined the narrative to the bare facts
upon which the motions of censure were based,
purposely avoiding subjects which might provoke
needless controversy.
It only remains to say that I had not the
privilege of a personal acquaintance with Lord
Westbury — a circumstance which should perhaps
supply some presumption of impartiality, though it
may preclude any claim on my own part to the
interest attaching to a portrait drawn from the life.
T. A. N.
Inner Temple, August 1888.

CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME

CHAPTER I
i 800-1 822
Descent and parentage — Bethells of Bradford-on-Avon — Childhood
and early influences — Circumstances of his parents — Schooldays
— Goes to Oxford — Gains a scholarship — University life — His
remarkable diligence — Recollections of a college friend — Gradu
ates in honours — Reads with pupils — Early responsibilities —
Elected to a fellowship — Views on university training . Page 1

CHAPTER II
1 822- 1 840
Studies Law — Reads with Lee, the conveyancer — Is called to the Bar
— Judges and Courts of Equity in 1823 — Personal appearance and
manner — First brief — His engagement — Death of his ^ther —
His marriage — Places of residence — Brasenose College case —
Chancery leaders — Sir J. Leach and Bethell — Success as junior
counsel — Work and pupils — Home and habits ... 36
CHAPTER III
1 840-1 847
Is appointed Q. C. — Selects V.-C. Shadwell's Court — Qualifications for
leading practice — Influence over the Vice- Chancellor — Method
and merits of his advocacy — Obtains a prominent lead — Peculi
arities of manner — Is challenged to a duel — Residence at Highgate
— Classical tastes — Appointed Counsel to Oxford University —
Management of cases — Scheme to promote legal education . 67

CONTENTS

CHAPTER IV
1847-1852
Attempts to enter Parliament — Political views — Defeated at Shaftes
bury — Returned for Aylesbury — Expelled from Conservative Club
and elected at Brooks's — Position of political parties — Speeches
on Chancery Appeals and Jewish disabilities — Precision of
language — Appointed V.-C. of County Palatine of Lancaster —
Reforms in Chancery procedure — Re-elected at Aylesbury Page 97

CHAPTER V
1852-1855
Defeat of Lord Derby's Ministry — Formation of a Coalition Govern
ment — Appointed Solicitor-General — Official duties — Ministerial
programme of Law Reform — Succession-Duty Act — Colonial
Church affairs — Relief of Jewish Disabilities Bill — Views on Legal
Education — Bridgewater case — Sir Richard Bethell and the Judges
— Legal anecdotes .  .128
CHAPTER VI
1855-1856
Defeat of the Government on Mr. Roebuck's motion — Lord Palmer
ston forms an Administration — Sir Richard Bethell again becomes
Solicitor- General— Resignation of Mr. Gladstone and other
Ministers — Lord John Russell's position— Bethell defends primo
geniture—Appellate jurisdiction of the Lords— Bethell and the
Law Lords— Views on the study of Jurisprudence— Testamentary
jurisdiction— Life peerages— Defeat of the Government Bill-
Failure to effect law reforms  !6o
CHAPTER VII
1856-1857
Becomes Attorney-General— Correspondence with Lord Palmerston
— Proposed Ministry of Public Justice— Chinese question-
Defeat of Government on Mr. Cobden's motion— Dissolution of
Parliament— Again returned for Aylesbury — Increase of Lord
Palmerston's majority— Measures for-relief of Jewish disabilities—

CONTENTS

Sir Richard Bethell's proposal — Fraudulent Trustees and Joir. :-
Stock Companies Acts — Conviction of British Bank Director? -
Testamentary Jurisdiction Acts  Page 185

CHAPTER VIII
1857
Law of Divorce prior to 1857 — Divorce Bill — Sir Richard Bethell's
statement — Mr. Gladstone's opposition — Protracted struggle in
Committee — Violent attacks on the Attorney- General — Re-mar
riage of divorced persons — His forcible protest against dispensa
tion of clergy — Renewed opposition in the House of Lords — Bill
passes — Offer of judgeship of Probate Court — Cases and anec
dotes .... . ... 210

CHAPTER IX
1857-1859
Orsini Plot — French feeling against England — Conspiracy Bill — Un
popularity of the measure — Defeat and resignation of the Govern
ment — Lord Derby forms a Ministry — Lord Campbell's attack on
Sir Richard Bethell and the reply — Jewish Relief Bill — Continued
opposition of the Lords — Compromise and settlement — Shrews
bury Estates case — Defeat of the Government and dissolution —
Elected at Wolverhampton ... . 245

CHAPTER X
1859-1860
Fall of Lord Derby's Government — Lord Palmerston again becomes
Premier — Bethell's claims to the Great Seal — Lord Campbell
appointed Chancellor — Bethell's disappointment — Resumes office
as Attorney- General — Lord Campbell's ideas on law reform — Thel-
lusson Case — Lord Justice Knight Bruce and Bethell — Instance
of self-possession — Address at Wolverhampton — Introduces
Bankruptcy Bill — Tribute to Lord Palmerston's leadership — Re
ceives honorary degree at Oxford — Road murder case . 272

ERRA TA
P. II, line 1 8, for 'Weaver,' read ' Sayer.'
P. 16, for ' Philpotts,' read ' PhiUpotts.'

At end of Vol. 7.J

LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY

CHAPTER I
1800-1822
Descent and parentage — Bethells of Bradford-on-Avon — Childhood
and early influences — Circumstances of his parents — Schooldays
— Goes to Oxford — Gains a scholarship — University life — His
remarkable diligence — Recollections of a college friend — Gradu
ates in honours — Reads with pupils — Early responsibilities —
Elected to a fellowship — Views on university training.
Richard Bethell, afterwards first Baron Westbury,
came of a family whose name and pedigree were
derived, it is said, from the ancient race of Ap-Ithel.
Of Welsh origin and position, the Bethell family
crossed the border at the beginning of the sixteenth
century. Some of the Bethells established themselves
at Hereford, while others removed to the south of
England. A Richard Bethell— a name which recurs
very frequently in the family records — became Vicar
of Shorwell in the Isle of Wight, and died there in
15 18. To another Richard Bethell, who seems to
have been a nephew of the last-named, Henry
VIII. granted the site of Hyde Abbey in 1545,
VOL. I I

2 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1800-
shortly after the suppression of the Religious Houses
and the confiscation of their lands.
The principal branches of the family remained
in the neighbourhood of Hereford until, in the reign
of Elizabeth, Hugh, afterwards Sir Hugh Bethell,
became entitled by the devise of his kinswoman,
Blanche Parrye, one of the gentlewomen of the
Queen's privy chamber, to the manor of Rise, near
Beverley in Yorkshire. This manor was held of the
Crown under a grant for lives, and the reversion
was afterwards purchased from Charles II. by a
collateral descendant of Sir Hugh Bethell. The
Rise estate remains in the possession of that branch
of the family.1 Sir Walter Bethell, a nephew of Sir
Hugh, married a sister of the Royalist, Sir Henry
Slingsby, who was beheaded on Tower Hill in 1658
for adherence to Charles Stuart, and by whose sur
name several of the Bethells were subsequently
designated. The first Slingsby Bethell was a man of very
different stamp. Notorious for his republican ten
dencies before the Restoration, he was elected a
Sheriff of London in 1680 in the teeth of the opposi
tion of the Court. His contemporary, Burnet, thus
1 Mr. Richard Bethell of the Rise, brother of Dr. Christopher
Bethell, successively Bishop of Gloucester, Exeter, and Bangor,
was in 1832 returned as the Conservative member for the East
Riding. The identity of name occasioned a singular blunder
by which, many years after, this Richard Bethell was confounded
with the late Lord Chancellor, who did not enter the House of
Commons till 185 1.

1822 THE BETHELL FAMILY 3
describes him : ' Bethell was a man of knowledge,
and had writ a very judicious book of the interests of
princes ; but as he was a known republican in
principle, so he was a sullen and wilful man ; and
turned from the ordinary way of a sheriff's living
into the extreme of sordidness, which was very un
acceptable to the body of the citizens, and proved a
great prejudice to the party.' He is satirised by
Dryden in his Absalom and Achitophel under the
character of Shimei. A sheriff who vigorously
maintained the threatened rights of the Corporation,
and refused to pack juries for the Crown purposes
was naturally obnoxious to the Court, and the frugal
ity of his kitchen and cellar made his shrievalty
unwelcome to the citizens who had elected him.
The remaining branches of the Bethell family
spread gradually over the west of England, and may
be traced during the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries, some at Hereford, others at Wimborne.
Lord Westbury's nearer ancestors established them
selves in the north of Wilts. His great-grandfather,
Thomas Bethell, had, at the beginning of the
eighteenth century, settled at Barton Farm, near
Bradford-on-Avon, where he purchased some land
from the Duke of Kingston. On his death in 1755
this passed to his son Samuel. Samuel Bethell
retired from business when he had acquired a
moderate competence, and became the owner of a
small estate called Ladydown, with other property
in the parish of Bradford. In this quiet retreat the

4 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1800-
Bethells dwelt respected by their neighbours for up
wards of a century.
The quaint and picturesque town of Bradford lies,
encompassed by hills, at the eastern extremity of the
peaceful valley of the Avon. To the antiquary and
the geologist the locality is full of interest for its
Roman and Saxon remains, and the curious fossils
which are found embedded in the blue clay. A
pleasing character is given to the town by its narrow
winding streets and the peculiar elevation of the
ancient buildings, which are ranged in irregular tiers
on the slope of the hill across the river, while the
height above is fringed with trees, affording an
agreeable shelter from the north wind. For some
centuries Bradford has flourished by the manufacture
of cloth. 'Al the toune of Bradeford stondith by
clooth-making,' says Leland in his Itinerary, and this
industry, though it has somewhat declined, still em
ploys a large number of the inhabitants.
Of Samuel Bethell's four sons the third, Richard,
chose the study of medicine. After serving an
apprenticeship to an apothecary in the town, he
proceeded to Guy's Hospital, where he obtained
the usual qualifications. For a time Dr. Bethell
held minor appointments at Guy's ; but presently
returning to Bradford, he settled down there and ac
quired a fair practice and a good reputation among
his professional brethren. He does not appear to
have had much pride in his Welsh pedigree ; and,
for some unknown reason, he held very much aloof

1822 HIS BIRTH AND BOYHOOD 5
from the other members of his family, and would
often affirm the wisdom of having the fewest pos
sible dealings with kinsmen. Dr. Bethell was one
of those men who are regarded by their friends
as disappointed, because their success in life is not
commensurate with the powers for which, rightly
or wrongly, they have had credit. He was a man
of parts, and anticipated the treatment of a later
generation of doctors in discarding the practice of
blood-letting for more remedial methods. But he
was of a retiring disposition, and the locality afforded
little scope for the display of more than ordinary
professional ability. It was at Bradford, in the
year 1797, that he met and fell in love with Miss
Jane Baverstock, who shortly after became his wife ;
and there on the 30th of June 1800, in the old gray
stone house which abuts on the Saxon bridge over
the river, was born their elder son, the future Lord
Chancellor. The early days of the boy's life gave some anxiety
to his parents. At the age of six he was seized
with such a violent attack of convulsions that the
doctors in attendance despaired of his recovery.
The attack lasted two days ; but when the child
seemed almost at the last gasp, Mrs. Bethell in
sisted on administering some drastic, but homely
remedy, and his life was saved. The dreaded
delicacy of constitution henceforth disappeared.
Though Lord Westbury had more than the common
share of accidents in the course of a long life, his

LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1800-

bodily strength and capabilities of endurance were
uniformly greater than those of the majority of
men. He was himself disposed to consider the
lawyers of his day somewhat degenerate in physique
compared with their predecessors. Thus in writing
to Lord Palmerston in 1863, he complained of the
difficulty of finding men at the bar physically strong
enough to undertake judicial appointments. ' There
used to be lawyers who could stand anything,' he
said, 'but the race seems wearing out.'
Mrs. Bethell was a beautiful and most amiable
woman, but unhappily there was a standing feud
between her father and old Samuel Bethell. It was
the old story of the Montagues and the Capulets
repeated in a humbler social sphere. The marriage
was violently opposed by the parents on both sides ;
and though, after it had taken place, Samuel Bethell
professed to be reconciled, it was found on his death
that Dr. Bethell's name was scarcely mentioned in
his will. This was the heavier disappointment
to the son, as he had invested all that he was
able to save in the shares of a clothing company
which failed just before his father's death. Then
followed hard times and constant anxieties for Dr.
Bethell and his family. Happily there were only
two children to provide for — Richard, the subject
of this biography, and John, who was four years
his junior. Richard was about six years old when
his grandfather died. In spite of his tender age
it was thought proper that he should attend the

1 82 2 ANXIETIES OF HOME LIFE 7
funeral, and the gloomy circumstances of the day
were indelibly impressed on the child's mind. In after
years Lord Westbury described to his own children
the miserable drive home in a gig after the reading of
the will ; how his father sat absorbed in overwhelm
ing anxiety for the future, only now and then mutter
ing, 'We are ruined! We are penniless!' In his
childish way the boy tried to divert his father's
thoughts by calling his attention to various objects
on the road ; but his efforts were unavailing, and
at length he was awed into silence by the force
of an affliction he was unable to understand or
soften. Dr. Bethell was considerably in debt, and had
the greatest difficulty in raising money with which to
meet his liabilities. At this trying juncture one of
his nearest relations turned against him, and might
probably have thrown him into a debtor's prison but
for the timely intervention of a friend. Henceforth
the struggle to escape from pecuniary embarrassment
was a hard one, but it was faced with fortitude. Dr.
Bethell's own efforts were stimulated by professional
help, and by the devotion of Mrs. Bethell, who
roused herself, though in delicate health, to support
her husband by her courage and energy. Many
were the privations of the parents, and among their
unceasing trials it was, perhaps, the keenest that
very little money could be spared for the education
of their elder son. For four years, ^12 annually
was all that could be devoted to this purpose. But

8 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1800-
it appears that home-teaching in some measure sup
plied the deficiency.
While Richard was still very young, Dr. Bethell
foresaw that a high career lay before him, provided
his rare powers could be properly developed by
education and training. Even 'poverty's uncon
querable bar' did not daunt the father's deter
mination and spirit. The child was only five years
old when his future profession was decided on, and
his eminence foretold. Such predictions are com
monly uttered about every conspicuously clever boy :
in Richard Bethell's case they were again and again
repeated by those around him, until they marked in
his mind the duty and purpose of his life. Dis
tinguished from other children by the peculiar
earnestness of his manner, it seemed as if, even in
those earliest years, he shared the anxieties which
beset the home, and realised the responsibility
for others with which his life and prospects were
burdened. The discipline exacted from him was austere,
but it was suited to a constitution which had become
unusually vigorous. Every morning, at a very early
hour, he trudged off to school with his bag of books,
and, though the distance was considerable, he was
never allowed to absent himself, even under stress
of bad weather. The habit of early rising never
deserted him; even in winter, and in the latter
years of his life, Lord Westbury wotild rise at five
o'clock, light his fire, and, after making a little tea

1822 EARLY SELF-RELIANCE g
or cocoa, read or write till seven, standing the while
at a high desk, and now and then breaking off to
pace up and down the room in reflection.
There was from the first no lack of will or
energy on the part of the boy. The stirrings of
ambition, an innate love of learning, and a large
share of that somewhat old-fashioned virtue, filial
obedience, gave him spirit and determination to
overcome every difficulty rather than disappoint the
high expectations of his parents. We hear of
' Dick ' Bethell at school, a blue-eyed, fair-haired
lad, devoting himself to his studies with an earnest
ness and gravity beyond his years. The school-
time over, he would betake himself to the perusal of
a volume of Burke, or some other book selected by
his father ; and thus he acquired an appetite for
wide general knowledge which never left him.
Neither ridicule nor entreaty could induce him to
abandon his occupation. If the interference took
the form of bullying, his hot Welsh blood showed
itself, and the offence was quickly resented. His
few holidays were spent in taking long rows on the
river, or in wandering, accompanied by his little
brother, for hours, fishing-rod in hand, by the
waterside. To the last year of his life the memory of
those early struggling days, uneffaced by the bril
liant career which followed, was sacred to Lord
Westbury's heart. The self-denying efforts of his
parents to bestow the education and training needed

10 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1800-
to develop his great powers were most gratefully
remembered. In a letter written to one of his for
mer colleagues,1 only two months before his death,
he said : ' When I was made Lord Chancellor, I
may truly say the chief feeling that arose in my
mind was not that of pride or gratified vanity, but
of sincere gratitude that I had lived to fulfil the pre
dictions and the fond hopes of my father, to whom
I owed all my education and all the means that had
enabled me to fulfil what, when they were first
formed, were but wild anticipations.'
Sprung from the middle class, which has pro
duced the greater number of his predecessors on
the woolsack, Richard Bethell had none of the
advantages of position or influence to aid him in the
struggle to win for himself independence and fame.
But he enjoyed a higher advantage. He was
trained under the watchful care of a father who
instilled his own lofty purpose and enforced it with
an inflexible resolve. No thought or effort was
spared to fit the boy for the distinction for which his
genius plainly destined him. These external influ
ences were in harmony with his own disposition.
Industry, energy, and self-reliance were the marked
characteristics of his childhood. The strict habits
of frugality enjoined by the straitened circumstances
of the home strengthened such qualities. It is not
too much to assert that his early environment left
deep marks on his mind and character. Such a
1 The Earl of Selborne.

1822 SCHOOL EDUCATION ii
training, while it naturally braces and confirms a self-
contained and studious disposition, tends in some
degree to restrict the wider sympathies, and narrow
the interest in social and public life.
Soon after his father's death, Dr. Bethell left
Bradford and removed to Bristol, in the hope of
obtaining a more lucrative consulting practice, and
Richard was sent to a school at Corsham, near Bath,
of which the Rev. Mr. Weaver was the Principal.
Subsequently the boy attended a private school at
the Fort in Bristol, then kept by Mr. Sayer. Little
is known of either of these schools, and it does not
appear that any of the other pupils made their mark
in life. Mr. Sayer was, however, always spoken of
with respect by his distinguished pupil as a man of
great learning. From him Richard Bethell received
his first classical education, and must have been
carefully grounded. Mr. Weaver was succeeded by
the Rev. R. Bedford, but the school was abandoned
just before Richard reached the age of thirteen, and
for the next year he remained at home under the
instruction of his father. The simple home afforded
some share of that liberal cultivation which the
children of professional men usually enjoy. ' What
ever success I have had in life,' he wrote many
years after, ' is due to the care and skill with which
my father formed and disciplined my mind.' The
theory of maternal influence in heredity derives little
support from Richard Bethell's career. Though the
mother was a sensible, capable woman, it is clear

12 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1800-
that from the father came the superior qualities
which so distinguished the son.
Richard's energies gained an additional stimu
lus from the desire he had formed for an university
education. Dr. Bethell wisely encouraged the aspir
ation, but always on the condition that it could only
be realised by obtaining a scholarship. Of this the
boy was perfectly aware, and he worked with such
determination, both at school and at home, that when
he was no more than fourteen his father considered
him sufficiently advanced to matriculate at Wadham
College. Founded by a descendant of the ancient
Somersetshire family which gave its name to the
college, Wadham had close historical, as well as
territorial connection with the west of England,
and drew a large proportion of its men from that
part. Dr. Bethell seems to have had some ac
quaintance with the Warden, Dr. Tourney, and
naturally selected Wadham as the college for his
son. In October 18 14 the father and son set out for
Oxford. It was a notable journey for both. No
anxiety seems to have exercised Dr. Bethell's
mind, so thoroughly did he trust in the exceptional
abilities of his son. Richard was less tranquil ; the
bare idea of a visit to Oxford excited him beyond
measure. He never forgot his first impressions of
the University. It was night when the coach drew
up at the door of the Angel Inn, but the enthusiastic
boy would not rest until he had seen some of the

1 822 MATRICULATES AT FOURTEEN 13
venerable colleges, half revealed in the soft moon
light, and had stood in silent admiration before the
porch and ' antic pillars ' of St. Mary's. The next
morning Dr. Bethell took his son to Wadham, and
presented him to the Warden. On seeing the small
eager-faced lad, in his round jacket and frilled collar,
Dr. Tourney turned to the father and remarked that
children were not admitted to the college. ' You
will not find my son a child, sir, when he is ex
amined ; moreover, he has determined to win a
scholarship for himself,' was the reply. ' What ! '
exclaimed the astonished Warden, ' you will allow
him to try for a scholarship at his age ? Do you
know that he will have to compete with young men
of seventeen and eighteen ? You must indeed think
your son a prodigy.' — ' Sir, I do think him a prodigy,'
was the proud rejoinder.
Events quickly proved that the father's confi
dence was not misplaced. Dr. Tourney, however,
not unreasonably, insisted that the extreme youth-
fulness of the boy was a fatal objection to his im
mediate matriculation, and suggested that he should
be brought up again after another year. At the same
time he soothed Dr. Bethell's evident disappoint
ment by inviting him, with his son, to dine at the
Warden's lodge that evening. After dinner he ques
tioned the boy, and was so struck by his precocious
talent and knowledge, that he withdrew all objections
to his matriculating forthwith. Being above twelve
but under sixteen years of age, Richard Bethell

14 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1800.
subscribed the Articles, but was excused from tak
ing the oath of obedience, in accordance with the
University Statutes of that period.1 He matriculated
on the 1 8th of October 1814 — at least two years
before the usual time — and immediately went into
residence as a commoner of Wadham.
In a letter written to one of Lord Westbury's
daughters in 1875, the late Dr. Symons, formerly
Warden of Wadham,2 thus alludes to the occasion :
' Not long since your father reminded me of our first
meeting. After I had given the usual examination
previous to matriculation, Dr. Bethell inquired as to
the result, and Lord Westbury assured me that it
was the most nervous crisis of his life, because he
knew well, had it been other than favourable, every
hope of an university education was at an end. " My
father's circumstances," he said, "rendered a scholar-
1 Lord Westbury made an interesting reference to this cir
cumstance in a debate in the House of Lords, in 1863, on the
proposal to abolish subscription to formularies of faith as a quali
fication for degrees at Oxford. 'My attention,' he said, 'was
singularly fixed upon this matter many years ago, when I matri
culated at the University at the early age of fourteen. I was
told by the Vice-Chancellor, " You are too young to take the
common oath of obedience to the Statutes of the University but
you are quite old enough to subscribe the Articles of Religion."
(Laughter.) Accordingly, as a boy of fourteen, I duly and faith
fully subscribed the Articles of Religion ; but not until the age of
sixteen was I permitted to make a promise of obedience to the
Statutes of the University.'
2 Dr. Symons was at the time of Bethell's matriculation a
tutor of the college. He became Warden in 1831, and resigned
in 1871.

1 822 SCHOLAR OF WADHAM COLLEGE 15
ship necessary." In spite of his youth and his want
of a public school education, I expressed my belief
that, if not wanting to himself, he might gain a
scholarship, and in fact he could hardly fail of suc
cess. It is some proof that I was not mistaken that
his name appeared in the first class in the classical
schools before he was nineteen years of age1 — a fact,
I believe, unprecedented, and never since repeated.
I need not say that throughout his university resi
dence he was a hard student.'
Notwithstanding the competition of several much
older candidates, Richard Bethell entered for an
open scholarship at the end of his first year of
residence. He returned home before the name of
the successful candidate was announced, and his
anxiety during the period of suspense may be
imagined. On the night when he was to hear
the result, his brother John was sent to wait for
the coach and bring home the news. It had been
arranged between the two that in case of success
John was to hoist a white flag directly he came
within sight of the house. Too excited to remain
indoors, Richard wandered aimlessly about, impa
tiently awaiting the return of the messenger. Pre
sently he appeared in sight, scampering along as
fast as his legs would carry him, and flourishing
in the air a pocket handkerchief tied to the end of
a stick. The scholarship had been gained.
It was a memorable hour in Richard Bethell's
1 The age should have been stated as eighteen years.

1 6 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1800-
life. Often in after years he used to recall his father's
and mother's proud delight, and his own thankful
ness, that henceforth he would be to a great extent in
dependent of their pecuniary assistance. The college
had added to the scholarship an exhibition for profi
ciency in Greek, which was a material addition to
the emolument.1 These successes were won on his
fifteenth birthday— an instance of precocious ability
which is probably without a parallel except in the
case of Dr. Philpotts, the late Bishop of Exeter, who
is said to have been elected to a scholarship at
Corpus before he attained his fourteenth year.
For three years after donning the scholar's gown
Richard Bethell gave himself unsparingly to the most
arduous study. Occasionally he brightened with
his presence the quiet home at Bradford, where Dr.
Bethell had again taken up his residence in one of a
row of houses called ' The Folly ' on the Trowbridge
1 Mr. G. E. Thorley, the present Warden of Wadham, informs
me that the nominal value of the scholarship was ^10 a year.
But the scholar was exempt from room rent, which then seems to
have been ^ioa year, and from certain other payments, the pre
cise amount of which it is not easy to trace, but which may
probably have been equivalent to £\o more. The Hody
exhibition for the study of Greek was of the annual value of ^"20,
increased in 18 18 to ^24. In addition to these stipends, Bethell
held a small exhibition on the Goodridge foundation, and in
1 8 16 he was elected to the Wills' Law exhibition of ^18 a year,
tenable for five years. And it appears from the college books
that on three occasions he received a slight addition to his Hody
exhibition ' for merit.' The total value of his receipts from the
college would therefore probably amount to more than ,£70 a
year.

1822 UNIVERSITY LIFE 17
Road. But more often he spent the entire vacation
at Oxford, that his reading might suffer less inter
ruption. During one of these so-called vacations
he fell ill from scarlatina, and passed some weeks
of lonely wretchedness, without a friend near him.
The comparative rigour of his home and school
training had been relieved by few pleasures, and
those which he allowed himself in his college life
were of a simple, unpretentious kind. Riding, the
usual diversion of the well-to-do undergraduate, was
in general too expensive for the careful scholar, but
he regularly indulged in boating, in which he was
fairly proficient before he went to the University.
Fond of strong exercise, he was in the habit of
running round the Christ Church Meadows every
morning, returning to college in time to read for an
hour before chapel. He continued to take life very
much in earnest : plain living and high thinking were
his ideal. In this way were formed those careful
habits which characterised him through life. He
was always prudent in money matters, and detested
useless extravagance.
In his second year of residence Richard Bethell
must have commenced to read law, with the view of
competing for the Wills' exhibition, to which he
was presently elected. And it seems that during
his last year as an undergraduate he added to his
slender resources by reading with pupils ; so that his
work altogether must have been extraordinarily
severe. The late Sir Lawrence Peel bore testimony
vol. 1 2

LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1S00-

to the striking fact which Lord Westbury once told
him, with a just pride, that from the age of seven
teen he had solely supported himself. The Duke of
Rutland (better known as Lord John Manners) has
confirmed the statement, and given Lord Westbury's
own explanation. ' It was owing,' said he, 'to those
ancient endowments which the piety and charity of
bygone generations founded for the purposes of
education.' — ' I shall never forget, ' Lord John wrote,
' the impressiveness with which he spoke, and which
was heightened by all the attendant circumstances.' 1
His sole surviving contemporary at Wadham, the
Rev. Charles Hume, the venerable Rector of Meon-
stoke, Hants, writing to Lord Westbury's youngest
daughter in 1886, recalls some interesting reminis
cences of his old college friend, which may be given
in his own words : —
' In compliance with your request for any reminiscences of the
Oxford life of your late father, Lord Chancellor Westbury, which,
after the lapse of some threescore years, my memory retains, I
have only to regret that at my great age, now in my 87 th year,
events and incidents have lost so much of their distinctness, that
they can at best be recognised as dim shadows in the past, or
like the pale luminous forms of the heroes seen by ^Eneas and
the Sibyl in the Elysian fields.
' Sixty-eight years have passed away since I was sent from
Rugby to try for a scholarship at Wadham College ; and it was on
coming into residence after my election that I first met your
father in the lecture room, and sat beside him at the scholar's
table in the college hall. I can well remember my earliest impres-
1 Letters to the Times of 22d and 26th July 1873. 1' was
on the occasion of the dinner given to the Prince of Wales in
1865 to celebrate the opening of the Middle Temple Library.

1822 A COLLEGE FRIEND'S RECOLLECTIONS 19

sion of him. Considerably my senior,1 my introduction to the
scholars of Wadham at our common table was simply a matter of
courteous welcome. All were kind and encouraging to the young
freshman. But your father's gentlemanly bearing and intelligence
struck me as remarkable. It was some time, however, before the
friendship sprung up between us which was strengthened through
our college life ; till our diverging professions of Law and Divinity
made our meetings very rare, yet without diminution of our mutual
esteem. I remember how perfectly fresh and cordial our feelings
were many years afterwards when, being in town, I went to the
Court of Chancery, with the hope of catching a glimpse of him there.
A cause was being heard, in which your father was engaged for the
defence. Counsel on the other side was speaking, and such was his
heartiness on seeing me that he came where I was standing, and
giving expression to the cordiality of unexpected pleasure, our con
versation became so energetic that we were called to order. Pres
ently your father, in a masterly way, demolished the argument for
the plaintiff; and his perfect felicity of speaking, and the lucid force
of what he said, struck me as the vigorous matured utterance of
the intelligence that at once impressed me on my first seeing him
in our college hall.
' In another instance, still further on in life, in fact memorable
to me as the last time I ever saw him, your father, then Lord
Chancellor, was sitting on the woolsack. If I remember aright,
an appeal was being heard before him urging the summary
ejectment of a tenant from a farm, the term of which was on
the point of expiring. A good deal had been urged against
any extension of time, when, to my amusement and satisfac
tion, for I thought the tenant was being unfairly pressed, his
Lordship, with his well-remembered voice and characteristic deci
sion of manner, ruled for some indulgence on the ground of
equity. " The man has planted a hundred acres of turnips : he
must be allowed some reasonable time to feed them off ; " and
immediately on pronouncing these very words the Lord Chan
cellor rose and departed.
1 Bethell was the senior in standing by two years ; but Mr.
Hume appears to have been a few months older.

20 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1800-
' As to the personal appearance of your father in those early
days, I may say he was the beau-ideal of a gentleman ; his look
and manner somewhat stately and reserved. Seldom was he
visible in the earlier hours of the day ; no lounger in " quad," he
had nothing in common with the easy-going life of idle men ; he
was evidently a man with his mind made up, and with a purpose
of his own, so preoccupied that he had neither relish nor leisure
for the intrusion of frivolous indolence. My rooms were on the
same staircase with his, and I constantly observed in passing his
door the evidence of a studious man : his " oak sported," as the
phrase was, and himself inaccessible.
' Late in the afternoon, when he came out for exercise, he
would frequently challenge me for a walk through High Street,
round Christ Church Meadow, or stretching away over higher
ground, past "Joe Pullen's Tree," to Headington, probably
amusing ourselves with the sight of Buckland, the newly-appointed
Professor of Geology, with his equestrian class scouring the hills
and quarries of Headington in the fresh enthusiasm which distin
guished the creation of the new professorship, so admirably de
scribed in verse by Dr. Shuttleworth, at that time Warden of New
College, and afterward Bishop of Chichester.
'On these our perambulations your father was extremely
punctilious in his costume. Again and again he would not start
till I had satisfied him his costume was in perfect etiquette, and
specially his tie and collar in the most approved style. I think
this was the only weakness I observed in him. Still, however,
there was always an expression of countenance and tout ensemble
which I can describe by no other word than dignified. His
features were fine and well pronounced. . . .
'As to your father's amusements. He rarely allowed
himself time for more than a row on the Isis between Oxford
and Iffley; certainly he never "went into training," or pulled
in the then famous Wadham boat. His reading was the first
claim, to which everything else had to give way. He was the
most determined student I ever knew. I may say of his
severe work what a few years ago Mr. Gladstone said to me of
his own, when an undergraduate of Christ Church, "We read
unmercifully." '

OXFORD EXCURSIONS

It seems, however, that there were times when
Richard Bethell, like Apollo, unstrung his bow,
and abandoned himself to an indulgent relaxation.
Mr. Hume gives an instance or two of such
interludes : —
' I was generally his companion ; for being myself " a whip,''
which was not one of your father's accomplishments, the arrange
ment of any excursion into the country devolved itself on me ;
and with a good fast horse and gig from Moore's in Holywell,
we set forth now and then across the breezy Berkshire Downs
to spend a day or two with a cordial old college friend, who had
settled down on a curacy in that direction, and with a charming
sister keeping house for him, received us as brothers with great
affection, and, had we stayed long enough, might have killed us
with kindness.
' On one such pleasant occasion we made a descent on the quiet
village of Yattenden, near West Ilsley, where our friend, the Rev.
" Tom " Griffiths, was curate to Rector Howards. The weather
was splendid, the air delicious ; and it did me good to see how
thoroughly your father enjoyed himself during a visit prolonged
beyond our original plan by the genial cordiality of the neigh
bourhood, which would not let us go. Our return gave us, how
ever, an instance how closely side by side our enjoyments and
our calamities often are found to be. The day for our parting
came. But before we started for Oxford, our friend, who had
just purchased a horse warranted perfectly quiet in harness, pro
posed that, as his carriage had not arrived, we should allow him
the opportunity of proving his horse by putting him into our
harness, and giving him a turn on the road. We proceeded to
do so. All seemed well ; but the moment he found himself
fast to something behind him, the horse dashed off at full speed.
Happily your father took no part whatever in the experiment. I
had strong hold of the horse's bridle when he bolted, and hung
on to him ; but seeing at once the peril of my position I dropped
myself from the bridle clear into the roadside ditch, close to
which the horse was tearing along, and then watched the gig, till,

22 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1800-
striking the milestone, it was shattered and turned upside down,
the horse sprawling on the road, helpless of moving till we un
fastened the harness and released him. Happily no one hurt.
' I mention this disaster because it was an incident in your
father's life which, but for his characteristic caution in waiting
the result of the experiment at a safe distance, as we had only
the assertion of the horse-dealer as to quietness in harness, might
have had a fatal termination ; for I have no doubt if he had
gaily ventured into the gig with me, leaving the groom at the
horse's head to let go when we gave the word, we should both
have been killed.
' By the help of the clever blacksmith and carpenter of the
village, we at length got our gig sufficiently repaired to start for
an eighteen mile drive home to Oxford. It was near midnight
before we arrived. But I must not finish the story of our dis
aster, or the thought how terribly it might have ended, without
telling you the beautiful contrast on our way home, which even
to this very hour is fresh in my remembrance. The whole drive
home was indescribably beautiful. It was a night of calmest love
liness. The full moon, flecked only with light clouds, floating
so gently in the upper air that " in their very motion there was
rest," made a scene already perfect more perfect still. Could
anything be added ? By the time we had reached Bagley Wood
our ears were charmed by such a concert of nightingales as never
since in my life nor elsewhere have I heard. We stopped
and listened with delight. The choir were pouring forth the
richest melody deep down that lovely dell, where Bagley Wood
slopes toward the Isis and the towers of Oxford. And what
seemed to us remarkable, we observed that, apart from the rest,
and a little distance farther within the dell, a lone bird — might
have been the one Shakspeare heard " leaning her breast up-till
a thorn," so plaintive was her tone — kept putting in a single
expressive note, at measured intervals with wonderful effect, re
minding me of the tolling of the "campanero" Waterton tells us
he heard in some solemn forest where he was "wandering."
'Your father and I stayed as long as we could, loth to
leave to the midnight silence of the listening glen the delicious
music which had been "creeping in our ears."

1822 AN OCCASIONAL FROLIC 23
' It was on a similar occasion when, wiser by our Yattenden
experience, we set forth on horseback to spend a few days at
Woodhay, a pleasant village in the neighbourhood of Newbury,
and within an easy ride of Lord Carnarvon's beautiful place,
Highclere. We had good horses, and it was a fine country for
riding. Your father's, which seemed the quieter of the two, was
named "The Vicar," probably as being used to carry some grave
Oxford don on Sundays to his duty a few miles distant. We
enjoyed ourselves immensely. Our friend, the Rev. William
Deverill, and his sister, residing with him at the rectory, made
us welcome and happy; and it was with mutual regret when we
remounted our horses for returning to Oxford. The depression
on parting had not, however, extinguished our vivacity ; and warm
ing as we went, the reaction, naturally enough, was all the stronger
for the parting check.
'We were proceeding at an easy trot over a common in
the direction of Newbury, when I discovered, browsing among
the gorse, a herd of some thirty or forty swine feeding. At
once the merry thought struck me of a pig-hunt — poor indeed
if compared with hunting the wild boar with Hercules in the
jungles of Erymanthus — but just what we wanted to fetch us up
to pitch after our spirits had been unstrung by breaking up our
delightsome party at Woodhay. So your father nothing loth,
we shook up our horses for a spurt, and with a view holloa
which might have done credit to the Master of " The Pytchley,"
we made for the pigs. They seemed to catch our intention by
the instinct of self-preservation, our horses evidently enjoying the
sport, and off went the herd full stretch, tails up and heads down,
for about a mile and half. The pigs more than once showing
signs of quantum sufficit, I whipped them up with, I fear you
will think it, a relentless " forward," till, finding ourselves nearing
the town, we drew off and left the pigs to experience, if they had
never before done so, how the luxury of rest is only appre
ciated when it has -been earned by severe exertion. Your father
never rode better. " The Vicar '' behaved admirably over or
through the gorse bushes, though now and then we had much
ado to keep the saddle for laughing. The mirth, however, by
the time we drew rein, had shaken all the dulness out of us;

24 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1800-
and we rode on through Ilsley, Abingdon, and Bagley Wood as
jocund as if we had not parted from our friends at Woodhay.
So, you see, your father, in those early days about which you
inquire, would sometimes encourage a frolic turn, and, recognis
ing the rule of Horace, " Dulce est desipere in loco," improve his
health by the chase.'
With regard to Richard Bethell's intercourse
with other men in college, Mr. Hume observes : —
' His friendships were select. Intimacy was with him a
result, rather than an impulse. Not unfrequently he would
gather his friends about him ; and genial himself, he enjoyed the
conviviality of the wine party in his rooms, without its boisterous
excess, its hilarity and conversation, without its punch-bowl,
supper, and song. Once only do I remember your father over
stepping his rule of exemplary moderation. It was on the
occasion of his assuming his bachelor's gown, when every one
had to give a wine and dessert party. The party your father gave
was unique in its plan. We assembled in the college garden,
beneath the cool shade of the lime trees, on a branch of which
he fastened his gown, an appropriate decoration, near the pre
sident's chair. Your father rose to return thanks for the cordial
expression of feeling with which the toast of the banquet had
just been received, when, in a sudden burst of festivity, catching
sight of his gown close by him, he seized it in his left hand,
plucked it off its peg, and with a flagon of claret in his right,
poured the whole contents down the reeking toga — a libation to
Alma Mater.
' At occasional parties in his rooms your father was liveliness
itself, and remarkable for conversational power, though, with true
politeness, never taking an undue proportion of the lead. No
one, however, was more ready to listen to others. I well re
member indeed the whole party of us were, when Dornford of
Oriel, who had been invited expressly for the purpose of know
ing our opinion before sending for publication in Campbell's
Magazine his description of the terrible catastrophe on Mont
Blanc, by which very recently Balmat and his sons, the cele-

1 822 A CURIOUS INTRODUCTION 25
brated Chamouni guides, while conducting a party of tourists on
the ascent — of whom Dornford himself was one — were swept all
together into some fathomless crevasse, and perished.1 Under
such a thrilling and touching narrative no one could be more feel
ingly " grave and quiet " than your father.
'While, however, I am on the subject of his friendships, it
may amuse you if I relate one which, though I never let him
know it, I made for him through an almost irresistible readiness
I once had for a practical joke.
'Rickards of Oriel, a first-class man, had recently distinguished
himself by gaining the prize for " English Verse," I think it Was,
and happening to have a friend in Wadham, had been calling
upon him, his rooms being over those of your father ; but not
finding him at home, he of course left his card, not observing,
however, that he had dropped a card at the same time on the
stairs. There it lay, till returning from lecture to my own rooms
I found it ; and observing the name upon it, the merry thought
flashed into my mind of dropping it into Bethell's door. Not
long after doing so, on meeting your father he accosted me with
a look of excitement, which I had some difficulty to look innocent
in meeting. " Charles," said he, for so he was wont to call me,
"a most extraordinary thing! Rickards of Oriel has called
upon me ! I was never introduced to him ! What do you think
I ought to do?" — "Do?" I replied; "why, of course return his
call. A distinguished man too. His attention is an honour to
any one. Don't set the surprise of his calling upon you against
the fact that you have his card. Just take the good the gods
provide thee." I did not smile when I saw your father off for
Oriel, to return upon Rickards the astonishment he himself had
felt. I am no advocate for practical jokes. But this once I
did, by indulging my strong tendency for fun, bring about the
meeting of two eminent scholars — a result which I have never
regretted.2 1 The party was overwhelmed by an avalanche, and three
guides were killed. More than forty years passed before the
glacier gave up the bodies of the victims.
2 Rickards wrote the prize poem on the "Temple of Theseus"

26 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1800-
' There could be no second opinion as to the high powers of
intellect which were conspicuous in your father. We all antici
pated for him a brilliant success in the schools ; and never, I
believe, did Wadham stand so pre-eminent on the roll of honours
as when there were only five names in the first class for the
whole university ; and three of them, Bethell, Buchanan, and
Girdlestone, were Wadham men. I had perhaps as good oppor
tunity as any one in college for forming an estimate of your
father's powers. For, when reading for my final examination, I
was in the practice of taking passages of special difficulty from
Aristotle, Thucydides, ^Eschylus, or Pindar; and, after having
honestly bestowed all my own scholarship in working them out
myself, your father, with the greatest kindness, would give me
the advantage of a clear and masterly rendering of them, which,
whether for the purity of his English or the lucid scholarship of
his Greek, was an enjoyment which I have never forgotten. In
clearing these intricate passages for me your father showed the
facility which is the characteristic of power. . . .
' On my last visit to the dear old college two years ago, where
now not one survives who knows me, I could only realise with
a yearning tenderness, beyond words, that imperishable dulcedo,
which Cicero so truly says lives on in the places themselves
where we still fondly trace the footsteps of those, so beautifully
expressed by the poet,
' "Whom we have loved long since, and lost awhile."
With such emotions it was that in 1884 I walked alone among
the memories of the past in Wadham ; looked on the bust of your
father in the fine old college hall, and on his coat of arms in one
of the windows ; read the inscription on the memorial tablet in
the ante-chapel, and in the chapel itself saw the steps by the
" Eagle " where from time to time, as senior scholar present, he
in 1 81 5, and a prize essay in 18 19. Interesting sketches of the
careers of Rickards and Dornford, both of whom became fellows
and tutors of Oriel, are given in the Rev. T. Mozley's Reminis
cences.

(822 DOUBLE HONOURS 27
took his turn, and read the lessons of the service, which I well
remember he did with a due reverence. . . .
' " Multis ille bonis flebilis occidit.
Nulli flebilior quam mihi ! ' "
In April 1818, when within three months of com
pleting his eighteenth year, Richard Bethell was ex
amined in the final schools, and obtained double
honours, being placed in the first class in classics
and in the second class in mathematics.1 So proud
were the Wadham men of this unexampled success,
that they hoisted young Dick Bethell, as he was
called, on their shoulders and bore him in triumph
round the college. The names of only six others
appear in the first class with Bethell's. Among
them were those of the late Canon Charles Girdle-
stone and Mr. Charles G. Round, sometime M.P.
for North Essex.
Richard Bethell took his B.A. degree on the 2 2d
of May 1818 — a graduate of seventeen. For four
years afterwards he remained at Oxford reading with
men for honours. He soon became a favourite
'coach,' but it does not appear that he filled any office
in his college while thus engaged, or that an academic
life had any great attraction for him. During this
period he obtained one of the Vinerian (University)
Law Scholarships, for which he received an annual
1 Previously to 1825 the second class was divided by a line,
so that though nominally only two, there were really three classes of
honours. Bethell's name was in the lower half of the second
class.

28 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1800-

stipend of ^30. His Wadham friends, Dr. Symons
in particular, were doubtful whether he did wisely to
remain so long in residence, and often reminded
him that it was high time for him to remove to
London, where he was entered as a student at the
Middle Temple. To this he would reply that he
must first secure at Oxford the means to enable him
to live in Town ; meanwhile he could not afford to
throw up his pupils. There can be little doubt that
he decided prudently, and that his professional pros
pects were aided rather than injured by the delay,
though the habitual precision of manner which was
subsequently his most marked characteristic may be
attributed in great measure to his tutorial experience.
We have little material for biography during this
period of his life. The only letter which has been
preserved is one written to his father, which is
worth printing for its evidence of the strength of
his filial affection, and the peculiar independence
of his character. Though not wanting in respectful
devotion to his parents, his words show that he
was prepared henceforward to accept responsibilities
for them as well as for himself: their relative
positions might indeed have been inverted. The
letter is undated — a habit the writer retained
through life 1 — but the postmark fixes the period as
November 1821 : —
1 Often his letters, like those of Lord Brougham, bore neither
address nor date. Replying to a letter written by Lord West
bury while on a cruise in the long vacation, Lord Palmerston

1822 BECOMES A 'COACH' 29
' I know you will be highly delighted with the favourable
prospects that begin to open upon me, and I trust they will
release you from all anxiety on my account. The scholar on our
foundation, who is of kin to the founder, has declined being
examined during the present term, and consequently is not
eligible to a fellowship in June next, and I have therefore every
possible reason to expect a certainty of being elected at that
time. 1 1 have also the pleasure of informing you that I have ob
tained a considerable accession of pupils, two of whom are by
the recommendation of Symons, and I am happy to say that five
of them will continue with me till May next. I think my former
letter mentioned that one of my pupils, the gentleman whom I
entered at Jesus College, has engaged to pay me ^100 per
annum ; and with these prospects I fully expect to have dis
charged all my encumbrances and laid by ^150 before I
quit college. I feel, therefore, quite tranquil in all anticipations
of my own affairs, and let me entreat you by my example never
to discard hope and patient expectations of favourable change.
What would have been your feelings if at Christmas last you had
been involved in my circumstances ?
' This additional employment has not, however, been secured
without two sacrifices. My time is so completely engaged as to
render it a very laborious employment. During some days my
pupils alone occupy ten hours. But I trust my health will experi
ence no detriment, especially after the few days' recreation which
my present visit will allow me. The other sacrifice I mentioned
is, that I have engaged to pass the best part of the Christmas
vacation in Oxford. My liberty will last only from the 21st of
December till the 6th of January, which will allow me the pleasure
of a very short visit at Brighton. But however brief may be the
time which I shall have the pleasure of passing with you and my
dear mother, believe me it will be most grateful to me, especially if
we can look forward to any prospect of your obtaining an accession
wrote : ' You are only a long-shore sailor ; you date your letter
without longitude or latitude.' Lord Palmerston headed his own
letter, ' On dry land.'

30 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1800-
of practice. I feel confident that you know my character too
well to suspect me of making any empty promises, and you may
therefore depend on receiving all the assistance which my exer
tions may be able to afford you ; and I am confident that you
will not reject my offer, since it is no more than the result of the
principles with which you have bred us up — that we should
labour in common, and that the interest of one should be for the
advantage of all. . . .
' I regret very much that I shall not have a longer vacation,
but as the two pupils who are to confine me will pay no guineas,
I could not think of demurring to that trifling inconvenience.'
Richard Bethell had at this time eight pupils,
and the assurances of assistance were far from
proving 'empty promises.' The son denied him
self many indulgences, and even, it seems, the
ordinary relaxations of youth, that he might aug
ment his father's narrow means. He was thus con
stantly able to give substantial help in times of great
pressure, and Dr. Bethell's letters contain frequent
acknowledgments of Richard's generosity.
As the time of the fellowship examination ap
proached, Dr. Bethell expressed great anxiety for
his son's success. ' As this is the last campaign you
will have to go through at Oxford,' he writes, ' I
sincerely hope you will be able to go through it
safely.' He implores Richard to keep up his spirits,
'and go in, in hopes we may see better and
happier days.' He adds, ' I am much obliged to
you for your good wishes as to the success of
my practice, and wish, if it was only for your
comfort, that I could succeed. I am continuing
to write my practice of physic, and I am quite

1 822 ELECTED FELLOW OF HIS COLLEGE 31
delighted that you are determined to learn the
Anglo-Saxon. I would advise you to go on with
the translation, if you think it will be of any benefit
to you.' Every letter testifies to the tender affec
tion existing between the parents and the son in
whom all their keenest hopes and interests were
centred. Richard Bethell's reading at this time
seems to have been very discursive. Besides the
subjects required for the fellowship examination, he
read many legal and medical treatises, and dipped
deeply into controversial theology. It is evident
that, to adopt Milton's metaphor, he was pluming
his wings for a flight.
It has been stated that on one occasion, in 1821
or 1822, he was an unsuccessful candidate for a
fellowship at Oriel College against Cardinal New
man. Dr. Newman, however, states that he has no
reason to suppose that Bethell ever stood at Oriel,
though he has some idea that pupils of his were
candidates in 1822. In June of that year Bethell,
in accordance with his anticipation, was elected to a
fellowship at his own college, Wadham.
The following extracts from letters to his wife's
uncle, Captain Abraham, penned at a later period,
show the importance the writer attributed to an
early residence at the University, and explain his
views on the disadvantages of the course of training
then afforded at Oxford : —
' The fact is that no men, speaking generally, make so little pro
gress in the attainment of an enlarged and liberal mind after they

32 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1800-
have quitted the University as those who have been educated at
Oxford. The great majority are clergymen (for the lay votes are
not, I think, one in five), who have quitted Oxford as soon as
their routine there was sufficiently completed for obtaining Orders,
to reside as curates in some country town or village, and conse
quently have never been called on by their pursuits or the
influence of society to revise their opinions which they imbibed
and carried away from the University. It is principally from
having observed this that I have always earnestly recommended
the sending boys to Oxford at an earlier age. The routine of
study and discipline, until a young man takes his degree, is a
mere continuation of his school pursuits, and it is folly to sup
pose that when this course is ended by him, at two or three and
twenty, he will be ready to enter upon the world, or fit to com
mence the study of a profession. He is, for the most part, wholly
ignorant of all those subjects of knowledge which in the present
state of society are the means of distinction, and by which in the
common converse of the world you discriminate the well-informed
from the ignorant man. Yet if you intend him either for law or
physic, or even the Church, you leave him no interval for the
acquisition of this knowledge, though without it a man is utterly
unable to fill any station in modern society either with credit or
advantage. For the walk of every profession is now so full that
you cannot venture to delay his entrance into it, because you
know that' for a long time he must of necessity be undistinguished
in the crowd, and you wish that the period of expectation and
disappointment should pass whilst he is buoyed up by the spirits
and elasticity of youth.
' With these opinions, I regret to see that you have resolved
to delay your son's residing at Oxford to so late a period.
He will not, I conclude, take his degree of B.A. before he
is nearly two and twenty — that is allowing him four years of
residence — and at that age he ought at once to enter on the
study of his profession. He will find the law (what with its
mechanical and intellectual parts) all-absorbing ; and what time
will you have left him for moral and intellectual philosophy, for
political economy, for modern history, jurisprudence, not to
speak of natural philosophy and the more exact sciences, the

1822 LOFTY ASPIRATIONS 33
want of time for which all lawyers who feel their value incessantly
deplore? The details of our professional business are, for the
most part, sordid and unintellectual, and there is no hope for a
man unless he brings an enlarged and cultivated mind — a blessing
which school training (with which Oxford begins and ends) will
never bestow.
' You will attach as much value to my opinion as you think
it deserves, recollecting that I have passed through the whole,
and can now practically estimate by every day's experience its
value and utility in my profession; but I am induced to give
it you, because I know the extreme interest you take in the
advancement of your sons ; and as you have most justly formed
and cherish bright hopes of their future progress, which I
sincerely believe their abilities will most fully answer and realise,
I should not acquit myself if I did not venture to intrude my
opinion in the hope of saving what appears to me to be the loss
of much valuable time. I expect, as well from their advancing
age as from your approaching retirement, that your interest in
the success and progress of your sons 1 will become more and
more intense.'
Such were the high aspirations and standard ol
professional training which Richard Bethell had
conceived for himself. To the study of modern
languages, which at that period was almost wholly
neglected at the universities, he attached prime im
portance. ' I do not think it is possible,' he wrote,
some years later, with reference to -the education of
one of his grandchildren, ' to overestimate the value
of the German language to a young man. There
is scarcely a subject in history, philosophy, moral
1 Captain Abraham's second son, Charles John Abraham,
who with his elder brother is here alluded to, became fellow of
King's College, Cambridge, subsequently Bishop of Wellington,
and is now Canon and precentor of Lichfield Cathedral.
VOL. I 3

34 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1800-
and mental science, theology or politics, in which the
range of reading is not incomplete without including
German publications.'
He writes again to Captain Abraham with refer
ence to the elder cousin •} —
' I feel very anxious about the success of Tom at the Univer
sity, and I much wish, as you are about to send him down as a
candidate for Magdalen, that you would let him. go a little earlier
and try for a scholarship at my college, Wadham. The scholar
ships there are much better than the demyships at Magdalen
College, as they certainly lead to fellowships within . seven years
(in my case in less than six), and are accompanied with exhibi
tions which render their value altogether about £$0 per annum.
There is also great emulation and rivalship in the present con
tentions for them, which are open to the whole University, and
you may judge of the advantages of the system of tuition by the
returns of the schools, the class papers. In some years Wadham
alone has produced nearly as many first-class men in classics as
the whole of the University put together. Thus in 181 8, out of
seven first-class men, Wadham had three ; in a subsequent year,
and out of four, Wadham had two, and it has furnished Oriel
and Balliol with several of her fellows, who are now tutors there.
. . . The present age has done more for education than all its
predecessors, but I fear the stream flows more rapidly outside of
the universities than within. Give my kind regards and best
wishes to both of them when you write, and say I confidently
expect great things from them, that they are the forwardest boys
I ever met with, and have no need to be afraid of anything they
meet at Oxford.'
1 Thomas Edward Abraham obtained a scholarship at Balliol,
and graduated at the age of twenty, with a first class in mathe
matics and a second class in classics. He became tutor to the
present Earl of Derby, and afterwards rector of Risby, near Bury
St. Edmunds, and honorary canon of Ely. He married his
cousin Ellen, Lord Westbury's eldest child, and died in 1886.

1822 VIEWS ON UNIVERSITY TRAINING 35
Though he was not insensible to the disadvant
ages of the academic system of his day, Lord West
bury never underrated his own obligation to his
University and College. He was fond of pointing
out how those who attain to great eminence in life
are generally men who have been distinguished at
the University. But he held strongly to the opinion
that it was in general useless to send a young man
to college unless he was sure of gaining either a
fellowship or a scholarship. ' If that be done,' he
wrote late in life, ' the University is a great blessing ;
if not, the education at the University is not worth
the expense and risk of evil. But if there is no
chance of his getting on the foundation of a college
at Oxford or Cambridge, then it would be better,
whatever his destination in life may be, to complete
his education either at a Scotch University or in
Germany.'

CHAPTER II
i 822- i 840
Studies Law — Reads with Lee, the conveyancer — Is called to the Bar
— Judges and Courts of Equity in 1823 — Personal appearance and
manner — First brief — His engagement — Death of his mother —
His marriage — Places of residence — Brasenose College case —
Chancery leaders — Sir J. Leach and Bethell— Success as junior
counsel — Work and pupils — Home and habits.
On obtaining his fellowship Richard Bethell gave
up his pupils and left the University for London, to
commence a diligent course of study for the bar.
He was joined by his brother John, who was des
tined for the other branch of the legal profession, and
the two lived in a simple, frugal way in chambers on
the third floor in Brick Court, Temple. In after
years John Bethell would describe in humorous
fashion the many experiments and failures in amateur
cooking which took place over their sitting-room fire.
John had been articled to a solicitor at Bath, and
eventually entered into partnership with a firm in
Lincoln's Inn ; but he always liked science better
than law, and, though he practised at intervals
through the greater part of his life, he gradually
became absorbed in mechanical and chemical in-

1 822-1840 STUDY FOR THE BAR 37
vestigations. The specifications of the numerous
successful inventions for which he obtained patents
would fill a bulky volume. Among the discoveries
with which his name is associated was the process
of preserving timber for railway purposes by the
injection of creosote. With great versatility of
powers and wide scientific attainments, John Bethell
possessed the sunny, simple manners and philosophic
mind which make a man best loved by those around
him. The brothers were attached to each other
with the truest affection, and, even after their re
spective marriages, they were seldom long separated.
Both had a keen love of sport, though it was long
before they were able to gratify it fully. For several
years after Richard Bethell left Oxford they were
in the habit of going down together in September
to shoot over some of the Wadham farms.
Richard Bethell now began to read in the cham
bers of Mr. William Lee, a draftsman of eminent
repute. The staple of Lee's practice was convey
ancing, an art of which his great precision and pro
found acquaintance with real property law made
him an excellent exponent. He had several pupils,
and would probably have acquired even more busi
ness than he enjoyed, but for the inveterate habit of
taking so much time over his papers that clients
had the greatest difficulty in recovering them. He
would settle and resettle his drafts, recast and revise
his opinions, and discuss the point of a case with his
pupils with perverse iteration, ' hunting and winding

38 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1822-
it through all possible ambages,' hauling and tugging
at it till it would yield no further doubt or difficulty.
Lee's appearance proclaimed the man. Dressed
with the primmest neatness, and deporting himself
with a rigid formality, he was everywhere recognised
as the man of law.
Like other law students, Bethell at once joined
a forensic society for practice in the art of public
speaking. The society held its meetings in the
hall in Lyon's Inn, near the spot where the Globe
Theatre now stands, and the best men who came
up at that time from the Universities were members
of it. Usually the discussion was on some stated
point of law, two speakers being appointed to argue
on each side, after which any of the other members
present could follow ; but now and then there was a
debate on some general subject. Bethell from the
first took a distinguished part in these discussions,
and in the course of a few terms was put in nomi
nation for the president's chair, in opposition to a
brother of Sir James Parker Deane. Deane, how
ever, was elected. He seems to have been the more
popular candidate, his rival's sharp wit having already
made some enemies.
On the 28th of November 1823 Richard Bethell,
then in his twenty-fourth year, was called to the bar,
and began to attend Sessions at Aylesbury, and hold
himself out for practice in the Equity Courts. He
took a m'odest set of basement chambers at No. 9
New Square, continuing to reside with his brother

1840 INSTANCES OF SELF-ASSURANCE 39
in Brick Court. He afterwards declared that in
equity -drafting and conveyancing he determined
at the outset that he would conquer every difficulty
by his own unaided efforts, asking no questions and
seeking no advice, and that he was able to keep
his resolution, which will appear remarkable to
those who know how greatly experience supple
ments the skill and lightens the labour of the drafts
man. He used to tell the story of the first exceptions
he took to an answer.1 Never having seen any
exceptions before, he drew them by the light of
nature, and went before the Master to support them.
The Master, on perusing the exceptions, observed
that he had never seen any in that form before.
'Most probably not, sir,' rejoined Bethell; 'but I
will defy my learned friend or any one else to indi
cate any particular in which these exceptions fail to
attain the object for which exceptions are designed.'
He soon acquired extraordinary proficiency in draft
ing, and, according to a tradition still current in
Lincoln's Inn, he could dictate three bills or answers
at the same time.
When Bethell began to practise, Lord Eldon,
that great maker and exponent of equity, held
the Great Seal ; Sir Thomas Plumer was Master
1 Exceptions were objections taken to pleadings for insuffi
ciency, etc., or to the Master's report made in answer to the
inquiries referred to him by the decree. The exceptions were
first submitted to the Master, and if disallowed could be brought
before the Court.

40 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1822-
of the Rolls, and Sir John Leach the Vice-
Chancellor. The two latter were the only Chan
cery judges of the first instance, but the Court of
Exchequer had general jurisdiction in equity,1 and
one of the Common Law Judges, assisted by Equity
Masters, occasionally took causes for the Master
of the Rolls. The Appeal Court of the Lords
Justices was not yet established.
The Courts of Equity were at that time a very
close borough, occupied by the comparatively few
practitioners who were acquainted with the subtle
ties of Chancery procedure. The machinery was
cumbrous and slow, and a long experience was
needed by those who would understand its work
ing. There were few treatises on the various heads
of practice, and still fewer reports of decided cases.
The principles evolved by the tender conscience of
the Court of Chancery were, for the most part, vague
and incapable of precise definition. Its jurisdiction
was theoretically of the most extensive range ; but
there were limits to it which were not easily recog
nised, and in ascertaining these there was room for
much controversy. Speaking generally, equity was
an experimental science which gave ample scope
for ingenuity in the development of original prin
ciples. Into this narrow circle Richard Bethell made his
way with a calm assurance which startled those who
1 This jurisdiction was transferred to the Court of Chancery
in 1841.

1840 PERSONAL APPEARANCE 41
had breathed its atmosphere for years. Their aston
ishment grew apace when, in a short time, they found
the newcomer elaborating principles and assuming
a knowledge of points of practice after a fashion to
which none but the more venerable practitioners
had hitherto aspired. He did not appear to desire
any social intercourse with his professional brethren,
or to consider whether they were willing to bear
his rather spinous humour. From the first he
evidently felt strong enough to stand alone. ' De
I'audace et encore de I'audace et toujours de I'audace '
might have been his motto. His views were ex
pressed with an assurance which seemed to admit of
no question. In advising in cases he exhibited the
most perfect confidence, and would say he was paid
for his opinion, not for his doubts.
His appearance at this time was very prepos
sessing. He had a well -shaped and most massive
head and brow, and fine blue eyes. His hair was
light and inclined to curl, but from intense applica
tion to study he became bald at an early age.
The outline of the features was decidedly good ;
and the mouth and chin expressed great power and
firmness of character. A mincing manner and a
precise and measured style of address gave an
impression of affectation which prejudiced many
when they first met him, but this seems to have
been natural to him, and rather academic than
indicative of self-satisfaction.1 He was a little below
1 At a mixed picnic at Medenham Abbey one of a party of

42 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1822-
the middle height, with square shoulders and a
strong frame. His habitual expression was serious
and intellectual, but there were indications of keen
humour in the lines of the mouth, and at times the
face would light up with a smile, the charm of which
was acknowledged by those who were in his society.
A serenity, which appeared imperturbable, charac
terised the man even in moments of the highest
pressure ; an unbounded self-confidence and a perfect
calmness were the chief elements of his strength.
' I should never have got through the world,' he
wrote when he was Attorney- General, 'or be
able to get through my present duties, if I had
not that inward quiet and freedom from useless
anxiety.' He was happily spared that weary, trying period
of probation in which so many of our greatest men at
the bar have lingered. Young as he was, he soon
began to obtain business of his own. His first brief
was given him by his friend Mr. Charles Harrison,
of Bedford Row,1 a few weeks after his call to the
bar. Mr. Harrison's brother had married Miss Jane
Brice, a member of a West Country family which
had long been intimate with the Bethells, and
Richard Bethell and his brother constantly accom
panied the Harrisons in the afternoon rows which
county magnates was overheard to say : ' What a fine head the
man has, and what a pity there's so little in it ! '
1 Uncle of the well-known writer, Mr. Frederic Harrison,
and of Mr. Charles Harrison, of the firm of Messrs. C. and S.
Harrison.

1840 HIS FIRST BRIEF 43
they were accustomed to take on the tideway at
Westminster or Lambeth.
The case involved questions of the validity of
the compromise of a doubtful claim under a will, and
was argued before Sir John Leach. It is a singular
coincidence in connection with this first brief that
the construction of the same will, which had been
left untouched by the former decree, came before
Vice-Chancellor Stuart in 1853, when Sir Richard
Bethell appeared in court for the first time as
Solicitor-General ; and that on this occasion, and
also on the appeal from the Vice-Chancellor in the
following year, Mr. Lee, who had almost retired
from practice on account of his advanced age, was
briefed as one of the appellants' junior counsel and
led by his old pupil. The Solicitor-General, in
his opening statement, mentioned the interesting
circumstances which marked his connection with the
case. After Lee had ceased to practise he was
known to be in the habit of donning his robes and
sitting in Court to hear Bethell's arguments in im
portant suits.
Bethell soon became engaged in bankruptcy
cases and the equity business of the Court of Ex
chequer. The immediate results of his practice
must have been highly encouraging,1 for, within a
1 In after life he told Mr. Frederic Harrison that he made
about one hundred guineas in his first year, two hundred in the
second, and so on, doubling in each of the first three or four
years the amount received in the preceding year ; and that after
the third year he had as much business as he could do.

44 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1822-
year after his call, his prospects were such as to lead
him to contemplate matrimony, which would involve
the loss of his fellowship. He disclosed the intention
to his parents in the following characteristic letter,
an example of the somewhat high-flown style of the
period : — ' ist Nov. 1824.
' My Dear and Honoured Father and Mother — It has
always been my pride and happiness to communicate to you every
action of my life, and this confidence of my early years has been
met by you with such affectionate kindness, and has had such a
beneficial effect upon my own character, that I should now reproach
myself with ingratitude if I concealed anything from your know
ledge. Your example, my dear parents, has shown me the value
of sincere affection ; and my dear father's most affectionate letter
is such a proof of the deep-rooted love he has for you, my dear
mother, that I could not but be sensibly affected by it. It has
always been my wish that you, who are wrapped up in your sons,
should know and share in all their friendships and attachments,
and I am sure you will love us the more for being most open and
ingenuous to you. You will easily see to what this preface leads,
and I trust you will not regard what I am about to tell you as
either boyish or premature.
' Very frequently since my return to town I have been in the
habit of meeting a young lady at Mrs. W.'s, whose character,
good sense, and disposition are so perfectly accordant to my
opinion of female excellence that I cannot help entertaining
for her the warmest affection. Her name is Ellen Abraham;1
her father is a gentleman of great respectability and good
connections, who resides in Keppel Street, Russell Square;
by profession he is an architect, and though I do not personally
know him, I am assured that he is a sensible man and a gentle-
1 Miss Ellinor Mary Abraham was the eldest surviving daugh
ter of Mr. Robert Abraham. Mr. Abraham held the appointment
of architect to the Duke of Norfolk, and was much employed in
arbitrations and surveys of public buildings.

1840 ENGAGEMENT TO MISS ABRAHAM 45
man. Miss Abraham is just two and twenty. She lost her mother
about four years ago, and since that event she has been the mis
tress of her father's establishment, and on this part of her char
acter I can pass no higher eulogy than to say that her gentle
domestic virtues, her attention, her good sense and feeling that
regard no domestic occupation as too mean for her, are the
parallel of my dear mother's excellence. She possesses much
sterling good sense, great beauty and elegance of figure, with great
delicacy of mind, and to these are united the advantages of what
is ordinarily called an accomplished education. I have long felt
the highest admiration and love of her character, but I have
delayed to make you acquainted with it till I was conscious that
it had become a settled feeling. . . .
' I feel bound, therefore, my dearest father and mother (and
I am confident you will bestow your consent and approbation), to
engage myself to Miss Abraham, though I must not conceal from
you that she has little or no expectations of a fortune, and that
our union may possibly be delayed for four or five years. Three
years, I trust, will augment my business to .^oo.1 . . . Your first
impression will doubtless be that I have not acted with worldly
prudence in engaging myself to a lady without fortune, but I have
thought much upon it, and cannot feel so. Ellen's uncles are solici
tors, and her connections will be of great service, and with her char
acter I shall be a rich man. Besides, a fortune, however obtained,
may injure my advancement in my profession. Write to me as
soon as possible, my dear father and mother, both of you, and I
know you will write most kindly that I may show the letter to
Miss Abraham, as indeed I did your last, and assure her that you
will love her as you do me and John. Dear John is very much
attached to her, and thinks I have acted wisely. I am sure you
will be proud of her when you see her. You remember your own
deep and lasting affection, and I trust, therefore, you will make
me happy by giving your blessing to mine and to your most
affectionate and dutiful son, Richard Bethell.'
In reply his father assured him that any lady
1 Part of the letter is here missing.

46 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1822-
whom he might love his parents would love also ;
but he begged Richard to delay his declaration for
a time, as his mother's health was in a very critical
state, and he feared it might be beyond medical skill
to save her. He added that they should not think
of controlling in any action of his life so good a son
as he had always been, as they were persuaded that
his great and good understanding would prevent him
from doing what he had never done in his younger
years — the taking a false step. As generally hap
pens in such circumstances, Dr. Bethell's objections
were not regarded by the young couple as insuper
able, and the engagement was formally ratified.
Mrs. Bethell's health was rapidly failing, and
early in 1825 Richard Bethell travelled down to
Brighton to see his mother, whose ardent wish was
to be removed to London, that she might spend her
last days in the society of her sons. Dr. Bethell
had gone to reside at Brighton for his wife's health,
and essayed to practise there as a consulting physi
cian. But he met with little success. Writing to
John, his son, he says : ' There certainly never were
two better sons than you two, and I think God
Almighty will bless you both for your great duty and
love to your poor afflicted parents. I am sorry to
say that I cannot get a single patient to pay me a
guinea. It is most extraordinary and wonderful ; so
that you see it is quite useless to remain at Brighton.'
From a letter written from his mother's bedside to
his intended wife we learn how unselfishly the elder

1840 FILIAL AFFECTION 47
son laid aside his hopes for a time, that he might
form, with his brother, a home for his parents in their
need. ' My parents have ever found their happiness in the society of
their children. It has been at once the comfort and occupation
of their lives. They have now to struggle alone with all the
wretchedness of affliction, without one cheering countenance. My
father assures me that my poor mother must sink under her
malady ; and though she may linger many, many months yet, that
her days are now entirely numbered. She has set her heart upon
having the society of her sons to soothe and bless the last months
which, in this world, she will ever pass with us. Brighton, there
fore, has become an addition to her sufferings, and my father is
too much bowed down with the sense of his approaching loss not
to earnestly long for consolation and support.
' I have, therefore, promised them in March to take a small
house in your neighbourhood, and as soon as the warm weather will
allow my mother, please God she has strength to bear removal, that
they shall leave Brighton for ever, and coming to town, that we will
give up our chambers in Brick Court, retaining those in Lincoln's
Inn, and live with them and support and console her last hours.
My father's practice has, I regret to say, since my mother's affliction
and his own confinement, almost entirely failed him ; and I must
reward their early sacrifices by devoting my income to their sup
port. Our expenses will not be much increased, as my parents
will live in the most retired manner ; for, in truth, my poor mother
comes but for the purpose of breathing her last in the bosom of
her family. To see her sons day by day is all she wants to soothe
her dying bed. For a little while this may detract a -little from
that fund I had proposed to accumulate for you, but it is my duty
and yours, and the thought will console our minds in future days.
We shall lose our promised stay at Brighton, but we may have
one elsewhere, and you will know and bless those who alone with,
and next to you, share my affections.'
Miss Abraham, with an unselfishness which did
her credit, acquiesced in this arrangement. The

48 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1822-
project of forming a home in Town was, however,
never carried out, as, with increasing weakness, Mrs.
Bethell shrank from the restless confinement of a
London street. At her son's suggestion, a house
was taken at Richmond, as appears from a letter of
his to Miss Abraham, dated the 12th of July 1825 : —
' We came to Aylesbury this morning. John and I drove in
a gig. The Duke of Buckingham is in the chair. I have been
in Court, but have done nothing to-day ; to-morrow I have three
briefs to defend three prisoners, and make speeches to juries.
Two are interesting cases, and I shall have to examine a good
many witnesses alone. There are about six other counsel. I am
not in the least nervous, though I confess I think I know very
little about the matter. . . . There is a good deal of business at
this Sessions. I see that a counsel may easily make twenty or
thirty guineas at least when he becomes known. I shall not now
make more than five or six. . . .
' You will rejoice to hear that there is every prospect of my
dear father succeeding in his practice at Richmond. He received
five guineas last week, and has had a most flattering reception
from the medical men of the place ; I thank the Almighty for it.
If it continues, it will be all that was wanting to render my poor,
dear, blessed mother's last hours contented and happy. And it
is the greatest consolation to me, because if I am sure of their
being able to provide for themselves, it will allow us to be united
without alarm or anxiety lest they should want our assistance, and
we should regret our then being unable to afford it them. All
things, I trust, conspire to hasten our union.'
Mrs. Bethell did not long survive the removal
to Richmond : her illness ended fatally in September
1825. Probably she had expressed the wish that her
death might not delay her son's marriage. Difficulties
of a pecuniary nature were successfully overcome with
the generous assistance of Mr. Abraham, and in

1840 HIS MARRIAGE: DEATH OF HIS FATHER 49
November following the marriage took place at St.
George's, Bloomsbury. Dr. Bethell lived till 1831 —
long enough to be happily assured of the success in
life of both of his sons, who to the last requited with
the most tender care the many sacrifices which had
been made for them in their youth.1 He had never
faltered in the belief that Richard would attain to the
greatest eminence. ' Tell him,' he writes to Mrs.
Richard Bethell, shortly after his son's marriage, ' I
am delighted at his success ; but I have no doubt, if
we live, that we shall see him very high in his
profession. He is a great character, and will be
a shining ornament at the bar.' Dr. Bethell's life,
chequered with hopes and fears as it had invari
ably been, presented that best of pictures — a brave
man struggling with adversity. It is pleasant to
know that at the time of his death, the son of whom
he was so justly proud had obtained a considerable
practice, and was rapidly coming to the front in
' eager ambition's fiery chase.' The high predictions
of the father were being realised.
Upon his marriage Richard Bethell took a small
house in Camden Street, Camden Town, which
was furnished by the kindness of Mr. Abraham.
He had by this time obtained two pupils, who had
read with him at Oxford. One or other of the
pupils would often accompany Bethell home to
dinner, together with his brother-in-law, who had
1 The younger son, John Bethell, married, in 1833, Louisa,
the youngest daughter of Mr. Robert Abraham. He died in 1 86 7.
VOL. I 4

50 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1822-
taken up his residence with the young couple. On
their way from the chambers which he occupied in
Chancery Lane they occasionally looked in at
Sampson Low's, the publisher, in Lamb's Conduit
Street, to obtain a supply of Sir Walter Scott's later
novels, then coming out, in which Bethell always
took a keen delight. The volumes were consigned
to the blue bag which contained the legal papers, and
was borne by each in turn. After dinner Bethell
would dictate to his visitors — a bill to one, an answer
to the other — while he stretched himself on the sofa.
Now and again, wearied with the day's exertions, he
dropped off to sleep, whereupon his companions ab
stracted a novel apiece from the bag, and so amused
themselves till Bethell's returning consciousness
recalled them to their labour. He would merely
ask for the last word he had dictated, and proceed
as if there had been no interruption. In the sum
mer evenings they sometimes took a wherry from
Searle's boathouse, then close to Westminster
Bridge, and rowed Mrs. Bethell on the reaches
between the Temple and Putney. While the
Bethells were living in Camden Street their eldest
child, Ellen, was born.
Bethell's love of the river induced him to rent
a farmhouse at Marlow during the summer months
of 1828. In term time he used to go down by
the coach on Saturday, returning at an early hour
on Monday morning. He was particularly fond of
fishing, and would turn out at daybreak to examine

1840 SUMMER QUARTERS 51
his lines or to snare the jack which the floods of
the previous winter had left in the neighbouring
ditches. When the long vacation brought its leisure,
the little party, reinforced by John Bethell, spent
whole days on the river, engaged in matches to see
who would hook the most perch or gudgeon, or in
rowing to Medenham or Harleyford for a picnic by
the weir.
The next year a cottage was taken at Sunbury,
on the banks of the river, and there the busy lawyer
came down nearly every night by coach, rising as
soon as it was light to do his work. As this in
creased it became necessary for him to be at a still
shorter distance from town. Accordingly, in 1830,
he secured for the summer a small house at Putney,
close to the 'Star and Garter,' and overlooking the
river. Friends often joined them in the evening, and
sometimes, when the number allowed, an eight was
manned, which Bethell stroked. He was an ex
cellent oar, and on more than one occasion he and
his brother-in-law rowed from Sunbury to the
Temple stairs. On leaving these summer quar
ters Bethell took a larger house in Southampton
Buildings, which served both for a residence and
chambers.1 ' I am happy to say,' he wrote, ' my
increasing practice loudly demands this change.'
He used to declare that he never quite knew
1 This was a common practice in those days. Lord Eldon
lived for a time in Carey Street, Lincoln's-Inn-Fields, to save the
additional expense of taking professional chambers.

52 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1822-
how his success came about, but he thought it was
due to self-confidence in difficulties and to painstak
ing industry : that he was determined to succeed, and
had never doubted the ultimate result. He would
also laughingly add that his success might be
attributed in some measure to the fact that the initial
letter of his name stood high in the alphabet. When
he was living out of town, he came up one day in the
vacation to chambers. A solicitor, who was anxious
to obtain an immediate injunction, had been rushing
distractedly about Lincoln's Inn in search of counsel
to employ, but in vain. At last, in despair, he
took up the Law List and began to hunt through
the names. Not finding any one available among
the A's, he proceeded through the B's, and presently
stumbled on Bethell's name, and the owner, being
found in chambers, secured in this way a brief and
a client. It is clear, however, that, like Eldon, Erskine,
Lyndhurst, and others, he owed his early distinc
tion to his able management of the first important
case in which he was engaged. This proved the
turning-point in the tide of his career.
It happened that during his viva voce exami
nation in the Classical Schools at Oxford in 1818,
he was put on to construe a difficult passage from
one of Pindar's Odes. This was readily and effect
ively rendered, but, carried away by his appreciation
of the poet, he went on through nearly the whole
of the Ode, turning it into exquisite English, to the

1840 BRASENOSE COLLEGE CASE 53
equal surprise and delight of the examiners, one of
whom was Dr. Gilbert, the Principal of Brasenose
College, and afterwards Bishop of Chichester.
Little did the boy — for he was then nothing more —
suppose that the favourable impression thus made
would have an important bearing on his future
career. In 1827 an information was filed in Chancery at
the relation of Lord Suffield to compel the College,
as governors of the Middleton Grammar School, to
apply the surplus income of certain charity estates
for the benefit of the school.1 Letters patent
had been granted to the College by Queen Eliza
beth on the application of Alexander Nowell, then
Dean of St. Paul's,2 by which lands of the annual
1 Attorney - General v. Brasenose College : 1 Law Journal
Reports, New Series, 66; 2 Clark and Finelly's Reports, 295.
2 Dr. Nowell, himself ' a dear lover and constant practiser of
angling,' will be remembered by the readers of The Compleat
Angler for the tender tribute which Izaak Walton paid to his
memory : — ' A man that in the reformation of Queen Elizabeth —
not that of Henry VIII. — was so noted for his meek spirit, deep
learning, prudence and piety, that the then Parliament and Con
vocation both chose, enjoined, and trusted him to be the man to
make a catechism for public use, such a one as should stand as a
rule of faith and manners to their posterity. And the good old
man, though he was very learned, yet knowing that God leads
us not by many nor by hard questions, like an honest angler,
made that good, plain, unperplexed catechism which is printed
in our good old service book.' Dr. Nowell, according to Walton,
was accustomed to spend a tenth of his time in angling, ' and at
his return to his house would praise God that he had spent that
day free from worldly trouble, both harmlessly and in a recreation
that becometh a churchman.'

54 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1822-
value of about £2% were appropriated for the pur
pose of founding the free school. The rents were
to be applied in payment of fixed stipends to the
masters and students of the school and allowances
to the fellows and scholars of the College. These
payments left in fact a small surplus, which was
not noticed in the letters patent. The College were
also incorporated as governors of the school, and
licensed to take other grants in perpetuity for the
support not only of the school, but also of the poor
scholars of the College. Subsequently other pro
perty became vested in the College for the same pur
poses. The Dean was for a time Principal of Brase
nose, and under his superintendence the surplus
income was appropriated to the general benefit
of the College. This surplus had in 1827 swelled
to upwards of ,£700 a year, and it was claimed
that this was wholly applicable for the maintenance
of the school.
The case was of extreme importance, not only
to Brasenose, but to all other colleges in Oxford
founded before the accession of William III. To the
surprise of those concerned, Dr. Gilbert expressed
a desire that the case of the College should be
entrusted to Bethell, then a comparatively unknown
and inexperienced counsel. To justify his selection
he described the striking impression made upon his
mind by the ability shown by Bethell during his
final examination. Bethell was accordingly re
tained. Several counsel of eminence had advised a

1840 FIRST GREAT SUCCESS AT THE BAR 55
compromise, but the Principal and Fellows were
encouraged to fight the case by the strong opinion
given by the young lawyer. The case came on
in 1 83 1 before Sir John Leach, who, mainly in
fluenced, as was understood, by the very able argu
ment of Bethell, appearing with Pemberton, after
wards known as Pemberton Leigh, for the College,
decided in their favour. An appeal to the House
of Lords followed, but was successfully resisted.
Bethell was accustomed to say that this success
at once trebled his practice — a fact which is suffi
ciently attested by the law reports of that period.
Writing to his wife shortly after, he said : ' I have
been obliged to write a long letter to the Principal
of Brasenose College. On my return I found a
letter earnestly pressing me to pay the College a
visit, to be present at their festivities, and receive
their thanks for my exertions in their behalf in
their late case in which I succeeded. They have
offered me a bed and every accommodation. Of
course I wrote to thank them, but declining it. It
is pleasing as a mark of their gratitude, but I have
no time or wish to go away but to you and the
children.' The College, determined to show their
appreciation of his services, thereupon sent him a
piece of plate with a suitable inscription.
We may pause here for a moment to glance
round the Courts of Equity and notice some of the
more eminent leaders during the earlier years of
Bethell's career. From 1824 until he accepted the

56 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1822-
Chancellorship of Ireland ten years later, Sir
Edward Sugden, afterwards Lord St. Leonards, was
the acknowledged leader in the Chancery Courts.
His profound learning and the dexterous skill with
which he handled the most abstruse subjects, so as
to invest them with a charm, made him an admir
able advocate in equity cases. But like other lead
ing men of the day, Sugden was too much in the
habit of treating counsel opposed to him with scant
courtesy, and of indulging in a snappishness to be
tolerated only in men of his eminence. After the
withdrawal of Sugden, Pemberton Leigh and Bicker-
steth obtained the largest share of the equity practice.
These leaders for several years divided the business
in the Rolls Court, until Bickersteth was appointed
Master of the Rolls, and became Lord Langdale on
the elevation of Sir C. C. Pepys to the Woolsack,
as Lord Cottenham.
Bickersteth combined considerable legal attain
ments with the advantages of courtly manners and
an imposing exterior. His arguments, chiefly re
markable for a skilful handling of facts, were
delivered in an attractive style. Pemberton Leigh,
though less pleasing in manner, was far superior to
Bickersteth in legal erudition and reasoning, and
would fix the judge with a horny eye from which
there was no escape. He was a consummate lawyer,
and had such a hold on legal principles that he
would seldom refer to authorities. His natural dis
position was to live very much to himself, but

1840 CHANCERY LEADERS 57
Lord Westbury, more than thirty years afterwards,
on the death of Lord Kingsdown, formerly Pem
berton Leigh, bore testimony to actions of elevated
feeling and grand self-denial of which few, perhaps,
suspected their author to have been capable. Lord
Westbury was a warm admirer of his character and
ability. On one occasion he was counsel for Lord
Kingsdown in an important case relating to some
property, in which he succeeded on appeal, and used
to say that he felt it a compliment to have been
selected. From 1836 to 1841, when he was raised to the
bench,1 Knight, afterwards Sir James Knight
Bruce, enjoyed the best of the business before
Vice-Chancellor Shad well, and Bethell was con
stantly associated with him. A brilliant and in
domitable advocate, he too would adopt a tone of
intellectual superiority towards his opponents, and
as he swept away their arguments, eye them
through his glasses with an air of whimsical com
passion which was a very effective method of
advocacy. Like many another successful advocate
he scarcely fulfilled in a judicial capacity the highest
expectations of his friends.
In those days Leach, who had succeeded Plumer
as Master of the Rolls, was in the habit of holding
evening sittings. His irritable temper made him the
1 In October 1841 Knight Bruce and Wigram were appointed
additional Vice -Chancellors upon the transfer to the Court of
Chancery of the equitable jurisdiction of the Court of Exchequer.

58 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1822-
terror of all the leaders, but Bethell very soon gained
his ear and commendation. ' Mr. Bethell,' he once
said, ' you understand this matter, as you understand
everything else.' He even asked Bethell to a
dinner at which none but leading counsel, with
the exception of Bethell, were present, and treated
him with marked attention. Leach's ill-considered
despatch and disregard of precedent were as noto
rious as his intemperate deportment towards the
counsel of his Court. Probably no other judge than
Leach ever had occasion to receive a deputation of
the leaders of his Court, who waited upon him to
offer their remonstrances against his discourteous
treatment of the bar. The gentleness of his manner
and the suavity of his address — characteristics in
which Bethell much resembled him — were in
marked contrast to his quick temper and uncom-
plaisant language. Alas, that ' words do sometimes
fly from the tongue that the heart did neither hatch
nor harbour !'
Henceforth, Bethell's time was almost exclusively
occupied with the unremitting labours of his profes
sion. The social distractions of the great city had
few charms for him, and the only relaxation with
which he indulged himself in term time seems to
have been an occasional row with his wife on the
river, when they took a boat where Middle Temple
Lane now joins the Embankment. The little to be
learned of his life, outside the law reports, is con
tained in the few letters to his wife, written on the

1840 PROFESSIONAL LABOURS 59
rare occasions of his absence from her, from one of
which extracts may be given : —
' I am thankful that I got to town in perfect safety. The
journey was a most painfully wearisome one ; we did not reach
town until past eleven o'clock, nor did I get to Chancery Lane till
half-past, and then somewhat the worse for the extremely heavy
shower we had to pass through after we reached Hyde Park
Corner. ' Nothing very material had occurred during my absence, and
our interests had in no respect suffered by the happiness I had
enjoyed in my absence from business with thee. Indeed, had I
known what I learnt on coming to town, that the Master of the
Rolls (Sir John Leach) had been taken suddenly ill yesterday,
and would not sit this evening, I think it would have induced
me to stay to-day with my treasures. I fear this illness of the
Master of the Rolls may be a fatal one, or at all events incapa
citate him from sitting again before the long vacation, in which
case the bar will sustain a great loss through the consequent
stagnation of business. 1 . . .
' The difference between your atmosphere and this is hardly
conceivable. Saturday night and Sunday London was enveloped
in a fog as dense and dark as was ever known. You could not
see a yard before you, nor even discern the glimmering of the
lamps in the street. Not a coach could move without flambeaux,
and all communication was in fact suspended. My time is spent
entirely over my papers. Yesterday night I was writing till one
o'clock in the morning. I shall afflict your heart as much as
mine was by the information that the Vice-Chancellor intends to
sit on the Monday next after Christmas, and that I shall be
obliged to leave you all by the six o'clock coach on Monday
morning. It is the most provoking, annoying circumstance that
could possibly happen. Not a day to be given us for repose or
relaxation with our families. I have unfortunately one brief of
great importance, involving all Bostock's fortunes, that I cannot
1 Sir John Leach died in September 1834, and was suc
ceeded by Sir C. C. Pepys, afterwards Lord Cottenham.

60 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1822-
desert, but I shall not accept any other, and as soon as that is
disposed of I shall return and remain with you till we all come
back to town. . . .
' I cannot give you a very good account of business. The
difficulty of getting fees paid is intolerable, and in addition I
have received a letter from Mr. Y  , in which he declines all
thought of returning to chambers, and I must therefore restore
him half of his fee, that is fifty guineas.1 Our rule is not to re
turn anything, but I cannot reconcile it to my conscience as a
just one.' In 1834 Mr. Bethell changed his residence, and
took a house in Upper Bedford Place, Russell
Square, a few doors from where Sir Fitzroy Kelly
lived. He then had the chambers at 3 Stone Build
ings, which he occupied till he ceased to practise at
the bar.
At this period, shoals of informations and peti
tions were being filed in Chancery against corpora
tions and other bodies, with the object of impeaching
their possession or management of property which.
they held as trustees for charitable purposes. These
proceedings were a source of great profit to the
equity draftsmen, and Bethell was engaged in scores
of them. There was much drafting and advising to
be done in the initial stage. Many of the cases
were fought out in Court with an energy and at a
cost corresponding to the importance of the interests
involved ; but more often a compromise was arrived
at, and a scheme was settled in chambers for the
future administration of the charity, and came before
1 This refers to a pupil's fee, which is paid in advance on
entering counsel's chambers.

1840 CHARITY INFORMATIONS 61
the Court for confirmation. It was not necessary
for the relator, the individual who set the Attorney-
General in motion, to have any personal interest in
the matter, and though he was liable to costs if his
interference proved improper, the proceedings ob
viously offered some temptation to litigious persons.
Still the informations were undoubtedly of service
in remedying and preventing the notorious abuses
of charity funds. They afforded constant occupa
tion for Bethell's now numerous pupils, and excellent
opportunities for arguments which took a wide range
of theological and historical disquisition such as he
delighted in.
He held very strong views on the expediency
of the systematic education of law students in first
principles, and would have his pupils read the Civil
Law as the only satisfactory basis of legal study.
The high standard of training which he recom
mended had sometimes the beneficial effect of dis
couraging those whose capacity was obviously ill
fitted to meet the exactions of professional life.
To one of his pupils who had shown little aptitude
for instruction he said, ' F  , read the Pandects ;
not only read the Pandects, absorb them.' F 
betook himself to the digest, but found the process
of absorption so slow and distasteful that he soon
abandoned his legal studies for an occupation better
suited to his ability.
Half a century ago most lawyers, counsel as
well as solicitors, had their habitation in or near

62 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1822-
the legal quarter. In those days of early dinners
and evening consultations, when men in good prac
tice, especially on the common law side, often did
not leave their chambers before nine or ten in the
evening, there was much convenience in having a
residence not far remote from the scene of labour.
Up to 1837, Mr. Bethell had dwelt exclusively in
the vicinity of the Courts, but in that year he re
moved to the neighbourhood of Regent's Park.
Here some of the younger of his eight children were
born. As his practice grew larger, he preferred to
take a house for the summer months, and spend
the long vacation at some seaside place, where
his energies, depressed by the almost unbroken
labours of the preceding nine months, might be
quickly braced by change of air, scene, and occu
pation. Littlehampton became at this period his
favourite resort ; the simplicity and freedom of the
place, with its single terrace of houses, attracted
him, and the pebble beach and sands, which at low
water stretch for miles along the coast, gave an
equal delight to the hard -worked lawyer and his
children. He was always ready to take part in
their games of cricket or rounders on the green
facing the sea, or to bring his mind to bear on the
difficulties of flying a kite. When the children
grew older he taught them to row and ride, and,
mounted on a favourite chestnut, would often head a
party in a gallop on the sands.

1840 LIFE AT LITTLEHAMPTON 63
These intervals of relaxation were like a late boy
hood to him. His childhood had been clouded by
such grave and distracting anxiety for his parents
and his own future, that he had become prematurely
old in his experience of the hard realities of life ;
and this in after years made it more delightful to
him to relax the strain of prolonged application,
and renew his youth in the companionship of his
children. Those who had only met the stern, cyni
cal advocate in the precincts of the Courts would
have marvelled to see him riding, rowing, or sailing
with his children, and hear him singing snatches of
old airs as he revelled in the rest and sea-breeze.
No one had better learned the lesson ' to mix his
blood with sunshine, and to take the winds into his
pulses.' John Bethell was a constant and welcome visitor
at these times, and the brothers frequently went out
sailing together, taking their guns on the chance of
getting a shot at sea-fowl. On one occasion their
adventure nearly came to a tragical issue. They
were sailing off Bognor, when they descried several
dark-coloured objects, which they took to be por
poises, gambolling in the sea, at a little distance.
Paddling up quietly within range they loaded their
guns, and were about to take aim, when white arms,
belonging to one of the floating objects, were sud
denly flung into the air, above the inflated bathing
dress, revealing to the would-be sportsmen the
alarming fact that the objects of their aim were

64 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1822-
ladies, not porpoises. The ladies, it appeared,
being expert swimmers, had been tempted by the
solitude of the spot to enjoy a bathe. One of the
party afterwards became Lady Russell, but it is
improbable that she ever knew of the peril in which
she and her companions had been. Mr. Bethell
was so delighted with the charms of Littlehampton
and the valley of the Arun that he bought two
small houses fronting the sea, and for several years
made one or other of them his vacation residence.
A slight and unfinished, but graceful sketch,
written by his eldest daughter shortly before her
death1 for the information of her own children,
gives some idea of his home life at this period,
and an extract from her recollections may be given
in her own words : —
' The first home I can remember was a large old house in
Southampton Buildings. My father made the ground floor sit
ting-room his chambers, and my earliest recollection is of a long
table covered with his papers, briefs, and books, and my mother
sitting at it writing from his dictation, as it was her delight to do.
He often said the act of writing cramped the flow of his thoughts
and ideas. He dictated freely in one unbroken flow of words,
never hesitating or changing a word or expression. Later on my
parents lived in Upper Bedford Place, and my father had chambers
in Chancery Lane. Every evening he would bring his papers
into the room where we were sitting and work away, reading or
writing, perfectly undisturbed by our chatter, games, or music,
every now and then lifting his head to join in the talk or praise
the music, as the case might be. Often he would join in our
1 The Hon. Mrs. T. E. Abraham, Lord Westbury's eldest
child, died at Florence in 1880.

1840 A DAUGHTER'S REMINISCENCES 65
games, or read Shakspeare to us, or call upon us to repeat any
pieces of poetry we might have lately learnt. His acquaintance
with and love for poetry were very great His whole nature was
full of it, although its activity was overlaid by the dry and daily
drudgery of the law. To him might well be applied the words
of Sir Philip Sydney: "Who is it that ever was a scholar that
doth not carry away some verses which in his youth he learnt,
and even in old age serve him for hourly lessons ? " How he
loved to quote to us passages from his favourites, Beattie and
Wordsworth. I can never forget the fervid utterance with which,
his eyes suffused with tears, he would quote those well-known lines
from the fourth book of Wordsworth's " Excursion," beginning,
' " One adequate support
For the calamities of human life
Exists  "
' The celebrated lines of the Roman Emperor Hadrian ad
dressed to his soul,1 were greatly esteemed by my father. He once
gave me these lines to learn by heart when I was a girl, and
many years afterwards was delighted at my referring to them
when he was reading " Gerontius," a poem which he regarded
with great admiration. Of modern poets I think Byron was
his favourite,2 although Wordsworth had a great charm for
him. He did not take so much pleasure in the new poets of
his generation, and would say of their works, as he did of many
of the magazine articles of the day, "This is a mere sound of
words to me ; I can find no sense in it." Still, parts of " In
Memoriam," and many of Robert Browning's and Matthew
Arnold's poems pleased him greatly. He had a most sound
1 'Animula, vagula, blandula,
Hospes, comesque corporis,
Quae nunc abibis in loca,
Pallidula, frigida, nudula,
Nee, ut soles, dabis joca ? '
2 Of ' Childe Harold ' he would repeat whole stanzas, and he
never wearied of the noble verse commencing, ' The beings of
the mind are not of clay.'
VOL. I 5

66 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1822-1840
and retentive memory, with great aptness in quotation. In
reading aloud his articulation was clear and distinct ; if a
pathetic subject, he had les larmes a la voix ; but he could
read humorous passages with thorough appreciation of the fun.
I can hear him now as Jack Cade's companion, Dick : " The
first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers." I think our youthful
minds never quite forgave Shakspeare for such an utterly shocking
suggestion.' The law is an imperious mistress, and brooks no
rival. Like Sir William Blackstone, the legal prac
titioner finds it necessary to bid farewell to his Muse
as he becomes immersed in professional toils. But
many a lawyer wisely seeks to counteract the warp
of pedantry, and the mental one-sidedness which
follows an exclusive devotion to a single pursuit by
turning in his leisure to works of imagination as a
relief from labour in which that faculty finds no
scope. Mr. Bethell delighted in fairy tales and
every kind of romance. The Arabian Nights,
Robinson Crusoe, Gullivers Travels, and Peter
Wilkins were books which he insisted should be
read by everybody, for they retained their interest
to the very end of life.

CHAPTER III
1840-1847
Is appointed Q.C. — Selects V.-C. Shadwell's Court — Qualifications for
leading practice — Influence over the Vice-Chancellor— Method
and merits of his advocacy — Obtains a prominent lead — Peculi
arities of manner — Is challenged to a duel — Residence at High-
gate — Classical tastes — Appointed Counsel to Oxford University
— Management of cases — Scheme to promote legal education.
In Hilary Term 1840 Mr. Bethell's position justi
fied Lord Cottenham in granting his application for
a silk gown. In most cases 'taking silk ' is attended
with anxiety, for it results very often in a tem
porary diminution of income, and sometimes in a
total loss of it. The qualities which have gained
success- for the junior do not necessarily fit him for
leading business. The new Queen's Counsel must
forego the fees he has been accustomed to receive for
drafting and pupils, and though those on his briefs
and cases are higher by one-third, or more, than
the fees marked for the stuff-gownsman, some little
time must elapse before he can obtain a prominent
lead. At the time when Bethell was called within
the bar the number of Queen's Counsel scarcely
exceeded sixty ; there are now more than thrice as

68 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1840-
many. It was not then the custom to give silk for
mere political considerations, without due regard to
professional ability and position. The clear line of
distinction which half a century ago separated the
junior bar from their leaders is now less plainly de
fined. The number of ' stranded ' Queen's Counsel
is always on the increase, and not a few rarely hold
a brief of their own.
Bethell was pre-eminently fitted for leading
business. He had long before made his mark as
a lawyer, but the inner bar afforded a larger field
for the display of his remarkable powers of advo
cacy. Some few of the Chancery leaders were then
in the habit, which has since become universal,1 of
confining their practice, except in appeals, to a
single court, and Bethell selected Vice-Chancellor
Shadwell's. On the Common Law side it was never
the custom, and latterly it has been practically im
possible, except in the Probate Division, to follow
the same rule. The cases in the general lists are
not assigned to any particular judge, and the judges
have no separate courts of their own. A cause may
be in one judge's list to-day, and if not reached, be
tried before another judge to-morrow. The re
sult is that frequent complaints arise through the
inability of counsel to attend to their briefs. This
inconvenience can seldom happen in the Chancery
Division. The client is pretty sure of getting the
1 It was not until 1854 that the Chancery Queen's Counsel
adopted a resolution pledging them to this course.

i»47 : JUDGES AND COUNSEL ' 69
undivided attention of the leader he has briefed,
which is a considerable advantage. On the other
hand, the system which obtains among the equity
leaders is not wholly free from objection. A
judge naturally has his predilections and preju
dices, and has been known to carry them very far
in his treatment of counsel, who must, in accord
ance with their self-imposed rule, continually appear
before him. It then becomes necessary for them
to study his idiosyncrasies and humour his known
foibles. In this way the leaders of the Court lose
some of their independence, and the judge is exposed
to the risk of becoming dictatorial, if not unfair.
Sir Lancelot Shadwell was by universal con
sent free from any such imputation. No truer
description of this judge can be given than in
the oft -quoted words by which Sir James Knight
Bruce paid an eloquent tribute to his memory :
' A judge distinguished for his great knowledge
of the law he administered ; distinguished for his
various acquirements ; distinguished for his un
wearied patience ; swift to hear ; slow to wrath ;
pure and blameless in his life ; an example of
courtesy, gentleness, and amenity ; who never uttered
a word intended to give pain, nor harboured one
unkind thought, or one acrimonious feeling.' Over
the Vice -Chancellor's mind Bethell soon came to
exercise a marked influence ; and his lucid arguments
and tactical ability had, it is said, an overwhelm
ing effect in cases of judicial uncertainty.

70 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1840-
It seems to be in accordance with some law of
nature that a strong judge generally leans on the
strongest counsel in his court. Pemberton is said to
have had the same influence over Lord Langdale ;
and it was a common thing for his opponent to say
in consultation, ' I think we are right ; but it's no use,
Pemberton is on the other side.' It was natural
that solicitors should be quick to mark this circum
stance by employing the successful advocate, and
Bethell's practice advanced by leaps and bounds.
Between him and the Vice-Chancellor there grew a
close and uninterrupted friendship. Though their
characters were in many respects very dissimilar,
they had tastes in common which drew them to
gether. Sir Lancelot was an excellent swimmer
and oarsman, and delighted in all kinds of open-air
exercise. He occasionally entertained the Bethells
at Barn Elms, a pleasant resort for men who were
never so happy as when in, on, or near the river.
Bethell's most frequent opponent in the Court
which he had chosen was Stuart, afterwards a Vice-
Chancellor, a man of commanding presence — the
great highlander, as he was called — but neither in
legal knowledge nor advocacy a match for Bethell.
Subsequently, they sat on opposite sides of the
House of Commons, so that their opposition may
be said to have been perennial. The promotion of
Knight Bruce and Wigram, and the premature
death of Jacob in 1841, threw open the Court to
the younger men, and Bethell stepped at once into

1 847 CHARACTERISTICS OF HIS ADVOCACY 71
the foremost rank. For the next ten years, there
was hardly a case of any importance in his Court
in which he was not engaged. He quickly gained
notoriety in the profession for the most remarkable
qualifications — prompt perception, mastery of detail,
logical argument, and, above all, indefatigable dili
gence, with that thorough confidence in his own
powers which Dr. Johnson declared to be the first
requisite to great undertakings. With such an
intellectual equipment he necessarily became a great
advocate, and might be expected to rank among the
foremost men of his day.
The signal excellence of his advocacy was, first
of all, clearness of exposition, the outcome of an
amazing quickness of apprehension, and the art of
expressing the nicest dependencies of thought in
their logical order and in luminous and forcible
language. To his vigorous grasp of the facts of a
case and the perspicuity with which he determined
their relation to the issues he added a power of
exposition, which enabled him to drive his argument
into the ear of a judge with irresistible force. ' Clear
ness of expression,' he used to say, ' measures the
strength or vigour of conception. If you have really
grasped a thought, it is easy enough to give it
utterance.' He had also the rare power of lifting his
subject on to a higher level, and bringing a theory
to the test of original principles.
Another distinctive feature of his method was
the command of a finished diction. He was mindful

72 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1840-
of the best maxim in elocution — to speak with
deliberation. 'A slow speech,' says Lord Bacon,
' confirmeth the memory, addeth a conceit of wisdom
to the hearers, besides a seemliness of speech
and countenance.' Bethell let slip no sentence so
clumsily that the next had to be hastened to cover
the retreat of the other ; nor did he repeat himself
except for emphasis and with design. ' Speak,
speak, speak,' was his advice to a Scotch friend,
' coolly, composedly. Do not be fluttered, like the
Scotch Unicorn, but stand boldly like the Lion.'
Unlike the majority of speakers, he introduced the
largest amount of matter in the fewest possible
words. His arguments were so concise, and at
the same time so aptly expressed, that shorthand
writers were compelled to follow him attentively
for fear of missing some sentence, the omission
of which would destroy the value of the report.
There were few of those repetitions and unneces
sary phrases which abound in most speeches, and
are so easily detected by the practised listener.
Each sentence was complete in itself, and conveyed
its meaning in language always well chosen, and
often extremely felicitous. His voice was clear and
musical, and, as he warmed to his argument, it
gained a volume, and there was a touch of sympathy
which, coupled with the quaint wit of his illustra
tions, gave intellectual entertainment to his audience.
When he was replying in any great case the Court
was usually crowded with the ablest young men,

1 847 FORENSIC POWERS 73
fresh from the University, who considered that to
hear Bethell was a liberal education in advocacy.
Over such an audience he exercised the greatest
possible sway as a man of speech — clear and con
vincing. For hours he would maintain an unbroken
fluency, without once changing an expression or
losing the balance of his sentences. Every address
was an oration, gradually unfolded, enlarged, and
completed. But his studied articulation and the
slow, syllabic pronunciation of his words — what
Sir Thomas Wilde (afterwards Lord Truro) called
the ' man-millinery' of his style — gave an impression
of superciliousness which, in a popular assembly,
rather marred the effect of his address, and pre
judiced his claim to oratory. ' Deep self-possession,
an intense repose' characterised him. No interrup
tion disconcerted him ; never off his guard, he
showed the same sublime unconcern for interruptions,
whether proceeding from the bench or from opposing
counsel. 'S  must not be too sensitive,' he
wrote not long before his death. ' I had, when a
young man, often disagreeable observations made
to me by judges, but I always treated them with
the most perfect indifference and contempt.'
One of the earliest cases in which he was re
tained to lead was a heavy suit, in which it was
sought to make two of the members of a firm
of solicitors responsible for a fraud practised on the
Court by their co-partner in conjunction with other
parties, of which fraud the defendant solicitors were

74 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1840-
wholly ignorant. The pleadings and evidence were,
even for those days, very voluminous. Bethell led
for the plaintiffs, and sixteen counsel represented
the various defendants. After arguments, which
occupied several days, the Vice-Chancellor decided,
in accordance with the plaintiff's contention, that
the innocent partners, as well as all the actual
parties to the transaction, were liable to make good
the money which had been obtained by the fraud.
Bethell's successful management of this important
case ensured him the most prominent lead in his
own Court. In 1842 he also established his position
as a leader in appeals in the Lord Chancellor's Court ;
and it became evident that the highest honours of
the profession lay within his grasp.
It cannot be denied that Bethell's extraordinarily
rapid rise had been accompanied with a greater in
dulgence in the art of sarcasm, which was with him
a peculiarity of speech and manner rather than a
defect in disposition. Wit and satire are not forces
which win popularity or affection from those at whose
expense they are exercised. A man who is honest
enough to confess in his heart of hearts that he is a
fool will bitterly resent the imputation, though com
ing with a little more circumstance from the mouth
of another. Bethell felt that, intellectually, he had
a giant's strength ; when roused by pretentiousness
or humbug, he was prone to use it as a giant.
Like Macaulay, he showed himself too confident of
his splendid gifts. He was impatient of very timid

1847 CAUSES OF HIS UNPOPULARITY 75
people as well as of dull ones, and took no pains
to conceal the feeling. Rather, probably, from con
sciousness of his superior abilities than from any
wilful indifference to the feelings of others, he had
the fatal habit of setting people right in a quiet,
deliberate fashion, which gave intense irritation.
It is not surprising that these characteristics
excited antagonism among his professional brethren.
His remarkable success provoked envy and detrac
tion, while his too confident display of intellectual
pre-eminence distressed humbler minds. Every ill-
natured, stinging remark which wit could devise came
to be referred to him. He stood sponsor for most of
the good things which went the round of the bar.
Many of the stories were, of course, absolutely un
true ; with a still larger proportion he had no real
connection. When once a reputation for sarcasm
has been acquired by a well-known person, it needs
little personal effort to sustain it. Every well-in
vented story or piquant bon mot, which is without
satisfactory parentage or credentials, may be safely
attributed to him, provided it bear some appearance
of probability. Bethell was utterly heedless of mis
conception and antagonism. Many men who are
very acceptable in general society are less pleasing
in their own homes. It was just the reverse with
him. The whole profession recognised the great
erudition, the acute perception, the fine and caustic
vein of sarcasm, and the lucid method of the ad
vocate ; but his few intimates only knew his geniality

76 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1840-
in domestic life, his generous sympathy with the dis
tressed, and the real kindliness of his disposition.
It must not, however, be supposed that his
manner was without precedent at the Chancery
bar. Other leading counsel of that day gave free
play to similar characteristics. The peculiarity in
his case was that the effect was magnified by the
contrast between the pungency of his words and
the suavity of voice and manner which accompanied
them — ' as the soft plume gives swiftness to the dart.'
On one occasion a personal encounter took place
outside the Vice-Chancellor's Court, as the result
of what had been said by Bethell within. He was
assaulted by another member of the bar ; or, as
some one afterwards described it, Bethell's irritating
language provoked a retort which took the unusual
and unprofessional form of personal violence applied
to his nasal organ. It would seem that the by
standers intervened before Bethell could revenge
himself, and his assailant, whose temper was so
beyond control, shortly afterwards left the bar and
secured a good position in a more congenial sphere.
What made Bethell's personal allusions peculiarly
maddening was that they usually consisted in the
statement of a plain, naked, unanswerable truth,
conveyed in the neatest possible terms, with a
measured gentleness which gave them an added
keenness. Sir Fitzroy Kelly, then facile princeps
in Westminster Hall, was at one period frequently
brought into the Chancery Courts to do battle with

1 847 CHALLENGED TO A DUEL 77
Bethell. On these occasions Bethell, as if bent on
showing that the equity practitioners were unrivalled
in their own domain, was always at his very best.
When Kelly, hard pressed by the telling force of
his opponent's argument, hastily and warmly inter
posed, ' I never heard of such a thing in my life ! '
Bethell, quite undisturbed by the interruption, would
reply in the blandest tones with his best smile, ' No,
no ; I am aware you never did. We do those
things here.'
In truth, he cared for neither praise nor blame.
Confident in his own powers, he felt no need of the
one or apprehension of the other. He was too
much in the habit of thinking aloud, without regard
to the effect which the expression of his thoughts
might have on the minds of others. ' His heart's
his mouth : what his heart forges that his tongue
must vent.' There is perhaps no more unfailing
source than this of unpopularity.
These peculiarities sometimes brought him into
collision with others besides the members of his
own profession, and on one occasion he was very
nearly involved in a duel by the use of an expres
sion which was regarded as an insult by the person
to whom it was addressed. The course which
Bethell took on receiving the challenge was singu
lar, and showed that he was bent on giving the
satisfaction demanded. If he had put himself in
the hands of a friend of his own age he would have
no doubt encountered an outcry at the bare idea of

78 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1840-
the ' father of a family' exposing his precious life, and
steps of some kind might have been taken to avert
the peril. He apparently saw that, and therefore
entrusted the matter to a friend who had lately been
a pupil in his chambers. This gentleman, accord
ing to his own account, felt very proud at the notion
of the great man reposing such a delicate trust in
him ; and perhaps this feeling may have blinded
him in some measure to the ugliness of the scrape
in which he would be involved if the pere de famille
were sacrificed ; at all events he accepted the office.
Bethell's blood was up, and he was keen for the
encounter ; he declared that fight he would, and
there must be no 'knocking under.' However, his
friend made it a condition of undertaking the affair
that Bethell should place himself entirely in his
hands. The challenge came from a naval officer to
whom Bethell had let his furnished house at
Littlehampton. The tenant had written to his
landlord with reference to the tenancy, and added
a complaint that the stock of kitchen utensils was
insufficient. Bethell replied to the first part of the
letter in an unobjectionable manner, but upon the
latter part wrote thus : ' With respect to the pots
and pans, be so good as to communicate with my
agent.' At this the officer took great umbrage, and,
without more ado, wrote Bethell a challenge. Upon
reading the letter Bethell's friend observed that the
words of challenge were followed by violent, trucu-

1 847 HIS REAL KINDLINESS 79
lent expressions, and, inexperienced though he was,
he knew enough of the rules governing affairs of
honour to be aware that by this breach of the usual
courtesies the challenger had forfeited his right to
redress. He therefore wrote to the officer, stating
that the affair was in his hands, but that he could
not allow his principal to give satisfaction unless the
violent language was withdrawn. This part of his
communication was framed in stern conventional
terms, but other words followed, breathing a more
kindly spirit, and calculated to give the aggrieved
officer an opening for recourse to a less violent
method of asserting his honour. The next day,
much to his relief, he received a letter from the
challenger full of heart and good feeling, and in
the result he had no difficulty in terminating the
quarrel to the satisfaction of both parties.
But though men of his own standing had often
reason to resent Bethell's pedantic assertion of superi
ority, and the scathing wit with which he assailed
any one who thwarted his purposes or wounded his
amour propre, to the younger members of his pro
fession, and indeed to all who needed his aid, he
was singularly considerate. Those who were ready
to make some allowance for the peculiarities of his
manner found that there lay behind an apparent
hauteur and supercilious reserve a natural kindness
of disposition, for which others who were prejudiced
by those appearances gave him no credit. He lived
so apart from the world at that time, and was so

80 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1840-
little subject to the influences of general society,
that few persons had the opportunity of gaining
the intimate knowledge of his character which was
in his case the condition precedent of friendly in
tercourse. The growing delicacy of his wife's health in
duced Mr. Bethell for a time to abandon his London
residence, and in 1841 he removed to Lauderdale
House, Highgate. It was a curious, rambling, old-
fashioned mansion, built in the year 1660 by Lord
Lauderdale, the well-known member of the Cabal
in the reign of Charles II., and, according
to Macaulay, the most dishonest man in a noto
riously unscrupulous age. The house, so the tradi
tion ran, had at one time been occupied by Nell
Gwynne. It stands almost on the crest of High-
gate Hill, but although so close to the town, a
visitor might, on passing through the tall iron gate
into the terraced gardens, fancy himself, were it not
for the grand view over London, in the very heart of
the country. The gardens were the great charm of
the place to Mr. Bethell, for they gave him the
perfect retirement and freedom which he loved in
his home life. In the very early summer mornings
he would saunter about the grounds, sometimes
mastering the contents of a brief, at others reading
some volume of poetry or the classics — ' the parole
of literary men.' Though he had little time for
general reading he always seemed to be well up in
the more important literature of the day, for he had

1 847 RESIDENCE AT HIGHGATE 81
the happy art of extracting the gist of a subject
by what appeared to be a mere cursory examination.
When disposed for more active exercise, he would
occasionally pull the garden roller up and down the
long terrace at five or six o'clock in the morning.
After the eight o'clock breakfast, if the weather was
fine, he mounted his horse and rode off at a canter
to Lincoln's Inn, where the inevitable red bag of
briefs and papers had been sent on beforehand.
Considering the circumstances of his youth, it
is surprising that he should so readily have taken
to riding, driving, and every other description of
outdoor exercise. A day's partridge or pheasant
shooting gave him keen delight, and one of his
favourite castles in the air was to retire from public
life while he should still have strength and energy
to enjoy the pursuits of a country life. He used to
say that to end his days growing his own olives in
Savoy was the height of his ambition. He was
never so thoroughly happy as when on horseback.
In summer some of his children often met him on
their ponies, at his chambers or on the road home,
and he would explore with them the lanes and
villages of the suburbs.
His two eldest sons commenced their school life
as day scholars at Highgate school, then, and for
many years after, under the Rev. Dr. Dyne as head
master. The boys were after a short time removed,
principally to relieve their mother, always delicate
in health, from some of the cares which the home
VOL. i 6

82 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1840-
education of boys, while there is a young family
growing up, always entails. But the friendly inter
course between the families thus originated continued
during Mr. Bethell's residence at Highgate. Dr.
Dyne wrote to Lord Westbury's eldest daughter
some years after : —
' It was a real pleasure when your father returned from his
London work, to join them, as I sometimes did, for an hour after
tea, with his family around him. He would turn from a mass of
law papers upon which he was engaged and enter into an animated
discussion on some passage of a classical author, or on the general
views of the author, which seemed as fresh in his recollection as if
he had only just read them— and all this without showing the least
annoyance at having been drawn away from his papers, which
were still faithfully read before he left home for the Courts the
next morning.
' His elder daughters, in spite of the professional pressure
which must have then been very heavy upon him, almost daily
received some oral instruction from him which would lead them
to take an interest in studies beyond those generally pursued
in the schoolroom. His life at that time was, as far as those
around could judge, very domestic and full of family affection.
I do not remember to have met with any instance where greater
kindness of heart towards others was combined with large intel
lectual power and cultivation, and a varied knowledge of many
subjects which was perfectly astonishing. I have known him do
acts of kindness to his professional brethren, merely because
they had been associated with him in Court, but were not so
successful as he had been — men with whom he had no special
intercourse and felt no intellectual sympathy.'
Mr. B. B. Rogers, himself one of the most dis
tinguished of the alumni of Wadham, was at High-
gate school at this period, and Mr. Bethell would
often make the boy stand at the other end of the

1847 COUNSEL TO HIS UNIVERSITY 83
long drawing-room at Lauderdale House and recite
some classical passage. On one occasion Mr.
Bethell himself repeated from memory the whole of
the first chorus of the Agamemnon, upwards of two
hundred lines, with perfect delight. ' He was,' says
Mr. Rogers, 'the finest classical scholar I ever
knew.' Frequent proof of the readiness with which in
his scanty intervals of leisure he would merge the
practical lawyer in the philosophical scholar is found
in his private correspondence. In September 1846
he writes to Mrs. T. E. Abraham : 'We are once
more restored to Lauderdale House after a little
tour in Cambridgeshire and Norfolk. I know not
when I have felt so much disinclination to travel as
during the present vacation. My former desire to
use each vacation for the purpose of gaining some
new ideas by visiting a new district of country has
pretty well worn itself out, which is certainly a proof
of creeping on old age ; and I have preferred coming
back quietly to Highgate, in the earnest hope of
employing the next five weeks in a profitable study
of jurisprudence, history, and moral philosophy.'
The death of Sir Charles Wetherell in the year
1846 made a vacancy in the post of Counsel to the
University of Oxford, and Mr. Bethell, much to his
satisfaction, was selected to fill it. His pride and
pleasure in becoming thus officially connected with
his own University were increased by the fact that
the appointment was made and notified to him by

84 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1840-
Dr. Symons, Warden of Wadham, who was Vice-
Chancellor at the time, and had always maintained a
steady friendship with his former pupil.
At this time many of the newly-formed rail
way companies became involved in litigation both
with each other in their competitive undertakings
and with the owners of the lands taken. The pro
visions of the Lands and Railways Clauses Consoli
dation Acts were continually receiving judicial inter
pretation in the Courts, and the great agency
firms vied with each other in their eagerness to
secure Bethell's services. For some he was re
tained generally, for others specially, the clients
taking care to put the cases down for hearing in
Vice-Chancellor Shadwell's Court. The fees and
refreshers paid by the companies in the fierce heat
of their rivalry were such as none but corporate
bodies could afford, forming a disbursement which
had to be met independently of the result ; and as
the bills of costs of their legal advisers were not
taxed there was every inducement for lavish ex
penditure. The other leaders in Vice-Chancellor Shadwell's
Court were very sensible of the influence which
Bethell's tactical ability had upon the chances of
success in doubtful cases. One day, after opening
the plaintiffs case, he was called away to attend to an
appeal in the House of Lords, intending to return
in time for the reply. The leader on the other side,
observing this, whispered to his junior to cut the

1847 SHAD WELL AND BETHELL 85
matter short, so that in Bethell's absence the
plaintiff's other counsel might be compelled to reply,
when probably the defendant would win. The
plaintiff's solicitor happened to overhear the re
mark. He rushed out of Court, got Bethell after
some difficulty to leave the appeal, and took him
back to the Vice-Chancellor's Court just in time to
make a reply which utterly demolished the de
fendant's case.
A single instance of the invincible coolness of
his demeanour in Court may be mentioned here.
In a case before the Vice-Chancellor, Bethell was
proceeding to give his definition of what constituted
an architect : ' An architect, your Honour will ob
serve, is — ¦' when Sir Lancelot Shadwell exclaimed,
' Oh, Mr. Bethell, we all know what an architect is.'
Bethell sat down as if deferring to the Vice-
Chancellor, and expectant of his saying more, but
nothing came. Whereupon he rose and began again
in the same words, giving his definition at elaborate
length, to the great amusement of the bar, while the
good, easy judge rued the moment when he had
attempted to cut Bethell short. His dominion over
Shadwell was complete. ' It is useless to argue in
this Court,' declared one of the other leaders angrily
on Bethell obtaining his third injunction in a fort
night. ' Mr. Vice-Chancellor,' said Bethell in his
gentlest tone, ' I move that this Court adjourn till
my learned friend has recovered his temper.'
He had an extraordinary facility for getting up a

86 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1840.
case, and, what is more rare, an intuition and power
of dealing with bare facts which enabled him to
assume an intimate knowledge of his case when in
reality he had very little. While living at Highgate
he was briefed with his old pupil, Mr. A. W. King-
lake, to apply for an injunction in an important and
rather intricate matter. Bethell did not arrive for
the consultation at Westminster in the morning;
worse still, his brief was unread, as the clerk had
not been able to deliver it overnight, and therefore
the leader knew nothing about the case. He
came into the robing-room at the last moment and
asked his junior as they walked quickly through
the corridor to tell him the more material facts.
As soon as they entered the Court Bethell was
called on by the Vice-Chancellor to move, on which
he untied his papers and opened the case with
admirable effect, translating the few hints which he
had received into an excellent speech. He said
on one occasion that he could not express his utter
contempt for any one who was intentionally unfair
or illogical in his argument. ' With regard to the
facts,' he added, ' they are at your disposal,' mean
ing, no doubt, that you are entitled to lay out your
facts in the form which will most strengthen your
own case ; treat them as you will, they still speak
for themselves. While at Littlehampton, Mr. Bethell, who was
extremely fond of horses, occasionally visited the
training - stables in the neighbourhood, and thus

1847 A SPORTING CASE 87
picked up a knowledge of racing matters which on
one occasion was displayed with considerable effect.
The Earl of Albemarle had a horse which was
thought to have an excellent chance of winning one
of the classic races. The earl, however, died before
the race came off, having on his deathbed given the
horse by way of donatio mortis causa to Lady Albe
marle. After his death there was some doubt as to
the validity of the gift, and it was feared that the
executor might come in with his paramount claim
and take possession of the animal. It was important
to have the control of the favourite pending the race.
In these circumstances Mr. Bethell was instructed
to advise what proceedings should be taken to re
strain the executor from gaining possession of the
horse. There was a consultation at his chambers,
when a large number of conspicuous sporting men
appeared and filled the room. Instead of discussing
the case in the ordinary way Mr. Bethell adapted
his manner to what he thought would best suit his
company, and addressed them in sporting language.
The substance of his advice was as follows : ' You
must guard this horse with ceaseless vigilance night
and day : for that purpose be careful to engage a
sufficient number of men. Now, remember, if any
attempt is made to seize the horse you are not to
strike the first blow ; but if one blow is struck by
the invaders, you may strike twenty.' The sports
men retired, well pleased to find that the rules of
equity so nearly coincided with their ideas of natural

88 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1840-
justice. Though the horse did not win, control of
it was retained until after the race.
The solicitor employed in the case happened to
be a solemn old-fashioned person. Lady Albemarle,
who had been keenly interested in the prospect of
winning, was greatly excited with the apprehension
that the horse might be seized, and said with lively
gesticulation : ' Now, I declare, if an attempt is made
by any one to seize my horse, I'll "scratch" him.'
The solicitor, in his ignorance of sporting phrase
ology, supposed that the Countess intended, in
defence of her ownership, to have recourse to the
lex talionis, and was greatly impressed.
Mr. Bethell had now become the acknowledged
leader of the equity bar. He was also the favourite
counsel in House of Lords cases, including Scotch
appeals, and more than held his own against such
strong opponents as Kelly and Turner, Rolt and
Parker. Sir Thomas Wilde (afterwards Lord Truro)
took care to retain him in an appeal from a decree
of Vice-Chancellor Knight Bruce, setting aside a sale
of land by Lady Wilde, before her marriage, on the
ground of the concealment of a right of way. After
a hard fight, Mr. Bethell succeeded in obtaining
the reversal of the decree, though the propriety of
the decision has been much questioned.1 ' I had
too often witnessed your efforts,' wrote Sir Thomas
Wilde, ' not to be fully aware of the value and force
1 1 Gibson v. D'Este ; • 2 Younge and Collier's Chancery
Cases, 542.

1847 KNIGHT-BRUCE AND ROLT 89
of the unrivalled talent which I had called to my aid,
and the report conveyed to me of the address of
yesterday calls for my thankful acknowledgments
and excites my admiration. While conveying the
sense of my obligations to you, I sincerely hope that
you may speedily, and while a long remnant of years
shall be in store for you, with abundant vigour to
enjoy it, arrive at the elevation to which you are
surely destined, and which you are no less certain to
adorn. ' x
Rolt had made an even more rapid rise than
Bethell, having taken silk within ten years from his
call. Like Knight-Bruce he was very fond of
quoting scraps of Latin, which he had picked up
after he came to the bar, frequently stumbling over
the quantities, much to the disgust of Bethell, who
seldom failed on such occasions to correct him.
One day, when Bethell was sitting in Court reading
his brief, Knight-Bruce and Rolt were quoting
classical passages against each other, and Knight-
Bruce, who disliked Bethell, said : ' Mr. Rolt, we
must be careful how we make our quotations in the
presence of that distinguished scholar, Mr. Bethell.'
Whereupon Bethell coolly remarked : ' I beg your
1 Lady Wilde, that her champion, as she said, might not be
without a trophy of his well-earned triumph, presented Mr.
Bethell with a silver -gilt inkstand. 'I hope,' she wrote, 'the
sight of it will ever be associated with a recollection of the grate
ful feeling which the exercise of his great talents, and the mani
festation of the most kind interest in my behalf, have indelibly
impressed.'

90 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1840-
Lordship's pardon. I thought my learned friend
and yourself were quoting from some Welsh author.'
In a patent case, before one of the Vice-Chan-
cellors the same counsel were opposed, and Rolt
in his opening address said : ' I will now describe to
your Honour the component parts of the contriv
ance for which the patent is claimed.' Bethell
(with a shudder) : ' Component parts — component
parts.' Rolt : ' Oh, very well ; to please the
fastidious taste of my learned friend, I will say,
component parts.' Bethell : 'Not fastidious, not
fastidious, if you please — only classical.'
The Lord Justice was, however, revenged on
another occasion, when Bethell was neatly caught
in a trap laid for him by one of his most sincere
admirers, Mr. E. K. Karslake, Q.C., at the sug
gestion of Mr. Rolt. Sir Richard Bethell (as he
then was) was engaged in a case before the Lords
Justices, Knight-Bruce and Turner ; and after he
had made a very long speech, Mr. Karslake fol
lowed, as his junior — Mr. Rolt led on the other side.
Mr. Karslake referred to the well-known legal
maxim : ' Expressio unius est exclusio alterius,' pur
posely making short the second syllable of the word
'unius.' Sir Richard Bethell at once turned round
and exclaimed : ' Oh, my dear Karslake, what a
false quantity!' — 'Not so,' replied Mr. Karslake,
and quoted the line in the sEneid, 'Unius ob noxam,'
etc. 'Oh yes,' said Lord Justice Knight-Bruce,
' Mr. Karslake is right. There is certainly authority

1 847 VIEWS ON LEGAL EDUCATION 91
for making the second syllable short. That, how
ever, is so in Latin poetry ; but we have been a long
time prosing.'
It is pleasing to note that Mr. Bethell, amid
all the exigencies of an enormous private practice,
devoted time and thought to the general interests of
the profession. His desire to promote legal reforms
found expression, in the year 1846, in an earnest
endeavour to induce the Inns of Court to institute
a system of sound and comprehensive legal educa
tion for their students. In a letter to Lord Lang-
dale, Master of the Rolls, he complains of the
neglect on the part of the benchers of this duty.
' The rules of the several societies,' he said, ' by the observ
ance of which they must be considered, both legally and morally,
as holding their privileges and their possessions, prescribe to the
benchers the duty of seeing that the students do well and dili
gently perform the " moots " 1 or exercises, and attend the " read-
1 Stow gives the following account of 'mooting' in the Inns
of Court : ' In these vacations after supper in the hall, the
reader, with one or two of the benchers, comes in, to whom
one of the utter barristers propounds some doubtful case, which
being argued by the benchers, and lastly, by him that moved the
case, the benchers sit down on the bench at the upper end of
the hall, and upon the form in the middle of the hall sit two
utter barristers, and on both sides of them, on the same form,
sits one inner barrister, who in Law French doth declare to the
benchers some kind of action, the one being, as it were, retained
for the plaintiff and the other for the defendant ; which ended,
the two utter barristers argue such questions as are disputable
within the said case. After which the benchers do likewise
declare their opinions, as how they take the law to be in these
questions.' — Stow's Survey of London, p. 126. Both 'moots'
and ' readings ' as compulsory exercises no longer exist.

92 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1840-
ings," which were admirably adapted to imbue young men with
a sound knowledge of law, and to train them in legal dialectics
and habits of ready application of their knowledge, which were
excellent preparatives for the active duties of their profession.
' These habits fell into disuse during an age which is to be re
marked for its low tone of feeling as to the discharge of public
duties, and I am sorry to say that even in the present times we
have not hitherto shown a great degree of conscientiousness.
Recent circumstances render it the more necessary, and indeed
prudent, that we should give our attention to the subject, and if
possible redeem the time, for one society has just expended
.£100,000 in superb buildings, and by two others the sum of
£60,000 has been lavished on the decorations of a church,1
whilst by neither society is one shilling applied to the legal
education or the moral encouragement of its students ; and will
not this glaring anomaly force the most ordinary observer to con
clude that our duties are not fully or honestly discharged ? '
He proceeded to explain the plan which he had
for two or three years been pressing on the benchers
of the several Inns for the establishment of a com
prehensive system of education for the bar, and be
spoke for it the consideration of Lord Langdale, who
was known to be ardent in his desire for law reform.
In his reply, Lord Langdale, after referring to the
unsuccessful attempt which had been made some
years before by the Inner Temple to establish lec
tures, which, though they excited great interest at
the time, ultimately failed of success — a great dis
couragement to this plan of legal education — ex-
1 The restoration of the Temple Church was completed in
1842. Though in the course of the work the most extensive
repairs were needed, the principle of restoration in its literal
sense was very faithfully observed by the two Societies.

1 847 HIS SCHEME OF LAW LECTURES 93
pressed his satisfaction that the subject was likely
to be reconsidered. 'Could we hope,' he added,
'that the Inns of Court might be induced to con
sider themselves as colleges united in a species of
university established, amongst other things, to
promote legal education ? '
Bethell unfolded the details of his scheme in a
letter addressed to the Treasurer of the Inner
Temple. He advocated founding four chairs for
readers or lecturers on the subjects of real property
law and conveyancing, constitutional and criminal
law, personal property and commercial law, and
equity as administered by the Court of Chancery,
the compulsory attendance of all students at the
lectures on real property law, as being of universal
utility and necessity in all branches of the profession,
and a compulsory examination with competition for
honours and exhibitions. It was part of his plan
that these readers should devote themselves not
only to their separate duties, but to the general and
public purpose of amending, improving, and digest
ing the law.
' I hope, therefore,' he wrote, ' that the institution of such a
body will be noticed by the Government, if not by the Legisla
ture, and that it may be found possible to form them into a
Board of Law (if I may use such a term) ; and to illustrate my
meaning by borrowing another expression, I would first give
them the duty of framing a large ordnance map of the law, that
we may know our road with certainty, for at present, such is the
confusion of modern Acts of Parliament, there are some subjects
on which neither the adviser nor the judge can pronounce an

94 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1840-
opinion without fear and trembling lest he should have over
looked some modern alteration or recent enactment.
' No Government in the present state of our law and legal
institutions would hesitate to avail itself of the aid of such a body,
and if this be accomplished, I shall have given to the readers all
that I desire in professional rank, public utility, increased emolu
ment, and permanent duration.'
The result of his efforts was that the Bench of
his own Inn, the Middle Temple, appointed a lec
turer or reader on jurisprudence and the civil law,
and offered exhibitions to be competed for by the
students in voluntary examinations. The other
three Inns soon followed this excellent -.example,
and the Council of Legal Education was formed to
secure by a common plan of action a system of legal
education, such as that advocated by Mr. Bethell.
In recognition of his exertions he was appointed
Chairman of the Council, a position which he retained
as long as he continued to practise. But compulsory
examination of students as a qualification for the bar
was not adopted until 1872, a few months before the
death of its most persistent advocate.
During the long vacation of 1848 Vice-Chan
cellor Shadwell and his daughters were at Maelswch i-
Castle, a few miles distant from Llangoed, Brecon,
where Mr. Bethell had rented a residence for shoot
ing and salmon-fishing during the autumn months.
Many were the picnics and fishing and boating
excursions in which the two families joined. On
one of these occasions the two eminent lawyers,
stroking rival boats with carefully - picked crews,

1 847 A VACATION IN WALES 95
engaged in a race which, amid deafening shouts from
the bank, resulted after a mighty contest in a dead-
heat. Sir Lancelot was as ready as a boy for any
frolic. He particularly delighted in taking charge
of the children, or as he would put it, letting them
take care of him, in their rides and rambles. ' In
wit a man, simplicity a child,' he won the hearts
of all by his geniality and kindness. His marked
partiality for the leader of his Court had given rise
to the riddle, propounded by some legal wit, ' Why
is Shadwell like King Jeroboam ? — Because he has
set up an idol in Bethell.'
Mr. Bethell revelled in the varied charms of
Llangoed Castle, with its breezy hills and hanging
woods, commanding one of the loveliest views of
the Golden Valley, and dilated on them with all the
appreciative enthusiasm of a true lover of the beauti
ful. ' Capping the woods,' he writes, ' are the Black
Mountains, which reflect the last rays of the setting
sun, and towards evening are constantly delighting
and surprising us by their successive changes of
light and shadow, and the infinite variety of hues
which their bare surfaces are catching from the
sky.' The River Wye ran through the meadows
below the house in a succession of small rapids, its
steep banks fringed with a noble grove of oaks,
chestnuts, and pines, through which wound shel
tered paths. It often brought to his mind, he said,
Milton's description : —

96 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1840-1847
' And when the sun begins to fling
His flaming beams, me, Goddess, bring
To arched walls of twilight groves
And shadows brown, that Sylvan loves,
Of pine or monumental oak.'
He took Llangoed Castle on the recommenda
tion of Sir Lancelot Shadwell for a term of years,
and contemplated many additions and improve
ments, but finding that the air disagreed with Mrs.
Bethell's health, which had become very delicate,
he gave it up after the first summer.

CHAPTER IV
•1847-1852
Attempts to enter Parliament — Political views — Defeated at Shaftes
bury — Returned for Aylesbury — Expelled from Conservative Club
and elected at Brooks's — Position of political parties — Speeches
on Chancery Appeals and Jewish disabilities — Precision of
language — Appointed V.-C. of County Palatine of Lancaster
— Reforms in Chancery procedure — Re-elected at Aylesbury.
Great professional success usually disposes a bar
rister to seek a wider sphere of distinction than the
profession itself affords. In this he has other mo
tives than those of mere ambition. When once a
leader has attained the highest forensic position he
cannot long continue in that stay. He must pass
on into the judicial ranks, or retire into private life,
or begin the inevitable descent. A fashion obtains
in the choice of counsel, which in its rise, duration,
and decline is almost as capricious and fickle as
fashion in other matters : the popular leader holds
his position by a precarious tenure. Mr. Bethell
had already refused the offer of an equity judgeship.
It was hardly to be supposed that a man of such
exceptional powers would, while in his prime, pre
judice his chances of the highest honours and sacri-
vol. 1 7

98 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1847-
fice an enormous income for a puisne judgeship. It
does not appear that he had grown weary of the
advocacy in which he so greatly excelled, but the
times were changed and changing, and the necessity
of a new departure was strongly forced upon him by
his friends. With some reluctance he was induced
by their urgent remonstrances to seek a seat in
Parliament. It had long been a matter for surprise and regret
among his friends that he had confined himself with
such exclusive devotion to his professional pursuits.
They believed that an earlier initiation into public
life would have strengthened and expanded his char
acter, and relieved it from the academic pedantry
which a private education and the narrow confines
of the Courts of Equity had encouraged. They
feared, too, that his mind, so long accustomed to a
purely legal atmosphere, might have acquired a
technical bias which would unfit him for the more
practical work of a public career. He himself con
stantly dwelt with regret on the prospect of having
to exchange the comparative freedom of his pro
fessional position for the restraints of parliamentary
life. 'Why should I,' he used to say, 'take upon
myself this unwelcome addition to my everyday
work ? With my family around me I have every
thing I can desire, and I am perfectly happy and
satisfied with the position I hold in the profession.'
His ambition and pride always lay very much
more in the full development of his professional

1852 INDIFFERENCE TO POLITICS 99
powers as one of the greatest of equity lawyers
than in any parliamentary successes he might obtain.
He had never cared much for ' the sterile din of
politics ; ' and it would seem that at this time he
was indifferent to the doctrines which distinguished
parties. The only rdle for which he was prepared
was that of law reformer, and there has been abun
dant proof during the present century that legal
reforms can be designed and effected as thoroughly
by Conservatives as by Liberals. In matters of
foreign policy, which then occupied the chief atten
tion of public men, he had little interest.
Lord Brougham, who was approaching his 70th
year, had in the four years of his Chancellorship
(1830- 1 834) shown remarkable energy in legal
reform. After quitting office with his party in
1834, he might naturally have expected to resume
his former position when the Whigs came into
office again under Lord Melbourne the follow
ing year, but for reasons connected, it would seem,
with his personal characteristics, he was not re
stored, and the Great Seal was put in commission.1
This neglect rather, it may be, than the change
which the moderating influence of time had made
in his opinions somewhat estranged him from his
1 Lord Campbell had put forward his personal claims, urging,
according to his own account, that from his position and his
services the public would expect that he should be preferred.
But the fear of Lord Brougham's resentment gave Lord Mel
bourne an excuse for refusing. — Vide Lives of the Lord Chancel
lors, vol. viii. p. 466.

ioo LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1847-
party, and in matters of general policy he began
to show some leanings towards Toryism. But he
remained an ardent law reformer, and was destined
to take an important part in the impending changes.
Foreseeing, with his usual acumen, what a strong
ally Bethell might prove, Lord Brougham urged him
to stand for Frome in the Conservative interest at the
general election of 1847, and bespoke for him the
support of the Marchioness of Bath and her father,
Lord Ashburton, the guardian of the then infant
Marquis. The interest of the Wesleyans was all
powerful in the borough, and their vote seemed for
a time uncertain. But the sitting member had
so long held possession undisturbed that, as the
nomination day approached, Mr. Bethell saw that
the fight was a hopeless one, and retired, much
to the chagrin of his partisans at Longleat.
He immediately afterwards allowed himself to be
put in nomination against Mr. R. B. Sheridan for
Shaftesbury. Here again he was very late in the
field, but he entered on his canvass with great spirit,
and is remembered to have made some capital
speeches. The result of the poll, however, was
unfavourable, the numbers being — Sheridan, 213;
Bethell, 176. It was afterwards asserted by his
opponents that, short as his stay was, Bethell
found time to talk the rankest protectionism ; but
he himself declared, when taxed with inconsistency,
that he had canvassed on the principles of Sir
Robert Peel — that there were two kinds of pro-

1852 SEARCH FOR A CONSTITUENCY 101
tectionism. His protectionism was designed to
relieve the tenant-farmer from the burdens and
incumbrances which weighed him down to the
earth, and from the exorbitant rent which he paid
to his landlord. Protection to the landlord he
utterly disclaimed as ' a wicked principle, because
it taxed the bread of the people.'
In 1849 he formed some intention of standing
for the since disfranchised borough of Shoreham in
Sussex. He was solicited, as he afterwards de
clared, by the late Duke of Richmond to come
forward on Peelite principles, and the Protectionist
whip went to his chambers to induce him to forego
his intention. He did forego it, not, as his
political opponents afterwards represented, in con
sequence of the pressure applied by the Protec
tionists, but because, as he himself declared, he was
unwilling, having no property in the county, to
represent so large a constituency. It may, how
ever, be safely assumed that Mr. Bethell was not at
that period counted as one of the Liberal party.
Subsequently he received an invitation to stand
for Salisbury. His recent experiences made him
cautious in accepting the too favourable assur
ances of partisans. So he sent down a confidential
agent to reconnoitre the position. This gentleman
took down with him a sealed packet of instructions,
which he was not to open until he received a
despatch from Mr. Bethell. For twenty-four hours
after his arrival the agent held the field, making the

102 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1847-
acquaintance of the leaders of the party and attend
ing their meetings, but taking particular care not to
commit his principal to any definite action. Then
the despatch arrived, and the packet, on being
opened, was found to contain a polite, but definite
refusal by Mr. Bethell to be nominated.
It does not seem that these disappointments
weighed heavily on him ; he was content to wait
his time. The removal by death of Sir Lancelot
Shadwell from the Court in which Mr. Bethell
had so long enjoyed supremacy probably made him
keener for a change in his position.1 Several of
his contemporaries, merely through political claims,
had reached the bench, and he was constrained to
practise before men whom he might, without dis
respect, consider his inferiors in ability. Moreover,
there were unsettling influences abroad ; great
changes were contemplated in Chancery practice ;
new courts with new judges were about to be
constituted. Bethell was expected to take a leading
part in framing the new procedure.
Early in 185 1 the Conservatives of Coventry
applied to his friend, Mr. T. E. Rogers, with the
view to ascertain whether Mr. Bethell could be
induced to contest the borough in their interest.
1 The Vice-Chancellor died in August 1850. Within a week
of his death he wrote to Mr. Bethell : ' A little returning strength
enables me to express the warmest wishes for the prosperity of
yourself, Mrs. Bethell, and all your family. In public life I shall
never be able to appear again ; but I hope always to be able to
wish you the prosperity that you justly deserve.'

1 852 INDEPENDENCE OF PARTY 103
He seems to have been at this time in a state of
political transition, and to have shared the perplexity
in which the peculiar condition of parties had placed
many moderate men. The Whig Government of
Lord John Russell was drawing to the close of its
inglorious existence, but the opposition of the Peel-
ites to Lord John Russell's action on the question of
Papal Aggression had estranged many of the Anti-
Papal party who might otherwise have thrown in
their lot with the Conservatives. The following
extracts from a letter written by Mr. Bethell at this
juncture explain the peculiarity of his position: —
' I have always considered myself one of Sir R. Peel's party,
but the conduct of the would-be leaders, Sir J. Graham and
others, in the recent debate, renders it impossible for me to
rank as one of their followers. I cannot for a moment agree
with Sir J. G., either on the question of Papal Aggression or the
extension of the franchise, and I am somewhat disgusted with
the whole of his recent conduct.1 With the Protectionist party I
could not possibly act. To become an ally of the present feeble,
imbecile, ne'er-do-well Government would be equally impossible.
'I really do not know, therefore, on what footing to come forward.
My own views are, I imagine, quite clear and decided, but I am
afraid they would be regarded as a sort of " coat of many colours,"
a kind of patchwork vestment composed of pieces taken from
each of the contending parties. I am afraid I should appear to
be a sort of nondescript, and that the electors would as little
understand my principles as they would my independence
1 The Ecclesiastical Titles Assumption Bill, introduced by
Lord John Russell, was read a second time after seven nights'
debate on 25th March 1851. Sir James Graham spoke and voted
against it, on the ground of its interference with civil liberty.
He had expressed his willingness to entertain the general ques
tion of some extension of the franchise.

104 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1847-
and indifference to the ordinary objects of ambition. As to
Coventry, Edward Ellice is a very old and crafty electionist. If
he has not pledged the Government to any man, I do not think
they would oppose me, but I fear this would not suit Mr.
Wilmot's party. I mean, suppose I was announced on Peel
principles of Free Trade and Liberal-Conservatism, but decidedly
Anti-Papal, and that at the same time it should appear I had
the Government support, or at least non-opposition, would this
latter circumstance cause me to be considered as " neither hot
nor cold," and therefore to be rejected? I shall be at the
House of Lords to-morrow from ten o'clock. If not otherwise
engaged, can you come and speak to me there about two, and I will
ascertain from the Lord Chancellor the views of the Government ? '
The Coventry Conservatives were unwilling to
be represented by so lukewarm a politician, and the
negotiation fell through. Mr. Bethell's own ex
planation shows that his views, clear and decided
though they might appear to himself, were not
those of a partisan ; nor, indeed, was he of the
stuff from which party - men are made. Both
Liberals and Conservatives had been in a state
of disorganisation since the repeal of the Corn
Laws, and party -lines were for the time confused.
But after making all deductions for these circum
stances it is evident that Mr. Bethell's political
sympathies had undergone some change, and that,
slowly but surely, he was veering towards Liberalism.
In the same month a vacancy occurred at
Aylesbury through the unseating, on petition, of Mr.
Calvert, one of the two members,1 and at the
1 The death of Lord Nugent had caused a by-election, and
Mr. Calvert's return was successfully impeached on the ground
of general treating in the constituency.

1852 CONTESTS AYLESBURY 105
request of Mr. (afterwards Sir William) Hayter,
Mr. Bethell boldly came forward as an Anti-
Protectionist against Mr. Bousfield Ferrand, who
was then generally supposed to be the most violent
and formidable antagonist that could be met on
the hustings. A third candidate, Mr. Houghton,
a Liberal, who had just been defeated by Mr.
Calvert, also announced his intention of standing,
but on the powerful support of the Rothschilds
being procured by Lord Brougham for Mr. Bethell,
he was persuaded to retire. The constituency num
bered 1292 votes, and party- spirit, as is usually the
case after a successful petition, ran high.
It might have been supposed that Mr. Bethell's
distinguishing abilities would have been lost on the
average elector, and that his precision of manner
would stand in the way of his becoming a popular
candidate ; but his nimble wit and the promptitude
with which he met adverse criticism astonished even
the friends who had gone down with him. But
though his speeches obtained a good hearing he was
less successful in canvassing, which indeed he
utterly abhorred. ' He was very irritable,' writes
Mr. Robert Gibbs of Aylesbury, who often accom
panied him in his rounds, 'and could not endure
"those bores," who, as electors, were continually
applying for some private advantages. You would
be surprised at the fatal effect which a dissolution
had on horses, donkeys, pigs, etc. Every man who
had lost one of these animals had an idea that it

106 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1847-
was the candidate's duty to replace it.' When
annoyed by these importunities, Mr. Bethell, it
seems, was wont to express himself with surprising
vigour and frankness.
He writes to his youngest son with reference to
this subject : ' S  is here with me, and we are busy
canvassing, but it is a most disagreeable task. If
you look into Coriolanus in . Shakespeare, you will
see exactly my sentiments about the matter.'
Mr. Bethell had been denounced by the local
Conservative paper as ' a learned Chancery priva
teer,' but the interference of the Rothschild family
in the contest seems to have been more re
sented than the intrusion of the legal stranger.
When his turn came to address the electors on
the nomination day, he sprang upon the table,
threw off his usual manner, and made a rattling
speech to the crowded assembly. The claqueurs who
had been hired to ridicule him ceased to interrupt
before he had spoken for a couple of minutes.
As soon as he had warmed to his work they be
came eager listeners, and at last enthusiastic in their
applause. In his speeches he sought to vindicate himself
from any charge of inconsistency on the question of
protection. He said he had entertained but one set
of opinions since first he became a candidate for
public life ; they were those laid down by the great
author of free trade. He was decidedly opposed
to Church rates and the establishment of a Roman

1852 IS RETURNED TO PARLIAMENT 107
Catholic hierarchy in this country. With reference
to the suffrage question, a great measure for its
extension was in hand ; but though the present
Government was the only exponent and repre
sentative of Liberal policy, he had not the greatest
confidence either in its capacity, its strength, or
its will to carry that measure. Alluding to reforms
of the law, he believed himself competent to do
good in this respect, and that was one of the
chief reasons why he was desirous to receive the
support of the constituency. He referred to his
refusal of the position of Vice-Chancellor, because
he had preferred the freedom and independence
of the bar. On the very day of the election he
expressed his strong wish to preserve also the ' free
dom and independence ' of private life. Towards
the close of the poll he told one of his friends he
had been praying ever since twelve o'clock that he
might not be returned. The prayer was unheard.
Mr. Bethell polled 544 votes against his opponent's
518, and took his seat in Parliament on 14th April
1 85 1, as a general supporter of Lord John Russell's
Government.1 It would seem, however, that he
had some idea of maintaining the character of a
political free lance, for on going down to the House
1 A petition was presented against the return, purporting to
be signed by an elector, whose name was in fact unwarrantably
affixed by a solicitor at the request of his partner. For this
breach of privilege the delinquents were brought to the bar, and
severely reprimanded by the Speaker in accordance with the
order of the House.

108 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1847-
for the first time, he innocently inquired what seats
were appropriated for perfectly independent mem
bers. On being told there were none, he placed
himself on the Ministerial benches.
The Committee of the Conservative Club, of
which he was a member, were not slow to notice
the charges of political apostasy made against Mr.
Bethell. Notwithstanding his courageous assertion
that his views had undergone no material change,
and the fact that he had been nominated for Ayles
bury by a member of the club,1 it was plain that
his recent speeches contained expressions which
were at variance with Conservative principles ; and,
moreover, he had taken his seat on the Ministerial
side of the House. A meeting was summoned by
the Committee to consider the charges, and a very
large number of the members assembled,
Mr. Bethell having cheerfully asserted his readi
ness to justify his conduct, attended the meeting,
faced his opponents single-handed, and, in a pungent
speech, exerted all the ingenuity of his consummate
advocacy to prove that the language he had held did
not contravene the rule which defined the meaning
of Conservatism as professed by the members. One
of the more violent of his opponents had something
to say in aggravation of the offence : 'And, sir,' he
said, 'common rumour asserts,' etc. 'Then com
mon rumour,' retorted Bethell, 'is a lying jade.'
The subtle distinctions of the equity lawyer and the
1 The late Mr. Acton Tindal, Clerk of the Peace for Bucks.

1852 EXPELLED FROM CONSERVATIVE CLUB 109
peculiar style of his rhetoric were not appreciated
by some of his audience, and at last an old fox
hunting squire shouted in a stentorian voice from
the further end of the room, ' Speak up ! ' — ' I should
have thought,' replied Bethell, in his quiet tone,
now quite reckless as to what he said, 'that the
honourable gentleman's ears were long enough to
catch my articulate utterances even at that distance.'
However, he had absolutely no case, and all his efforts
were in vain. A resolution, moved by the chair
man, the late Earl of Shrewsbury, to the effect that
Mr. Bethell's explanation was not satisfactory, and
that he was disqualified from continuing to be a mem
ber, was carried by a large majority, and Mr. Bethell
retired without further protest.1
He was never a really clubbable man, and had
withdrawn from the Athenaeum three years after
his election in 1827, to escape the importunities of
would-be members of that club. He was, however,
consoled for his expulsion from the Conservative
Club in an unexpected manner. Mr. A. W. King-
lake the next day saw Lord Stanley of Alderley,
then Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, and,
having mentioned the circumstances to him, sug
gested that the new member for Aylesbury should
be elected to Brooks's. Lord Stanley knew
nothing of Mr. Bethell, but, moved by Mr. King-
lake's friendly representations of his commanding
1 I am indebted for the statement of these facts chiefly to
Lieut.-Col. Sir William Topham, who was present at the meeting.

no LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1847-
abilities, so exerted his influence that the ex-member
of the Conservative Club was admitted to Brooks's
in the course of a few days.
Mr. Bethell soon discarded the ' patchwork vest
ment ' of a political nondescript, and by degrees
assumed a pronounced Liberalism. His Conserv
atism, such as it was, seems to have been confined
to the assertion of Peelite principles. For Sir
Robert Peel's character and career he always ex
pressed lively admiration, and would eulogise the
moral courage and honesty with which Sir Robert,
releasing his mind from early prejudices, accom
plished the three great reforms with which his name
is associated. The period was one of great interest in political
history, both from the peculiar relations of parties
and the subjects of debate in Parliament. Lord
John Russell's government had just sustained a
severe shock through the narrow majority by which
Mr. Disraeli's motion in favour of relief for agricul
tural distress had been rejected.1 They were
further weakened by their defeat immediately after
wards on Mr. Locke King's motion for leave to
bring in a Bill to assimilate the franchise in borough
and counties by giving the right of voting to ^"10
occupiers. Chiefly through the abstention of their
1 The motion was to the effect that the severe distress which
continued to exist among the owners and occupiers of land ren
dered it the duty of Government to introduce, without delay,
effectual measures for its relief. It was negatived by 281 to 267.

1852 THE POLITICAL OUTLOOK in
supporters the Government were beaten in a thin
House by a majority of nearly two to one. The
unfavourable reception accorded to the Budget,
which proposed merely a partial reduction of the un
popular window tax, and renewed the almost equally
unpopular income tax, had still further damaged
their position, and a Ministerial crisis followed. The
Ministry temporarily retired from office, but re
sumed it on Lord Stanley finding himself unable
to form a Government likely to obtain a working
majority. Lord John Russell's unsuccessful attempt
to reconstruct his administration by including in it
Lord Aberdeen and Sir James Graham, both of
whom were strongly opposed to the penal measure
against Papal Aggression then before Parliament,
had indeed left the late Ministers no alternative but
to resume their seals.
Scarcely had Mr. Bethell taken his seat when the
restored Government sustained a fresh defeat on Mr.
Hume's amendment limiting the duration of the in
come tax to one year, and they were again twice out
voted on questions of fiscal policy before the end of
the session. These reverses drew from Mr. Disraeli,
leader of the Opposition, an ironical declaration of
confidence in the vitality of the Government, on the
ground that the dangers which they had successfully
encountered, the catastrophes which they had evaded,
and the crises which they had baffled — all indicated
the possession, if not of immortal, yet of very endur
ing qualities. It was not expected that 'the dis-

H2 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1847-
credited Government would survive the remaining
session of the existing Parliament.
Mr. Bethell's maiden speech in Parliament was
made on one of Sir F. Thesiger's Amendments to
the Ecclesiastical Titles Assumption Bill as to the
recovery of the penalties proposed, when, though
strongly opposed to hyper-papal pretensions, he
supported the Government in resisting an attempt
to increase the stringency of the measure. A week
later he spoke again on the Government Bill to
improve the administration of justice in the Court
of Chancery by the establishment of the Court of
Appeal. This was a subject on which he was
naturally listened to with attention. As the Court
of Chancery was then constituted, the Lord Chan
cellor's Court was the only appellate tribunal in the
first instance ; and this tribunal, besides being open
to the objection that appeal lay from a single mind
to another single mind, always had heavy arrears of
business through the pressure of the Chancellor's
political and judicial duties.
Mr. Bethell illustrated the inconveniences of the
existing system by citing an appeal to the House of
Lords, in which he had lately been employed. The
suit involved half a million of money, and the costs of
preparing for the hearing alone were between ^5000
and ^"6000. But three whole sessions passed away
without seeing any decision of the case ; and then
the death of the Lord Chancellor obliged the parties
to begin again, the time and money spent being

1852 CHANCERY REFORMS 113
absolutely wasted. The Lord Chancellor had been
so involved in the duties of his own Court that he
found it impossible to give proper consideration to
the appeal in the Lords. Mr. Bethell cordially sup
ported the proposal to form a fresh Court of Appeal
as a first instalment of long -needed reform. He did
not rest his arguments exclusively on the interests
of suitors. Taking a more comprehensive view, he
urged the importance of having, as head of the
law, a responsible person to control the composition
of Acts of Parliament and fulfil the functions of
Minister of Justice.
Towards the close of the session he took part in
the debate on Chancery reform. He enlarged on the
extended jurisdiction of the Court, and the enormous
increase in its business consequent on the railway
mania, declaring, with some plausible exaggeration,
that four or five judges were required to undertake
duties which it would take thirty properly to perform.
If, in these later days, when there is difficulty in
obtaining the appointment of a sixth Chancery judge,
we reduce the thirty by one half, cela serait encore
admirable. But from the tenor of his observations it
would seem that the great Chancery leader had not
at that time shaken himself free from the trammels
of professional tradition, for he did not advocate any
very extensive reform of the procedure in which he
was so well versed. When the Bill to create the
new Court of Appeal got into Committee he took a
conspicuous part in its discussion and amendment.
vol. 1 8

114 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1847-
Early in the session Lord John Russell had in
troduced a Bill with the object of admitting Jews to
Parliament. In the previous session Baron Lionel
Rothschild, the Jewish member for the city of
London, was, in accordance with the resolution
of the House, allowed to be sworn on the Old
Testament, but in taking the oath of abjuration he
had omitted the words 'upon the true faith of a
Christian ' as not binding on his conscience. Much
discussion ensued, but eventually resolutions were
adopted denying the Baron's right to sit or vote
until he had taken the oath in the usual form, and
pledging the House to take the form of the oath into
consideration in the next session, with the view to
relieve the Jews from existing disabilities. The
Bill now brought in by the Prime Minister to fulfil
that pledge proposed simply to omit from the oath
the words to which the Jews objected. The Bill
passed in the Commons, though by a smaller majority
than on previous occasions, but, in spite of Lord John
Russell's urgent appeal for deference to the privileges
of the Lower House, it was rejected by the Lords.
The day after the division Alderman Salomons,
who had been elected for Greenwich, presented him
self in the House of Commons and took the oath,
as Baron Rothschild had done, with the omission of
the concluding words. Upon this he was directed
to withdraw, and obeyed ; but during the adjourned
debate he again entered the House, and not only
refused to withdraw but even voted on a motion for

1852 JEWISH DISABILITIES 115
adjournment. In the discussion which followed the
law officers expressed their opinion that the oath
had not been legally taken, but Mr. Bethell, in an
elaborate speech which made a marked impression
for its lucid and masterly handling of the subject,
took the opposite view. He argued that the ductile
character of the oath entitled every member to have
it administered in the form most binding on his con
science, and that the concluding words were only
the sanction of the oath, not a substantive part
of it. To Lord John Russell's motion that Mr. Salo
mons was not entitled to sit or vote until he had
taken the oath in the form appointed by law, Mr.
Bethell moved an amendment, declaring that both
Baron Rothschild and Mr. Salomons, having taken
the oath in the manner in which the House was
bound by law to administer it, were entitled to take
their seats. After an exhaustive review of the en
actments bearing on the question, he expressed the
deliberate opinion that the rule of the judicial courts
in the administration of oaths was applicable to the
political oath, and deprecated the introduction of
a declaratory Act as superfluous, seeing that the
admission of Jewish members was opposed only
upon petty technical objections which could be
triumphantly met upon well-known principles of law.
The Attorney-General, Sir A. Cockburn, combated
these views with great vigour, and the amendment
was rejected by a majority of 47.

116 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1847-
On the subsequent motion for the adjournment
of the debate Mr. Bethell made a sharp attack on
Lord John Russell, who declared his intention to
re-introduce a relief bill, denouncing the Prime
Minister's original motion as a miserable truism —
a piece of bad English — which would make the
House supremely ridiculous in the eyes of the
country. Subsequently he again spoke at consider
able length, declaring that the great principle had
evolved itself for the first time : — Shall any citizen
of this empire, in all other respects qualified to be
elected a member, be excluded from the House on
account of his religious faith ? 1 He urged the
Government to refer the question to the tribunals
to which the constitution had committed the duty
of interpreting the statute law, instead of sacrific
ing a great principle by bringing in an Act to
make law of that which was already law. In reply,
Lord John Russell took his stand upon the decision
which the House had come to in the case of Baron
Rothschild, maintaining that the question was one
for Parliament rather than for a Court of law.
The only immediate result of the debate was to dis
play the remarkable differences of opinion among
the most eminent of the legal authorities on a purely
legal matter.
1 It will be remembered that throughout the frequent discus
sions which took place in the Parliament of 1880 on Mr. Brad-
laugh's claim to affirm, this principle 'which,' in the words of
Mr. Gladstone, 'totally detaches religious controversy from the
enjoyment of civil rights ' was strenuously insisted on.

1852 CURIOUS PRECISION OF SPEECH 117
In connection with this subject may be men
tioned a curious instance of Mr. Bethell's remarkable
precision of language, which was so habitual that
his hearers were sometimes at a loss to know whether
he was stating his own argument or quoting some
authority. After one of his speeches on the Jewish
disabilities, Hansard's report was sent to him for cor
rection in the usual way. Being intensely busy at the
time, Mr. Bethell asked one of his legal friends to look
through it for him. On perusing the speech the friend
was astonished to find a passage printed in small
type as being an extract from a statute which seemed
to settle the question of the right of Jews to take
the oath in their own way entirely in their favour.
His first idea was that Mr. Bethell's ingenuity had
discovered a statute which had eluded everybody
else's vigilance, but on looking into the matter he
found there was no such enactment. It then trans
pired that Mr. Bethell, founding his argument on
the general tenor of an Act of Parliament, and
meaning merely to assert his construction of it, had
stated his argument with such elaborate precision
that the reporter was misled into supposing it to be
a quotation from the Act itself.
The same precision marked his ordinary con
versation, which was rather a lecture or allocution
than the colloquial interchange of ideas. It was
admirable for its clearness and cogency, and ad
mitted on all hands to be very improving. But the
majority of people resent having their minds im-

118 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1847-
proved, except on their own motion and in their own
way, and many disliked Bethell's spoken essays.1
Those who were disposed to listen were well re
warded, for, like Bacon, he seemed to have taken
all knowledge to be his province. During a railway
journey on which a gentleman who was a stranger
engaged him in conversation, Mr. Bethell discoursed
with such magical effect on law, physic, divinity, and
classics, that his fellow-passenger at the end of the
journey was at a loss to determine which was his
profession. On such occasions he could interest
men in subjects of which they had no previous
knowledge. In the early part of this year Mr. Bethell became
Vice-Chancellor of the County Palatine of Lan
caster, succeeding Sir W. Page Wood, who had
resigned the office on being appointed Solicitor-
General. The Court, which had been reformed at
the instance of Sir W. P. Wood, exercises the same
equitable jurisdiction as the Court of Chancery as
regards persons and property within the county,
and a salary of ^600 a year is attached to the Vice-
Chancellorship. It gave Mr. Bethell his first ex
perience of judicial duties.
In 1848 the house at Highgate was given up,
and the family removed to West Hill, Wimbledon,
1 Dr. Johnson expressed himself on this point with his usual
vigour : ' Sir, there is nothing by which a man exasperates most
people more than by displaying a superior ability of brilliancy in
conversation. They seem pleased at the time, but their envy
makes them curse him at their hearts.'

1852 LAW REFORM IN 1852 119
where, however, they only remained one year.
The following winter was spent at Brighton, for
the benefit of Mrs. Bethell's health, after which a
house was taken in Gloucester Square, London,
with a view to Mr. Bethell's parliamentary duties.
In the summer of 1851 their eldest son, Richard
Augustus Bethell,1 married Miss Mary Florence
Luttrell, daughter of the Reverend Alexander
Fownes Luttrell, Rector of East Quantoxhead,
Somerset. When Parliament reassembled in 1852 it was
evident that the Government were seriously dis
posed to undertake legal reforms. The improve
ment of the administration of justice occupied a
foremost place in the enumeration of the measures
promised in the Queen's Speech, probably because
the subject was one less likely to try the failing
strength of the Ministry by attracting party oppo
sition. Law reform was at this period in perpetual
motion. The mover of the address in the House
of Commons declared that the Court of Chancery
always was, and would be till Parliament reformed it,
a plague and misfortune to the country ; while the
observations of Lord Derby in the Upper House
showed an equal readiness on the part of the oppo
sition to undertake its total reorganisation.
Before, however, their promised measure could be
presented or even framed, the Government fell some-
1 The Hon. Richard Augustus Bethell became, on his father's
death, the second Lord Westbury. He died in 1875.

120 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1847-
what ingloriously before Lord Palmerston's opposi
tion to the Militia Bill ; and the duty of commencing
the reforms devolved upon Lord St. Leonards, - as
holder of the Great Seal in the Administration
formed by Lord Derby. It was perhaps as well
that the measures for improving legal procedure
passed just then into the hands of the new Govern
ment; for though the contemplated reforms were
avowedly founded upon the report of the Law
Commission, which had originated with Lord John
Russell's Government, the late Ministry had shown
a marked inability to place any important measure
on the Statute Book.
Substantial alterations were plainly needed in
the cumbrous machine of Chancery procedure. -In
spite of all the abuse lavished on the Court, its busi
ness had doubled during the past thirty years. In
the time of Lord Eldon, a Chancellor and a Master
of the Rolls were at first considered an adequate
judicial staff. Since then three Vice-Chancellors and
another Appeal Court had been added. Popular
writers and public speakers covered the Court of
Chancery with ridicule, but seven Judges now
failed to satisfy the requirements of the constantly
increasing number of suitors who resorted to it.
The procedure, not the jurisdiction, was at fault.
The public had long bitterly complained of the
cost and delay inseparable from any attempt to obtain
relief in equity. Successive Chancellors had tried
by issuing orders to simplify the practice ; but the

1852 EQUITY PLEADING 121
evils of a system which in its forms and pleadings
exhibited the peculiar growth of equity jurisdiction
demanded a more radical treatment. Before 1852
every suit commenced with a bill, which first set forth
with intolerable prolixity the facts of the plaintiff's
case. These were followed by various charges and
allegations of imaginary circumstances, with the
view to elicit admissions of possible facts, and
anticipate any possible defence. Then came a
sweeping averment that the acts complained of
were contrary to equity and left the plaintiff without
relief except by the Court's assistance. An inter
rogating part, repeating by way of interrogatories
the matters supposed to be essential to the plaintiffs
case, succeeded, and the bill wound up with a prayer
for relief and the issue of process.
The whole bill was framed with the utmost
redundancy of technical expression. If the suit
thus launched was imperfect in its frame or
became ' abated ' by accident, such as the death,
bankruptcy, or marriage of one of the parties,
the defect had to be amended by a new bill
by way of addition to, or continuance of, the
original bill. Thus there were supplemental bills,
bills in the nature of supplemental bills, bills of
review, bills in the nature of bills of review, and
bills of review and supplement ; some of which
were again subdivided into distinct kinds, each
nicely distinguished by a slender difference, between
which the bewildered draftsman took his choice

122 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1847-
according to his own fancy. After the answer and
replication came the examination of witnesses taken
by official examiners, not viva voce, but by written
deposition upon written interrogatories. Cross-
examination sometimes ensued, to be succeeded
by various reconnaissances, more or less in force,
by one or other of the hostile parties, by means
of petitions, references to the Master, excep
tions to the Master's report, or some other in
terlocutory application, as a prelude to the great
struggle at the hearing of the cause, each party dis
playing throughout a proper reluctance to leap
before he came to the fence. There was much
justice in Oliver Goldsmith's complaint that such a
method of investigation embarrassed every suit, and
even perplexed the student, for more time was spent
in learning the arts of litigation than in the discovery
of right. Nor when the decree was pronounced was the
matter in dispute necessarily laid to rest. The
often contradictory notes of the decree on the
briefs of the opposing counsel gave rise to fresh
disputes as to the form in which the decree should
be drawn up. If any party was dissatisfied, as
some one generally was, with the minutes settled by
the Registrar, he applied to the Court, and the cause
came on again before the Judge 'to be spoken to
on the minutes.' Long wrangles ensued, which
frequently exhausted the greater part of a day. Mr.
Bethell was notorious for the promptitude with

1 852 PECULIARITIES OF PRACTICE 123
which he noted down the proposed minutes on his
brief while the decision was being given, and the
acumen with which he framed them to the greatest
possible advantage of his client.
The whole system seemed ingeniously contrived
to create delay and costs. Well might the late
Mr. Jacob declare that the importance of the
questions in a cause was in this ratio — first,
costs ; second, pleading ; and third, very far
behind, the merits of the case. Independently
of the pleadings, equity was still a science rather
experimental than practical. In their decisions
the Chancery Judges were compelled to grope for
principles among the infinite details and rapidly-
increasing mass of innumerable cases, and treated
any dictum of Lord Eldon with the reverence due
to a statute.
With commendable alacrity the new Govern
ment pushed forward their measures to amend the
procedure of the superior courts, thus putting their
sickle, as Mr. Bethell complained in one of his
speeches at Aylesbury, into the field of stand
ing corn which the Liberal Government had
brought to maturity. The remarkable zeal and
energy displayed by Lord St. Leonards in pro
moting these measures,1 and the very uncommon
concurrence of opinion among lawyers in both
Houses as to their expediency, made the task of
1 The Common Law Procedure Act and Acts for Abolishing
the Master's Office and Improving the Jurisdiction in Equity.

124 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1847-
passing them comparatively light. The Acts of
1852 revolutionised the equity system. The office
of Master was abolished, the Masters being, in the
tender words of the statute, ' released from their
duties,' and Judges' chambers with Chief Clerks
attached were established for the transaction of
minor business. At the same time the Chancery
practice was entirely remodelled. Printed bills
took the place of engrossments on parchment ;
bills of review and amendment were superseded by
simple amendment of the original bill ; every bill
was to contain a concise narrative of the material
facts without interrogatories, and oral evidence was
made permissible. Mr. Bethell had sat on the
Commission for reforming the Court of Chancery ;
and in the discussions on the Chancery Bills he
added considerably to his growing parliamentary
reputation. At the General Election of 1852 he and his
colleague, Mr. (now Sir Henry) Layard, were
again returned for Aylesbury by substantial
majorities.1 The elections produced little material
alteration in the relative strength of the parties ;
but the comparatively small number of Protectionist
members returned to the new Parliament precluded
any possibility of a successful attempt to restore a
duty on corn. The views of the Government, as
expounded in the Speech from the Throne and the
1 The numbers polled were — Layard, 558; Bethell, 525;
Dr. Bayford, 447 ; Lt.-Col. West, 435.

1852 THE GOVERNMENT AND FREE TRADE 125
explanations elicited from Ministers in Parliament,
showed a readiness to abide by the verdict of the
constituencies, and a desire to escape from the em
barrassment of a false position by vague promises of
a policy which would mitigate the injustice of Free
Trade and relieve the owners and occupiers of land
through some readjustment of taxation and other
changes in the fiscal system. The subsequent
acceptance, forced on the reluctant Government, of
Lord Palmerston's resolutions affirming the principle
and benefit of Free Trade practically closed a con
troversy which had occupied the attention of three
Parliaments. We may learn from a letter written at this time
by Mr. Bethell to his eldest daughter, whose hus
band then held one of Lord Derby's livings near
Knowsley, how severe is the strain put on those
who add parliamentary duties to heavy professional
labours : —
' I have been very desirous of writing to you for some days
past to thank you for your most affectionate letter of congratu
lation to your dear parents on their twenty-seventh wedding-day,
with which I was very much delighted. My only regret is that you
are so far removed from us that we cannot see you but at such
distant intervals. I had hoped that I should have been able to
have visited you on the occasion of my coming to Manchester
next Saturday to hold my Court, but at present I know not how
I shall escape from my embarrassments.
'The debate on the great question of Free Trade, which
has begun to-night, will very probably last two or three nights,
and may not terminate until Friday ; and it is not impossible
that I may be detained here all Friday night, which is the

126 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1847-
time I have fixed for being at Manchester to hold my
Court on Saturday. What I shall do I cannot imagine. It
is not impossible there may be a division about eleven or
twelve on Friday night, and I must, I fear, take a special
train to get to Manchester, travelling all the rest of the
night. On the Monday after, I have to argue the great case of
Rangers v. The Great Western in the House of Lords, and I do
not, therefore, see a probability of my being able to get over to
you. My engagements are now so certain to be engrossing
during the whole period of the year given to business, that it is
useless to calculate on any power in me to do more than just
answer the engagements of my profession.'
The operatic case of Lumley v. Wagner? in
which Mr. Bethell was engaged in the summer
of 1852, may be mentioned, as it involved an
important point of equity jurisdiction on which the
authorities were conflicting, and excited at the time
general interest. Mdlle. Johanna Wagner, canta-
trice of the Court of the King of Prussia, had
entered into an agreement with Mr. Lumley to sing
at Her Majesty's Theatre for three months, at a
salary of ,£400 per month, and not to sing elsewhere
without his authority. Subsequently she repudiated
this agreement and accepted an engagement from
Mr. Gye, the proprietor of the Royal Italian Opera,
to sing for a larger sum at the rival house. On a bill
filed to restrain the prima donna from singing for
Mr. Gye, an injunction was granted by Vice-Chan
cellor Parker, and the defendants appealed. On
the eve of the argument — indeed within forty-eight
hours of the hearing of the appeal — the leading
1 1 De Gex, Macnaghten and Gordon, p. 604.

1852 AN OPERATIC CASE 127
counsel for Mr. Gye, one of the appellants, was
promoted to the Bench, and therefore compelled
to return his brief. In this extremity Mr. Gye
sought the advice of Mr. Bethell as to the selection,
at such short notice, of a new leader. The case
was of an extremely complicated and voluminous
nature. Mr. Bethell asked that the papers should
be sent to him that he might see their contents
before giving the advice desired. On the following
day (the day before the argument) he told Mr. Gye
that the case was one of such difficulty and importance
that to suggest any one as leader was a responsibility
towards others which he scarcely cared to assume ;
but that if Mr. Gye would entrust the appeal to him
he would argue it himself. It is needless to say
that this offer was gratefully accepted, and the brief
was left with Mr. Bethell, who conducted the whole
of the argument.
It was admitted that the Court had no power
to compel Mdlle. Wagner to sing at Her Majesty's ;
but Mr. Bethell argued for the appellants that as
the Court could not decree specific performance of
the entire agreement, the jurisdiction by injunction
did not apply to the negative stipulation. Lord St.
Leonards, however, held that the Court had power
to restrain Mdlle. Wagner from singing elsewhere.
Notwithstanding the great extra tax upon his time and
labour, which the study and conduct of the case in
volved, Mr. Bethell persistently refused to accept any
fee or remuneration whatever for this generous service.

CHAPTER V
1852-1855
Defeat of Lord Derby's Ministry — Formation of a Coalition Govern
ment — Appointed Solicitor-General — Official duties — Ministerial
programme of Law Reform — Succession-Duty Act — Colonial
Church affairs — Relief of Jewish Disabilities Bill — Views on Legal
Education — Bridgewater case — Sir Richard Bethell and the Judges
— Legal anecdotes.
The Government had barely escaped from the diffi
culty in which they had been placed by the attitude
which some of the Ministers had held towards protec
tion when they encountered a fresh one in the opposi
tion made to the proposals of Mr. Disraeli's budget.
A hostile combination of Whigs, Liberals, and Peel-
ites put them in a minority of nineteen on a question
which they had chosen to regard as vital to their
existence, and they resigned. Mr. Disraeli, in
closing his reply in the debate, forecast the future :
' Yes ! I know what I have to face. I have to
face a coalition. The coalition may be successful —
a coalition has before this been successful. But
coalitions, although successful, have always found
this — that their triumph has been brief. This, too,
I know, that England does not love coalitions.'

1852-1855 APPOINTED SOLICITOR-GENERAL 129
Yet in the existing condition of parties a combina
tion such as that formed by Lord Aberdeen, includ
ing Lord Palmerston and Sir James Graham, Lord
John Russell and Mr. Gladstone, was the only pos
sible administration. Neither the Whig supporters
of Lord John Russell nor the followers of the late
Sir Robert Peel were alone strong enough to take
office. The leading men of both these parties, long
rival and antagonistic, put aside their differences,
and agreed to act together.
The reputation which Mr. Bethell had gained in
the year and a half during which he had been in
Parliament secured for him an official position in the
new Ministry. Sir W. Page Wood, who had been
Solicitor-General in the last Liberal Administration,
took the Vice- Chancellorship vacated by Lord Cran-
worth's acceptance of the Great Seal, and Mr.
Bethell became Solicitor-General and was knighted.
No more signal proof of his adaptability
could be given than this appointment to office after
such a brief parliamentary experience. Taking his
seat in the House of Commons when he was of
middle age, his whole life having been exclusively
devoted to the technicalities of his profession,
exhibiting a refinement in reasoning and a scientific
method, which, added to his peculiarities of manner,
seemed likely to unfit him for success in a popular
assembly where the most eminent lawyers very often
fail, he had been able by the sheer force of versatile
ability to win his way, in the course of a couple of
vol. 1 9

130 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1852-
sessions, to official rank. With Sir Alexander Cock-
burn and Sir Richard Bethell as their representatives,
the Government were unusually well equipped with
legal talent in the House of Commons.
On his appointment he was returned unopposed
for Aylesbury, the only candidate for many years—
as he proudly told the electors — who had stood un
opposed on an Aylesbury hustings. We may note
his emphatic advocacy on that occasion of what was
then the advanced Liberal programme. He spoke
in favour of a large extension of the franchise and
the concession of the ballot. Referring to the
obstructions in the way of transferring real property,
he said he wished to make it as easy to transfer
land by means of a register as it was to transfer
^"ioo in the funds — a process which would involve
no more expense than was necessary to identify
the owner. In concluding his speech he declared
that it was his ambition to devote his powers to
the reform of the law in the spirit of the maxim that
he who reaped an advantage from a profession
should endeavour to make it pure.1
The official duties of the Law Officers are rather
legal than political. They involve, in addition to
regular attendance in the House of Commons and
the jealous scrutiny of the legal bearing and conse-
1 ' I hold every man a debtor to his profession ; from the
which as men of course do seek to receive countenance and
profit, so ought they of duty to endeavour themselves, by way of
amends, to be a help and ornament thereunto.' — Bacon.

1855 DUTIES OF A LAW OFFICER 131
quences of proposed measures, the consideration,
outside the House, of multifarious questions of inter
national and public law — in short, every conceivable
question on which the Executive requires legal
advice. Sir A. Cockburn, writing to his colleague
soon after his appointment, specifies a dozen cases
which, he says, ' it is certainly very desirable that
we should knock off this week ' — cases in which such
varied subjects as a Convention with the United
States, a criminal prosecution, Orders in Council
disallowing an Act of a Colonial Legislature, a
legacy -duty claim, compensation to Government
clerks, the expulsion of a militiaman from a benefit
society, and a college charter, were included. For
the purpose of dealing with these official matters a
vast deal of time has to be withdrawn from private
professional business. The scale of remuneration,
however, which included the numerous fees on
patents, was at that period sufficiently liberal to pre
clude any apprehension of pecuniary loss in accepting
the office.1
The new Solicitor-General forthwith announced
his intention of practising only in the Court of Appeal
and the House of Lords. The effect of this was that
he could not appear before the Master of the Rolls
or one of the Vice-Chancellors without a special fee
1 In 1871 new arrangements were made under which the
Attorney -General receives ^7000 a year, and the Solicitor-
General ^6000 as a salary for non-contentious business. For
contentious business in which their official services are required
fees are paid according to the ordinary professional scale.

132 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1852-
of fifty guineas, irrespective of the brief fee. And
in appeal cases he received extra fees for perus
ing the papers which had been used in the Court
below. T daresay,' he writes to his eldest daughter,
'you will be frightened when I tell you the apparently
reckless act I have done. I have given up all my
business in the Vice-Chancellors' Courts, and mean
to confine myself to the Appeal Courts, taking only
special retainers in the lower Courts. I find my
business, thus relinquished, was worth ^8000 per
annum. Few persons have acted so boldly, but I
think it will answer in the end.' There was little
real ground for apprehension. The fees received
for private practice, added to his official remunera
tion, greatly increased his previous income, and
while Solicitor-General he made by his profession
upwards of ^24,000 in one year.1
Sir Richard Bethell entered on his new duties with
much vigour. His appointment was hailed on all
hands as an assurance of the earnestness of the
Government on questions of law reform. The re
cent Procedure Acts had but whetted the appetite
of the advocates of a complete reorganisation, and
they received the new Solicitor- General a bras
ouverts as the zealous and able champion of
their cause. On the first occasion of his address
ing the House in an official capacity, he de
clared that much remained to be done in the
1 Lord Eldon's most productive year of practice is said to
have brought in no more than ;£ 12,140.

1855 PROGRAMME OF LEGAL REFORMS 133
reform of the Court of Chancery ; that for his part
he would never be content until that should be
effected without which all law reform would prove
ineffectual — the consolidation of jurisdiction, and the
administration of equity and common law from the
same bench. It is remarkable that more than twenty
years elapsed before the fusion which he thus advo
cated took effect through the Judicature Acts.
Lord Cranworth, in stating the intentions of the
new Government in the House of Lords, unfolded a
programme which must have satisfied the veriest
glutton for legal reform. Testamentary jurisdic
tion, divorce, the transfer of land, charitable trusts,
and the consolidation of the statute law were all
indicated as subjects on which the Government
were prepared to legislate. The Lord Chancellor
was even bold enough to hold out some hope that
the consolidation and classification of the public
Acts might form the foundation of a Code Victoria —
a consummation which seems no nearer now, on the
completion of the fiftieth year of the Queen's reign,
than when the devout wish for it was first expressed.
In accordance with his promise Lord Cranworth
brought in a Registration Bill. Viewed by the light
of subsequent experience, the measure was clearly
based on a wrong principle. It provided for the
registration of deeds — that is, the evidence by which
the title is shown — instead of a record of title, or
the result of the transactions disclosed by the
deeds. The object of either system is to show

134 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1852-
an absolute title in some one. But a register of
deeds can never simplify title, for it merely puts
on record the documents which are abstracted on
an investigation of title under the existing practice
of conveyancing, and leaves untouched the costly
necessity of investigation and search. Moreover,
the Bill made no provision for a general map
for the identification of the property to which
the parchment title related. Notwithstanding the
strenuous opposition of Lord St. Leonards, which
was particularly formidable on any question of real
property law, the Bill passed through the House of
Lords, but was afterwards withdrawn.
Lord Campbell declared that ' it was lost in the
Commons through the opposition of Sir Richard
Bethell, who was allowed to defeat a measure which
the Chancellor himself had introduced, and on which
the credit of the Government materially depended.'1
As a matter of fact, when the Bill came down to the
House of Commons, Lord John Russell moved the
second reading pro forma, that the Bill might be
referred to a Select Committee, and Sir Richard
Bethell did not say a single word upon the subject.2
He had long been an ardent advocate of registration,
as Lord Campbell very well knew ; but he disap
proved of the principle of the Bill, and the Com
mittee to which it was referred reported against it.
The opposed third reading of the Government
1 Lives of the Lord Chancellors, vol. viii. p. 182.
2 Hansard, vol. cxxvii. p. 714.

1855 SUCCESSION DUTY ACT 135
Bill to remove the Jewish disabilities afforded Sir
Richard Bethell the opportunity of making his first
important speech on a subject of general interest. It
had recently been decided in the action for penalties
brought against Mr. Salomons for voting without
having taken the oath that Jews were by the exist
ing law excluded from Parliament. The measure,
in some form or other, had fourteen times been
carried in the Lower House by large majorities,
and on each occasion had been thrown out in the
House of Lords. Mr. Bright put the pertinent
question whether they were to go on year after
year bombarding the Lords with the Bill without
result, and suggested that it should be made a
matter on which the existence of the Government
was staked. Lord John Russell declined to accept
this heroic advice ; he was obliged to confess that,
the number of Jews in the country being compara
tively small, there was no overwhelming feeling in
favour of the measure. The Bill passed the House
of Commons, but was once more rejected in the
House of Lords, the late Earl of Shaftesbury head
ing the opposition.
In the highly technical discussions on the Suc
cession Duty Bill, which extended to successions in
real property duties similar to those payable in the
case of legacies, the Solicitor-General rendered Mr.
Gladstone very material assistance.1 The measure
1 The Bill, which was drafted by Mr. Peter Erie, brother of
Sir W. Erie, and Mr. (now Lord) Thring, was a measure of such

136 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1852-
aroused strong opposition in Parliament, and was
fought, almost clause by clause, with remarkable
pertinacity and bitterness. It is amusing to recall
the denunciations and prophecies of evil which were
hurled by its opponents at the Chancellor of the
Exchequer's head. ' Downright robbery,' ' tyrannical
and inquisitorial process,' ' detestable and detested
impost,' are samples of the invective lavished on
the proposed duty. One orator declared that
though the Bill might be passed by majorities of
five or six, the question would excite such an agita
tion in the country — create such a chaos of discon
tent — as would perhaps shake the foundations of
the monarchy and destroy the established institu
tions of the land. Mr. Gladstone, unmoved by
these dire predictions, dexterously piloted the Bill
through the shoals and quicksands of Committee,
with little material alteration, and it became
law. The Government were also successful in carrying
an Act for the better administration of Charitable
Trusts, after a delay of thirty years since legislation
on the subject was first devised. Commissions had
sat almost continuously for twenty years, and had
issued masses of reports on the condition of public
charities. The abuses in the administration of
extraordinary complication that it might have been supposed
that none but a real property lawyer would be able to master
its intricacies. It is a notable illustration of Mr. Gladstone's
intellectual grasp that, in the opinion of Lord Thring, he under
stood its provisions as clearly as Sir Richard Bethell himself.

1855 WEAKNESS OF THE GOVERNMENT 137
charities had been shown by the reports to be
very grave and difficult to check. Under the ex
isting law litigation was generally promoted by
parties who had little or no real interest in the
matter, and the costs sometimes ate up the whole
of the trust property. Instances were given of un
scrupulous attorneys having filed informations in
discriminately against a large number of charities
merely for the sake of the costs. The new Act
provided a cheap and efficient control by means of
a permanent board of commissioners, and gave the
very necessary power of modifying trusts in cases
where the founder's intentions could no longer
be carried out in their integrity to the general
advantage. Notwithstanding the anxiety caused by the out
break of the Russo- Turkish war and the critical
state of our negotiations with Russia, an unusually
large number of measures, involving the settlement
of questions which had long been in dispute, passed
in the protracted session of 1853 ; but the internal
weakness of the Government occasioned by differ
ences of opinion in the Cabinet showed itself at the
close of the year, in the temporary secession of
Lord Palmerston. No definite explanation was
vouchsafed at the time, and it was generally sup
posed that Lord Palmerston had tendered his
resignation because he had failed to persuade his
colleagues to meet Russian aggression with a more
strenuous resistance. It seems, however, that the

138 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1852-
chief cause was his disapproval of the intended
Reform Bill.
Lord Campbell seems to have been very quick
to detect or imagine differences of opinion between
Lord Cranworth and the law officers. Referring to
' the career of our little Chancellor, ' he wrote on the
10th of July 1853 : T may tell you that the Attorney
and Solicitor- General conspire his downfall, each
having the hope of replacing him. Their constant
habit is to vilipend him. Bethell hardly attempts
to disguise his eagerness to clutch the Great Seal.'1
Considering that the Solicitor- General had been
only six months in office when these words were
penned, the eagerness attributed to him by Lord
Campbell could have found little opportunity for
exhibition. Be that as it might, the charge came
with ill grace from one who had nearly twenty
years before pressed his own claims with great
pertinacity on Lord Melbourne, and whose hanker
ing for the Woolsack had some time before given
rise to a riddle which pointed to his long experience
in the 'Seal fishery.'2 It may be taken as another
example of the romance with which Lord Campbell's
autobiography abounds.8
1 Life of Lord Campbell, vol. ii. p. 315.
2 Lord Campbell cannot be said to have lost any chance of
advancement through diffidence. According to Lord Brougham's
account, he had asked in vain to be appointed Master of the
Rolls, first on the death of Leach in 1834, and again when
Pepys became Lord Chancellor in 1836.
3 With reference to the posthumous publication of Lord

1855 HIS CAPACITY FOR WORK 139
'The Solicitor- Generalship,' said Lord Bacon,
'is one of the painfullest places in the kingdom.'
That Sir Richard Bethell contrived to bear the
strain of his extraordinary labours in and out of the
House was a matter of astonishment to every one.
Yet he never seemed to be in a hurry, and his calm
precision, coupled with indefatigable industry, en
abled him to get through an amount of work from
which other men would have recoiled. The secret
of this, he used to say, was that he read his papers
very early in the morning, instead of at night.
Another great lawyer, Sir Roundell Palmer, now
the Earl of Selborne, pursued the same course, and
in later years Lord Westbury would cite him
triumphantly as one who had profited by his advice,
and regret that he (Lord Westbury) could not give
the benefit of his experience in this matter to the
whole bar.
He had also the habit, which was particularly
valuable to him, of obtaining rest at odd moments,
Campbell's Life of Lord Lyndhurst, Lord Westbury used to tell
of a dinner in the Temple to which he invited Lords Lyndhurst,
Brougham, and Campbell, and Sir Charles Wetherell, when the
last-named warned Lyndhurst and Brougham of Campbell's de
signs in terms almost prophetic of what afterwards occurred :
' My biographical friend will exult in exhibiting every little foible —
Hunc tu Romane caveto! Probably this was the occasion to
which Lord St. Leonards refers in his pamphlet, Misrepre
sentations in Campbell's Lives of Lyndhurst and Brougham, cor
rected by St. Leonards. Sir Charles Wetherell said that Lord
Campbell had added a terror to death. ' I have lived,' Lord St.
Leonards complains, ' to find that he has left behind him a new
terror to life.'

140 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1852-
and, as it seemed, almost at pleasure. When not
wanted in the House he would sit in the library,
reading his briefs with an attention wholly absorbed.
Occasionally while thus occupied he would drop off
to sleep, and after a brief interval awake, and with
out apparent effort resume his work with the same
air of diligent study.
The peculiar flavour of his wit and his marked
idiosyncrasies of manner amused the House ; and
he stirred, perhaps, less opposition there than in
the Courts or, later on, in the House of Lords.
There was an independence of character, an evident
indisposition to kow-tow to any one, however power
ful, which pleased the members of the popular
assembly. His individuality excited general interest,
and the stories about him which circulated in the
lobby were almost as numerous as those which
were retailed at the bar table in Lincoln's Inn Hall.
One may be inserted here : — A member who was in
conversation with him observed that society was
now compounded of strange elements. 'Well,' re
joined Bethell, ' my experience constrains me to say
that the world is made up of but two classes, the
foolish and the designing.' This compendious classi
fication was not apparently appreciated by the other,
who inquired, ' Where, then, are you and I to be
placed ? ' — ' My dear sir,' said Bethell, with a win
ning smile, ' the simplicity of your inquiry assures
me that we should not go into the same lobby on
that division.'

1855 THE CRIMEAN WAR 141
Parliament opened in January 1854 amid the
general anxiety then attending the imminent out
break of the war with Russia. The serious aspect
of foreign affairs did not, however, deter Lord
John Russell from introducing a measure of Parlia
mentary Reform. He declared that he had accepted
office with the understanding that the Govern
ment was pledged to the measure, and that his
personal honour was concerned in promoting it.
Both in the House of Commons and in the country
there was a very strong feeling that the moment
was inopportune for the introduction of a measure
which would certainly excite party animosities, and
might imperil the existence of the Ministry. The
second reading was postponed for six weeks, but the
declaration of war came in the interval ; and in
deference to the general sentiment the Bill was, as
every one expected, withdrawn.
With the Bill to prevent corrupt practices at
elections Lord John Russell was more successful ;
and the Bill providing for the better government
of the University of Oxford also passed, though
the Government were beaten several times upon it,
and the measure underwent considerable change.
Sir Richard Bethell with Mr. Gladstone did much
of the Government work in Committee on both
of these Bills. The two ministers acted together
in perfect harmony, and, as appears from the
following and other letters, with much friendly
sympathy : —

142 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1852-
' Dear Chancellor of the Exchequer — I am ashamed to send
you so poor a present of Greek wine and liquor, but my wine
merchant tells me that the wine I lately imported is not fit to
send out, and therefore I sent for a few bottles out of a small
stock I have in the country, which I mention that you may make
allowance for it travelling this weather. The wines are all from
Cephalonia, as I have at present none from Corfu, nor could I
find a single bottle of the delicious sweet wine of the " woody
Zacynthus," which I wished much to send.. No doubt if we
afforded a market, there would be the greatest improvement in
the manufacture. It would give great stimulus to industry and
tend greatly to augment the population of the islands.
' Restored to feelings of perfect satisfaction with British rule,
the people of the islands might be gradually prepared for self-
government, for I agree with you that, except Corfu, I should
wish the islands to be part of what we shall one day see, an
Hellenic Kingdom or Federal Republic. Meantime the gratitude
of the islanders to you for opening their trade would be boundless.
I will engage that on one of the most beautiful heights above the
harbour of Corfu there shall be erected a a-TrjXrj of white marble,
inscribed TXaSo-rSivi ~EvepyeTy (I have not time for the proper
characters), and that when you visit the islands you shall be
received with universal acclaim. — Believe me, yours very sincerely,
' Richard Bethell.
' F.S. — Please direct your butler to put the bottles in a warm
place.'
In the same session the Solicitor-General intro
duced a Bill to relieve the Colonial Church from
serious disabilities. In the previous year a Bill, pro
moted by the Bishops, had obtained the assent of the
House of Lords, the principal object of which was
to establish conventions in which the members of
the Church of England in the Colonies might make
rules for self-government. Up to that time the

1855 DISABILITIES OF THE COLONIAL CHURCH 143
regulations framed by their Bishops had no legal
validity, and it was doubtful whether the meetings
of the clergy themselves were not illegal. The
result was that the Colonial Church was in a much
worse position than other religious bodies. Grave
constitutional objections were, however, raised, and
the measure, receiving faint Government support,
was dropped.
Sir Richard Bethell's Bill of 1854 was more
limited in scope. It professed to take away the
disability through which the Colonial clergy were
unable to administer Church affairs, but provided that
no regulations should have any force unless confirmed
by an Act of the Colonial Legislature. Much mis
apprehension existed as to the true position of the
Colonial Church with reference to the law of Eng
land, and the precise effect the proposed enactment
would have upon it. It was said that if the Church
in the Colonies was a free Church, the Bill was
unnecessary ; if it was not, the legislation would
endanger the supremacy of the Crown and the unity
of the Established Church. Such diversity of
opinion prevailed that further progress became im
possible, and the Bill in Committee shared the fate
of its predecessor.
Sir Richard Bethell gave his own views on the
subject in a letter to Mr. Gladstone, which is of
interest in view of the subsequent decisions in the
Privy Council with respect to the status of the
Colonial Church :—

144 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1852-
' Hackwood Park, Oct. 18 [1854].
' I have received a letter from Sir George Grey on the subject
of the Colonial Bishops Bill. I do not know that I have con
versed with you on the subject since Lord John, in a hasty
moment, without consulting me or knowing anything of the plan
I had arranged, threw overboard my unfortunate Bill of last
session, which, but for so cruel a murder, would, I think, in an
altered shape, have become law. I then applied myself to an
anxious consideration of the subject, and had several discussions
with the Bishop of Adelaide and the Bishop of New Zealand,
and the conclusion I arrived at was this —
' 1. That although the Statute of Submission (25 Hy. VIII. c.
1 9) and the Common Law (of which it is in fact declaratory) were
universal, and bound the Church of England clergy both here
and in the Colonies, yet that they did not extend to prohibit the
holding of diocesan synods.
' 2. That it would not be illegal in the bishop of any colonial
diocese to convene his clergy and laity in diocesan synod, and
to settle and agree upon consensual compacts, which should
embody all such provisions touching the temporalities of that
Diocesan Church, and all such constitutions, rules, and regula
tions for preserving and maintaining order, discipline, and due
administration of matters ecclesiastical, as were consistent with
the canons of 1603, and not prohibited by any ecclesiastical law.
' 3. That the Colonial Church was not absolutely in need of
more authority and regulation than might be lawfully obtained
through the medium of such synods, and of consensual arrange
ments there entered into, and the observance of which might be
made an express condition on the licenses to be granted by the
bishops in the colonies.
' These conclusions were entirely concurred in and admitted
to be correct by Mr. Archibald Stephens, who is the best ecclesi
astical lawyer I know, and they were very satisfactory to the
Bishop of Adelaide. I do not, of course, mean to represent that
this plan would be effectual further than supplying the most
crying defects in the system of colonial ecclesiastical administra
tion ; but it, at all events, may be sufficient to give assurance of

1 85 5 JEWISH RELIEF BILL 145
a safe line of conduct and method of proceeding that, by a little
union among the colonial bishops, may be found quite adequate
to meet all the most necessary purposes.
' I do not think, therefore, that such a very limited amount
of interference as the House of Commons would be willing to
sanction by Act of Parliament is needed, if my opinion shall
stand the test of examination and appear to be well founded in law.
' If I have already told you all this, pardon my giving you the
trouble of reading it again. If I have done so I have forgotten
it amid my very numerous occupations.
' Now, referring to a somewhat cognate subject, will you kindly
tell me what is the meaning of the consecration of a Bishop of
Borneo or for Borneo ? Has the Crown granted a patent ? or is
the bishop consecrated under the " Bishop of Jerusalem Act ? " I
have had much communication on the subject of missionary
bishops with the Bishop of Oxford, but I was not aware of any
intention to create a See of Borneo. . . .
' I trust you constantly remember the great end and purpose
for which vacations were established by wisdom of old, to restore
health to the body and give repose and quiet to the mind ; and
earnestly trusting that this vacation has been and will be to you
abundantly fruitful of such results, believe me, ever yours sin
cerely, Richard Bethell.
' P.S. — Don't think of an answer till you have ten minutes
with nothing else to do.'
The political emancipation of the Jews was now
attempted by a fresh method. Instead of bringing
in a simple Bill of relief, omitting the words ' upon
the true faith of a Christian ' from the oath, Lord
John Russell's proposal now was to substitute for
the several oaths of allegiance, supremacy, and
abjuration, a single oath which could be taken by
Protestants, Jews, or Roman Catholics alike without
demur. vol. 1 10

146 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1852-
The Government did not appear to have foreseen
that this Bill would afford an opportunity for rousing
a fresh outbreak of the anti-papal feeling which had
been partially allayed by the Ecclesiastical Titles
Act. Many members who had uniformly voted
for Jewish relief refused to support a measure which
sought to effect their object by a side wind. It was
urged that the proposed alteration in the parlia
mentary oaths would remove one of the strongest
barriers against Papal encroachments. Mr. Disraeli
complained that the Jewish claims, which he had on
previous occasions repeatedly advocated, were pre
judiced by being mixed up with the question of the
Roman Catholic Oath, inflaming Protestant fears and
exciting Papal pretensions. He hoped to see the
day when, by the free will of Parliament, a Jew might
take his seat, not by the odious omission of words
from one general oath, but by the free declaration of
a creed of which he ought on every account to be
proud. On a division the Bill was thrown out by a
majority of four, and the question seemed once more
indefinitely postponed.
On a motion for the appointment of a Com
mission to inquire into the arrangements of the
Inns of Court for legal education, the Solicitor-
General made an interesting speech. The Attorney-
General, while advocating changes in the existing
system, considered that the matter might safely be
left to the Societies, but Sir Richard Bethell took a
somewhat wider view. 'If ever,' he said, 'there

1855 INNS OF COURT AND LEGAL EDUCATION 147
was a nation in which legal education is a public
duty and a public necessity, that nation is England ;
because by the institutions of the country the people
are invited to take part in the administration of
the law ; and it is our bounden duty, therefore, to
provide them with the means by which they may
become qualified to do so, by obtaining a general
knowledge of the principles of the law.'
He expressed his desire to see the Inns of Court
erected into one great legal University, not only for
the instruction of law students, but for the purpose
of co-operating with the other Universities in the
education of the public at large. He contrasted the
unfavourable position we then occupied with that
of France where the study of the law was systemati
cally pursued, and lamented the want of instruc
tion in original principles which was characteristic
of English jurisconsults. At the same time he
vindicated his fellow benchers from insensibility
or indolence in reference to the subject. The Inns
were convinced that they had obligations corre
sponding with the rights which they enjoyed ; but he
held that the way in which those obligations were dis
charged was a proper subject for inquiry ; so that, if
necessary, additional powers might be given them,
to enable them to perform their duty with efficiency.
We. have seen that he had long insisted that
lawyers should be scientifically educated, and that
compulsory examination, for which he could obtain
little support, was an absolute essential. The course

148 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1852.
of study for the bar which then obtained had been
happily described as going into a pleader's chambers
for a year or two to learn to tell a plain story in
unintelligible language, and it was said that the only
qualification for being called was that the student
should eat and drink, and be able to write his name.
If it be true that the Inns of Court were founded
and endowed for the purposes of lodging students
and instructing them in the law of the realm, it must
be admitted that the benchers had for a considerable
period neglected their duties. With the exception
of one or two fitful attempts to institute lectures, no
provision whatever had been made for the education
of students. Sir Richard Bethell, in his incisive fashion, thus
described the system of training for the bar :
' The student went, untrained, unformed, uneducated,
into the chambers of a special pleader or a convey
ancer ; what was the repulsive occupation there ?
Drudgery, the meaning of which it was impossible
for him to understand. After following it for some
time certain practical modes of procedure, certain
habits of thought, and the knowledge of a few estab
lished cases, formed the staple of what was done. If
the chambers were those of a conveyancer, a great
book was brought down, and the unfortunate alum
nus compelled to copy it from week to week, until
his very gorge rose at the task.' He was convinced
of the insufficiency of University education to give
that knowledge of the laws and institutions of the

1855 A LAW UNIVERSITY 149
country which shall qualify every young man to
discharge with propriety the political and civil duties
incident to his status as a member of the com
munity. But he considered that the duty of legal
education ought not to be left in the hands of close
and irresponsible corporations.
Thanks in great measure to the unceasing efforts
of Sir Richard Bethell, the education of law students
is now fairly performed by the Inns of Court. He
was one of the members of the Commission en
trusted with the inquiry into the matter of legal
education. By their Report made in January 1856
the Commissioners recommended that a University
should be constituted, with a senate having the
power of conferring degrees in law ; and that the
constituent members should be a Chancellor, Vice-
Chancellor, and Masters of Law. The Middle
Temple and Inner Temple were willing to carry
these recommendations into effect, but the other
two Societies refused to concur. Sir Roundell
Palmer (now the Earl of Selborne) subsequently
made unsuccessful attempts to induce Parliament to
intervene, and the recommendations of the Com
missioners have never been acted on.
Sir Richard was also appointed one of the Com
missioners for the purpose of consolidating the
Statute Laws, a reform of which he was a strenuous
advocate. There were at that time nearly 16,000
public general statutes, but of these some 14,000
were obsolete, while of the remainder a large pro-

150 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1852-
portion were encumbered with useless provisions
and unnecessary verbiage. 'A mighty maze and
all without a plan.' Of the many time-honoured
subjects of law reform this was unquestionably the
most venerable. It had engaged the attention of
Parliament and the country at intervals during
three centuries. The question was first agitated
in the reign of Edward VI. ; and it was again
brought forward in the times of Elizabeth and
James I., the latter monarch in a characteristic
speech referring to the ' overflow ' of conflicting
statutes ' crossing and cuffing each other ' as produc
tive of much inconvenience to his subjects ; while
Bacon had declared that ' the leaving on the Statute
Book Acts which are at variance with the spirit and
temper of the times in which we live impairs the
authority of the rest, and we ought not to have the
living die in the arms of the dead.'
In the same session a Testamentary Bill was
brought in by Lord Cranworth by which the juris
diction in probate matters of the existing Ecclesias
tical Courts — of which nearly 400 were scattered
over the kingdom — was to be taken from them and
given to the Court of Chancery. The majority of
the Law Commissioners had advocated the institu
tion of a distinct Court of Probate, but Lord Cran
worth adopted the proposal of the minority, which
included Sir Richard Bethell. His plan had the
obvious advantage that the probate of a will and its
interpretation — questions of validity and administra-

1855 TESTAMENTARY JURISDICTION 151
tion as well as questions of construction — were to be
given to the same tribunal, on the principle of one
court for one cause. Attempts had been made by
Lord Brougham, Lord Cottenham, and Lord Lynd
hurst, among others, to reform the testamentary pro
cedure, but in vain ; the thirty years which Lord
John Russell assigned as the usual period for the
gestation of any measure of law reform had passed
in fruitless endeavours to deal with the question.
The proposed alterations struck at the vested
interests of the practitioners at Doctors' Commons
— a comparatively small but well-armed body —
and of the much larger number of officials of the
threatened courts. The long standing conflict of
opinion among the would-be reformers as to the
tribunal to which the jurisdiction should be en
trusted further embarrassed the question. To the
principle of the Lord Chancellor's plan Sir A.
Cockburn was strongly opposed, and he refused to
take any part in promoting the measure. It was
popularly objected to on the ground that if all
wills were to be thrown into Chancery, legatees and
others would be involved in the proverbial delay
and expense of that court. The opposition, based
on these grounds, was so formidable that the Bill
never reached the Lower House. In the excited
state of the country, law reform could receive little
practical attention, and the difference of opinion
between the legal advisers of the Government made
this particular question less easy to settle.

152 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1852.
The instability of the Coalition, foreseen by
the prophetic eye of Mr. Disraeli, had begun to
show itself in the reverses and disappointments
sustained in Parliament during the session. The
prophet was not slow to point to the realisation
of the prediction to which his own efforts had
greatly contributed. ' The Ministry of all the
talents' — 'those distinguished and gifted beings'
— ' the combination of geniuses ' — had, he showed,
introduced seven measures of the utmost import
ance. Of these they had been defeated in four,
and three they . had withdrawn. He proceeded
to draw an effective contrast between the measures
passed by Lord Derby's Government during their
few months of office, and those which their suc
cessors had introduced but failed to carry. The
Grenville Administration of 1 806 had afforded proof
that this kind of coalition can only be maintained
by the personal ascendency of a single minister.
Lord Aberdeen's ministry supplied no such pre
dominating influence, and the very strength of its
individual members became a source of weakness.
The Government, though only a year and a half
in office, were already exhibiting 'the cold grada
tions of decay.' Sir E. Bulwer Lytton ironically
declared that while most Governments had been
formed by a combination of opinions, this one was
based upon the grander principle of the diversity of
talent. In the summer of this year Sir Richard Bethell

1 85 5 THE BRIDGEWATER CASE 153
was engaged in the great Bridgewater case, which
determined the ownership of estates of the value of
more than two millions, and involved an important
question of public policy.1 It was further notable
for the diversity of judicial opinion which it pro
voked. The seventh Earl of Bridgewater devised
his estates for the benefit of his great nephew,
Lord Alford, for life, with remainder to the use of
the heirs male of Lord Alford, but subject to the
proviso that, if Lord Alford should die without
having acquired the title of Duke or Marquis of
Bridgewater, the estates should go over according
to the subsequent limitations as if he had died
without male issue. The fourth Earl had been
created Marquis of Brackley and Duke of Bridge-
water, but these titles became extinct on the death
of the sixth Earl in 1803, and the testator's object
was to induce Lord Alford to use the great in
fluence which the possession of estates worth more
than ;£6o, 000 a year would give him to regain one
or both of the lost titles.
Lord Alford, however, died without having
acquired either title, leaving a son, Mr. Egerton,
who claimed the estates on the ground that the
condition annexed to the limitation to the heirs
male was illegal. This claim was naturally resisted
by the persons who were entitled if the proviso
could take effect. Lord Cranworth, when Vice-
Chancellor, held that the condition was valid, and
1 Egerton v. Lord Brownlow, 4 House of Lords Cases, 1.

154 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1852.
the case went on appeal to the House of Lords,
when Sir Richard Bethell, with Sir Fitzroy Kelly
and Mr. Charles Hall, was retained by the appellant,
and Mr. Rolt, Mr. Malins, and Mr. Giffard repre
sented the respondents. The Judges were sum
moned to assist in the decision, and eleven of them
attended. Of these no fewer than nine1 agreed
with Lord Cranworth that the proviso was valid as
a condition precedent, and that, as it had not been
complied with, Mr. Egerton took no estate on the
death of his father. Chief Baron Pollock and
Baron Piatt, on the contrary, were of opinion that
the proviso was in the nature of a condition sub
sequent, and void as contrary to public policy, and
that therefore the non-compliance with its terms did
not prevent the appellant from taking the estates.
The arguments on the question whether the
condition was precedent or subsequent were entirely
of a technical nature, but those which were based
on considerations of the public interest depended
on the application of broad general principles. It
was urged in support of the appeal that the ten
dency of a gift clogged with such a condition was
mischievous to the community, for it would affect
Lord Alford's independence and the proper dis
charge of his public duties, and supply a temptation
to venality, if the retention of the estates by his
family depended on his obtaining the marquisate or
1 Barons Parke and Alderson with Justices Coleridge, Wight-
man, Erie, Talfourd, Cresswell, Williams, and Crompton.

1855 THE 'DEAD HAND' 155
dukedom. On the other hand, it was submitted
that the condition was rather an incitement to great
public services likely to attract the attention and
merit the favours of the Crown, and that in the
exercise of its prerogative the Crown is not liable
to be embarrassed by the acts of its subjects.
Lords Lyndhurst, Brougham, Truro, and St. Leon
ards (Lord Cranworth dissenting) allowed the appeal,
the result being that the opinions of six judicial
authorities finally prevailed over those of ten, though
it is true that of the latter all, with a single exception,
were puisne judges.
It is worthy of remark that in the Thellusson
case a disposition of property was held to be valid,
though considered so plainly contrary to public
policy that the Legislature immediately intervened
to prevent its repetition, while in the Bridgewater
case a provision was held to be illegal on the ground
that it was prejudicial to the interests of the State.
The successful conduct of the appellant's case was
a signal triumph for Sir Richard Bethell, to which
he always referred with pride. But though the
decision was received with a chorus of approval by
the press, the principle on which it was based did
not altogether command the assent of the profession.
He was also employed in the well-known leading
case of Lomax v. Ripley} in which the validity of
a will was impeached as having been made on a
secret and illegal trust. Mr. Ripley was desirous of
1 3 Smale and Giffard's Reports, 48.

156 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1852-
founding a hospital at Lancaster, his native town, but
was advised that the provisions of the Mortmain Act
would render the gift invalid, if he died within a
year after the conveyance of the land he proposed
to dedicate to his purpose. Being at the time
in very feeble health he made a will appointing
his wife residuary legatee in the confident assur
ance that she would give effect to his intentions,
but he declared no trust and did not attempt to
impose any obligation on her. The testator died
within a year afterwards, and the next-of-kin filed
a Bill against the widow to have the residuary gift
set aside as made upon a secret understanding
to defeat the Mortmain Act. Mrs. Ripley admitted
that she was aware of her husband's intentions,
but denied that she had, directly or indirectly,
engaged to carry them into effect.
A vast mass of evidence was adduced to prove
an engagement or promise, but the positive denial
of the widow prevailed, and it was held that the
gift was unfettered by any trust, and therefore
valid. Sir Richard Bethell was leading counsel for
the widow, and in the opinion of some who heard
his address he surpassed himself in his masterly
handling of facts and principles, and the vivid,
dramatic picture he drew of the circumstances under
which the will was made. It was the effort of a
consummate artist.
The late Lord Wensleydale (formerly Baron
Parke) used to say of Sir Richard Bethell that he

1855 A GREAT ADVOCATE 157
was the finest advocate he had ever listened to. A
solicitor of great experience bears similar testimony,
and adds : ' After he had finished his argument, I
felt that not one word that could be usefully and
advantageously said had been left unsaid, and still
more that not one word had been said which had
been better left unsaid.' Many were the manoeuvres
adopted by solicitors at this period to secure his
services for their clients, and occasionally there was
something like a race to his chambers to deliver the
retainer in an important appeal. He was as much
in request in charity informations and patent cases
as in peerage claims and great company suits. As
a boy he had picked up in the cloth manufactories
at Bradford a knowledge of machinery, and no in
vention, however complicated, seemed to puzzle him.
He was quick to detect talent in others, and
always ready to give it generous and effective
recognition. After a consultation in a case in which
he was associated with a junior counsel of compara
tively short standing at the bar he observed to the
solicitor who had instructed them, ' That young man
will undoubtedly rise to the top of his profession.'
The junior, whose eminence was thus predicted, was
Mr. (afterwards Earl) Cairns, the great Conserva
tive Chancellor.
Sir Richard Bethell was generally credited with
a want of appreciation of the capacity of most of
the judges before whom he practised. It was said
that when one of the equity judges, in reference to

158 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1852-
some application to the Court, made answer that he
would turn the matter over in his mind, Bethell,
turning round to his junior with a smile, which
seemed to bespeak intense amusement, said, loud
enough to be heard by the bar, ' Take a note of
that ; his Lordship says he will turn it over in what
he is pleased to call his mind ! ' Other versions of
the story, with variations suited to the details, are
current ; and it is probable that the bon mot was
really employed by its author on more than one
occasion. After he had written an opinion on a case, the
solicitor who had laid it before him came running
round to his chambers with the report of another
case he had turned up, which seemed to be in
direct conflict with the Attorney-General's opinion.
Sir Richard carefully read the report and returned
it with the single observation, ' What fools these
judges are ! '
His too obvious self-confidence naturally made
him unpopular with the Bench. He had a dis
agreeable way of showing a judge that he thought
him inferior to himself; yet withal he was outwardly
so suave and courteous that no offence could be
taken openly. The story which gained some cur
rency that one of the Common Law Judges once
appealed to him to be addressed at least as a verte
brate animal, and with as much respect as Heaven
might be supposed to show towards a black-beetle,
may be dismissed as a ridiculous invention.

1855 LORD CRANWORTH 'ALONE IN THE DARK' 159
Another story had at least the merit of being ben
trovato. Lord Cranworth, before he became Lord
Justice, had been for some years a Baron of the Ex
chequer, and when Lord Chancellor he used to sit con
tinually with the Lord Justices for the purpose, it was
said, of making himself better acquainted with the
new procedure in Equity, of which he was compara
tively ignorant. One day some one remarked to
Bethell : ' I wonder why old Cranny always sits with
the Lords Justices ?' The caustic but humorous
reply was : ' I take it to arise from a childish indis
position to be left alone in the dark ! '

CHAPTER VI
1855-1856
Defeat of the Government on Mr. Roebuck's motion — Lord Palmer
ston forms an Administration — Sir Richard Bethell again becomes
Solicitor -General — Resignation of Mr. Gladstone and other
Ministers — Lord John Russell's position — Bethell defends primo
geniture — Appellate jurisdiction of the Lords — Bethell and the
Law Lords — Views on the study of Jurisprudence — Testamentary
jurisdiction — Life peerages — Defeat of the Government Bill —
Failure to effect law reforms.
No sooner had Parliament reassembled in January
1855 than the general discontent caused by the
neglect and mismanagement of the war during
the preceding nine months found forcible ex
pression, in both Houses of Parliament, in motions
condemnatory of the Government. The heart
of the country was stirred with a burning indig
nation at the terrible accounts of the state of
affairs in the Crimea. The mere announcement
of Mr. Roebuck's motion for a Select Committee
to inquire into the condition of the army before
Sebastopol, and generally into the conduct of
the war, brought about the precipitate resignation of
Lord John Russell, then President of the Council.

1855-1856 DEFEAT OF THE ABERDEEN MINISTRY 161
His secession from the Government, at the moment
when, arraigned by a motion of censure, they were
fighting for their existence, was much condemned as
an act of disloyalty to his political associates. His
own explanation of it was that he declined to oppose
the motion because he could not say that measures
had been taken by which the evils complained of
would be remedied or the war more vigorously
prosecuted, and he declared that, with all the official
knowledge he possessed, there was something inex
plicable in the state of the army.
The resignation was the fatal shock to the
Government, which had long existed only by suffer
ance. Though the motion was brought forward by
one of their own supporters, the Government treated
it as implying a want of confidence, and the .Oppo
sition, who had refrained from taking aggressive
action on their own account, naturally supported it.
The division astonished even the House itself.
The Government were defeated by 305 to 148, and
derisive laughter took the place of the usual cheers
when the numbers were announced. The Coalition
Government fell, and hardly any one regretted it.
As Sir E. Bulwer Lytton well observed, it is
an indispensable element of a coalition that its
members should coalesce, and that had throughout
been wanting in the fallen Government. It had
been a union of party interests, but not a coalition
of party sentiment and feeling.
Sir Richard Bethell had the most deep-rooted
vol. 1 11

162 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1855-
sense of the miseries of war, and realised with
peculiar force the embarrassments in which the
Ministry had been placed by the posture of foreign
affairs. It seems that at this juncture, disheartened
by the defeat of the Ministry, he even contemplated
retiring from Parliament and devoting himself once
more exclusively to professional labours. The cir
cumstances of Lord John Russell's resignation were
very distasteful to him, and he never quite excused
Lord John's conduct on this occasion. For Mr.
Gladstone, with whom he had been closely asso
ciated in the promotion of several of the Govern
ment measures, he had at that time a strong
admiration, as will appear from the following ex
tract from a letter written by him on the resignation
of the Ministry : —
' . . . This is my last official letter to you. I may truly say that
the most pleasurable recollection of my office will be the oppor
tunity it has afforded me of cultivating your acquaintance — I
trust I might say your friendship.
' In the event of a dissolution of Parliament I do not think I
should be tempted to try to enter it again.
' I confess I have been deeply grieved at the events of the last
few days and at the manner in which vanity and ambition in what
I thought one of the highest order of minds overpowered the
obligations of common truth and honesty.
' " Who would not weep if Atticus were he ? "
Many things, I trust, became the Ministry in office, but certainly
not the manner of leaving it.'
There was no dissolution, but the interregnum
which followed the resignation of the Ministry
lasted upwards of a fortnight, in consequence of

1856 PALMERSTON'S FIRST ADMINISTRATION 163
the difficulty in forming an administration. Lord
Derby and Lord John Russell each in turn received
the Queen's commands, but finding insuperable
difficulties in the "formation of a Government fitted
to cope with the exigencies of the crisis, abandoned
the attempt. Lord Palmerston was more successful.
Both he and Mr. Gladstone had declined to join in
the administration which Lord Derby endeavoured
to form, though Lord Palmerston expressed his
willingness to serve under Lord John Russell. ' It
is in the nature of parties,' says Lord Macaulay,
' to retain their original enmities more firmly than
their original principles.'
It was notorious that for some months past Lord
Palmerston had pressed his colleagues to carry on
the war with greater vigour, and in the public mind
he was to a great extent excepted from the censure
imposed on the late Government. It was clear
that, whatever might be the composition of the
Ministry, he was the man called upon by the voice
of the country to undertake the management of
affairs. The Ministry, as constructed by Lord
Palmerston, included most of his former col
leagues, with the exception of the Earl of Aber
deen and Lord John Russell. Sir A. Cockburn
and Sir Richard Bethell resumed their positions as
Law Officers.
But a fortnight had barely elapsed before Mr.
Gladstone, Sir James Graham, and Mr. Sydney
Herbert resigned their offices. They had from the

1 64 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1855-
first been strongly opposed, both on political and
constitutional grounds, to the appointment of Mr.
Roebuck's Committee as useless and mischievous.
It would, they declared, take out of the hands of the
Executive one of the most important functions of
government ; and when Lord Palmerston gave way
before the irresistible feeling in the country that the
inquiry should take place, they insisted that it
was tantamount to a fresh vote of want of confidence
in the new Ministry. Thereupon Lord John Russell
re-entered the Cabinet as Colonial Secretary. But
before six months had passed he was compelled once
more to resign office in contemplation of the vote of
censure threatened with relation to his conduct in
the peace negotiations at Vienna.
As the British plenipotentiary, Lord John
Russell had assented to the Austrian proposals
for peace, and undertaken to use his influence with
the Cabinet to procure their acceptance. The pro
posals were, however, rejected by the Government
as giving insufficient security against future aggres
sion on the part of Russia, and the negotiations
came to an end. Lord John, on his return to
London, considering that this decision had removed
all immediate prospects of peace, concurred with his
colleagues in their declared policy of a vigorous
prosecution of hostilities, made a bellicose speech in
the House of Commons, and got the credit of wishing
to cripple Russia, though all the while he remained,
as Mr. Disraeli expressed it, a peace member of a

1856 LORD JOHN RUSSELL RESIGNS 165
Cabinet of War. When the subsequent publication
of foreign despatches revealed what had passed at
Vienna, this apparent inconsistency of conduct
exposed him to great obloquy and seriously dis
credited the Ministry. People asked how it came
about if Lord John Russell considered that the
Austrian proposals afforded a reasonable prospect
of an honourable peace, that he had consented to
surrender his opinion at the instance of his col
leagues, to retain his seat in the Cabinet, and to
prosecute the war contrary to his own convictions.
Subsequent explanations to a great extent justified
his position, but at the time the feeling against him
ran very high, and the confidence in the Govern
ment policy was seriously compromised.
Several of the subordinate members of the
Ministry thereupon made insurrection against
' Johnny,' as they called him, and declared that if
he did not resign they all would. They even
threatened to sign a round robin addressed to Lord
Palmerston praying for his removal. While the mat
ter was in this posture Sir Richard Bethell one night
was dozing, as his wont was, on the Treasury Bench,
when Sir A. Cockburn rushed up to him in some
excitement. ' What, Mr. Solicitor ! are you sleep
ing there when the disgrace of the Government can
only be averted by strenuous action ?' Thereupon
Bethell, thoroughly roused, entered into an animated
conversation with the Attorney -General as to the
line of action to be adopted by the cabal. The

1 66 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1855-
Speaker, whose curiosity had been excited by what
he saw of the incident, presently beckoned the
Solicitor-General and asked him what had happened.
' Then, sir,' said Bethell, ' the men of the ship took
up Jonah and cast him forth into the sea, and the
sea ceased her raging.'
The ship, lightened by the jettison of Lord John
Russell, held on her way, though the political out
look was gloomy and threatening, and all Lord
Palmerston's peculiar tact was needed to cope with
the difficulties of the Ministerial position. Almost
the entire Session was consumed in lively discussions
on matters connected with the war. Damaging
attacks were made on the Ministers, not only by
Mr. Disraeli and the chiefs of the Opposition, but
also by Mr. Bright, Mr. Roebuck, and other inde
pendent members. In these discussions Sir Richard
Bethell took no part, but his colleague, Mr. Layard,
sitting on the Liberal cross benches, was unsparing
in his criticisms. ' From that quarter,' said Mr.
Gladstone, ' issue the coldest and most bitter blasts
of all.' On behalf of the Government, Sir Richard Bethell
was put up to oppose Mr. Locke King's motion for
leave to bring in a Bill for the better settling of the
real estates of intestates. The mover, who was
rather in advance of his generation in his advocacy
of changes in the law, proposed simply to abolish
the distinctions of descent in the case of real and
personal property, and to apply one uniform law to

1856 DEFENCE OF PRIMOGENITURE 167
all kinds of property of persons who died intestate.
The Solicitor- General successfully opposed the
motion. He argued that it was a measure framed
not so much with a view to amend the law as to
change one of the settled institutions of the country
by which the members of the community had their
views and expectations regulated and determined.
He defended primogeniture as a valued institu
tion on the ground of its social advantages. ' There
is not,' he said, ' a profession, calling, or occupation
in the country that does not swarm with numbers of
industrious, intelligent, earnest, active younger sons,
whose industry is stimulated, intellect excited, and
talents called forth and matured by the mere circum
stance that they have to depend on their exertions,
and will not have the property they might probably
be looking to if this great institution were abolished.'
He declined to come to close quarters with the
question on any abstract principle of natural justice,
preferring to shelter himself for once behind the
venerable declaration, Nolumus leges Anglice mutari.
He also introduced, late in the Session of 1855,
the Leases and Sales of Settled Estates Bill, which
had been sent down by the House of Lords. The
object was to substitute applications to the Court of
Chancery for applications to Parliament in cases
where parties were desirous of granting leases,
effecting sales, or exercising other powers not pro
vided in the instruments under which they took title.
It was the first attempt at legislation in that direction,

i68 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1855-
and the opposition was based on the argument that
it was an undue interference with the wishes of
settlors, and conferred too extensive powers on the
Court of Chancery. Much to the Solicitor-General's
disappointment, for he was thoroughly convinced of
the value of the measure, the open hostility of its
opponents and the lukewarmness of its professed
friends proved too strong for him, and the Bill had
to be withdrawn. The introduction of the measure,
however, had gained for it considerable favour, and
he had little difficulty in getting it passed in the
following year. Reculer pour mieux sauter is the
principle of much of our successful legislation.
The appellate jurisdiction of the House of Lords
had for some time caused grave scandal, and in the
last days of the Session, while a Bill for facilitating
the despatch of business in the Court of Chancery
was in Committee, the Solicitor-General referred in
a very pointed manner to the failure of the Lords to
discharge their judicial functions satisfactorily : —
' He quite admitted that scarcely anything was amended in the
judicial institutions of this country until the recognition of the
necessity of that amendment had been passed on, so to speak, from
father to son, and from generation to generation ; and so it was with
regard to the House of Lords. It was, therefore, doubtful how long
it might be before they got a tribunal in the last resort satisfactory
in its constitution. The members of the present tribunal felt
themselves at liberty to attend or not attend, as they pleased ;
with the exception of the Lord Chancellor all the rest of the
Court were mere volunteers ; they attended a judicial sitting as
they would a debate ; they felt themselves at liberty to remain
during the whole of the arguments or not ; and the result was

1856 ATTACKS THE LAW LORDS 169
that that Court, the decisions of which ought to be unalterable as
the laws of the Medes and Persians, was felt to be unsatisfactory
in its constitution, and inferior to the lowest tribunal in what
ought to be the accompaniments of a Court of Justice.'
These observations, which were certainly pretty
strong, considering the speaker's official position,
gave bitter offence to the Law Lords. Two days
later, on the eve of the prorogation, Lord St. Leo
nards having called attention to the matter in the
Upper House, Lord Campbell assailed Sir Richard
Bethell with great virulence. He said : —
' He had witnessed, he must say with indignation, the attack
that had been made on their Lordships' judicial jurisdiction by
Her Majesty's Solicitor-General. It was a most violent attack,
having a direct tendency to bring their jurisdiction into disrepute,
and it was astonishing that it should come from an officer of Her
Majesty's Government. It was an attack upon the constituted
authorities of the country, and upon a public functionary — for he
(Lord Campbell) must say that it appeared to him to be an attack
on his noble and learned friend on the woolsack, who presided
over their Lordships' proceedings when sitting as a Court of Appeal.
It seemed to him, if the report were a just representation of what
fell from the Solicitor-General, that he thought that justice would
never be satisfactorily administered in their Lordships' House
until he (the Solicitor-General) was presiding on the woolsack.'
Lord Campbell went on to say that their judicial
jurisdiction was of essential importance to their Lord
ships to enable them to preserve their importance
and usefulness ; and any assertion that this jurisdic
tion was unsatisfactory and mischievous must be an
attack on the constitution of the country itself.1 The
1 It will be remembered that the Judicature Act of 1873
transferred to a specially-constituted Court the supreme appellate

170 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1855-
attack was totally unfounded. The endeavour to
represent Sir Richard's remarks as an attack on
Lord Cranworth was unfair ; for the Solicitor-
General had confined his complaint to the Law
Lords, who sat as volunteers, and had founded it
rather on the constitution of the Appellate Court
than the failure of any individual member of it to dis
charge his duty. Though Lord Campbell professed
to consider that the attack was ' totally unfounded, '
he afterwards admitted that Lord Brougham, with
Lord Cranworth and Lord St. Leonards, had ' con
trived to get the appellate jurisdiction of the House
into still greater discredit;'1 that the Solicitor-
General had shortly before besought his attention
to ' the deplorable condition of the appeal business ; '
and (early in the following year) that ' the judicial
business in the House of Lords could not go on
another Session as it did the last.'2 No one, cer
tainly, had a better right to criticise the defects of
the ultimate tribunal than the counsel who was
engaged in twice as many appeals as any one
else. Sir Richard Bethell was the first President of the
Juridical Society, which was formed in the year
1855 to develop the science of jurisprudence, and
jurisdiction of the House of Lords. Subsequently a strong feeling
arose against this surrender of an ancient privilege ; the jurisdic
tion of the peers was restored, and the present intermediate
Appeal Court was established.
1 Lives of the Lord Chancellors, vol. viii. p. 582.
2 Life of Lord Campbell, vol. ii. pp. 332, 338.

1856 ADVOCATES STUDY OF JURISPRUDENCE 171
promote the investigation of subjects having relation
to law, social, moral, and political. It has now
ceased to exist, but in its time the Society did much
to encourage inquiry into the sources and operation
of laws, and to stimulate professional opinion on
questions of reform. In his inaugural address Sir
Richard directed attention to the neglect of the
study of jurisprudence by English lawyers, and
traced the causes and results of such neglect with
admirable succinctness.
After noting the contrast which existed in Eng
land between the indifference of the professors of
law and the anxiety shown by those engaged in
other departments of science, and lamenting that
there was no general association for mutual aid and
instruction among members of a profession who
ought to regard themselves as students of the most
exalted form of knowledge— moral philosophy em
bodied and applied in the laws and institutions of a
great people — he traced their peculiar neglect of the
study of jurisprudence to the resistance offered in
our early legal history to the adoption of the civil
law, which gave rise to the distinctions between
law and equity, and led to the establishment of the
Court of Chancery.
' By this division the mind of the student of law, as adminis
tered in the Courts of Common Law, became a stranger to some
of the most important doctrines. He was excluded from all
acquaintance with the administration of justice founded upon
accident, mistake, fraud (except in its grosser forms), trust, fiduci
ary relations, the prevention of injustice by restraining the com-

172 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1855-
mission of meditated wrong, the direct performance of contracts,
and the enlarged power, consequent on the rule that he who seeks
equity must do equity, of enforcing the obligations of moral duty,
conscience, and good faith. Was it possible that lawyers who
had severed themselves from the study of these large departments
of moral science could be proficient in the study of jurispru
dence? . . .'
While each body of practitioners cultivated its
own separate inheritance without concerning itself
about the entire domain of jurisprudence, was it
wonderful, he asked, that English lawyers were not
distinguished among jurists ?
' Great part, no doubt, of the evil resulting from the cause I
have described would be removed if we possessed a Code or
Digest — an Universum Corpus of English law. But this is one of
the peculiarities of the English legal mind, that it has always been
averse from the duty of extracting, consolidating, and arranging
legal rules and principles in a plain and simple order and form ;
it prefers that these rules should be scattered up and down many
hundred volumes of decided cases, where they lie involved and
entangled in different combinations of facts and circumstances ;
and that a rule should be painfully extracted for the occasion
from a mass of statutes passed at different times, expressed in
terms of varying import, and frequently inconsistent with and
contradictory of each other.
' This, again, is another great obstacle to the progress among
us of the science of jurisprudence.
' Cases are argued not on principle but supposed precedent —
not from reason but from memory ; and he is esteemed the best
lawyer whose recollection enables him to cite the greatest number
of former decisions bearing some resemblance to the case which
requires to be decided.
' Connected with these causes of our inferiority in jurisprudence
is the antipathy which the English lawyer has always felt to the
study of the civil law. This would almost seem to be a tradi-

1856 TROUT-BREEDING AT HACKWOOD 173
tionary feeling. But the voice of all Europe has for ages pro
nounced its study as essential to the formation of a legal mind.
In their judgment you might as well doubt the value of classical
literature as a means of enlightened education. This peculiarity
of the English lawyer is often noticed by continental jurists, and
not always in terms of courtesy. One of them addresses us in
the following doggerel lines : —
' " In Institutis,
Comparo vos brutis ;
In digestis,
Nihil potestis ;
In Codice,
Satis modice ;
In Novellis,
Similes asellis ;
Et vos creamini Doctores,
O tempora ! O mores ! " '
In conclusion, he referred to the want of a
systematic course of legal education as one of the
chief obstacles to the progress of the science of
jurisprudence, and insisted that it belonged to the
Universities of England and to the Inns of Court to
fill up this void.1
In the course of this year (1855) Sir Richard
rented Hackwood Park, near Basingstoke, from
Lord Bolton. In addition to some fair shooting,
the estate afforded excellent fishing over three
miles of the River Loddon. Soon after taking
Hackwood he commenced the artificial hatching
and breeding of trout, which had lately come under
his notice. He seemed to know all about it in
tuitively, and after much trouble contrived to teach
the old water-bailiff how to milk the fish into a bowl,
1 Juridical Society Papers, vol. i. p. 1 .

174 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1855-
mix the ripe ova and milt with a wooden spoon, and
place them in boxes or hampers of gravel in a pro
tected stream to hatch. At first the keeper was
firmly convinced that his master was playing some
practical joke upon him ; but he lived and learnt,
and before long had great success, turning millions
of fry into the Loddon for several years.
The conclusion of the Treaty of Peace with
Russia in the spring of 1856 placed Parliament
once more in a position to entertain legislation on
subjects of domestic improvement, which during the
war had necessarily been in abeyance. Measures
for extinguishing the testamentary jurisdiction of
the Ecclesiastical Courts, altering the law of divorce,
and consolidating the statute law, were again an
nounced by the legal members of the Government,
while the new-born activity of the ex-Solicitor-
General, Sir Fitzroy Kelly, in the matter of these
and kindred projects, threatened to force their
hands and win for the Conservatives the credit of the
reforms. Law reform again became a popular subject,
and private members began to press forward with
proposals, more or less crude, of amateur legislation.
The Solicitor-General was naturally anxious to
secure Mr. Gladstone's all-powerful support for the
measures on testamentary jurisdiction which he
had framed, and with that object addressed to him
the following letter. ' I regarded it at the time,'
writes Mr. Gladstone, 'as a striking example of
power and ingenuity of statement'

1856 TESTAMENTARY ADMINISTRATION 175
'April 25 [1856].
' My dear Mr. Gladstone — I have been unsuccessful in several
attempts to have the pleasure of some conversation with you in
the House of Commons, and therefore am giving you the trouble
of reading a long letter.
' First, I wished much to have talked to you about the new
Examination Statute at Oxford. I was not aware of any intention
to give publicity to my opinion, or I should have been more
anxious to state reasons in support of it. I should be glad if the
statute could be made in this Parliament to assume a' different
form, but on that it was not my province to volunteer an opinion,
and therefore I simply stated that the form proposed involved no
violation of the statute. But I foresee many inconvenient and
mischievous consequences unless there be great forbearance and
prudence on both sides.
' I want next to beg your attention to my Testamentary Juris
diction Bill, and to express a hope that you will give it your
support. The only cry attempted to be raised against it is, that
all wills are to be thrown into Chancery. This is simply untrue.
The business of proving wills, and any litigation consequential
thereon, will be the proper epyov of a distinct Court, and will not
be thrown into the general mass of the business of suitors in
Chancery. It is true that the Court is declared to be part of the
Court of Chancery for two reasons : first, as the most convenient
way of declaring that the New Testamentary Court shall have all
the powers of a Court of Construction and a Court of Administra
tion, functions now discharged by the Court of Chancery alone ;
secondly, because, concurrently, and at the same time with the
course of litigation as to a contested will, it is most necessary
that the estate and property should not be left, as now, derelict
and abandoned, but should be preserved, collected, and adminis
tered, as far as it can be administered, among persons whose
interests are unaffected by the litigation. But these are the
functions and duties of the Court of Chancery. The great objects
therefore of consolidating the scattered jurisdictions of our country,
and guiding them by uniformity of principles and rules of pro
cedure (which alone would justify and require the abolition of the

176 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1855-
Ecclesiastical Courts if they were innocent of offence), cannot be
secured unless the Court of Probate be made an integral part of
the Court of Administration, or at least has imparted to it that
additional jurisdiction now possessed by Chancery alone, which
is necessary to enable it to act efficiently and finally. But whilst
I impart these powers by making the Court co-ordinate with the
Court of Chancery, I link it with the Court of Chancery only
by giving the first appeal from its divisions to the ordinary Court
of Appeal in Chancery, and this is essential to prevent the infinite
delay and expense of carrying every trifling matter to the House
of Lords. ' Again it is essential to have one tribunal for wills of real and
personal estate. It is objectionable to direct in terms that wills
of real estate should be proved. I have therefore substituted a
well-known procedure in Chancery for Probate — that is, the estab
lishing the wills, which is the same in effect though not in name
nor in fiscal consequences, but this great object of making one
tribunal Jfor all wills, both of real and personal estate, could only
be accomplished by giving the Court the jurisdiction of Chancery.
There is very much more, but I must not weary you ; I will only
say that I mean to propose a clause providing for country clergy
men, who now act as surrogates, and securing them against a
diminution of income. How glad I should be if in fighting this
Bill and the other I am about to mention through Committee, I
knew that I should be sitting by the side of yourself and Sir
James Graham.
' It has frequently been said on the Opposition side of the
House that they would oppose the Testamentary Bill, unless a
Church Discipline Bill were brought in.
' I have long felt too (which is more important) the great
necessity of not leaving the correctional discipline of the Church
in the obstructed and impracticable state to which the recent
statute (Clergy Discipline Act) has reduced it. But I approached
this subject with great diffidence and very great anxiety.
' It has been the subject of three or four months' anxious con
sideration, and I now send you the Bill I have had prepared. No
one has seen it but the Cabinet, but as the Lord Chancellor has
expressed a favourable opinion, I think I shall be authorised to

1856 LIFE PEERAGES 177
bring it on. Therefore I send you a copy. It is useless to
attempt to comment on it in a letter.
' You will take a deep interest in the question and no doubt a
large share in any parliamentary discussion.
' The next paper I send you is one long promised, the opinions,
etc., relative to the legal right of the Colonial Church to hold
diocesan synods.
' I should have been glad if my Bill of 1853 had passed for
the purpose of this being done under imperial sanction.
' I dread the consequences. The infinite variety of ecclesi
astical regulations which may result from the exercise of this
power, and possibly their frequent opposition to one another.
The conclusions and practice of one diocese may be in direct
contradiction of another, and matters of administration in Canada
may become wholly different from those in Australia. An Im
perial Home Court of Appeal therefore seems to be imperatively
required, and the appellate tribunal I have endeavoured to con
struct in the Bill may be an instrument for preserving uniformity.
Forgive my inflicting on you so long a letter, which is written in
strepitu curia, and by frequent interruptions rendered necessarily
unconnected. As I have not time to write to Sir James, could
you kindly communicate to him what I have said ? I hope he
will recollect his constant wish to be "in at the death" of the
Ecclesiastical Testamentary Jurisdiction. — Believe me, with great
regard, yours very sincerely, Richard Bethell.'
The grant of a life peerage to Baron Parke, with
the title of Lord Wensleydale, now gave rise to an
important controversy as to the validity of this
exercise of the Royal prerogative. Moved by the
urgent representations of Sir Richard Bethell, the
Government had been casting about for some means
to strengthen the judicial capacity of the peers,
which was bringing great discredit on their juris
diction. Sir W. Page Wood, Mr. Pemberton Leigh,
VOL. 1 12

178 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1855-
and Dr. Lushington having each refused the offer
of a life peerage, the Government selected Sir
James Parke, one of the Barons of the Exchequer,
and a man of great legal attainments, for that
dignity. The question was beset with difficulties. Baron
Parke himself was a wealthy person, and he had no
son ; there was therefore in his case no objection to
conferring an ordinary peerage ; but there was a grow
ing indisposition on the part of the judges to accept
hereditary peerages, on the plea that they were unable
to transmit to their descendants adequate means for
suitably maintaining such onerous dignities. It was
therefore desirable to make a precedent. But no
life peer had been created for upwards of four
hundred years, and Lord Lyndhurst, Lord Derby,
and Lord Campbell opposed on constitutional
grounds the right of Lord Wensleydale to take
his seat in that character. It was contended that
the non-exercise of the prerogative during so long
a period afforded a strong inference that it had
never lawfully existed, and the' Government, after
twice suffering defeat on the question, were glad
to escape from a position of embarrassment by con
ferring the usual peerage.1
As the result of these proceedings a Select
1 The question was settled just twenty years after by an Act
giving Her Majesty express power to appoint Lords of Appeal in
Ordinary entitled to rank as Barons during life and to sit and
vote in the House of Lords during office. .

1856 APPELLATE JURISDICTION OF PEERS 179
Committee of Peers was appointed to report
on the appellate jurisdiction of the House of
Lords. They examined the leading counsel prac
tising in the House, and among them Sir Richard
Bethell. The preponderance of opinion was in
favour of retaining the jurisdiction of the Lords,
but there was a general agreement that the
working of the existing system was unsatisfac
tory. It appeared from the evidence taken be
fore the Committee that appeals had occasionally
been heard by the Lord Chancellor and Lord St.
Leonards, who generally differed in opinion, and
that then, instead of having the case reargued, they
affirmed the judgment of the Court below, in accord
ance with the rule semper presumitur pro negante,
by which an injustice was done to the appellant,
and the law remained unsettled ; that sometimes
the number hearing the appeal had been reduced
to one ; and that a learned lord would now and then
take part in a judgment without having heard the
whole of the arguments.
Sir Richard advocated the constitution of a
Judicial Committee of five peers, in which the juris
diction and functions of the Committee of the Privy
Council should be merged. He emphasised his
objections to the existing tribunal with courageous
frankness, and made some observations on the mode
of delivering judgment and the marked absence of
solemnity in the proceedings which again brought
him into collision with Lord St. Leonards, who

180 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1855-
resented the observations as applicable to himself.
The Select Committee made a report which con
demned the existing system as emphatically as the
Solicitor -General had done in the House of Com
mons, and entirely justified his charges. They
recommended that appeals should be heard by not
less than three law lords ; that, to secure the regular
attendance of that number, two law lords should be
appointed Deputy Speakers, with salaries of ^"6000
a year ; and that the Court should sit notwithstand
ing the prorogation of Parliament.
These proposals were in their substance adopted
by the Government, and embodied in a Bill which
passed the House of Lords without much difficulty.
The Bill was a compromise between those who ob
jected to life peerages in the abstract and those who
desired to reinforce the strength of the appellate
tribunal. The Government promoted it as the
best arrangement of the difficulty, while Lord
Derby and his followers in the House of Lords saw
in it a means of escape from the unpleasant posi
tion of appearing to oppose the Royal prerogative.
But in the House of Commons the measure met
with formidable opposition. The Attorney-General
(Sir A. Cockburn) moved the second reading, and
presented the Bill, almost apologetically, as the
most efficient measure to cure the evil, seeing that
the Lords would not consent to part with their juris
diction. In the debate which ensued it was evident

1856 LIFE PEERAGE BILL THROWN OUT 181
that the recognition of the principle of life peerages
was more objectionable to some of the opposers of
the Bill than the constitution of the proposed tri
bunal, while others, who were persuaded that the
Crown did possess the prerogative in question, re
sented any provision that by implication restricted
it. Lord John Russell and Sir James Graham
strongly opposed the Bill, and Sir Richard Bethell,
on behalf of the Government, wound up the debate.
The second reading was carried, but on going into
Committee three days later, a fresh attack was made
by Mr. Gladstone and others which destroyed the
Bill, a motion to refer it to a Select Committee being
carried by a majority of twenty-two. Lord Pal
merston and Sir Richard Bethell, in reply to pointed
inquiries during the debate, had been compelled to
admit that the Bill acknowledged the prerogative
and limited it, so that there could not be in the
House of Lords more than four peers for life at
any one time — an admission which satisfied none of
the objectors and sealed the fate of the measure.
The main obstacle to accomplishing legislation
on any of the legal subjects which were brought
before Parliament lay, as before, in the discordant
opinions of lawyers respecting the best methods of
procedure : quot homines, tot sententicz. The at
tempts of the Government to redeem their promises
were singularly unfortunate, and exposed them to
the taunts of the Opposition. A Church Discipline
Bill introduced by Lord Cranworth was rejected by

182 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1855-
the Lords ; the Testamentary Bill brought in by Sir
Richard Bethell in March lingered on till July, and
then ceased to exist, in consequence, as he com
plained, of his having fallen into the fatal error of
attempting to please all the world ; and a Divorce
Bill which had passed the House of Lords with
difficulty was abandoned late in the Session in the
Commons : ill-fated measures, impositi rogis juvenes
ante ora parentum.
In replying to Mr. Disraeli's sarcastic review of
the Session, Lord Palmerston declared it to be a
necessary result of our free' constitution that the
best measures cannot be carried until a consider
able time has elapsed, until they have been well dis
cussed and are well understood in the country, until
prejudices have been overcome and interests have
been silenced, and the great majority has become
convinced, not only of the existence of the abuses,
but also of the efficiency of the remedies which it is
proposed to apply. With this cold comfort Ministers
were fain to console themselves for their several dis
appointments. An impression had become current,
having been sedulously put about by the Opposition,
that the Government were not in earnest in their
projects of law reform, and that they sought merely
to earn popularity by introducing Bills which were
hustled out of existence in the hurry of the Session
without any reasonable hope of their becoming law.
Sir Richard Bethell referred the failure to what he
designated the ' unprofitable talk and discussion ' in

1856 'A WARM FRIEND OF THE GOVERNMENT' 183
which Parliament spent its time to the neglect of the
public business — an observation which drew down
on him a lecture from Mr. Gladstone for assuming
' a position of such marked superiority, such exemp
tion from common failings, and such distinction from
the ordinary feelings of mankind.'
Lord Campbell, on his part, declared that the
projected law reforms had been lost by the way
in which the legal members of the Government
thwarted each other.1 While admitting that he
had for some time been denominated the ' Leader
of the Opposition ' in the House of Lords, he took
the characteristic step of writing a letter to Lord
Palmerston, in which, in the guise of a sincere and
warm friend of the Government, he begged the
Prime Minister to try to compose the strife which
subsisted between his legal functionaries, to which
he attributed the failure of all the measures of law
reform which had been brought forward. Lord
Campbell's diary, into which this remarkable effu
sion was copied, does not give Lord Palmerston's
letter in reply, but the tenour of it may be easily
conjectured. Grave differences had lately arisen with the
United States on the question of the enlistment of
recruits in the States for the British forces, which
became the subject of much diplomatic negotiation
and frequent discussion in Parliament. At length,
towards the close of the Session of 1856, a
1 Life of Lord Campbell, pp. 331, 343.

1 84 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1855-1856
distinct motion of censure on the Government in
reference to the matter came before the House of
Commons, and led to a prolonged and animated
debate, in the course of which Mr. Gladstone made
a sharp attack on the conduct of the Government.
He held that the neutrality laws had been know
ingly broken by their agents, but declined to vote for
the motion on the ground that it was undesirable in
foreign transactions to weaken the hands of the
Government unless those who censured them were
prepared to displace them from office. Sir Richard
Bethell followed with an effective criticism of Mr.
Gladstone's speech, which he termed ' a mere in
tellectual exercitation.' The occasion was well
suited for an exhibition of the Solicitor- General's
peculiar powers. He cited numerous authorities on
international law, analysed the evidence of the blue
books with masterly skill, and presented the case for
the Government in the best possible light. It was
the first important occasion on which the two states
men, soon to be engaged in deadly single combat
over a very different subject, had crossed their
swords.

CHAPTER VII
1856-1857
Becomes Attorney-General — Correspondence with Lord Palmerston
— Proposed Ministry of Public Justice — Chinese question —
Defeat of Government on Mr. Cobden's motion — Dissolution of
Parliament — Again returned for Aylesbury — Increase of Lord
Palmerston's majority — Measures for relief of Jewish disabilities —
Sir Richard Bethell's proposal — Fraudulent Trustees and Joint-
Stock Companies Acts — Conviction of British Bank Directors —
Testamentary Jurisdiction Acts.
In November 1856 Sir Alexander Cockburn was
promoted to the post of Chief Justice of the Common
Pleas in succession to the late Sir John Jervis, and
Sir Richard Bethell became Attorney-General — Mr.
James Stuart Wortley, the Recorder of the City of
London, being appointed Solicitor- General.1 This
promotion made it necessary for Sir Richard to solicit
re-election; and in his address to his constituents at
Aylesbury he entered with some detail on the pro
gramme of law reform to be brought forward by the
1 Mr. Stuart Wortley, a son of Lord Wharncliffe, was a member
of the Privy Council, and some question arose as to the propriety
of his returning to practise at the bar. In the last few years
there have been several instances of Privy Councillors continuing
to practise after their appointment.

1 86 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1856-
Government during the next session, with especial
reference to a measure for rendering simple and
expeditious the title and transfer of landed pro
perty.1 His re-election was unopposed, but a few days
after he received the following letter from the Prime
Minister : —
' 94 Piccadilly, Dec. 10, 1856.
' My dear Sir Richard — I hope that in framing the Testa
mentary Jurisdiction Bill due care will be taken that its provisions
shall not lead directly or indirectly to the extension of probate
duty to real property. I consider it essential to the proper work
ing of our constitution to preserve as far as possible the practice
of hereditary succession to unbroken masses of landed property.
That practice was much broken in upon by the application of
the succession duty to landed property ; that measure was, how
ever, deemed necessary, but I could not be a party to any further
inroad upon a principle which I consider of great political import-

1 In the address were the following passages : ' The
important subject of the transfer of land has long engaged my
attention ; and I am happy to inform you that a plan is in pre
paration which, I believe, will greatly facilitate the sale and con
veyance of real property. The relief which such a measure will
afford to landowners and farmers, by giving perfect security of
title and increased freedom of trade in an article of such per
manent value and importance, can hardly be overestimated. . . .
I may venture to assure you, in addition to what I have already
stated, that in the coming session measures for rendering simple
and expeditious the title and transfer of landed property, for the
abolition of the ecclesiastical courts, for the amendment of the
law relating to marriage and divorce, for the consolidation of
the statute law, and for rendering criminal those gross breaches
of trust which have of late been a scandal to the country,
will be immediately introduced, and prosecuted with energy and
despatch.'

1857 A REPROOF AND THE REPLY 187
ance, and far outweighing in gravity any of the legal improvements
which your Bill is intended to effect. Moreover, I have always
thought that it is a fundamental mistake in political economy to
seize a portion of the capital of the country and to convert it into
spendable income.
' Lord Hatherton, whom I met the other day at Woburn, asked
me to give you the enclosed extract from a Staffordshire paper.
' May I ask whether you have got a Bill for the abolition of
Church Rates ? I am not aware that any other member of the
Government has prepared one.
' Upon the general question adverted to in the Staffordshire
article I must say that the established practice for members of
the Government at public meetings is to dwell on what the
Government of which they are members has done, but not to tell
the world what that Government intends to do. — Yours sincerely,
' Palmerston.'
The reproof was not merited, as appears from
the Attorney-General's reply ; but it gave an oppor
tunity of contradicting what had been industriously
fastened on him by ignorant or mischievous
people : —
' Lincoln's Inn, Dec. n, 1856.
' Dear Lord Palmerston — I have had the honour of receiving
this morning your Lordship's letter, and beg leave to advert to its
several topics in the order in which they are mentioned.
' In the Testamentary Bills which I have had the honour to
introduce I have drawn a marked distinction between' the process
of probate now applied to wills of personal estate and the form
which I desire to introduce as to wills relating to real estate.
This was done for the purpose of preventing the possibility of its
being said that henceforth probate was to be required as to wills
of real estate. This received the approbation of Government in
1855 and 1856.
' As to Church Rates I have prepared no Bill, nor ever thought
of proposing one for their abolition. All that I said at Aylesbury
was that I had voted for their abolition, but as to what was

188 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1856-
intended by the Government on the subject, I have never at
Aylesbury nor elsewhere said one word. The whole of the news
paper statements on this subject are founded on a false statement
that appeared in the Globe newspaper.
' I now come to the grave rebuke contained in the latter part
of your letter, which your Lordship has rendered more pointed
by sending me an extract from a country newspaper in which a
passage is under-scored, charging the Attorney-General with im
prudence in stating the intentions of the Government in the future
session. ' It is to me a matter of surprise that a statement that certain
measures of law reform which were introduced last session and
expressly postponed until the next session would be again intro
duced should be regarded as a revelation of the policy of the
Cabinet. ' The only statement made by me to which this observation
does not strictly apply is the mention of the measure relating to
the 'registration of title, as to which the Government issued a
Commission to ascertain the best mode of effecting it, and believ
ing that to have been ascertained, the announcement of an inten
tion to introduce a Bill on the subject was merely to state what
the Government had previously avowed to be most desirable, and
in all these statements I certainly considered that I spoke with
your Lordship's sanction, for on the closing day of last Session,
when I parted from your Lordship, I had the honour of stating to
you these very measures, and in answer to your request that I
would mention what seemed to me to be desirable, I received
from you an expression of your desire that they should be particu
larly attended to by me during the Vacation.
' With great submission therefore to your Lordship, I cannot
feel that I have been guilty of any " imprudence " in anything that
I have either written or said to my constituents.
' But if your Lordship continues to think so, which I am quite
sure you will frankly state without the medium of any newspaper
extract, it is my duty to bow to your judgment and to adopt the
only course which can relieve the Government from the con
sequences of my indiscretion. — I have the honour to be your very
faithful servant, Richard Bethell.'

1857 A MINISTRY OF PUBLIC JUSTICE 189
The failure of Lord Cran worth's Bill of 1853
had made the Government rather shy of a measure
so certain to attract formidable opposition as the
registration of deeds or titles, and the Lord Chan
cellor was not prepared to go so far as the Attorney-
General in a radical attempt to alter the existing
system of conveyancing. Lord Palmerston evidently
feared that Sir Richard Bethell's ardour for this par
ticular reform might prove inconvenient. But he
readily accepted the explanation, without looking at
the papers supplied in proof of it.
Sir Richard Bethell had now attained the highest
rank which the bar can afford, and he declared that
his ambition was satisfied. Following the precedent
he had set when he was made Solicitor-General, he
intimated his intention of practising only in the House
of Lords unless specially retained. For appearing
in any inferior Court he received a special fee of a
hundred guineas, in addition to the fees on the brief.
As soon as Parliament met Mr. (afterwards Sir
Joseph) Napier,1 who was indefatigable in his ad
vocacy of law reform, renewed his motion in favour
of the formation of a separate department of public
justice, charged with the general supervision of the
legal and judicial business of the country. While
approving of the proposal, Sir Richard Bethell refused
to recognise the appointment of a separate Minister of
Justice as a necessary consequence of it. His own
view was that the objects desired might be more
1 He became Lord Chancellor of Ireland.

1 90 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1856-
effectually carried out by means of the existing
machinery, for it would be impossible to place in
the Cabinet a new Minister of Justice, so long as the
Lord Chancellor and the Home Secretary were both
members of it, without introducing discordant func
tions and the possibilities of disagreement where
unity was essential.
He enforced by many illustrations his views
as to the want of any principle of uniform ad
ministration, both with regard to law and also
procedure. If the written law demanded revision,
consolidation, and reduction, the unwritten law, em
bodied as it was in unauthorised and unauthenti-
cated sources, such as the reports of cases, required
the same treatment in a tenfold degree. He believed
that it would be in the power of the Lord Chancellor,
if furnished with a sufficient staff, to accomplish the
three great objects in view — a general superintend
ence over the administration of justice in all its
departments ; the effective prosecution of amend
ments of the law ; and the giving prompt and
effectual assistance in conducting the business of
current legislation.
The address which he afterwards delivered
to the Juridical Society, on vacating the office of
president, expressed with more freedom his views on
this subject. As the Department of Public Justice
is still unformed, passages from the address may be
read with interest. It sketches also the outlines of
his scheme for codifying the whole of the law : —

1857 DEFECTS IN LEGAL MACHINERY 191
' The first thing that strikes every member of our profession
who directs his mind beyond the daily practical necessity of the
cases which come before him is, that we have no machinery for
noting, arranging, generalising, and deducing conclusions from the
observations which every scientific mind could naturally make on the
way in which the law is worked in the country. Now, look how
differently the moral sciences, and every part of physical science, are
treated here. Is not science among us pursuing the great Baconian
method of induction ? Are we not always making experiments,
recording the results of our observations, and at length, when a
great quantity of facts are ascertained, we advance with certainty
the boundaries of each science ? Why is not that applied to law ?
Take any particular department of the common law — take, if you
please, any particular statute. Why is there not a body of men
in this country whose duty it is to collect a body of judicial
statistics, or, in more common phrase, make the necessary experi
ments to see how far the law is fitted to the exigencies of society,
the necessities of the times, the growth of wealth, and the progress
of mankind ? There is not even a body of men concerned to
mark whether the law is free from ambiguity or not ; whether its
administration is open to any objections ; whether there be a
defect either in the body or conception of the law, or in the
machinery for carrying it into execution. The consequence is,
that in the moral science of the law we never make an advance,
because we never generalise, and have not persons who (as moral,
political, or scientific men do in their peculiar line) interest and
concern themselves in observing the effect of the law ; whether
the instrument we have destined for a certain duty is calculated
to perform it well.'
He urged that it should be the duty of men,
appointed by a Minister of Justice, to look through
all the law, civil and criminal, and collect from the
authentic records of past cases those practical con
clusions which will serve to guide us in the improve
ment of the machinery of the law, and in the law

192 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1856-
itself, in order to fit it to the existing state of society.
And he strongly insisted that there was a more
crying necessity for this in a country which de
pends for much of its practical law — in other
words, the application and development of legal
principles — on decided cases.
' An advocate knows that a certain rule has been enunciated,
but is uncertain where to find it ; he therefore cites A v. B, C
v. D, and so on to the end of the alphabet; and applies
this laborious process to show that such and such is the rule.
It is frequently extracted with great difficulty, and often with
some uncertainty ; for the opposite counsel says there were
some particular facts in the cases cited which are not in the case
at the bar ; the Judges accede to the distinction suggested, and
say the cases are different ; and that dictum must be interpreted
secundum subjectam materiam, so that the unfortunate rule is
often maimed and mutilated in extracting it from the mass of
rubbish in which it is involved. Why should not all this be
submitted to men able to examine and comprehend the author
ities, and embody the rule to be derived from them in one single
abstract proposition, which should remain a neat, ready, and
applicable instrument fit to be used at all times ? But this
process, so simple and so natural, and the principle of which you
are obliged to apply so constantly, is only codification. Now,
one duty of the Minister of Justice would be to take the decisions
of the current year in connection with those of past times, and
enunciate and express in a compact form those general rules for
which, as the law stands, you are obliged to apply to authority
whenever you want to deduce a rule to be applied to the case
before you. . . .'
He argued that there had arisen, in forms
never known before, new relations of society and
combinations of men which the law was utterly
unable to meet.

1857 THE WANT OF SETTLED RULES 193
' The reason of all that is, that there is not in our Constitu
tion a body of men armed with authority to take the different
cases as they arise, and see if, owing to peculiar circum
stances, it has become requisite to lay down some new prin
ciple by authority, and with that view take some case to the
highest tribunal, and there have it settled once for all. For
in England, although society has the greatest possible interest
in the results of particular cases, yet whether from those cases
shall accrue benefit to society depends entirely on the litigant
parties to them. For example, a case is erroneously decided
by one of the ordinary courts of law, or one of the Vice-
Chancellors. A rule of great mischief is established by that
decision, but it does not suit the litigant party who has been
defeated to carry it further ; the consequence is, that it passes
into a precedent, so that any Judge of co-ordinate jurisdiction,
before whom the same point is raised on some further occasion,
says he is bound by that decision, and he accordingly acts upon
it. Thus matters go until some remarkable case arises, when the
mischief is remedied ; that consequence does not always follow,
for oftentimes even a Superior Court is obliged to give continuance
to an error, from the inconvenience that .would arise from aban
doning a long-settled rule.
' All this is mischievous in the highest degree ; but all the
mischief arises from the Government not exercising the sort of
control I have pointed out. As a remedy, I would arm the body
of men of which I have spoken with authority, whenever they
find a decision such as I have described, with the power of stat
ing a case in an abstract form, in order that matters of great
importance to the community may be settled at once.
' But how stand matters at present ? It has occurred to me
again and again to bring cases to the House of Lords, with the
view of settling a point on which there was a series of conflicting
authorities ; and I have found as much difference of opinion intra
inuros as extra muros, so that after the appeal was heard the law was
in a worse condition than before. All this arises from the absence
of a body armed with the superintending power I have described.' 1
1 Juridcial Society Papers, vol. ii. p. 129.
VOL. I I %

194 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1856-
Of no less importance in his opinion was the
duty of preparing legislative measures which, he
said, ought not to be left to ' the imperfect struggles
of gratuitous, and often dilettanti, amenders of the
law.' Referring to the disgraceful exhibitions of
verbiage to be found in so many Acts of Parliament,
he condemned the existing system under which he
had been compelled in the House of Commons to
draw upon the instant, and write on the crown of
his hat, clauses of proposed enactments which were
afterwards put on the statute book.
The foreign policy of Lord Palmerston was
subjected to severe criticism in the debates in
the early part of 1856 on the Address in answer
to the Queen's Speech, which was full of wars
and rumours of wars. The conduct of the
Persian Government in capturing Herat had pro
voked hostile operations for compelling satisfac
tion and the observance by the Shah of his
treaty engagements ; a quarrel had arisen with
the King of Sicily which had led to the discon
tinuance of diplomatic relations with the Court of
Naples ; and alleged acts of violence and outrage on
the part of the local authorities at Canton had in
volved the British Government in an inglorious war
with China. Mr. Gladstone concurred with Mr.
Disraeli in attributing these foreign broils to the
aggressive spirit of intermeddling in the affairs of
other countries. But if Lord Palmerston had, as
was declared, a peculiar talent for getting into such

1 85 7 THE CANTON DIFFICULTY 195
difficulties, he had also the happy knack of getting
out of them again, and the state of our foreign
relations threatened little danger to the Govern
ment. The Session, however, had not proceeded far
before a fatal difficulty arose from the quarter where
perhaps it was least expected.
In October 1856 a lorcha, called the Arrow,
which was trading in the Canton River under the
British flag, had been boarded by Chinese officers,
who took from her twelve of the fourteen men who
formed the crew, on a charge of piracy, and hauled
down the British ensign. There was great doubt
whether the Arrow was really a British vessel ; she
was Chinese built, manned and owned, and though
she had been registered as a British vessel for trad
ing purposes, the registration expired without being
renewed. If she was a British ship the Chinese
authorities had no right to board, but should have
applied to the British Consul, in accordance with
treaty arrangements, for the surrender of any
offender they might suppose to be in her. The
Chinese appear to have believed that the lorcha was
not a British vessel, and to have acted on that con
viction. On the affair coming to the knowledge of Mr.
(afterwards Sir Harry) Parkes, the British Consul
at Canton, he demanded the immediate restora
tion of the men seized, that the charge against
them might be properly investigated in accordance
with the provisions of the treaty. The Chinese,

196 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1856-
however, refused to comply with this demand,
whereupon Mr. Parkes reported the matter to Sir
John Bowring, our Plenipotentiary at Hong Kong,
who took it up very warmly. In his reply Sir
John Bowring pointed out that the Arrow, being
at the time unregistered, had no right to fly the
British flag ; but he added that the Chinese authorities
had no knowledge of this, and must have therefore
intentionally violated the treaty. The demand for
the return of the men with an apology was. repeated
with increased urgency, and coupled with the threat
that if redress was not afforded in forty-eight hours
active measures would be taken. The Imperial
Commissioner, Yeh, still denied that the lorcha was
a British vessel, and refused satisfaction. Eventu
ally he returned the men, but without the formalities
required by the Consul. It was hardly denied that
two of the men were notorious pirates, and Yeh
asked for the return of these two, to which he was
entitled under the Treaty.
Though, according to Lord Palmerston, Yeh
was one of the most savage barbarians that ever
disgraced a nation, his arguments were undeni
ably sound, and his letters would have done credit
to an European diplomatist. Sir John Bowring
had long been possessed with the fixed idea
that it was essential to British trade to gain
admission for our merchants into Canton, and
seems to have thought the incident afforded a
convenient opportunity for enforcing a claim which

1 85 7 MOTIONS OF CENSURE 197
had been persistently denied.- Accordingly, without
referring to the Government at home for instruc
tions, he took advantage, as he said, of ' the de
velopment of events,' and instructed Admiral
Seymour to open hostilities. A Chinese war junk
was first seized, then some forts were battered
down ; after that the whole of the Imperial fleet
of junks was captured and sunk, the palace of the
Governor of Canton was shelled, and eventually
the city itself was bombarded and a forcible entry
made. With the loose morality which has too often
characterised the dealings of self-styled civilised
powers with Eastern nations, the Government ap
proved of the action taken by their representatives
at Canton. A large number of their independent
supporters were, on the other hand, shocked with
what seemed to them a grave outrage on humanity
and justice. Lord Derby in the House of Lords,
and Mr. Cobden as the leader of the peace party
in the Commons, moved resolutions of censure,
on which concurrent debates ensued. The debate
in the Lords was remarkable for speeches of extra
ordinary eloquence and cogency from Lords Derby
and Lyndhurst. In the other House Lord John
Russell and Mr. Gladstone, Mr. Roundell Palmer
and Mr. Robert Phillimore, made common cause
with the leaders of the Opposition in supporting
the resolution.
Sir Richard Bethell may be said to have

198 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1856-
held the leading brief for the Government, and
it was acknowledged by his opponents that he
never gave a more striking proof of his masterly
ability than when, during the debate, he kept for a
considerable time the attention of a popular assembly
riveted on a dry legal argument. Addressing him
self strenuously to combat the constitutional doctrines
advanced by Lord Lyndhurst in the House of Lords,
he contended with much plausible dexterity that
the title of the Arrow to the character of a British
ship rested on a treaty with the Chinese, not on
Colonial registry, and that Sir John Bowring was
therefore justified in vindicating the ship's right to
the immunity accorded by the treaty. Lord
Palmerston took much the same line, but his
speech showed less concern for the legal merits of
the case. He enlarged on the atrocious barbarities
charged against the Chinese ; represented Yeh's
attitude throughout as one of flagitious falsehood
and studied insult, and grew very warm over ' the
combination ' of the independent Liberals with the
Conservatives to censure the Government. In the
House of Lords the resolution was defeated ; but in
the Commons, after four nights' debate, the division
resulted in a majority against the Government of
sixteen. Lord Palmerston had been challenged by Mr.
Disraeli to appeal to the country on a platform of
' No Reform ! New Taxes ! Canton Blazing !
Persia Invaded!' After the adverse vote the

1 85 7 GOVERNMENT DEFEAT: DISSOLUTION 199
Government could only pursue one of two courses
— resign office or advise a dissolution. They chose
the latter alternative, and the Parliament, then in its
fifth session, was dissolved on the 2 1 st of March 1857.
The general election came at a most incon
venient time for Sir Richard Bethell. Hardly a
month had elapsed since his re-election on accept
ing the Attorney-Generalship when the dissolution
compelled him again to appeal to his constituents.
The all but universal dissatisfaction expressed in
the borough at Mr. Layard's vote against the
Government on Mr. Cobden's motion induced
Mr. Bernard, a gentleman possessing strong local
claims, to come forward as a Liberal-Conservative
in the hope of displacing one of the sitting Liberal
members, and a fierce struggle for the two seats
ensued. Sir Richard Bethell, in his speeches, severely
animadverted, as his chief had done, on the ' com
bination of discordant parties, the accidental coin
cidence,' which had brought into the same lobby
members whose votes could have but one effect —
that of placing a Tory Government in power. But
though he expressed regret for his colleague's vote,
he stood by him loyally, and pressed on the electors
the value of his services, and of his experience
and energy in Eastern affairs. But it was all to no
purpose. In vain did Mr. Layard defend the fatal
vote on the highest grounds of political morality,
and avow his unshaken fidelity to Liberal principles

200 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1856-
and his intention to support the Government in pro
secuting the Chinese war with despatch and vigour.
At Aylesbury, as elsewhere throughout the country,
the only cry was : ' Are you a supporter of Lord
Palmerston's Government; if so, how came you to
vote against him ?' The personal popularity of the
Prime Minister settled the question in Mr. Layard's
case, as it did in the case of Messrs. Bright, Cobden,
Milner Gibson, and other prominent members of the
hostile majority. Mr. Bernard was returned at the
head of the poll, and Mr. Layard found himself at
the bottom of it. J
The Attorney-General had hurried back to town
on Government business before the poll was de
clared. The next day he wrote to his eldest
daughter : —
' I have been very unwell — no sleep, no digestion — but have
no time to think of it, as I have all the Solicitor-General's busi
ness as well as my own to do. This has been the case for five
weeks, and I fear it will be so for some time. Fortunately, I
have an iron nervous system. At Aylesbury I had great trouble
— much treachery, and great efforts by Mr. Layard to supplant
me. The Conservatives, however, were determined not to let
him do so, although he does vote with them, and so I came in
with a large majority. But for Layard's machinations, getting
his friends to plump for him, I should have been at the head of
the poll.' Mr. Layard's friends, on the other hand, declared
that he had been unfairly neglected by Sir Richard
Bethell's supporters. There had been some dispute
1 The numbers polled were : Mr. T. T. Bernard, 546 ; Sir
Richard Bethell, 501 ; Mr. A. H. Layard, 439.

1857 LORD PALMERSTON TRIUMPHS 201
between the agents, but Mr. Layard seems through
out to have behaved with perfect loyalty to his late
colleague. The Solicitor- General was seriously ill, and
must have resigned at once had not Sir Richard
Bethell generously undertaken the duties of both
offices for a time, in the hope that Mr. Stuart
Wortley might recover his health. This hope was
unhappily not fulfilled, and Mr. (now Sir Henry)
Keating was soon after appointed Solicitor-General
on the resignation of Mr. Stuart Wortley.
Lord Palmerston came back with an increased
majority, conveying the approval with which the
constituencies regarded his administration and, still
more, his foreign policy. Several of his more dis
tinguished opponents had lost their seats, and he
could afford to be generous towards those who had
recently refused their support. No Minister, per
haps, ever met Parliament under circumstances more
favourable for Government legislation. That the
assurance of his unassailable popularity in the
House and the country put him in the best of
humours is evident from the following letter to the
Attorney-General : — ' Downing Street, May 13, 1857.
' My dear Sir Richard — We are disposed to deal with members
this session as people deal with their tradesmen at Christmas, and
let them bring their Bills in. Therefore, if Erskine Perry does
not say anything highly objectionable in moving for his Bill,1 you
1 Sir E. Perry's Bill to Amend the Law of Married Women's
Property was based on the principle of giving wives equal rights

202 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1856-
may as well say that he may bring it in, but that we cannot support
it on the second reading. If he goes into a long speech and holds
doctrines which will require refutation and reply, you will know
how to dispose of him, and we shall have to consider whether the
leave to bring in should be opposed.
' There is afterwards a motion of Locke King's about Statute
Laws,1 with regard to which it would be desirable that you should
be in your place.'
Early in the Session of 1857 the question of the
admission of Jews to Parliament came up again for
discussion. The Government introduced a Bill to
substitute one oath for the existing oaths of allegi
ance, supremacy, and abjuration, omitting the words
' Upon the true faith of a Christian.' After consider
able opposition the Bill passed through the House
of Commons, but was rejected, at the instance of
Lord Derby, by a small majority of the Lords.
It then occurred to the advocates of the rejected
measure that its object might be attained by amend
ing Lord Denman's Act of 1838, which declared
of property with their husbands. The motion for leave was not
opposed by the Attorney-General, and the Bill was read a first
time, but made no further progress. Its objects were practically
effected by the Act of 1882. Sir Richard Bethell was in favour
of the middle course of allowing the husband to enjoy the
income of his wife's personal property, subject to" the obligation
of maintaining and protecting her ; if that duty were not duly
discharged, the life interest to revert to the wife for her separate
maintenance. 1 Mr. Locke King moved for the dissolution of the Commis
sion, appointed in 1853, which was charged with the consolida
tion of the Statute Law, on the ground of the great expenditure
incurred with small results. Sir F. Kelly joined with Sir Richard
Bethell in opposing the motion, which was negatived.

i857 JEWISH RELIEF AGAIN REFUSED 203
that oaths in courts of justice might be taken by
persons in the manner most binding on their con
sciences. Lord John Russell immediately brought
in a Bill to extend that Act to oaths taken in the
High Court of Parliament. Before, however, it
came on for second reading, Sir Richard Bethell
suggested that the desired relief might be obtained
more easily through the Statutory Declarations Act
of 1835, which enabled a declaration to be made in
lieu of the voluntary and extrajudicial oaths, the tak
ing of which, for frivolous and unnecessary purposes,
had at that time become a public scandal. Not
only were thousands of poor pensioners compelled
to take oaths before they could obtain their pay,
but a baker would go before a magistrate and be
solemnly sworn that his bread was the best that the
world could produce.
The Act had been commonly supposed to apply
only to oaths taken in courts of justice, but there was
a vague reference in it to ' other bodies corporate and
politic,' which might, by a somewhat strained con
struction, be held to include the House of Commons.
If this view was correct, a resolution of the House
was all that was required to open the door to Jewish
members. Sir Richard was anxious that it should
be made the subject of a Government resolution, but
his interpretation of the Statute seemed to his col
leagues too doubtful to justify a proceeding which
was open to constitutional objection. Lord Pal
merston wrote : —

204 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1856-
'July 31, 1857.
' My dear Sir Richard — I will consult George Grey on the
subject of your letter, but I own that it seems to me to be scarcely
within the latitude of official congruities that a member of the
Government should make a motion which the Government would
deem it their duty to oppose, and though I have not myself looked
at the Act which you mention, yet George Grey told me yesterday
that he had done so, and that he was of opinion that the Act
would not properly bear the construction necessary in order to
make it usher in the Jews. There is, moreover, another considera
tion not to be disregarded, namely, that the House of Commons
having repeatedly and deliberately determined to proceed by
method of Bill, it becomes questionable whether they should now
turn round and cut the knot by resolution.'
The Attorney-General, as will be seen, had
taken the right view of the difficulty, but in the
face of the Prime Minister's objection he could do
nothing officially to give effect to it. Thereupon
Lord John Russell, as a private member, took up
the matter, and moved for a Select Committee to
inquire whether the Act of 1835 was applicable to
oaths taken by members of the House of Commons.
The motion was agreed to ; but the Committee, by
a narrow majority, considered that the Act did not
apply, and this ingenious attempt to escape from the
difficulty caused by the opposition of the Lords
ended for the moment in failure.
The first important duty of the Attorney-General
in the new Parliament was to introduce a Bill, which
he had himself prepared, to make fraudulent breaches
of trust criminally punishable. He explained that in
all other countries it was a principle of law to hold

1857 FRAUDULENT TRUSTEES 205
the betrayal of trust reposed by one man in another
to be one of the greatest of crimes ; but in our law
there was at that time the remarkable peculiarity,
that fraud or theft, when accompanied by breach of
trust, was divested of its criminal character. A per
son who stole ^"500 would be punished by the crimi
nal law ; but if a man upon his death-bed called in
a friend and told him, ' I propose to make you
executor of my will, and commit to you all my
property for the benefit of my wife and children,'
and the executor accepted the trust, proved the will,
and then robbed the widow and orphans of their
property, the law said that he was not a criminal,
but a debtor.
But the anomaly did not rest there. Our
ordinary tribunals refused to recognise the act as
creating a debt, and referred the persons defrauded
to the Court of Chancery — a wanton aggravation of
their original injury. True to its hide-bound prin
ciples, the common law declined to recognise the
equitable distinction between trustee and cestui-
que-trust, holding that as the trustee was the legal
possessor of the trust property, in fraudulently con
verting it to his own use he did not take the property
of another, but only that which was legally his own.
The Bill was framed to make the breach of a
private trust penal as a misdemeanour, instead of
extending to it the existing law of larceny. Clauses
were added to reach the delinquencies of directors
of companies, by which the public mind had lately

206 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1856- .
been scandalised. The fraudulent appropriations
in such cases were effected through the medium
of false accounts and representations, which were
coupled with acts to give a colour to them, such
as the payment of dividends out of a fictitious
capital. To take a typical case : A Bank was
established, with a nominal capital of upwards of
,£300,000. No more than ,£40,000 was raised, but
the directors proceeded to trade on an extensive
scale, borrowed .£300,000 on debentures, and mis
appropriated the whole of the money. The result
was that the unfortunate shareholders were called
upon, under a Winding-up Act, to pay more than
half a million of money. This peculiar species of
robbery was also met by direct enactment, and
made punishable by imprisonment like any other
criminal breach of trust ; but in the case of an
ordinary trustee no prosecution was to be commenced
without the sanction of the Attorney-General. The
measure was well received on all hands, and speedily
became law almost without alteration.
At the same time Sir Richard Bethell brought in
a Bill to facilitate the winding-up of insolvent com
panies, which quickly passed through both Houses.
As the law stood, as soon as a company failed
a conflict of jurisdiction arose between the Courts
of Bankruptcy and Chancery. The duty of wind
ing up the estate and settling with the creditors
belonged to the Court of Bankruptcy ; the proceed
ings for apportioning the contributions of the

1 857 THE BRITISH BANK FRAUDS 207
wretched shareholders and settling their rights inter
se could only be taken in Chancery. In the case of
the British Bank the creditors numbered 6000, and
the shareholders 300 ; and every single creditor had
the right of suing every single shareholder. One
creditor for less than ,£150 commenced twenty-five
separate actions. Small debts were bought up by
unscrupulous persons merely for the purpose of
bringing actions. The result was that a large
number of the shareholders fled the country, and
others became bankrupt, through the impossibility of
coming to terms with so many creditors. The Bill
empowered the majority of the creditors, in number
and value, to appoint a representative for the settle
ment of their claims and by that means to bind the
whole body, and enabled a shareholder on giving
security to obtain protection from the Court against
vexatious proceedings.
In the course of his speech introducing the Bill
the Attorney-General, much to the public satisfac
tion, declared his intention of trying, without delay,
whether the law as it then stood was not strong
enough to meet the case of the British Bank
directors, which was the most flagrant of the dis
graceful frauds which had culminated in the failure
of many joint-stock banks, the widespread ruin of the
shareholders, and a general sense of commercial
insecurity. Accordingly the directors, including a
Member of Parliament and an Alderman and Sheriff
of the City, were tried for conspiracy on an elaborate

208 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1856-
indictment framed by Sir Richard Bethell. The
evidence disclosed a course of fraudulent dealing by
the publication of false reports and balance sheets,
the payment of dividends when there were no profits,
and the issue of new shares when the bank was
hopelessly insolvent, which left the defendants no
chance of escape. They were all convicted, and,
with one exception, sentenced by Lord Chief Justice
Campbell to various short terms of imprisonment.
All moved for a new trial, and Lord Campbell had
some difficulty, according to his own account, in
inducing his puisnes to refuse the rule. The result
of the trial did much to pacify the indignation of the
public and restore a feeling of confidence.
The Fraudulent Trustees Bill had not got
through Committee when Sir Richard Bethell was
called upon to take in hand the Testamentary Juris
diction Bill, sent down from the House of Lords.
The previous discussions on the subject had led
to considerable modifications in the form of the
measure, but its object was the same — the abolition
of the testamentary jurisdiction of the Ecclesiastical
Courts, and the constitution in their place of a single
Court for probate and administration. Instead of
referring these matters to the Court of Chancery, as
had been previously proposed, a new Common Law
Court was to be established. The introduction of
the Bill was hailed with a chorus of congratulations ;
every one approved of its principle, but freely criti
cised its details.

1857 TESTAMENTARY PROBATE ACT 209
The second reading passed unopposed, but in
Committee the progress of the Bill was jeopard
ised by an amendment which was so distasteful to
the Attorney -General that he threatened to drop
the measure. In addition to the principal registry
in London, it was proposed to establish district
registries, with power to prove wills where the estate
did not exceed ,£1500. The reason for this limit
was that greater skill and experience than the dis
trict registrars might be expected to possess were
required to guard against fraud and mistakes. If
probate were improperly granted, persons who had
paid money under its authority might be called
upon to pay it again ; the question therefore was
one in which bankers and companies, as well as the
community at large, were seriously interested. The
country members, however, successfully resisted the
limitation. The Attorney - General made several
strong protests, and tried in vain to induce the
House to reconsider its decision. When the matter
was thus at a deadlock Lord Palmerston intervened,
the limitation was withdrawn, and the Bill passed.
Sir Fitzroy Kelly gave a generous support to this
and other legal reforms promoted by his rival, such
as is rarely obtained from political opponents.

vol. 1 14

CHAPTER VIII
1857
Law of Divorce prior to 1857 — Divorce Bill — Sir Richard Bethell's
statement — Mr. Gladstone's opposition — Protracted struggle in
Committee — Violent attacks on the Attorney-General — Re-mar
riage of divorced persons — His forcible protest against dispensa
tion of clergy — Renewed opposition in the House of Lords — Bill
passes — Offer of judgeship of Probate Court — Cases and anec
dotes.
Next came the great question of divorce. More
than one Commission had reported in favour of
establishing a separate Court, so that the dissolution
of marriage might be effected by judicial decision
instead of by a special Act of Parliament. By this
change the expense incident to the existing pro
cedure would be materially reduced, and the remedy
which lay within the reach of the wealthy would be
extended to the poor. As the law, or rather prac
tice stood, the privilege of obtaining a release from
the marriage tie depended on a mere property quali
fication. If a man had ,£1000 to spend, he might rid
himself of an unfaithful wife ; if not, he must remain
her husband. Very rarely indeed did the House of
Lords entertain a wife's application for divorce.

1857 DIVORCE BEFORE 1857 211
The well-known anecdote of Mr. Justice Maule
gives a forcible illustration of the process under the
old law, and is such an excellent specimen of judicial
irony that it must not be omitted here. A hawker
who had been convicted of bigamy urged iri extenu
ation that his lawful wife had left her home and
children to live with another man, that he had never
seen her since, and that he married the second wife
in consequence of the desertion of the first. The
Judge, in passing sentence, addressed the prisoner
somewhat as follows : —
' I will tell you what you ought to have done under the cir
cumstances, and if you say you did not know, I must tell you
that the law conclusively presumes that you did. You should
have instructed your attorney to bring an action against the
seducer of your wife for damages; that would have cost you
about j£ioo. Having proceeded thus far, you should have em
ployed a proctor and instituted a suit in the Ecclesiastical Courts
for a divorce a mensa et thoro ; that would have cost you .£200
or ,£300 more. When you had obtained a divorce a mensa et
thoro, you had only to obtain a private Act for a divorce a vin
culo matrimonii. The Bill might possibly have been opposed in
all its stages in both Houses of Parliament, and altogether these
proceedings would cost you ^1000. You will probably tell me
that you never had a tenth of that sum, but that makes no dif
ference. Sitting here as an English judge it is my duty to tell
you that this is not a country in which there is one law for the
rich and another for the poor. You will be imprisoned for one
day.' These observations, exposing the absurdity of
the existing law, attracted much public attention, and
probably did more than anything else to prove the
need of its reform.

LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1857

The long - postponed Bill was the first item
of legislation undertaken by the House of Lords.
It passed that House after undergoing a vast
amount of hostile criticism and dogged opposition,
the Bishop of Oxford (Dr. Wilberforce) in particu
lar distinguishing himself by his vigorous attacks
on its principle and provisions. Such delay was
occasioned by these discussions that the Bill did not
reach the House of Commons till very late in the
session. Here a preliminary skirmish took place
which foreshadowed the reception it was likely to
obtain. The opportunity was not favourable for
the introduction of a measure of such gravity and
consequence. Intelligence of the sudden outbreak
of the Indian Mutiny had reached the country in
the previous month, and the terrible anxiety which
it caused occupied the public mind to the exclu
sion of almost every subject of domestic interest.
Everything pointed to the probable postponement
of the Bill to a future session.
The 24th of July was the date fixed for the second
reading, but no sooner had the Attorney -General
risen to explain the Bill than Mr. Henley inter
posed with a motion to postpone the second read
ing for one month. He was supported in this most
unusual proceeding by Mr. Gladstone in a speech of
great length and energy. Sir Richard Bethell good-
humouredly met the demand for time to consider
the measure by declaring that, judged by their
speeches, there never were men more profoundly able

1 85 7 INTRODUCES DIVORCE BILL 213
or better prepared to discuss the question in all its
details. Lord Palmerston was less conciliatory. He
had been asked how long he proposed keeping the
House sitting, and he replied, so long as might be
necessary to dispose of the important measures
before it, and plainly hinted that the middle of
September was a possible date for the termination
of the session. The motion was negatived by a
large majority.
On the 30th of July the Attorney- General made
his postponed statement. He commenced by ad
mitting that the Bill had excited anxiety and alarm
in the country at large. It was believed by some
to be an attempt to introduce new principles affecting
relations which lay at the very foundation of civil
society. That alarm was entirely groundless. The
Bill involved only long -established principles, and
gave a local habitation to doctrines that had been
recognised as part of the law of the land, and ad
ministered in a judicial manner, although through
the medium of a legislative assembly for nearly two
centuries. He sketched the rise and progress of the ex
isting law of divorce as judicially administered by
Parliament. Anterior to the Reformation the doc
trine of the Roman Catholic Church of the indissolu
bility of marriage was generally accepted as the law
of the land, and the subjects of marriage and divorce
were delegated to spiritual tribunals, which proceeded
upon the principles of the Church. When the

214 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1857
Reformation came a new view was taken. The
Commissioners entrusted with the duty of reforming
the ecclesiastical laws were unanimous in altering
the received doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church
tribunals, and in affirming the dissolubility of marri
age. Unfortunately, the ecclesiastical tribunals, in
stead of being subjected to the ordinary rules as
Courts receiving their authority from the Crown and
administering the common law, were permitted to
retain their ecclesiastical character, to exercise their
own functions and administer their peculiar principles.
The result was, that although for nearly a century
after the Reformation marriage was regarded as a
bond of union capable of being dissolved for the
gravest causes, yet about the commencement of the
seventeenth century the old doctrine was restored
by a decision of the Star Chamber, and the Ecclesi
astical Courts were declared not to have the power
of granting a divorce a vinculo matrimonii. Their
jurisdiction being thus limited to granting a divorce
a mensa et thoro, it followed that no tribunal was
armed with the requisite authority to sever the
marriage tie.
The matter remained in that state until Parlia
ment, coming to the relief of the law, and of what
might be called the necessities of the country,
established the system of parliamentary divorces.
To speak of legislative interference as nothing more
than the passing of peculiar laws to meet peculiar
emergencies, and to denominate these judicial sen-

1 857 HISTORY OF PARLIAMENTARY DIVORCES 215
tences of Parliament as mere privilegia was, he
urged, to use language inaccurate and inapt. The
administration of justice upon settled principles, and
according to rules previously fixed, was essentially a
judicial act, and it mattered not whether the duty
was discharged by a body calling itself a Legislature,
or by two or three individuals sitting in an ordinary
Court of Justice. That interference on the part of
Parliament was, in truth, the only mode by which
justice could be administered in the absence of any
regular tribunal which should be the habitation and
seat of the principle of the law.
The system had been established for a century
and a half, and it was plain by historical deduction
that in the House of Lords there was a tribunal
for that purpose proceeding upon permanent rules,
imposing the conditions upon which alone divorce
could be obtained. The party seeking it must have
thrice proved his injury before he was entitled to a
divorce a vinculo matrimonii — first in the Ecclesi
astical Court, then in an action for damages for what
was commonly called crim. con., and lastly in the
House of Lords.1 In one particular only did the
Bill go beyond the existing law — in cases of malicious
desertion ; in other respects it adhered to the rules
universally understood for the administration of
justice with regard to divorce. But while it
embodied the settled law it altered most materially
1 In Ireland at the present day this threefold proceeding is
necessary to obtain a divorce.

216 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1857
the form of its procedure, and got rid of ' that most
abominable proceeding,' the action of crim. con.,
which he held to be a great reproach to the country.
Reverting more fully to the historical argument,
Sir Richard reminded the House of the Marquis of
Northampton's case in the reign of Edward VI., in
which the question arose whether a man who had
obtained a divorce in the Ecclesiastical Courts, on
the ground of his wife's misconduct, could be per
mitted to marry again. It attracted the attention of
Cranmer, and while the case was under discussion
certain questions were submitted for the considera
tion of the most eminent lawyers and divines, whose
opinions were afterwards embodied substantially in
the Canons of 1602. He cited in extenso the replies
of these learned persons, and insisted that they
amounted to a distinct recognition of the principle
of divorce a vinculo matrimonii, which was also
shown by the practice of the Ecclesiastical Courts
to require persons there divorced to enter into bonds
not to marry again. When it was discovered that
these Courts were incompetent to pronounce a
decree of divorce a vinculo, as they proceeded
merely on the authority of the civil and canon law,
there arose the practice of obtaining divorces through
the medium of Bills passed by the Legislature.
Since 1703 there had been no recorded instance
of any Bishop objecting in Parliament to the passing
of any of those Bills upon the ground which had
been taken in recent petitions to Parliament, that

1857 THE SCRIPTURAL ARGUMENT 217
marriage was, both by Scriptural authority and
English law, indissoluble. If marriage was indis
soluble on Scriptural authority, every one of those
Bills had been a violation of that authority. Sir
Richard Bethell allowed that the authority of Scrip
ture was binding on legislative assemblies as much
as on judicial bodies or private individuals ; but
could they, he said, listen to the argument that they
were about to fly in the face of Scripture when they
found that their Bishops, age after age, had been
parties to those Bills, and when the two Houses of
Parliament had, in all those instances, recognised
the very principle of law which was embodied in the
Bill ? If they rejected the Bill, they would dis
approve the whole of the existing practice of legis
lation, retrace their steps, condemn all that had been
done for the last two hundred years, and must
refuse ever after to receive any one of those
privilegia which they had been accustomed to admit.
He next adverted to the Scriptural argument
with reference to the passage in St. Matthew's
Gospel — irapeKrb? Xoyov rropveia? — and combated with
much ingenuity the discordant renderings which the
Greek and Hebrew text had received, and the
inconsistent reasoning founded on them by the
opponents of the Bill. He urged from the sacred
character of the marriage vow that what severed a
bond of Divine institution was the most effectual
means, according to the letter and spirit of Scripture,
of dissolving the union : —

218 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1857
'This,' he said, 'was written in Scripture, and it
was written in the heart, for every human being cap
able of appreciating the sanctity of marriage must
feel that, when one party to the marriage was guilty
of that sin which struck the very soul from the con
tract, the holy character of the union could never
again be restored.'
In a lighter strain the Attorney-General antici
pated the divergent arguments which might be
expected from his principal opponents. He pointedly
referred to Mr. Gladstone as a great master of elo
quence and subtle reasoning. ' If that right hon.
gentleman had lived — thank Heaven he had not —
in the Middle Ages, when invention was racked to
find terms of eulogium for the subtilissimi doctores,
how great would have been his reputation ! '
Having described the contradictions within the
House, and expressed the fear that there were
equal contrarieties without — Iliacos intra muros
peccatur, et extra — he entreated the House to
abide by the exposition of the Scriptures which had
been the received interpretation, not only by their
own Church, but by all the Protestant Churches in
Christendom ; to believe that those Churches could
not err as a body, and that the interpretation on
which their ancestors had acted for so many years
in the administration of justice was the right one.
Passing on to the vexed question of the inter
marriage of the guilty parties, and the solemnisation
of that marriage in facie ecclesicz, he referred to the

1857 MR. GLADSTONE'S OPPOSITION 219
fact that no less than 6000 clergymen had petitioned
that the House would not lay a load upon their con
sciences by requiring them to celebrate matrimony
in such cases with the office of the Church. If it
were right in the interest of morality and humanity
that the guilty parties should be permitted to marry,
as had hitherto been the law, then nothing, he de
clared, could be more dangerous or fraught with more
unhappiness to the clergy and to the Church than to
listen to their desire to be relieved from the obligation
of obeying the law of the land. The true union of
Church and State in this country was produced by
this, that the Church was subordinate to and upheld
by the common law, like every other institution, on
the principle of the supremacy of the Crown. Sir
Richard Bethell's speech occupied two hours, and
was very well received.
The case against the Bill was presented with
the most telling force on all points by Mr. Glad
stone. He began by urging the strong feeling
which existed against the Bill, and the great danger
of precipitancy in legislating on such a subject under
Government pressure. The Bill undertook not
only to deal with the civil consequences and re
sponsibilities of marriage, but also to determine
religious obligations and cancel the most solemn of
vows ; while, though not invested with any theo
logical authority, it set itself up as a square and
measure of the consciences of men. ' I must con
fess,' said Mr. Gladstone, ' that there is no legend,

220 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1857
there is no fiction, there is no speculation, however
wild, that I should not deem it rational to admit into
my mind rather than allow what I conceive to be
one of the most degrading doctrines that can be
propounded to civilised men — namely, that the
Legislature has power to absolve a man from
spiritual vows taken before God.'
He met the assertion that the Bill made no
change in the law, but merely reduced to legisla
tive form what had long had legislative effect, by
an emphatic negative. The Bill carried divorce
to the door of all men of all classes, and was there
fore to all intents as completely novel as if it
had no parliamentary precedent. Entering upon
the theological argument under protest, as a dis
cussion which could not properly be conducted
in a popular assembly, he adduced much histori
cal testimony, particularly that of the Primitive
Christian Church, to refute the propositions ad
vanced by the Attorney -General as to the dis
solubility of marriage. Coming down to the
Reformation, Mr. Gladstone forcibly summarised
Sir Richard Bethell's argument, turning aside for a
moment to interpolate an amusing personal refer
ence : —
' While I am mentioning my honourable and learned friend,
it would be ungrateful in me not to take notice of the un
deservedly kind language in which he thanked Heaven that I
had not lived and died in the Middle Ages. My hon. and learned
friend complimented me on the subtlety of my understanding,
and it is a compliment of which I feel the more the force since

1857 A PERSONAL REFERENCE 221
it comes from a gentleman who possesses such a plain, straight
forward, John-Bull-like character of mind — rusticus abnormis
sapiens crassaque Minerva. Therefore, and by the force of con
trast, I feel the compliment to be ten times more valuable. But
I must say, if I am guilty of that subtlety of mind of which he
accuses me, I think that there is no one cause in the history of
my life to which it can be so properly attributed as to my having
been for two or three pleasant years the colleague and co-operator
with my hon. and learned friend. And if there were a class of
those subtilissimi doctores which was open to competition, and if
I were a candidate for admission and heard that my hon. and
learned friend was so likewise, I assure him that I would not
stand against him on any account whatever.'
Mr. Gladstone went on to declare that the
Attorney-General had surpassed himself in liber
ality, for he gave a ninth beatitude — ' Blessed is the
man who trusts the received version ' — a doctrine
much more in keeping with the Middle Ages, with
those subtilissimi doctores, than with the opinion of
an Attorney-General of a Liberal Government in a
Parliament of the nineteenth century ; that was,
blessed is he who shuts his eyes and does not
attempt to discover historical truth ; who discards
the aid of legitimate criticism ; who, in order to save
himself trouble and pass an important Bill without
exertion, determines not to make use of the faculties
that God has given him, and throws discredit upon
scholarship and upon the University of which he is
a conspicuous ornament by refusing to recognise
anything but the received version. This sally was
received with much laughter.
Referring to the social aspect of the question, the

222 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1857
speaker, with glowing eloquence, deplored the
change which the Bill would work in the marriage
state as shaking the great idea of the marriage con
tract in the minds of the people, marking the first
stage on a road of which they knew nothing, except
that it was different from that of their forefathers, and
carried them back towards the state in which Christ
ianity found the heathenism of man. In conclusion,
he declared that he resisted the measure because it
offended his own conscientious feelings ; it was a
retrograde step, pregnant with the most dangerous
consequences to their social interests ; it was not
desired by the people of the country ; it contained
a proposal harsh and unjust towards the ministers
of religion, and involved an insult to religion itself ;
and lastly, because it was pressed forward at a time
when it was impossible to bring the mind of the
country and the House to an adequate consideration
of its magnitude and importance. Although he
might be utterly powerless in arresting its progress,
he was determined, so far as it depended upon him,
that he would be responsible for no part of the con
sequences of a measure fraught, as he believed it to
be, with danger to the highest interests of religion
and the morality of the people.
Mr. Gladstone's speech held the House spell
bound even during a minute theological disquisi
tion, and its conclusion was greeted by prolonged
cheering. It was felt that all that could be urged
against the measure had been said and said in vain.

1857 A DEADLY STRUGGLE 223
After a forcible reply from Sir Richard Bethell, in
which he addressed himself exclusively to the argu
ments of Mr. Gladstone, who had, he said, tran
scended himself on that occasion, and, like Aaron's
rod, swallowed up all the rest of the opponents of the
Bill, the second reading was carried by a majority
of III. Not satisfied with this decisive result, at the
very next stage Mr. Samuel Warren moved to defer
the committal of the Bill for three months, which
raised a fresh debate on the principle of the mea
sure. The motion was negatived, and then the long
struggle may be said to have commenced in earnest.
Clause by clause, line by line, at times almost
word by word, the progress of the measure was
challenged by an opposition which was to a great ex
tent captious. Frequent appeals were made to the
Prime Minister to withdraw the Bill, but in vain.
The lengthy debates upon it afforded plenty of
opportunities for the exhibition of the parliamen
tary tact by which Lord Palmerston was so greatly
distinguished. He seldom spoke, however, except
under pressure of a direct appeal, but left the
Attorney- General to bear the brunt of the fray.
Sir Richard Bethell rose to the occasion. Almost
unaided and alone he stood his ground against
a host of implacable assailants, who gave and
received no quarter, seeking to overwhelm him
as much by the sheer weight of numbers as by
dialectical ingenuity and personal invective. Every

224 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1857
weak point or possible ambiguity on which objec
tion could be founded was seized upon as afford
ing ground for fresh attack or resistance. The
Attorney-General never for a moment shrank from
an encounter which became at last almost a contest
of physical endurance. He displayed a readiness of
resource, argument, and retort, a perseverance and
aplomb which went far beyond his previous reputa
tion. Occasionally Lord Palmerston came to his
rescue with a warm rebuke of the Opposition or a
judicious compromise. The heat of the struggle in
the House corresponded with the extraordinary
sultriness of the weather, which made the extension
of the session particularly trying.
One of the most important amendments was
moved by Lord John Manners to give jurisdiction
to local courts in cases of judicial separation. This
the Government strongly resisted, but it was carried
on a division by a narrow majority. A still more
important amendment was proposed with the ob
ject of extending to the wife the same right of
divorce as was given to the husband.1 On this
proposal Mr. Gladstone again made a telling appeal,
founding his argument on the principle of the
equality of the sexes in the highest relation of life.
1 In the case of the husband, adultery must be coupled with
cruelty or desertion to entitle the wife to a dissolution of the
marriage. As the tendency of recent legislation is to give a
married woman an independent status and equalise the rights of
the sexes, it seems unlikely that this distinction will be much
longer maintained.

1857 ATTACK AND DEFENCE 225
But the distinction made by the Bill was affirmed
by the House.
A further amendment on the same clause gave
Mr. Gladstone, Lord John Manners, and Mr.
Henley the opportunity of attacking the Attorney-
General with so much violence that at length he
claimed the right, as having official charge of the
Bill, to be treated with some consideration. He
said he had been taunted with showing disdain
and insensibility on the question of giving equal
facilities of divorce to the wife and the hus
band, but there was a distinction between any
private feelings which he might entertain if the
whole of the marriage law was being altered, and
what he felt to be his duty in promoting a measure
based, as he declared, on the limited principle
of embodying the existing law. Having thus de
fended himself, he carried the attack into the enemy's
quarter with a vigour and effect which brought Mr.
Gladstone again to his feet. He complained bitterly
of Sir Richard Bethell's charges of inconsistency and
insincerity, — ' charges,' he said, ' which have not only
proceeded from his mouth, but gleamed from those
eloquent eyes of his, which have been turned continu
ously on me for the last ten minutes.' He commented
severely on the Attorney-General's statement of his
duty with regard to the Bill. It was pushed by
him through the House as a ministerial duty : he
received it from the Cabinet for whom he considered
it his business to hew wood and draw water. Upon
vol. 1 15

226 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1857
this Sir Richard Bethell ejaculated in a melancholy
tone, 'That is true,' which caused some amusement.
Lord Palmerston defended his subordinate from
this fresh onslaught with a characteristic retort.
No doubt it had been necessary, he said — and
ably had the Attorney -General acted up to the
necessity — to 'hew' around him, and in so doing
he had cut severely right and left ; perhaps, too, as
a ' drawer of water ' he had drawn tears of repent
ance from the eyes of those who had abandoned
their former opinions.
In the course of the discussion on this clause,
which occupied ten hours, Mr. Gladstone made
upwards of twenty speeches, some of them of
considerable length. He was on his legs every
three minutes, in a white-heat of excitement, while
the Attorney-General sat composedly, getting up the
Shrewsbury Peerage case with a pile of blue-books
and papers before him. As soon as Mr. Gladstone
had finished, he would rise, and, having in a few
words disposed of the points raised, resume his place
and his work. Mr. Gladstone had told Lord
Palmerston that he was determined that the Bill
should not be carried until the Greek Kalends, and
in reply to the question put to him in the lobby by
Sir Richard Bethell, ' Is it peace or war ? ' fiercely re
plied, ' War, Mr. Attorney ; " war even to the knife !" *
So the battle raged on with undiminished inten
sity. On the 1 6th of August Sir Richard Bethell
wrote to a member of his family : —

1857 THE CLERGY AND OBEDIENCE TO LAW 217
' I have had to maintain my ground and vindicate one of the
worst drawn, miserably expressed Bills I ever saw in my life
against a host. Gladstone's violence also gave a vehement per
sonal character to the debates. In the middle of it I was obliged
to sit up the small portions left of two nights in the House of
Commons to get up the Shrewsbury Peerage case.1 However,
it has done me very little harm either in body or mind. I am a
little tired, but the others are much worn and jaded. I expect
three days more of hard fighting, and that I shall not start for
Scotland until Wednesday night. I shall travel all night.'
Upon the clause allowing divorced persons to
marry again another amendment was moved by Sir
W. Heathcote for Mr. Gladstone, whose attendance
was prevented by a domestic calamity, to exempt
the clergy from any liability for refusing to solemnise
any such marriage. This concession to conscientious
scruples was, after much discussion, reluctantly ac
cepted, but not without an impressive warning by Sir
Richard Bethell of the danger of granting to any class
a dispensation from obedience to the law. He said : —
1 In the great Shrewsbury Peerage case Sir Richard Bethell
appeared, as Attorney -General, and obtained an adjournment
for two days to enable him to consider the evidence. During
these days he was occupied with the Divorce Bill at morning and
evening sittings, and requested one of the solicitors engaged in
the case to wait upon him in his room when the House rose. The
debate was not over till 2 a.m. The solicitor then had a con
ference with the Attorney-General which lasted an hour and a
half. Sir Richard asked for explanations with reference to some
points which, in his opinion, ought to be the subject of com
ment, and requested the solicitor to have them ready at nine
o'clock. The solicitor reappeared at the appointed hour with a
written statement, and found the Attorney-General still at work
in his room, which he had not left since the House rose.

228 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1857
' You are about to give the clergy an exemption and an im
munity, and upon what ground ? Upon the ground of the sin,
guilt, and criminality of the charge affecting those who come
before them with a request that a holy and religious ceremony
may be performed. But if an exemption be granted on those
grounds, where are we to stop ? Will the clergy not reason most
consecutively from this exemption when they say, "You have
exempted us from doing violence to our consciences in this
matter, but why do you leave us under the necessity of submitting
to the violation of our consciences in others ? " . . . Suppose some
notorious free-liver, some gross, libidinous man, who has shaken off
all feelings of decency, and who by his past life has outraged all the
principles of morality, presenting himself for the solemnisation of
this holy rite, what would be the feelings of the clergyman ? That
is the result which you must contemplate if in any single instance
you make up your minds to emancipate the clergyman from the
overpowering authority of the law.
'You are about to trust the clergy with the fatal gift —
fatal it will be to the peace of many — of exercising the right
of private judgment as to whether or not they shall dispense
those holy rites which they have been commissioned to admin
ister. This will pervade all the services of the Church. Take
the burial service or the baptismal service. The Church of
England clergyman will reason most consecutively according
to his impression of the great principle which we are about to
introduce into the Bill when he says, " I must decline to read
the burial service over an unbaptized man ; how can I commit
to the earth, ' in the sure and certain hope of a joyful resurrec
tion,' the body of a man who I know to have died in the com
mission of some great sin ?" Will not his argument be, "You have
sanctioned by this Bill the right of appeal from your law to that
law which is written in my heart ; that appeal I have a right to
make, but if I have a right to make it in this instance I ought to
make it in others." The result will be that he will no longer be
the minister of religion dispensing those holy rites in full trust
and confidence that, as he knows not the heart of man, that
heart may be penetrated with repentance, that the notorious
sinner, even the sinner of yesterday, may have had a new heart

1 85 7 A FATAL DISPENSATION 229
given to him, and that in so short a space of time he may have
come into a fit state of repentance to receive those holy cere
monies. That is the humble trust, confidence, and assurance
with which each minister of religion now dispenses those holy
rites. But you are about to take away from him entirely that
ground of his administration, and you are about to tell him — for
if the exemption is good in this case it is good in all others —
that he ought not to be a minister of religion dispensing the holy
rites of the Church to those whom he believes to be unworthy
recipients of them. . . .
' I cannot approach the subject without a deep feeling
of the importance which attends the decision of this question.
I cannot presume to set up my opinions or my view of
the matter against those of so many eminent and deeply pious
men, and of so many most competent persons as are here
assembled ; therefore I express with the greatest diffidence the
feelings which I entertain in my own mind ; and if I give way, I
give way not from conviction, but purely in deference to the
united body of authority, and to the judgment of persons who, I
must assume, have weighed this matter well, and who, deeply
feeling for the interests of the Church of England, believe that
those interests, and the happiness, the peace, and the quiet of
her ministers will be promoted by the introduction of this
principle. Well, God grant it may be so ! But, though it comes
from a feeble voice, I warn you of the things that must come in
its train ; and I beg you to pause before you give to the clergy
of the Church a fatal gift, which may be the very fount and origin
of that dissension, that discord, and that rending in twain which
God forbid we should ever live to see ! '
. The earnest tone of this protest produced a great
impression on the House. On the other hand, the
force of the conscientious objection raised by so
large a body of the clergy was conceded by the
majority of members, and it is clear that the Govern
ment would have been beaten if they had refused to
give way on the point.

230 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1857
The effect of the concession was somewhat
limited by a clause introduced by Sir Richard
Bethell, which provided that when a clergyman re
fused to perform the marriage ceremony between
persons who, but for such refusal, would be entitled
to the performance of that ceremony, it should be
lawful for any other minister licensed within the
diocese to perform it. This was strenuously opposed
as a dangerous innovation of the parochial system,
but was carried.
At length, on the 21st of August, the Bill came
on for third reading, when its principal opponents
entered their final protest. The reading, however,
passed without a division, and the Bill went back to
the House of Lords. Lord Redesdale, the Chair
man of Committees, who led the Opposition, at once
announced his intention of moving forthwith that
the amendments made by the other House be taken
into consideration that day six months. This pro
ceeding, which would have strangled the Bill, took
the Government entirely by surprise, for the amend
ments had not even been printed nor any day fixed
for their consideration. A heated discussion ensued,
in which stronger expressions were used than
commonly find currency in the Upper House.
Ministers were aware that if the motion were pressed
to a division they would be left in a minority and
the Bill lost. Happily the strong personal appeals
made from the Government benches prevailed, Lord
Redesdale consenting with some show of mag-

1857 FURTHER STRUGGLES : BILL PASSES 231
nanimity to allow the measure to go forward.
This was, as subsequently appeared, the most critical
point in its progress. Three days later, when the
Lord Chancellor moved that the Commons' amend
ments be taken into consideration, Lord Redesdale
and Lord St. Leonards opposed the motion chiefly
on the ground that the alterations were so important
that there was not sufficient time left to consider
them. On a division the Government obtained the
narrow majority of two, and the Bill once more
escaped destruction.
The alterations made in the Commons were
agreed to, with one or two exceptions. The clause
giving a local jurisdiction in cases of judicial separa
tion or restitution of conjugal rights, which had been
unsuccessfully opposed by Sir Richard Bethell, was
struck out.1 Upon the clause giving the husband
power to recover damages from the co-respondent
another keen struggle took place. The Government,
being in a decided minority of the peers present,
called in the aid of a larger number of proxies than
the Opposition could command, and by that means
secured a small majority.2 The Lords' amendments
were promptly assented to by the House of Com-
1 By the Matrimonial Causes Act 1878 the Court or
magistrate before whom a husband is convicted of an aggravated
assault on his wife may, if satisfied that the future safety of the
wife is in peril, make an order having the effect of a decree of
judicial separation.
2 The ancient practice of calling for proxies on a division
was discontinued in 1868 by a standing order of the House.

232 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1857
mons, which had been waiting for the return of the
Bill, and the measure, which from first to last had
been the subject of one of the keenest parliamentary
struggles ever witnessed, became law.1
The cruel hardship of the delay and expense in
curred in obtaining divorce was obviated by the Act,
which has had a more extensive operation than was
expected. It was supposed that there would not be
more than twenty or thirty cases a year. In the
first year the number was between two and three
hundred, a large proportion of which was attributed
to long-standing grievances. But subsequently the
number steadily increased, and at the present time
it amounts to several hundreds every year. The
speedy success of the Act was largely due to the
ability with which Sir Cresswell Cresswell presided
over the Court.
In a recent article2 Mr. Gladstone, chronicling
the deeds and misdeeds of the Legislature during
the last half century, has declared that, were he
recording his own sentiments only, he should set
down the Divorce Act as an error, though he con
ceived it had the approval of a majority. It would
1 It may be mentioned that, by a Bill of 1859 to amend
the procedure of the Divorce Court, Sir Richard Bethell proposed
to give the judges power to sit with closed doors when, in the
interests of public decency, they thought it desirable. The clause
met with opposition from all parts of the House, and, finding that
he was its only advocate, he* withdrew it. A similar proposal
made by Lord John Manners in i860 shared the same fate.
2 ' " Locksley Hall" and the Jubilee,' vide Nineteenth Century,
January 1887.

1857 MR. GLADSTONE'S OBJECTIONS 233
appear that he is still unreconciled to the existing
law, and the following letter shows that he remains
consistent in his disapproval of its principle : —
'My objection to the Divorce Bill,' writes Mr. Gladstone,
' was very greatly sharpened by its introduction of the principle
of inequality. But there is behind this the fact that I have no
belief whatever in the operation of Parliamentary enactments
upon a vow, a case which appears to me wholly different from
that of the Coronation Oath. I think it would have been better
to attempt civil legislation only, as in the case of the Wife's
Sister Bill.
' Lord Westbury and I were placed in conflict by the Divorce
Bill. But he was the representative of a prevailing public senti
ment as well as of an Administration ; I of an opinion which had
become isolated and peculiar. I remember learning, with some
consolation, from Lord Wensleydale that, after hearing the debate,
he was against the principle of the Bill.'
It is but fair to add that, after the Act had
passed, Mr. Gladstone, with the generous frank
ness which distinguishes great men, wrote a letter
to the Attorney-General expressing regret for any
language he had used during the debates on the
Bill which might have given pain.
With reference to Sir Richard Bethell's advocacy
on this memorable occasion Sir Henry Layard
writes : ' As a speaker he was unrivalled in the
House of Commons, during the time I had a seat
in it, for his close reasoning and for the admirable
lucidity with which he pressed his arguments. Per
haps the most remarkable instance of his powers in
this respect was his support of the Divorce Bill, in
which, by general consent, he far surpassed as a

234 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1857
debater and logician all his antagonists, although
Mr. Gladstone was included amongst them.' Sir
Richard used at that time to say of Mr. Gladstone
that he was the only debater then in the House of
Commons whose subtlety of intellect and dialectic
skill made it a pleasure to cross swords with him.
This pleasure was, no doubt, reciprocal.
Immediately he was released from his parliament
ary duties Sir Richard Bethell hastened to Scotland,
where his youngest son and daughter had preceded
him. He had rented a moor near Blairgowrie, in
Perthshire, on which there were two houses, one
of them a small shooting-box affording but scanty
accommodation. Notwithstanding his recent labours
and want of proper sleep he did not on arrival appear
at all jaded, but at once threw himself with great
zest into the pleasures of shooting grouse. This
entailed more severe exercise than he was accus
tomed to, though his love of sport and scenery and
the fine air carried him on, and he would not confess
to feeling over-fatigued. But at the end of a fort
night the reaction came, and he took a chill which
resulted in a rather serious attack of congestion of
the lungs.
The weather had turned cold and wet, and
the wind made its way unpleasantly through the
little wooden house in which he was laid up. The
stable adjoined the bedrooms, and the noise of the
animals, plainly heard through the thin partition,
was an addition to the discomforts of the situation

1857 AN ILLNESS IN SCOTLAND ¦ 235
which prevented the invalid obtaining the little rest
which the intervals between violent fits of coughing
allowed. He was obliged to remain through the
night in a sitting or standing position, while the
dreary days were passed in reading or writing at an
improvised desk. The only available doctor lived
miles away, and he, though competent enough in his
sober moments, was often in an unfit state to pre
scribe if he happened to be called in late in the day.
One afternoon he found his patient very ill, and told
Miss Bethell that it was important that leeches
should be applied to his chest that night, promising
to send them out from the nearest town. No
leeches, however, made their appearance, but just
before midnight a small boy arrived, empty-handed,
but with a message — ' The doctor was sair fashed
he could na' send the leeches ; they were so worn
out they could do nae mair sucking.' Some time
passed before Sir Richard recovered from the
effects of this illness, but when able to travel he went
to Edinburgh and consulted the eminent Dr. Simp
son, who pronounced his constitution splendid.
On his return to town he received from the
Prime Minister the following official acknowledg
ment of the services he had rendered in conduct
ing to a successful issue the probate and divorce
reforms : —
'94 Piccadilly, Oct. 1, 1857.
' My dear Sir Richard — The new Judge of the Probate Court
cannot, as you know, be actually appointed till next January, but
as he will have to prepare Regulations, we think it desirable to

236 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1857
settle who should fill the office, in order that the person fixed
upon may, between the present time and January next, be able to
frame those Regulations.
' Your official position and your professional eminence make it
impossible for me to take any step in the matter without first
ascertaining what your own inclinations in regard to this new office
may be, and I should therefore wish to know whether it would be
agreeable to you to undertake its duties. I trust I need not say
that I should think myself fortunate if I was able to submit to
the Queen an arrangement which would secure so able and dis
tinguished a head for this new Jurisdiction. — My dear Sir Richard,
yours sincerely, Palmerston.'
In reply Sir Richard Bethell wrote refusing the
offer : —
' . . . I fully appreciate this mark of your Lordship's good
opinion, and I thank you very sincerely for the kind expressions
contained in your letter.
' In conducting the Divorce and Testamentary Bills through
the House of Commons I had to prepare clauses which added
considerably to the salary and patronage of the future judge.
' I think the House of Commons and the country had a right
to consider that I was acting as a disinterested adviser, and the
belief that I was so gave weight throughout to my advocacy of
these important Bills.
' I cannot think, therefore, that it would be right in me to accept
this office. It would be said, and apparently with justice, that
all my exertions were directed to my own aggrandisement. On
this ground I must respectfully decline your Lordship's offer.
' Other considerations, and particularly my enfeebled health,
would have led me to accept it.
' I trust you will approve of my reasons, and that it will not be
a matter of regret to you that I still remain your Attorney-General.1
But though now for the second time he refused
a Judgeship he began to show signs of discon
tent with parliamentary life. Strange to say, not-

1857 PROFESSIONAL SUCCESSES 237
withstanding his remarkable success in an arena
in which so many professional reputations are dam
aged, he had little pleasure in it. ' I have not been
well lately,' he wrote to his daughter, Mrs. Mansfield
Parkyns, ' and am very tired of the life I am lead
ing. Public life and office give me no gratification.
I have now worked hard for two and thirty years,
and really long for repose.'
His practice had, if possible, increased since he
became Attorney-General, and he may be considered
to have attained in this year the zenith of his pro
fessional reputation. Out of seventeen reported
cases in the House of Lords (including Irish and
Common law appeals) he was engaged in no less
than thirteen. When we consider that the greater
part of this work was undertaken during the Session,
while he was continually engaged upon the heavy
measures which have been mentioned, we may
marvel at such energy and capacity.
At this time it was a common practice for a
widower who desired to marry his late wife's sister
to resort for a temporary residence to some foreign
country, where the validity of such a marriage was
recognised, in the hope of evading the disabilities
of the English law. There were public advertise
ments inviting persons to avail themselves of the
law of foreign countries in relation to such mar
riages, and much anxiety began to be expressed
by those who had relied on the representations
made. The Brook case conclusively settled that

238 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1857
such marriages, wherever contracted, were absol
utely void.
Mr. Brook in 1850 had gone through the form
of marriage, according to the rites of the Lutheran
Church, at Wandsbeck in the Duchy of Holstein,
with his deceased wife's sister, both parties being at
the time domiciled in England, and having no
intention of residing abroad. They returned to
England, and Mr. Brook died in 1855, leaving two
children by the former marriage and two daughters
and a son by the second marriage. This son died
an infant shortly after his father, and the question
was, who was entitled to the real and personal pro
perty given to the infant son by the father's will.
The other children claimed as heirs and next-of-
kin of the infant, but this claim was resisted by the
Attorney -General on behalf of the Crown, on the
ground that the second marriage was invalid and
the children of it illegitimate, and that therefore the
property had devolved to the Crown. After a long
and learned argument it was so held, in conformity
with the principle that the English law binds English
subjects wherever they may be.1
Sir Richard Bethell was one of the leading
counsel in a heavy case, which was one of seven
suits instituted with respect to the property of Dr.
1 Brook v. Brook, 3 Smale and Giffard's Reports, 481. Up
to 1835 marriages within the prohibited degrees were merely
voidable ; their validity could only be questioned during the life
time of both parties.

1857 A DOMICILE CASE 239
Peter Cochrane.1 The estate, notwithstanding the
great drain which had been for several years
made upon it in litigation, amounted to nearly a
quarter of a million, and its ultimate destination
hung upon the issue. Dr. Cochrane, a Scotch
man by birth, had entered the East India Company's
service, and remained in India for many years.
While there he went through a form of marriage,
according to Mahommedan rites, with a native lady.
He afterwards married an English lady, and, leaving
India, resided for five years in Scotland. In con
sequence of unpleasant domestic events he then
left Scotland for France, where, five years after
wards, he died. During this period he retained
servants at his Scotch residence, and constantly
gave directions by letter for the management of
his property, particularly his fine stud of Arab
horses. The invalidity of the marriage with the
Indian lady having been declared, the question
arose whether his domicile was Scotch or French.
Vice-Chancellor Kindersley held that the Scotch
domicile had not been abandoned, and his decree
was affirmed in the House of Lords. No less than
twenty-three counsel appeared, and as many days
were occupied by the suit. Sir Richard Bethell,
who led for the successful plaintiff, had one thousand
guineas on his brief, and a refresher of one hundred
guineas a day while the case lasted ; his speech
alone occupying several days. It was the kind of
1 Lord v. Colvin, 4 Drewry's Reports, 366.

240 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1857
case in which he showed to the greatest advan
tage. His sublime sangfroid increased with his reputa
tion. During his argument one day in the House of
Lords, Lord Campbell stopped him and asked for
an authority for the proposition which Sir Richard
had laid down with such confidence. 'My Lord,'
replied Bethell, ' such is the law. But as I have to
be elsewhere in a few minutes, my friend, Mr. Archi
bald, will produce to your Lordship abundance of
authority in support of it.' Mr. Archibald anticipated
his leader in retiring from the Court as soon as he
heard this assurance. On a similar occasion, in re
sponse to a like inquiry, the Attorney-General coolly
turned to his junior and said, ' Get me a case.' The
affrighted junior, at his wit's end, rushed away on
the hopeless quest, and took good care not to return
before the Court rose, while Sir Richard proceeded
with his argument on another point.
When Attorney-General he had a consultation
with a junior, now a leading member of the common
law bar. Sir Richard, as his custom was, went
through their case at some length, and finished with :
' Such is our case ; and what can the other side pos
sibly reply?' His junior, who had gone into the
question with exhaustive care, ventured to suggest
some of the points on which their opponents might
be expected to rely. The Attorney-General listened
with attention. ' Well, and what then ? ' he asked.
The other was encouraged to proceed. • And you

1857 CHARACTERISTIC ANECDOTES 241
think they will say that ? ' Bethell rejoined, ' Yes,
perhaps they might ; but what d  d fools they
would be.' On another occasion he had finished an
elaborate address just before the Court rose at the
mid-day adjournment. His junior, who would in
the ordinary course follow on the same side after
lunch, observed : ' Mr. Attorney, you have evidently
made a strong impression on the Court.' — ' I think
so too,' said Bethell, 'don't disturb it.'
The late Sir George Jessel used to say of
Bethell's advocacy that he was excellent for the
plaintiff, as he had a reply, and by that time had
mastered his case, but that, in his later years, when
he had less time or took less trouble to read his
papers, he was not so good for the defence, for he
would fill up the facts too much, or put forward an
argument of law which the facts did not wholly
warrant. He did not despise the lesser arts of advocacy.
At the conclusion of a very long speech by Mr.
Malins, the Attorney-General said quietly, but so as
to be heard by the whole Court, ' What a fatal gift
is fluency ! ' The observation took all the sting out
of his opponent's address.
He was particularly fond of exhibiting his reason
ing powers in consultation, and while thus employed
detested any interruption. One day the solicitor's
clerk corrected him as to a date, which was quite
immaterial. The Attorney-General paused, looked
at him significantly, but said nothing. A little later
vol. 1 16

242 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1857
the offender again interposed, whereupon Sir Richard
turned to him and said in his silvery tones, ' Will
you have the goodness to go outside that door — and
shut it ? '
Fond of shooting himself, he did what he could
to enable others to partake of the sport to which
lawyers are notoriously partial. Sir James Parker
Deane mentions an instance of this : —
' The consultation was in one of the heavy Church cases going on
at the time, when Sir Richard Bethell lived in Westbourne Terrace.
The first consultation was had there some time in the afternoon or
evening ; there was not time to finish all that could be said, and
in dismissing the rest he fixed the next consultation for, I think,
the following day in Lincoln's Inn in the afternoon. He had
always been most kind to me, so I waited till the others had left
Westbourne Terrace, and then said I wished he had named an
earlier time, as I was to have left for Scotland on the following
morning. " Why did you not say that before the others left ? "
was his reply. " At what time do you want to go ? " I said by
the ten o'clock train. "Very well," said the Attorney-General,
"you are living near, and I will see that we have our consultation
here to-morrow at seven in the morning." And so I got down in
time for August 1 2.'
The coverts at Hackwood were kept carefully
stocked with pheasants, and the shooting -parties
were made the occasion of filling the house with
visitors. Sir Richard himself shot with the deliberate
precision which was characteristic of all his actions.
But some of the sportsmen were less experienced or
less cautious, and he was one day shot in the knee
and had a narrow escape.
Though one or two stories are current of his

1 857 A KEEN SPORTSMAN 243
having shot keepers or beaters, it does not appear
that any such incident ever occurred. He was, in
fact, extremely careful in shooting, particularly in
covert. In walking for partridges his near-sighted
ness compelled him to keep his eyes on the ground
to secure his footing, and he would carry his gun at
the trail, and often at half-cock. When a bird or
hare got up he would adjust his glasses on his nose,
cock the gun, and aim very deliberately. He was
much addicted to the use of wire cartridges, and
was constantly making marvellous long shots, of
which he was not a little proud. A sportsman of
the old-fashioned type, he liked to see setters or
pointers at work, considering this the chief charm of
the sport. He was very particular about the break
ing of his dogs, and would often work them himself
in the most systematic fashion.
Though careful himself in handling a gun, Sir
Richard sometimes rashly courted a danger, for he
delighted to bring down from London, to stay a day
or two at Hackwood, some solemn, old bankruptcy
official, and make the unhappy man, who hardly
knew one end of a gun from the other, join in one
of the bigger shoots, telling him to stand near him
(Sir Richard), and only to fire at rabbits. He
would discuss legal arrangements with him between
the beats, or while the game was being driven up,
the guest, in a black coat and tall hat, and with a
pair of Sir Richard's old gaiters on, looking utterly
miserable between his fear of the gun in his hands

244 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1857
and the lectures he was getting from his host, and
no doubt wishing himself a hundred times safe back
in his office. As the hares and rabbits began to
dash up to him, and the guns, advancing with the
beaters, were blazing away all round, he might be
seen poking his gun at one rabbit after another, but
too dazed or alarmed to shoot, while Sir Richard
was yelling at him : ' Shoot, Mr.  , shoot ! Why
on earth don't you fire ? ' till the rest of the party
could hardly hit anything for laughing, and took
care to give the novice a wide berth for the rest of
the day.

CHAPTER IX
1857-1859
Orsini Plot — French feeling against England — Conspiracy Bill — Un
popularity of the measure — Defeat and resignation of the Govern
ment — Lord Derby forms a Ministry — Lord Campbell's attack on
Sir Richard Bethell and the reply — Jewish Relief Bill — Continued
opposition of the Lords — Compromise and settlement — Shrews
bury Estates case — Defeat of the Government and dissolution —
Elected at Wolverhampton.
Parliament was unexpectedly summoned to meet
in December 1857, in consequence of the grave
financial crisis which had occurred. The failure of
a large number of banks and mercantile firms, arising
principally out of the derangement of American
trade, created a panic in the commercial world which
threatened the most serious results. So severe was
the monetary pressure that the reserve of bullion in
the Bank of England sank to little more than seven
millions, and the bank rate rose to ten per cent.
In this emergency the Government suspended the
Bank Charter Act to allow the issue of additional
notes in excess of the statutory limit. This step
was a departure from the law, which required a
Bill of Indemnity. The Bill having passed without
opposition, Parliament adjourned.

246 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1857-
During the recess the diabolical attempt to
assassinate the Emperor of the French, known as the
Orsini plot, excited an outburst of irritation in France
against this country. Some of Orsini's accomplices
had set out from England, where they concocted
the conspiracy, prepared their means of action, and
obtained the bombs which were thrown under the
Emperor's carriage. England has never forgotten
to entertain strangers, and it is inevitable that the
asylum freely extended to political refugees of all
nations should give shelter to a few foreign anarch
ists and conspirators. Among the congratulatory
addresses to the Emperor on his escape which
poured in from all parts of France, some which
came from the French army contained very violent
accusations against England. They declared that
the English people in sheltering the conspirators
became accessory to the attempted crime, and de
scribed England as a den of assassins which ought
to be cleared out. There was a very general idea
in France that every conspiracy against Louis
Napoleon had been organised in this country, and
that our laws gave an undue immunity to the
conspirators ; consequently the irritation against the
supposed apathy of the British Government was
excessive. The silly vapouring of a few fire-eating colonels
might, however, have been passed over with con
tempt if the addresses had not been printed in
the Moniteur, the official gazette of the French

1 859 FRENCH FEELING 247
Government. This publication made it appear that
the addresses were the reflex of the Emperor's own
views, and it was resented as a deliberate insult to
the English nation. Unfortunately this feeling was
intensified by a despatch sent by Count Walewski,
the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, which called
attention to the doctrines of assassination openly
preached by conspirators in England, and suggested
that some measures, without particularly indicating
them, should be adopted to deprive such persons of
the right of asylum.
This imputation on the state of our law was
afterwards represented, rather unreasonably, as an
attempt to bully the country into legislation. The
Attorney -General was for taking immediate action
against certain Frenchmen, resident in England,
who were accused by the French Government of
complicity in the plot against the Emperor ; but
Lord Clarendon formed a truer estimate of the force
of the public feeling aroused by the French demand.
He wrote : —
'Foreign Office, Jan. 20, 1858.
' My dear Attorney-General — Of course no one can lament
more than I do any unnecessary loss of time or vacillation or
want of pluck upon a matter of such enormous and urgent inter
national importance, but we must all make allowance for each
other and for the emasculating influence of parliamentary respon
sibility and public opinion. I have had a good deal of talk on
the subject to-day, and the feeling seems to be with you that the
case may be brought within the Treaty, but the doubt is as to
what construction would be placed on it in the certain event of
a habeas corpus being sued for to bring it before the Queen's

248 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1857-
Bench. Nevertheless, I think that this will not prevent our acting
on the Treaty if we get a clear opinion from the law officers
that the case comes within it. The case went for your opinion
this morning, and of course it is most important as soon as pos
sible to have an answer.
' If we act on the Treaty, I quite agree with you that Persigny
should be advised to employ a competent English lawyer to put
the deposition from the French Government in a proper form.
That would be far better than the English Government giving
directions in the matter.
' The feeling in France is as bad as possible and is becoming
worse by comparison, for Walewski says that the Governments of
Belgium, Switzerland, and Sardinia have met the wishes of the
French Government and are acting most satisfactorily.
' It is quite true that many superior officers have returned their
English decorations to the Minister of War.'
As soon as Parliament reassembled Lord Pal
merston gave notice of his intention to introduce
a Bill to amend the law with respect to con
spiracy to commit murder. The motion for
leave was strenuously opposed on the ground
that if it were necessary to alter the law the time
and mode of doing so were ill chosen, and would
create the impression that the alteration was pro
posed at the dictation of the French Government.
Mr. A. W. Kinglake moved an amendment which
affirmed that it was inexpedient to legislate in com
pliance with Count Walewski's demand until further
information was before the House of the subsequent
communications between the two Governments. It
appeared that as soon as the Emperor's attention
was called to the effect produced in England by the
objectionable addresses, he directed a despatch to

1 859 THE CONSPIRACY BILL 249
be sent attributing the publication to inadvert
ence, and expressing his regret. No official
answer had been returned to Count Walewski's
previous despatch — indeed, for the most part it
was unanswerable — but Lord Clarendon conveyed
to him verbally the sentiments of the British
Government. After two nights' debate the amend
ment was withdrawn, in order that the division
might be taken upon the main question, and leave
was given for the introduction of the Bill by a
majority of 200.
Pending the second reading of the Conspiracy
Bill, the introduction of the measure for transfer
ring the government of India from the Company
to the Crown, to which strong party opposition was
offered, gave the Government an unexpectedly large
majority. We are told by the Hon. Evelyn Ashley
that Sir Richard Bethell, walking home with Lord
Palmerston after this latest triumph, remarked to him
that he ought, like the Roman consuls in a triumph,
to have somebody to remind him that he was, as a
minister, mortal.1
The reminder, if needed, soon came. On the 19th
of February the Conspiracy Bill — the ' Alien Bill ' as
the Opposition dubbed it — came on for second read
ing. An amendment was proposed by Mr. Milner
Gibson, which expressed regret that the Govern
ment before inviting Parliament to amend the law
of conspiracy had not felt it to be their duty to reply
1 Life of Lord Palmerston, vol. ii. p. 142.

250 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1857-
to the despatch of the French Government. The
strong feeling which was daily growing in the country
that the Government were truckling to France found
very forcible expression in the debate. Since the
conclusion of the peace with Russia a succession of
questions, arising on matters of foreign interest, had
occasioned awkward misunderstandings between the
two Governments, and shaken public confidence as
to the stability and value of the French alliance.
Moreover, Lord Brougham and Lord Campbell laid
it down with great confidence that no change in the
law was really needed.
The Conservatives, most of whom had voted with
the majority for the introduction of the Bill, observ
ing the turn of the tide of popular opinion, now pro
fessed to consider that circumstances were altered
by the fact that the French despatch had not been
formally answered and its allegations denied. Mr.
Disraeli declared that the question, from having
been one between the Parliament of England and
the Government of France, had become a question
between the House of Commons and the Prime
Minister, and that the honour of the country must
be vindicated before the Bill was proceeded with.
Mr. Gladstone joined in the attack with an elo
quent denunciation of restriction on liberty, and
was answered by Sir Richard Bethell.
It was on the Attorney-General's recommenda
tion, given before he had either seen or heard of
Count Walewski's despatch, that the measure had

1 859 DEFEAT OF THE GOVERNMENT 251
been proposed, and he indignantly rejected the
imputation that it was a child of foreign growth.
His view of the existing state of the law was that
when foreigners in this country conspired to commit
a crime, the crime if actually committed abroad
would not be punishable by the English law.
Upon the principle that whatever tends to interrupt
the amity of the Crown with other Powers is an
offence against the law, a conspiracy to murder a
foreign Sovereign might be punishable ; but that
principle did not extend beyond the person of the
ruler. He declared emphatically that the sole
object of the Bill was to make the foreign refugee,
while in this country, amenable to the same law as
the British subject.
Mr. Disraeli followed Sir Richard Bethell, and
Lord Palmerston wound up the debate with a speech
the defiant tone of which showed that he anticipated
defeat. The Conservatives and Radicals went into
the same lobby, and the Government were beaten
by 234 to 215. This catastrophe was, according to
Mr. Greville, totally unexpected, and due to official
mismanagement. Lord Palmerston immediately resigned. A ques
tion of foreign policy thus suddenly destroyed the
large majority by which he had been uniformly sup
ported. It was a remarkable result that he, of all
men, should be successfully charged with servile
submission to a foreign power. His last Ministry,
of but ten months' duration, had strikingly exempli-

252 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1857-
fied, both at its outset and its finish, ' the fickle reek
of popular breath.'
Lord Clarendon, as Foreign Secretary, had to
share with Sir Richard Bethell much of the obloquy
of the defeat. Questions arising out of our foreign
relations had given an unusual amount of labour and
anxiety to the Law Officers. On the eve of the
Ministerial resignation Lord Clarendon wrote to the
Attorney-General : —
' Many thanks for your kind and sound advice, which I mean
to follow, and ever and anon to go to bed like a Christian. It is
no unmeaning compliment to say that I shall always retain a most
agreeable recollection of our relations together, and my only
regret is that our communications were not more frequent, as I
was always the gainer by them.'
Lord Derby succeeded in forming a Ministry,
with Mr. Disraeli in his former position of Chan
cellor of the Exchequer and leader of the House of
Commons. Sir F. Thesiger became Lord Chan
cellor as Lord Chelmsford, on the refusal of Lord
St. Leonards on account of his advanced age to re
sume office,1 and Sir F. Kelly and Sir H. M. Cairns
1 Lord St. Leonards was in his seventy-eighth year, and had
always preferred the life of a lawyer to that of a statesman. In
reply to a letter from Lord Westbury in 1861, referring to the
publication of the eighth edition of the celebrated treatise on
Powers, Lord St. Leonards wrote : — ' I have always preferred the
Powers as the most logical of my works, but that, as you observe,
is partly owing to the nature of the subject. My scheme of
numbered placita, which adds greatly to the writer's labour,
compels him to be careful in the treatment of his subject ; he
cannot introduce a case anywhere or throw it into a note. In
an early edition I stated that this was my favourite work, which

1859 LORD CAMPBELL'S ATTACK 253
were appointed Attorney -General and Solicitor-
General. Lord Derby had tried in vain to induce
Mr. Gladstone, the Duke of Newcastle, and Lord
Grey, to join a Conservative Government ' not in
disposed to progressive improvement.'
On the same evening that the resignation was
announced in the House of Lords, Lord Lyndhurst
asked Lord Campbell, as Lord Chief Justice, whether
his attention had been directed to a definition of the
law relating to aliens laid down by one of the law
officers of the Crown — meaning Sir Richard Bethell
— 'in another place.' In reply, Lord Campbell de
clared that the statement had at once astonished and
distressed him. He deemed it a misapprehension —
he would not say a mis-statement of the law — which
must be immediately corrected. The statement im
puted to the Attorney-General was as follows : —
' The state of the English law I believe to be
this, that foreigners are able to do in this country
I remember excited the bile of a reviewer. Your quotations
and your just observations on them entirely accord with my own
views. Law like our's would soon escape from us if for a while
we ceased to prosecute our studies. Our moral and mental
faculties, like common machinery, if not in constant work, require
to be kept gently in action in order to be fit for work. For
myself I long ago determined, humanly speaking, that I would
not die in harness, but that I would die as I had lived, a
lawyer. I have taken care to avoid the former, and with the
aid of a gracious Providence I hope to realise the latter. I
am not in the habit of writing about myself, but your obliging
letter has drawn me out. If in the vacation you should have
spare time I should be very glad if you would spend a day
here.'

254 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1857-
that which your own subjects are unable to do, and
that which would be a crime in natural-born British
subjects is a matter of impunity in foreigners.'
That, Lord Campbell declared, was not the law
of England, and in his opinion it would be most
disastrous if it were supposed that it was. While
aliens lived under the protection of the English law,
they were liable for any infraction of the law exactly
in the same manner as every other person in the
realm. Both Lord Cranworth and Lord Brougham
suggested that the Attorney -General must have
been misrepresented in what he was reported to
have said.
The personal character of this attack and the
way in which it was delivered were peculiarly offensive
to Sir Richard Bethell. It was made just before
the adjournment of both Houses for the re-election
of the new Ministers, so that there was no imme
diate opportunity for reply. Lord Campbell had
said that the question was put to him without any
previous concert, but it was a curious coincidence
that in rising to reply to it he pulled from his pocket
a newspaper containing a report of the Attorney-
General's speech on which the question was
founded.1 As soon as the House of Commons reassembled,
the ex-Attorney-General took his revenge by means
of a personal explanation. He began by begging
the attention of the House to some considerations
1 Hansard, 3d Series, vol. cxix. 10.

1859 BETHELL'S REVENGE 255
which appeared to him to affect in a material degree
the regularity and decency of proceedings in Parlia
ment, if not the privileges of members of the Lower
House. He proceeded : —
' If there be in any nation two deliberative assemblies acting
in concert with each other, it seems consistent with propriety and
also with the obligations of decency that if a speech be delivered
by a member of one of those deliberative bodies in considering
a measure brought before it, it should not be competent for any
member of the other Assembly, before the measure is submitted
to them, to take that particular speech and to make it the sub
ject of criticism, and to accompany that criticism by personal
and offensive observations. It is impossible to conceive any
thing that would more tend to interrupt the order which should
prevail in deliberative assemblies, or which could more interfere
with regularity and propriety of conduct on the part of the
members than such a course of proceeding. But, Sir, one might
condone this — one might pass it over without remark — if it were
the accidental exuberance of zeal or enthusiasm on the part of
some young member of either House. One might even forgive
it if the offender had been accidentally betrayed upon one occa
sion only into such forgetfulness. But if it turns out to be a
practice repeatedly pursued, frequently remonstrated against in
private, although forborne to be noticed in public; if it turns
out to be a practice followed by grave and reverend and aged
men, entitled to be regarded as leaders in the assembly of which
they are members, and who may fairly be expected to afford to
younger members examples of order, regularity, and of decency
— more especially when these grave and reverend personages
happen to be invested with the highest judicial functions — then
it becomes unquestionably a most unfortunate thing, which no
one can contemplate without the deepest regret and pain.'
The sustained gravity and carefully - chosen
invective with which Sir Richard denounced his
assailant afforded great amusement to the House.

256 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1S57-
He proceeded to give two or three instances of
animadversions made upon him in the House of
Lords, referring particularly to what had been said
there about his recent statement on the law of con
spiracy : —
' It is the province of the judges of the land to declare the
law, but to declare the law in their Courts, after argument, upon
a judicial occasion, and after grave deliberation. It is most
deeply to be deplored if there should happen to be in any
country a judge of the greatest eminence and authority, who
must know well that in a particular conjuncture of circumstances
he might be called upon to sit in judgment upon a particular
case, and who yet, with reference to that case, before it came
before him, gratuitously and unnecessarily rushed into public, and
declared that the law which governed the case was so and so,
and that all who held a different opinion committed such grievous
errors that it gave him the utmost pain to observe the blunders
into which they had fallen. Well, Sir, if there is a man who
should have done such a thing, and if such a man should be
clothed with the ermine of the highest station, I think this House
will agree with me that he would disqualify himself from sitting
as a judge to hear and determine that question, if the case on
which he had thus given an opinion and decision should arise.
There is nothing more to be deprecated in the judges of the land
than that they should be " incontinent of tongue." '
He went on to say that he had felt it due to
the House while he held office to give any
opinion which he might be called upon to give,
faithfully, conscientiously, and with the sincere belief
that it was correct and well grounded. When,
therefore, he was charged with having made to the
House a statement so erroneous that no man of
common understanding could have made it, it was

1859 VIEWS ON CONSPIRACY LAW 257
important to him that he should justify himself. He
brought to the recollection of the House the opinion
he had expressed in the recent debate, founded on
the argument that an alien stood upon a different
footing from that of a British-born subject, with
reference to particular cases. No one could have
supposed that he had ever affirmed that an alien
coming to this country could rob, or murder, or
commit any species of violence without being amen
able to law. Yet that particular proposition, dis
connected from the sentence which followed it, and
from the rest of his speech, was put forward as
representing the whole of his argument. He re
stated the argument which had been so garbled,
and declared that his statement had been confirmed
by the opinions of many members of the profession
who had tendered him their assistance on the
question, and who had searched in vain every
decision relating to the law of conspiracy with a
view of discovering therein the doctrine laid down
by Lord Campbell.
The Attorney - General's explanation had the
effect he desired. On the plea that his character as
a judge had been assailed, Lord Campbell made a
further statement in the House of Lords. His
position, he said, had made it incumbent on him to
give an opinion upon an abstract question of law,
but he accepted Sir Richard Bethell's explanation
of what he had intended to be understood as his
statement of the law. With this half-apology the
vol. 1 17

258 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1857-
matter dropped ; but it was the general opinion that
the Lord Chief Justice was hoist with his own
petard. Sir Richard had been in official harness for
upwards of five years, and he was heartily glad
of the comparative rest which a spell of Opposition
afforded. During the remainder of the Session he
spoke seldom in the House of Commons. But,
true to the course which he had persistently fol
lowed since he entered Parliament, he took a leading
part in the proceedings by which political liberty
was at length gained for Jewish subjects.
Lord John Russell again brought in a Bill
of relief which provided for a simple form of oath,
in which the closing words of the existing Oath of
Abjuration, 'on the true faith of a Christian,' were
retained, but proposed that in the case of a Jew
those words should be omitted. Once more, and
happily for the last time, Sir Richard Bethell urged
with his customary force and clearness that no
grounds for the exclusion existed in law, and that
as the Jew was not within the intendment of the
Act of James I., which was merely directed against
Roman Catholics, he was excluded from his birthright
by the fraudulent misuse of the words of the statute.
He solemnly pledged himself, if the Bill were re
jected, to move a resolution to substitute a declara
tion for the oath as being the only constitutional course
by which his object could be accomplished.
The Bill easily passed through the House of

1859 JEWISH DISABILITIES REMOVED 259
Commons, but the treatment it received from the
Peers practically defeated its object, and very nearly
brought the two Houses into serious conflict. Lord
Chelmsford, who as Sir F. Thesiger had on previous
occasions so ably led the Opposition in the Com
mons, now delivered a speech of great fervour and
eloquence from the woolsack against the clause for
admitting the Jews. On the other side, Lord
Lyndhurst, referring to Sir Richard Bethell's de
claration, deprecated a collision with the Lower
House on a question affecting its constitution and
popular rights, and urged with remarkable power
the cause of religious liberty. Nevertheless, by
1 1 9 to 80 the clause was negatived.
On the return of the Bill to the Commons, Lord
John Russell moved that the House disagree to the
principal amendment made by the Lords. There
upon Sir Richard Bethell, in tones of impressive
warning, declared that the question involved the
. rights not only of the Jews but of the constitu
encies, and that if appeals to the Peers were
unavailing, he should without hesitation adopt the
independent course he had suggested. The motion
having been carried, the Bill went up again to the
Lords with the reasons assigned for disagreeing
to their amendments, and a conference took place
between the two Houses. On the report of the
conference being considered, it was proposed, by
way of a short cut through the difficulty, that both
Houses should be authorised to modify by resolu-

260 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1857-
tion the form of oath to be administered to persons
of the Jewish persuasion. Sir Richard Bethell's de
claration produced its desired effect ; the struggle
had become embarrassing, and the proposal was
hailed as a mode of judicious compromise.
The Bill brought in to give effect to it passed
through the House of Lords and was sent to the
Commons, while at the same time the Peers, to
save as far as possible the dignity of their Chamber,
insisted on their amendments to Lord John Russell's
Bill. As the new Bill effected all that the majority
in the Lower House desired, it was unnecessary to
complain of want of grace in the concession. Both
Bills became law, the Commons no longer perse
vering in their disagreement with the Lords'
amendments, nor, as they took care to inform the
Upper House, considering it necessary to ex
amine the reasons offered in support of them. The
joint effect of the two measures was to enable either
House, upon resolution, to receive any person pro
fessing the Jewish religion, upon his taking the new
prescribed oath, omitting the words to which he
conscientiously objected. Such a resolution was
immediately adopted by the House of Commons,
and Baron Rothschild took his seat after several
years of exclusion. In five Parliaments and on ten
previous occasions the Lower House had passed
Bills to remove the Jewish disabilities, and the ques
tion had been in agitation for more than a quarter
of a century. But for Sir Richard Bethell's ingeni-

1859 WEAKNESS OF THE GOVERNMENT 261
ous suggestion, it might, despite Lord John Russell's
persistent advocacy, have much longer remained a
subject of controversy.
The Government were in a small minority in the
House of Commons. It was obvious that they
could exist only by tolerance of the independent
members, and that, as soon as the discordant sections
of the Liberal party had acquired the combination
which a short tenure of the Opposition benches was
certain to produce, they would again place themselves
in power. In other respects the posture of affairs
was not at the outset unfavourable to the Govern
ment. The differences with France had been ad
justed by friendly explanations of the expressions in
Count Walewski's despatch, which were so seriously
misunderstood ; the Chinese War had terminated
with the capture of Canton ; and the revolt in India
showed signs of having spent its most dangerous
energy. The embarrassing question of parliamentary
reform did not press for the introduction of a measure
during the current year.
The stability of the Administration was, how
ever, put to a severe test in the discussions which
arose on Lord Ellenborough's Despatch condemning
with unsparing severity the Proclamation which
Lord Canning, the Governor-General, had addressed
to the people of Oudh after the fall of Lucknow.
The Proclamation decreed the wholesale confiscation
of the proprietary rights of the landowners, and its
harshness was not calculated to soothe the rebellious

262 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1857-
feeling of subdued subjects. But the despotic charac
ter of the Proclamation was scarcely more condemned
than the tone and temper of Lord Ellenborough's
rebuke. Resolutions were proposed in both Houses
condemning the publication of the Despatch as cal
culated to weaken the Governor-General's authority
and encourage the resistance of the natives.
The Government had approved the Despatch and
censured the Proclamation, and though Lord Ellen-
borough, taking upon himself the sole responsibility,
resigned, the existence of the Government was
placed in considerable peril in the House of Com
mons, for it was at first supposed that Mr. Cardwell's
motion of censure would be carried. The prospects
of the Ministry improved as the debate proceeded ;
and as it was evident from the speeches in support
of the motion that its real object was to displace
the Ministry, the more independent members de
clined to support it. Sir Hugh Cairns argued the
case for the Government in a brilliant speech which
raised him per saltum to the first rank of parliament
ary debaters, while Sir Richard Bethell joined in the
attack with an impetuosity and vigour which proved
his thorough appreciation of the proper functions of a
leading member of the Opposition. On the fourth
night the fight collapsed with the withdrawal of the
motion, and the Ministers, thus reprieved, got to the
end of the Session without any serious reverse.
Reference has already been made to the Shrews
bury Peerage case, in which Earl Talbot, claiming

1859 THE SHREWSBURY PEERAGE CASE 263
as heir-male of the first Earl of Shrewsbury, made
out his right before a Committee of Privileges of the
House of Lords to the Earldom of Shrewsbury.
Having established his claim to the title, the Earl of
Shrewsbury brought ejectment to recover posses
sion of Alton Towers and other estates which were
annexed to it.1 This involved the question whether
the late Earl, who was tenant in tail of the estates,
was competent to cut off the entail and thereby
defeat the claims of his lineal descendants.
The estates had been annexed to the title by
a private Act of 17 19, by which a settlement
made in 1718 by Gilbert, Earl of Shrewsbury, was
confirmed. Under a prior settlement of 1700
Earl Gilbert had an estate tail without any re
striction on the right to alien his estate. This
prior settlement was not expressly repealed by the
Act of 1 7 19, but was irreconcilable with the settle
ment of 1 718, which prohibited alienation by any
tenant in tail, the object being to make the annexa
tion of the estates to the earldom effectual, which it
would not have been if the successive tenants in tail
had the power to alien. The private Act confirmed
the prohibition, but with the proviso that any tenant
in tail might alien on making the declaration and
taking the oaths which in those days were the test
of adherence to the Protestant faith within six months
after attaining the age of eighteen. At the date of
1 Earl of Shrewsbury v. Hope- Scott, 6 Common Bench
Reports, New Series, i. 221.

264 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1857-
the Act there was no general law to prevent Roman
Catholics from disposing of their estates, and the
Legislature probably thought it right to sacrifice so
far the intention to annex the estates to the title for
the sake of holding out an inducement which might
lead to reclaiming the great house of Talbot from
Popery. So matters stood at the passing of the
Relief Act of 1829, commonly called the Catholic
Emancipation Act. This removed the disabilities
which had been imposed on Papists by the general
law of the land — disabilities intolerably harsh and
galling. A Catholic was prohibited from sitting
in Parliament and from exercising any electoral
franchise. He was excluded from civil and military
offices, and made incapable of acquiring real pro
perty ; and though the penal laws which created
these disabilities were not very strictly enforced,
their retention on the Statute Book, was felt to be an
insufferable grievance. After the passing of the
Relief Act the late Earl of Shrewsbury executed a
deed purporting to disentail the estates, and it was
contended by Sir Richard Bethell, Serjeant Shee,
Mr. Charles Hall, and Mr. Archibald, that the
Relief Act, by taking away the disabilities of
Catholics, had destroyed the prohibition against
alienation contained in the private Act. They
further urged that the settlement of 1700, which
permitted alienation, was not superseded by that of
1 7 18. For the plaintiff Sir Fitzroy Kelly and Mr.

1859 A SINGULAR ACCIDENT 265
Rolt, with Mr. Manisty and Mr. Hannen, both now
members of the judicial bench, relied principally on
the private Act.
The arguments occupied eight days, and dis
played extraordinary research and ingenuity. Chief
Justice Cockburn, and the other judges in the
Common Pleas, having decided in favour of the
Earl of Shrewsbury, the defendants appealed to the
Exchequer Chamber. Sir Richard Bethell argued
the appellant's case in a speech which lasted nearly
three days, with even greater elaboration than in the
Court below ; but Chief Baron Pollock and five other
judges, of whom Lords Bramwell and Blackburn are
the only present survivors, affirmed the decision.
The result was that the grandfather of the present
Earl obtained possession of the estates, which remain
inseparably annexed to the title.
The greater part of the long vacation of this
year was spent by Sir Richard Bethell with some of
his family in Italy. At Lugano they met several
friends, and Sir Richard writes : ' I could hardly
talk enough to satisfy everybody.' After visiting
the Lakes the party proceeded to Milan, and then to
Verona and Venice. These vacation tours were
invariably planned and discussed for several months
beforehand. About this time Sir Richard met with a curious
accident which might easily have had a more serious
termination. Mounted on a favourite white Arab
cob, he was galloping through the park at Hackwood,

266 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1857-
when, being very short-sighted, he rode against a
rope hung between two trees, and was hurled back
wards from his horse, getting a very severe shaking.
Hardly any one else could ride this animal ; but Sir
Richard delighted in cantering him round and round
a tree to show his paces.
Remembering the credit gained by Lord Derby's
former Administration through the law reforms com
pleted in a short term of office, the Government
directed their attention at the commencement of
1859 to measures of legal improvement. As soon
as Parliament met, a Bankruptcy Bill was brought
in by Lord Chelmsford, and Sir Hugh Cairns intro
duced measures to simplify the titles to landed
estates and establish a registry. The Solicitor-
General's speech on that occasion was perhaps one
of the most lucid explanations of a very technical
subject ever listened to in Parliament, and procured
a very favourable reception for his Bills. He pro
posed to establish a Landed Estates Court for
examining and declaring titles, and a registry in
which the titles declared to be good were to be
recorded, with a system of caveats by which notice
of claims affecting the property would be preserved.1
Sir Richard Bethell, who had the greatest
1 The Bills provided that any one entitled to an estate in fee-
simple, or to convey such an estate, might apply to the Court for
a declaration that he had established his title. The Court might
then make a provisional declaration, which, after the lapse of a
certain time without objection, was to become final, except in
case of an appeal to the Court of Chancery.

1859 LAND REGISTRATION : CHURCH RATES 267
admiration for Sir Hugh Cairns, gave generous
expression to his satisfaction that the Government
had appreciated the value of the measure and
secured so excellent an exponent of it. The more
intimate connection of the Government with the
landed interest would, he thought, make the Bill
more generally acceptable than if he (Sir Richard)
had been so fortunate as to prevail upon the late
Government to introduce it. Both Bills got into
Committee with little opposition, except from Mr.
(afterwards Vice-Chancellor) Malins, and but for
the sudden dissolution of Parliament would almost
certainly have become law.
The weakness of the Ministry was shown early
in the Session by the defeat of their Bill for the
abolition of Church Rates — a question on which the
public mind had long been exercised. The Bill was
a compromise between total abolition and compulsory
payment, and did not go far enough to satisfy the
dissenters. Sir Richard Bethell offered strong oppo
sition to it, demanding the absolute removal of the
impost which he described as 'the legitimate off
spring, the direct progeny of that old wicked prin
ciple of intolerance which compelled men in ancient
times to adopt one mode of faith, one belief, one
form of worship.'
The difficulties experienced by the Government
soon after culminated in their defeat on Lord John
Russell's Amendment to Mr. Disraeli's Reform Bill.
The vote was substantially one of want of confidence,

268 LIFE, OF LORD WESTBURY 1857-
and a dissolution followed, to enable the constitu
encies to pronounce on the claims of the rival
parties. Parties were evenly balanced at Aylesbury, and
it had been arranged that the sitting members should
be returned unopposed. Mr. T. V. Wentworth,
son-in-law of the Marquis of Clanricarde, however,
announced his intention of standing in the Liberal
interest, whereupon the other side repudiated the
arrangement and brought forward a second candi
date. Sir Richard Bethell saw that his seat would
be jeopardised by coalition with Mr. Wentworth, and
having had the offer of the second seat at Wolver
hampton, he withdrew from Aylesbury. He had
been returned six times — thrice unopposed — in
eight years ; but with a second Conservative in the
field, his re-election would not have been absolutely
certain.1 At Wolverhampton, which was a much
more important constituency, he was not likely to
find any opposition, for the influence and popularity
of Mr. C. P. Villiers, the veteran free-trader, made
both seats impregnable. In his speeches to the
electors Sir Richard Bethell again strongly advocated
the ballot and a wide extension of the franchise.
Writing to his wife he described his reception by
the electors : —
' I left Wolverhampton this morning at half-past six. Yester
day we had an immense meeting in the theatre at Bilston.
1 At the election Mr. Bernard again headed the poll, and
the other two candidates polled an equal number of votes.

1859 ' AN ILL-TEMPERED MAN' 269
Nothing could be better. I was most warmly received- — the
cheering more tremendous than I ever heard when I sat down.
So also at Sedgley the evening before ; but I am sorry to say I
have a bad cold. I have a most heavy case to argue, which will
occupy all to-day and to-morrow, but I hope we shall not sit on
Saturday. . . . There seems no sign of any opposition at
Wolverhampton, though the Tories have been soliciting some
persons to stand, but one of them called on me and told me
they were so much pleased at my coming down that they would
not oppose me. One or two discontented persons have pub
lished squibs, but all they can say against me is that I am an ill-
tempered man. Altogether it is very good, so far as any
electioneering can be good. . . .'
His biting wit exposed him, as we have seen, to
the imputation of ill-temper — a loose and general
charge, which serves as well as any other for
electioneering purposes. ' Certain it is,' says an old
writer, ' that, amongst all the contrivances of malice,
there is not a surer engine to pull men down in the
good opinion of the world — and that in spite of the
greatest worth and innocence — than this imputation
of ill-nature.' His temper was hot, without being sour, and its
outbursts were quickly appeased. The following
instance illustrates his placability : — A coachman in
his service, named Paice, was ordered to take a colt
which his master had bred to a neighbouring fair and
sell it for not less than .£40. The man returned,
having disposed of the animal for ,£38. Sir Richard
was very angry at this. ' Paice,' he said, ' you have
disobeyed my distinct instructions. You are dis
missed.' To this Paice rejoined, ' Well, Sir Richard,

270 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1857-
that is very hard. I took ,£38 for the colt, for if
I'd brought it back the cost of its keep for the next
three months would have been more than the differ
ence in the price. I shan't take my dismissal for
such a cause.' Sir Richard eyed him for a moment,
and then, struck with the equity of the plea, said
slowly : ' Very well, Paice ; so be it.' The man
remained in his master's service for the rest of his
life. Though his tongue had a sharp edge, he had in
reality great kindness of disposition. His valuable
services were often cheerfully given to those who
could not afford to secure them in the regular way.
A striking instance of this may be mentioned. One
day when, greatly harassed by work, he was about to
pass a Sunday quietly at Hackwood Park, he heard
that a poor gentleman with whom he had some slight
acquaintance was threatened by overwhelming ruin
through the involved state of his affairs. Then
and there Sir Richard Bethell drove round on his
way to the station, and took the unhappy man with
him into the country, promising to give all possible
consideration to the case until his duties claimed him
again on Monday. Hope and peace came back to
the mind of his guest as the tangled skeins of his
affairs were patiently and skilfully unravelled by the
Attorney-General, the result being that the antici
pated ruin was averted and comparative prosperity
restored. During the two years of his representing Wol-

1859 'A CHARITY BOY' 271
verhampton Sir Richard Bethell enjoyed the reputa
tion of a popular member. On one occasion, at a
large meeting of working men in the theatre, he
gained immense applause by a speech, in the course
of which he said that probably most of those he was
addressing had begun life in the same way as he
had — as a 'charity boy,' in allusion to his having
held the scholarship at Wadham which enabled him
to obtain a University education. As the late
Mark Pattison tell us in his Memoirs, scholars were
commonly called ' charity boys ' in those days. The
scholar's gown was not the coveted distinction which
it afterwards became.

CHAPTER X
1859-1860
Fall of Lord Derby's Government — Lord Palmerston again becomes
Premier — Bethell's claims to the Great Seal — Lord Campbell
appointed Chancellor — Bethell's disappointment — Resumes office
as Attorney-General — Lord Campbell's ideas on law reform — Thel-
lusson Case — Lord Justice Knight Bruce and Bethell — Instance
of self-possession — Address at Wolverhampton — Introduces
Bankrupcy Bill — Tribute to Lord Palmerston's leadership — Re
ceives honorary degree at Oxford — Road murder case.
The Government gained only a slight accession of
strength by the elections of 1859. The long
threatened war between Austria and France, as the
ally of Sardinia, had broken out, and though the
neutrality of England had been strictly preserved,
the Liberals were able to make some political
capital out of the popular sympathy with Italian
independence by representing that the Government
were disposed to side with Austria in the struggle.
There was also a general feeling that the Reform
question could not be satisfactorily dealt with by
the Conservatives. The Liberals were in a small
majority in the House of Commons, and their rival
leaders, after much negotiation, agreed to co-operate
in displacing the Ministry. Lord Hartington was

1859-1860 HIS CLAIMS TO THE GREAT SEAL 273
put up to move a direct vote of want of confidence
by way of amendment to the address, and the
Government were beaten by thirteen, on a division
in which every member was accounted for. Lord
Derby immediately resigned, and on Lord Granville,
who was first sent for by the Queen, failing to obtain
Lord John Russell's co-operation, Lord Palmerston
formed a remarkably strong Administration.
Sir Richard Bethell had forcible claims, per
sonal and prescriptive, to the Chancellorship in the
new Ministry. Not only had his political services
entitled him to the promotion, but his unrivalled
position at the Equity bar marked him out as the
proper head of the Court of Chancery. Lord
Cranworth had shown no great political capacity
during the Administrations of Lord Aberdeen and
Lord Palmerston, and it was understood that he
would not be restored on the return of his party to
office. But the Master of the Rolls, Sir John
Romilly, was supported by the Whig members of
the Cabinet, who considered Bethell's opinions too
advanced ; while Sir W. Page Wood and Sir A.
Cockburn each had their pretensions. The greatest
difficulty, however, in making the choice arose
from the impossibility of finding any one fit to
occupy the post of Attorney -General and carry
on the law reforms by which Sir Richard Bethell
had gained so much renown. The problem, as Lord
Campbell wrote, was how to keep Sir Richard under
the new Government in his former office.
vol. 1 18

274 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1859-
On the advice of Lord Lyndhurst, the problem
was solved by giving the Great Seal to Lord Camp
bell. 'Campbell,' he said, 'had always belonged to
the Liberal party ; he had claims upon the office by
seniority which made it impossible that either
Bethell or Romilly should object to his appoint
ment ; he was a sound lawyer, and would do no
discredit to the woolsack.'1 It is probable that Lord
Palmerston was also influenced by the desire to
relieve his Administration from the criticism of the
candid friend, which on several occasions had proved
very inconvenient to the last Liberal Government.
At the age of seventy-nine, Lord Campbell, still in the
fulness of his remarkable vigour, became Chancellor.
It cannot be denied that Sir Richard Bethell
was greatly disappointed. He might reasonably
feel that the waiver of his right would prejudice the
claims, not only of future law officers, but also of the
Equity bar. Of the six preceding Chancellors two
only had been promoted from the Equity side,
and though Sir Richard might have been willing
to put aside personal considerations, his position
as head of the bar compelled him to make a pro
test against the violation of an almost prescriptive
precedent. The following is a note of the
account he himself gave to a friend,2 when con
versing on the subject three years later, of what
happened on the occasion : —
1 Life of Lord Lyndhurst, p. 480.
2 Mr. W. Scrope Ayrton.

i860 HOW CAMPBELL BECAME CHANCELLOR 275

' I should wish the circumstances relative to my appointment
as Chancellor to be known. Pam. came to me to talk about the
Chancellorship. He never looked me direct in the face all the
time he was talking to me. He said, " We cannot do without
you in the House of Commons. Campbell is your senior both
in years and at the bar. Considering his advanced age, it is not
likely that he will continue Chancellor long, after which you would
succeed as a matter of course." I said, " I am, personally, utterly
indifferent about the Great Seal ; but I am bound to support the
claims of the Equity bar. No Equity barrister has been Chancellor
for a long time, and if I waive this occasion, there is no saying
when the Equity bar may have another opportunity, so that if I
give way now the rights of the Equity bar might suffer." But
Pam. pressed the matter. At length I said, " This not being a
personal matter with me, I will agree to submit to four law lords
the point whether, if I allow Campbell to be Chancellor, the
rights of the Equity bar will suffer." Pam. agreed to that. Sug
gested Brougham, Kingsdown, Wensleydale, and Cranworth.
' Pam. said something about Chelmsford, but he might have
had a personal interest in the matter. Well, I went to the House
of Lords, got out the four, and they agreed decidedly that the
appointment of Campbell would not in any way be injurious to
the rights of the Equity bar ; so I waived my personal right, but
made it clearly understood and admitted that I had the right and
waived it. It is a singular thing that as I came out from seeing
the law lords I met Campbell, and saluted him with " How do
you do, my Lord Chancellor?"
' Pam. offered to give me a note saying that I was to have a
right to succeed after Campbell. I do not say it was quite correct
to promise such a note. I never got it, however. When sitting
by Pam. in the House of Commons, I more than once twitted
him with not giving the note ; he bore it quite well, but I could
see he did not like it. I once said, there is a medical maxim,
" Accipe pecuniam dum dolet, post mortem medicus olet," which
I translate, " Take your note when it is offered ; afterwards to
ask for it will be odious." ' 1
1 Athenaum, 13th August 1881.

276 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1859-
To his youngest son he wrote on the same
subject : —
' You know it was said of a Roman Emperor, Galba, that it
would have been better for him never to have been Emperor, for
he would have been accounted by all dignus imperio, nisi im-
perasset. It is no doubt very gratifying to me to have so many
proofs of the estimation in which I am held, but I am not at all
sorry to find myself Attorney-General. It appears, however, that
if I had been obstinate, the Government would have given way
and cancelled Lord Campbell's appointment.'
It was generally understood that the appoint
ment was merely a temporary arrangement to be
maintained until Sir Richard Bethell could be spared
from the House of Commons. Cordial relations
were, however, quickly established between them,
and continued during the remainder of Lord Camp
bell's life.
An amusing story is told of a meeting of the
two in Westminster Hall, when the first rumour of
the appointment was current. The day being cold
for the time of the year, Lord Campbell had gone
down to the House of Lords in a fur coat, and Bethell,
observing this, pretended not to recognise him.
Thereupon Campbell came up to him and said :
' Mr. Attorney, don't you know me ? ' — •' I beg your
pardon, my Lord,' was the reply; 'I mistook you
for the Great Seal.'
Sir Richard Bethell was elected again for Wolver
hampton, without opposition, on his reappointment.
But Mr. Gladstone's re-election at Oxford was con
tested by the Marquis of Chandos (now Duke of

i860 MR. GLADSTONE AND OXFORD UNIVERSITY 277
Buckingham), who was put forward by the ultra-
Conservative section of the constituency.1 The
Attorney-General writes to Mr. Gladstone while the
election is pending : — 'June 28, 1859.
' " Viro excellentissimo, cujus ingenium doctrinam eloquentiam et
diligentiam suspicio et valde admiror."
' My dear Chancellor of the Exchequer — I will not fail to
attend to the request contained in your note.
' I went yesterday to Oxford and spent some time in the
committee-room and saw different persons of influence. We
must not relax our exertions for a moment. Great use is made
by Lord Chandos's Committee of their entire control over the
North- Western Line. They advertise passes and have men at the
stations inquiring of all passengers for Oxford if they are going
to vote for Lord Chandos and offering tickets. This advantage
is not met by any similar proceeding on our part. I begged the
committee to attend to this, and on arriving in town I saw Mr.
S  , who told me he would send into South Wales and every
where on their branch lines hand-bills to be posted at the stations
(if we desired it), stating that passes would be given to any members
desirous of availing themselves of them.
' The Chandos people talk of making a great effort on
Wednesday. ' Perhaps I am more anxious than necessary. If any misfortune
should happen, I should suggest that Denman vacate Tiverton,
for no one would call that a nomination borough, and I suppose
with Heathcote's aid it would be safe.'
It was not to be expected that the new Lord
Chancellor would exhibit much ardour in law reform.
His object was to gain time. ' By prudence and
discreet reticence and dealing in generalities,' he
1 The election resulted in Mr. Gladstone's return by a
majority of nearly 200. His parliamentary connection with the
University was not terminated till 1865.

278 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1859-
wrote, ' I hope to tide over the session.' x The sub
joined letter shows how he proposed to accomplish
this object. 'July 3. 1859.
' My dear Attorney-General — I am glad to think that we are
likely to make a respectable start in law reform.
' I have repeatedly tried, both in public and in private, to
persuade Liberal prime ministers that the only way efficiently to
bring forward measures of law reform, is that before they are
proposed in either House in the shape of Bills, they should be
submitted to all the members of the Government likely to take a
part in carrying them through ; so that the lamentable collisions
we have witnessed might be avoided.
' I stated this yesterday to the Cabinet, and they readily
agreed that there shall be a Committee of the Cabinet with this
view ; and being desired to name the members of the Committee,
I named Lord Granville, George Grey, Cornwall-Lewis, Cardwell,
Gladstone. The Duke of Argyll afterwards volunteered his ser
vices, or rather asked that he might attend to learn, being only
Privy Seal without any department.
' We expect to be met by the Attorney and Solicitor-General,
and Waddington the Under-Secretary for the Home Department
— a capital hand. . . .
' The Registration of Titles is a very serious matter. Con
sidering the multifarious and complicated interests which may be
and constantly are carved out of the fee-simple, I cannot be so
sanguine as to hope that land (that is, all these interests) may be
as easily transferred, as simply, as expeditiously, and as economi
cally, as 3 per cents at the bank. But I am convinced that a
great deal may be done for simplifying and rendering more ex
peditious and economical the transfer of real property — and I
shall most heartily concur with you in any scheme which is likely
to produce this effect.
' Cairns's (suggested by the commissioners) was immensely
popular (except with the attorneys), but as yet I do not see how
1 Life of Lord Campbell, vol. ii. p. 374.

i860 LORD CAMPBELL AND LAW REFORM 179
it can provide for particular estates and all equitable interests,
without machinery which would greatly impede its beneficial
working. I do not think that anything can be attempted on the
subject during the present session.
' Bankruptcy likewise must stand over. I hope we may con
sider both subjects during the Long Vacation. . . .
' The subject most difficult to deal with is " the Consolidation
of the Statutes." Our statute law is so unscientific and fragment
ary that I doubt whether the whole can be consolidated as a
systematic code. But very great benefit must arise from consoli
dating all the statutes on any particular subject. The attempt to
do this by the Statute Law Commission is a failure — and none of
their consolidations as they now stand can be properly recom
mended to Parliament.
' Competent lawyers regularly salaried for their labour must
be employed. ' The difficulty is, what to say about it for the present. Lord
Cranworth has given me notice that he means very soon in the
House of Lords to draw attention to what the Statute Law Com
mission have done, and what further ought to be done, to make
their labours available. . . .'
This excessive caution was not likely to com
mend itself to the Attorney-General. But he seems
to have exercised some self-restraint, for Lord
Campbell wrote in his diary a few weeks later :
' Strange to say, I get on more harmoniously with
Bethell than with other members of the Government.'
The following letter to the Prime Minister ex
plains itself. The contrast between this grave
official communication and the subsequent humor
ous letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer is
delightful : 'Lincoln's Inn, Aug. 10, 1859.
' My Lord — It is my duty to call your serious attention to the
fact of the loss sustained by the revenue in consequence of certain

280 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1859-
patents of appointment to the office of Secretary of State not
having been completed, as they ought to have been, by members
of the Cabinet.
' Under the provisions of two Statutes (55 Geo. III. c. 184, s.
2, and 14 & 15 Vic. c. 82, ss. 2 & 5) a sum of ^200 becomes due
for stamp duty upon any appointment by the Crown to an office,
the annual salary of which exceeds .£3000, and the course of
procedure is as follows : Upon the conferring and acceptance of
the office of Secretary of State, it is the duty of the Prime Minister
to notify the appointment to the Home Secretary, who sends an
official letter to the Attorney-General directing him to prepare a
warrant setting forth the proposed patent of appointment to be
submitted to the Queen for Her Majesty's signature. This war
rant having been prepared and signed by the Attorney-General,
is sent by him to the Home Office, whence it is transmitted to
Her Majesty and receives the Royal signature. The instrument
having received the Royal Sign Manual, is countersigned by the
Home Secretary and transmitted to the office of the Lord Privy
Seal. Having been sealed with the Privy Seal, the instrument
is transmitted to the office of that department to which the
Secretary of State in question is appointed, and it is the duty of
the last -mentioned office to forward the warrant to the Great
Seal Office of the Lord Chancellor in order that the letters
patent may be made out. To these letters patent, when made
out, the stamp of ^200 is affixed, and the letters patent sealed
with the Great Seal are delivered to the Secretary of State
appointed, and all the charges, including the stamp duty, are paid
by him. ' You will observe two things in this narrative : First, that the
Lord Chancellor cannot make out and seal the letters patent to
which the stamp is affixed until he receives the warrant so signed
by the Attorney-General, the Queen, and the Home Secretary,
and sealed with the Privy Seal; secondly, that the course
of procedure trusts the Secretary of State who is appointed
with the duty of forwarding the warrant to the Lord Chan
cellor. ' To forward the warrant, get his patent completed, and pay
the duty, is at once a legal and an honourable obligation.

i860 CABINET MINISTERS AND STAMP DUTIES 281
' But in 1853 it seems to have occurred to some person that
payment of the duty might be evaded if the warrant was kept and
withheld by the newly-appointed Secretary of State in his own
office and not forwarded to the Lord Chancellor.
[After stating no less than five instances in which this plan
had been adopted, with a loss to the revenue in each of ,£1000,
and giving the names of the delinquents, the letter pro
ceeded] : —
' Of the law of the case I entertain no doubt, nor did my pre
decessor in office. The thing done is, in my opinion, a fraud
upon the revenue law, rendered worse by the advantage taken
of the confidence reposed by the law in the persons appointed,
that they would transmit the Queen's warrant so entrusted to
them, and complete their appointments in the usual manner. I
need not say that it is ridiculous to suppose the noblemen and
gentlemen named would wilfully incur any such imputation. But
I have given that legal description which would attach to the
acts committed by ordinary persons.
' No doubt if any part of this has been done deliberately, it
has been done under advice that the Secretary of State was not
intended to be included under the Act of 55 Geo. III., that it does
not require letters patent, and that all the uniform antecedent
usage has been founded in error. If this is maintained, it is right
that the question should be tried in a court of justice.
' I feel it therefore to be my duty, as Her Majesty's Attorney-
General, and I beg leave to state to your Lordship, and through
you to the parties concerned, that I shall proceed to file informa
tions in the Court of Exchequer at the end of one week from this
date against all such of the parties above mentioned as shall not
by that time have paid the stamp duties which according to the
foregoing statement they ought to have paid.
' If it be desired to try the question whether these duties ought
to be paid by Secretaries of State I will give every facility for
that purpose, but if penalties have been incurred, the informa
tions will seek the payment of those penalties.
' It is my bounden duty not to allow the matter to remain in
its present state, and therefore, if I am questioned in the House
of Commons on this subject, I must reserve the right of stating

282 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1859-
that I have written this letter to your Lordship. — I have the
honour to remain your Lordship's faithful servant,
' Richard Bethell.'
' House of Commons, Aug. 12 [1859].
' My dear Chancellor of the Exchequer — Should my letter to
Lord P. be adverted to at the Cabinet to-morrow, I wish you
would beg the best scholar of the five delinquents to construe
aloud for the edification of all the following passage : — " urOi evvomv
T(f avriSiKb) aov ra)(y, ews otou et kv ry 68cT per avrov' prjirore ere
7rapa8<£ o avrlSiKos -nj) Kpirrj, Kai 6 KpiTrjs ere TrapaSo. to> \vTrrjperr),
Kai els <f>v\aKrjv /3Aiic?ijcrji. dprjv Aeyco aoi, oi pr) l^eXOys eKtiOev,
eu>s av aTroSifS tov ecr^aTov KoSpdvrrjv."
' I am sure this will come home to the minds of all who hear
it as a " word in season," which you will not fail to " apply."
And if their minds are touched, as they doubtless will be, with a
sense of their grievous backslidings, then, Chancellor of the
Exchequer, whilst repentance is strong upon them, remember the
maxim of the physicians, " accipe dum dolent," present each with
a pen, and bid him pay that which he owes, and promise him in
my name a complete " absolvitur " from the transgression. I will
add a note or two by way of commentary on the passage cited to
divert your attention from the painful thoughts of the consequences
of their (possible) obstinacy.
' Attorney -General may be accepted as a fair translation of
&VTl8lKOS. ' 'Ev ry 6Stp. The commentators say that this is an expression
borrowed from Roman law, in which plaintiff (actor) and defendant
(reus) were, before the cause was at issue, said to be " in the way " ;
but it is a far-fetched interpretation and one that would not have
been apprehended by the hearers of the passage. The aptest
illustration is furnished by my son-in-law, Mansfield Parkyns's
Travels in Abyssinia.
' In that country (and the usage no doubt is Oriental), when
two persons want to submit a dispute to the judge, the officer of
the Court comes and ties the left arm of the plaintiff to the right
arm of the defendant. A light sheet is thrown over their heads,
and thus hooded they are led by the officer to the judge. But

i860 CLASSICAL READINGS 283
as it often happened that they settled their dispute whilst on the
way (iv Trj 68(0), by which the judge was deprived of his fee or
fine for pronouncing judgment (these a great source of emolument),
the officer closely muffles up or gags the mouth of each of the
litigants, so that neither can (kv ry 68£) speak to the other ; but
this improved tyrannical extortion does not seem to have been
known at the time when the verse quoted was delivered.
' In addition to all my labours during the vacation, Consolida
tion of Statutes, Code of Bankruptcy Law, Registration of Title,
Consolidation of Criminal Law (labours of Hercules), I have
promised my youngest son, who goes to Balliol next term, to read
with him the Odyssey, the orations LTepi aTeqtavov and the Georgics
of Virgil, with the Prometheus and Agamemnon of ^Eschylus.
Mind you have promised to come and see Hackwood. — Ever
yours sincerely, Richard Bethell.'
' P.S. — I forgot to point out, what doubtless those I desire to
admonish know, that Papists regard the verse cited as, in its
secondary sense, indicative of Purgatory, and that dvriSiKos means
the great enemy of mankind. Here too there is, as they will find,
a great analogy, for the Exchequer is no bad image of Purgatory,
and as to myself they will draw the comparison ; but certainly
SctTavas will not be more implacable.'
The result of the Attorney-General's action in
the matter was that the offending parties promptly
paid the duties demanded.
The classical readings referred to in the letter
took place every morning at five o'clock during
several months. Sir Richard Bethell used to occupy
himself with a brief or other work while his pupil
went on to translate aloud, and now and then he
would stop the translation in order to explain a
difficult passage or some theory in philosophy.
Except under pressure of parliamentary duties he
never worked at night.

284 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1859-
In the summer mornings he would open the
window overlooking the lawn, and place a loaded
20-bore gun near it. As the mist yielded to the
sun's rays, a stray rabbit was often seen feeding, or
leisurely returning to its burrow. Sir Richard, pre
senting a peculiar and comical aspect in his scarlet
dressing-gown and white nightcap with a red tassel,
walked slowly up and down, with a very solemn
face and an eye on the lawn. Presently a belated
rabbit appeared, whereupon, his expression chang
ing to one of intense excitement, down went the
brief or book, and seizing the gun, he would shoot
at the rabbit from the window. Then exclaiming,
' I've got him !' or ' Missed him !' as the case might
be, he resumed his dictation, as if nothing had
happened. His correspondence at this time gives evidence
of his dislike of an official position and his constant
desire to escape from it. To one of his daughters
he writes : ' We are all half dead in Town ; the
heat and stench from the Thames intolerable. Yes
terday in the House of Commons it was intolerable,
and I was kept in the House until twenty minutes
after two o'clock. No office can compensate for it.
I long to see you, but know not when I shall be
released from Town.'
The most notable case in which Sir Richard Bethell
was engaged at this period was the famous Thell-
usson suit.1 Peter Thellusson died in 1797, having
1 Thellusson v. Rendlesham, 7 House of Lords Cases, 429.

i860 THE THELLUSSON CASE 285
made such a remarkable disposition of his immense
property that for upwards of half a century the
litigation which arose from it engaged the attention
of the Courts, and was a gold mine to the Chancery
bar. The case in its various phases was invested
with more interest than generally attaches to cases
falling within the practice of the equity practitioner,
and it became a very general subject of discussion.
Thellusson, the descendant of a Huguenot
refugee, came to London from Geneva, where his
ancestor had fled, and having amassed a large
fortune as a merchant, purchased extensive estates
near Doncaster. His expressed object was to create
by accumulation enormous fortunes for the ultimate
endowment of three branches of his family to the
exclusion of his immediate descendants. In pursu
ance of this eccentric design he devised real estates
of considerable value with other estates to be pur
chased with the residue of his personal estate,
amounting to above ,£600,000, upon trust to ac
cumulate the income during the lives of his three
sons, Peter Isaac, George, and Charles, and his
grandson John, Peter Isaac's son, and all his other
grandchildren and great-grandchildren living at his
death. On the death of the survivor of all those
persons the estates were to be divided into three
lots, one lot to be conveyed to the eldest male
lineal descendant then living of Peter Isaac in tail
male, and the other two lots to the male descend
ants of George and Charles, in the same manner.

286 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1859-
Having expressed his wish that his sons would
'avoid ostentation, vanity, and pompous show, as
that will be the best fortune they can possess,' he
added an entreaty that, as he had earned his fortune
with honesty and industry, the Legislature would
not alter his will, but permit his property to go as
he had disposed of it.
On the death of the testator the will caused a
great sensation in legal circles. It was calculated
that before the division could take place the accumu
lated property would amount to twenty or thirty
millions sterling, which, it was considered, would
place in the hands of its possessors an undue, and
indeed dangerous, influence in the State. This led
to the passing in 1800 of what is called the
Thellusson Act, prohibiting such an accumulation
for a longer period than twenty-one years from the
death of the testator, or during the minority of any
person living at his death or who would be entitled,
if of age, to the income.
Great litigation ensued upon the testator's death.
Cross suits were instituted — by the widow and child
ren to have the will set aside ; by the trustees to
have it established. Eventually, on appeal to
the House of Lords, the decree of various judges
affirming the validity of the trusts was upheld. The
will, indeed, was framed with such extraordinary
technical ingenuity that it withstood all the attacks
which could be made upon it. No will, according
to Lord St. Leonards, ever came before the Courts

i860 AN EXTRAORDINARY ACCUMULATION 287
upon which so much learning and thought had been
bestowed for the purpose of endeavouring to tear it
to pieces and to counteract, and properly, the ambi
tious views of the testator. The skill of the drafts
man, with his perfect knowledge of real property
law, frustrated every such attempt.
There were nine persons in existence at the
testator's death during whose lives the accumulation
was to continue : the three sons named in the will,
and six grandsons, John, George, and Henry, William
and Frederick (the twin children of the eldest son,
Peter Isaac), and Charles, child of the youngest son
Charles. Of these nine, Charles, the grandson, was
the survivor, and on his death in 1856 the long
period for accumulation ceased, and the estate came
to be allotted in moieties, the testator's second son,
George, having died without male issue. The
eldest son, Peter Isaac, was created Baron Rendles-
ham, and died in 1808 ; his eldest son, John, became
the second baron, and died without male issue ;
William succeeded to the peerage, and also died
without male issue ; but Frederick, the fourth baron,
left a son, the present Lord Rendlesham, who was
the respondent in the suit. Mr. Arthur Thellusson,
the appellant, was the son of Peter Isaac's youngest
son, and the ' eldest ' in point of years, though his
nephew, Lord Rendlesham, who represented the
senior branch, was ' eldest ' in line and the testator's
male heir. The cardo causes was whether the uncle,
who was elder in years, or the nephew, who was

288 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1859-
elder in blood (being the son of the uncle's elder
brother), was entitled to a moiety as the ' eldest
male lineal descendant then living' of Peter Isaac
Thellusson. Both claimants were male lineal de
scendants ; was ' eldest ' to be taken in a literal or
technical sense ?
The appeal was from the Master of the Rolls,
Sir John Romilly, who had decided in favour of
Lord Rendlesham. The Lords received it with all
the respect due to a case invested with such remark
able peculiarities. It was twice argued before the
House, and eight of the Common Law judges
attended, in obedience to their Lordships' summons,
to hear the arguments and give their opinions. Sir
Richard Bethell was leading counsel for the appel
lant ; Mr. Rolt and Mr. Roundell Palmer represented
Lord Rendlesham ; and Sir H. Cairns appeared for
the next of kin, who insisted that the will was void
for uncertainty, now that the accumulation was at an
end. At the close of most elaborate arguments the
judges, in reply to the questions put to them, expressed
their unanimous opinion that the will was not void
for uncertainty, and the majority of them (Barons
Martin and Bramwell dissenting) were of opinion
that in the expression 'eldest male lineal descend
ant,' the word ' eldest' had reference not to seniority
of birth, but to priority of line. The Lords decided
accordingly that Lord Rendlesham, as the grandson
of an elder son, was entitled in preference to his
uncle, whose parent was a younger son.

i860 RESULTS OF LITIGATION 289
Sir Richard Bethell's argument, though unsuc
cessful, was ici arkable for its force and ingenuity,
which received due recognition in the judgments.
The costs of all parties, as in all the previous suits,
were ordered to come out of the estate. This decision
put an end to a litigation which in duration and mag
nitude has probably never been equalled. Such vast
sums had been expended during its progress that the
estate was not much larger at its division than at
the testator's death. The name of Thellusson will
always be connected with the history of a clever
scheme of tontine and an Act passed to prevent the
bare possibility of its recurrence.
While the Thellusson case was proceeding one
of the counsel proposed deferring the consideration
of some minor point till the day of judgment, mean
ing, of course, the day on which the final decision
was to be pronounced. ' But,' objected Sir Richard
Bethell, with a quiet look of mischief in his eyes,
' will not that day, Mr.  , be a very busy day ?'
Another case may be mentioned as a striking
example of the way in which the construction of
wills is sometimes influenced by conjecture of the
testator's intention, when a rigid adherence to his
plain language would produce a hardship which
obviously he never intended or foresaw. In such
cases Judges seem occasionally to act on the law
less, though generous principle, ' to do a great right,
do a little wrong.'
General Carpenter, a distinguished Indian officer,
vol. 1 19

290 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1859-
had an only son, Colonel George Carpenter, and by
his will he had made provision for his son for life, and
afterwards for the son's children, but in case of the
son ' dying ' before his mother there was a gift over.
Colonel Carpenter fell at Inkermann, when leading
the outlying pickets of one of the Brigades of the
Second Division, leaving both his father and mother,
then of very advanced age, surviving ; he left also
an only child, Captain Carpenter of the 7th Royal
Fusiliers, who was himself seriously wounded at the
battle of Alma. Sir Richard Bethell knew Colonel
Carpenter's widow, who had accompanied her hus
band and son to the Crimea, and he took the greatest
interest in the case. By his advice it was contended
on behalf of Captain Carpenter that the words
' without issue ' must be inserted after ' dying ' to
make the will consistent, and that, therefore, the gift
over had not taken effect. Lords Chelmsford,
Brougham, and St. Leonards (Lords Cranworth and
Wensleydale dissenting) adopted this construction,
which enabled Captain Carpenter to retain the for
tune, amounting to nearly half a million, which his
grandfather had no doubt intended for him.1
Sir Richard Bethell, as head of the bar, was
very jealous of any judicial invasion of the rights
of counsel. Lord Justice Knight Bruce had ac
quired notoriety for his constant interruptions of
counsel and the levity and want of temper he
displayed on the bench. The bar had for some
1 Ricketts v. Carpenter, 7 House of Lords Cases, 68.

i860 KNIGHT BRUCE AND BETHELL 291
time complained of these practices, but no one had
the courage to beard the offending judge in open
Court. At last the opportunity came to the Attor
ney-General on the hearing of an appeal from the
Master of the Rolls, and he took advantage of it.
The case related to a deed of assignment
executed by a lady in favour of her solicitor
for costs and money advanced, and the Master
of the Rolls held that the assignment must be
set aside. Against this decision the defendant
appealed, and during the opening speech of the
plaintiff's counsel in support of the decree, Lord
Justice Knight Bruce interposed the remark, that,
assuming the transaction to be perfectly honour
able and beneficial, he was surprised that an experi
enced professional gentleman should have been so
imprudent. This drew from Sir Richard Bethell,
who appeared for the solicitor, the remonstrance :
' Your Lordship will hear his case first, and if your
Lordship thinks it right, you can express surprise
afterwards.' At this the Lord Justice grew very
angry and repeated his observation, whereupon the
Attorney -General calmly expressed his regret at
hearing any censure of a party whose case had not
been heard. Again the Lord Justice reiterated his
opinion as to the imprudent conduct of the solicitor,
adding petulantly, ' I shall say it whenever it suits
me to say it, without the slightest reference to your
opinion.' In opening the respondent's case Sir
Richard referred to what had occurred, and said, ' I

292

LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1859-

deprecate any observations until the case has been
fully heard and the proper time for the discharge of
judicial duties begins. How must this professional
gentleman feel when observations so incautious fall
from a high judicial authority ? '
For this timely rebuke of habitual indiscretion
the Attorney -General received the thanks of the
inner bar who were in the habit of appearing in the
Court of Appeal ; and the Times, in a leading article
next day, condemned in severe terms the conduct
of the Lord Justice, and applauded the resolute
determination of the advocate that his client's case
should not be prejudged.1 After this incident, as
might be supposed, the relations between the two
became rather strained. The other Lord Justice,
Sir George Turner, revelled in the intricacies of the
law, of which he had a profounder knowledge than
any other judge of his day, and Bethell's calm assur
ance made less impression on him than on other
members of the Bench. At a consultation held to
decide whether an appeal should be put down before
the Lords Justices, or an application made for a
hearing by the full Court, which would include the
Lord Chancellor, Sir Richard observed : ' Lord
1 In some amusing verses entitled ' The Battle of the Big-
Wigs,' Punch sang in Homeric fashion —
' The hot anger of Bruce at the cool encounter of Bethell ;
Bethell, the feared of the Bench, the Rarey, the tamer of horsehair,
Tamer of legal big-wigs, subduer of Lords and Vice-Chanc'llors,
Twister of Courts round his thumb with his silvery voice of per
suasion.'

i860 INSTANCE OF SELF-POSSESSION 293
Chelmsford has absolutely no knowledge of an intri
cate question like this of real property law. But as
for the Lords Justices, the prurient loquacity of the
one and the pertinacious technicality of the other
render an appeal to such a tribunal so unsatisfactory
that it will be better to go to the full Court.'
The following story of Sir Richard's self-posses
sion was current at the time in legal circles. On
glancing at the pleadings in consultation, he observed
that he could not conceive how any one could have
advised the unfortunate plaintiff to adopt the course
which had been adopted in that case. The country
solicitor rejoined that he was surprised to hear Sir
Richard say this, for he had himself some years
before advised that very course to be taken in a
certain event which had since actually occurred.
The Attorney-General asked to see the opinion, and
it was duly produced from the solicitor's bag. He
read it slowly, and then said, as if soliloquising :
' Well, it is a mystery to me how any one capable
of penning such an opinion could have risen to the
eminence I have the honour to enjoy.'
Sir Richard Bethell had become very fond of
yachting, and in the long vacation of 1859 he spent
some time at Torquay with his second son and his
family cruising round the coast. He writes to his
son-in-law, Captain Cardew : —
' Sim has a nice boat, not quite as big as the " Cat," and we
went out a good deal, but the weather was unfavourable — dead
calms with sea-fogs. How has the "Cat" fared in the bad

294 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1859-
weather ? I should like a boat built on the same principle, but
about six or seven tons larger. If my guardian genius enables
me to retire from public life in August 1861, I should much
enjoy such a vessel, with a residence on the coast somewhere
between Southsea and Christchurch.
' So you have succeeded in proving again how superior your
genius in horse-dealing is to mine. L  tells me that you
have sold my old horse you had for nothing for a fabulous price,
whilst your mare that I gave so much for is lame and likely to
be of no use, not even as a cab-horse.
'Certainly you are superior in ability to Her Majesty's
Attorney-General. I have been "done" too by that old button-
maker who bought my house in Westbourne Terrace, and refuses
to complete his purchase. Altogether my conceit has been sadly
lessened. . . .'
He was a capital sailor, and thoroughly enjoyed
rough weather. Once, when trying to cross to
Ireland, the gale drove him up to Tenby, and his
yacht, of about 150 tons, lay weatherbound in the
Tenby roads — one of the worst anchorages round
the coast, — with a couple of anchors down and a
rocky shore astern. Sir Richard refused to go on
shore with the rest of the party, but stuck to the
vessel for three days, though she was rolling yards
under most of the time, and must have gone ashore
if she had dragged or parted her anchors.
In the autumn of this year Sir Richard Bethell
was present at a meeting of the Christian Young
Men's Institute at Wolverhampton, and being called
on for an address, he uttered ' a few unpremeditated
thoughts and unprepared observations,' in the
course of which, leaving, as he said, higher views
for other occasions and other advocates, he pointed

i860 LECTURE ON CHRISTIANITY 295
out the great wisdom of denominating the Society a
Christian institution, since education based on the
principle of mutual benevolence was peculiarly fitted
to ensure success in after-life.
' If,' he said, ' I were to look back on my own life, to derive
from it anything like a lesson for the guidance or instruction of
others, I should say that of all the success that individually I
have met with in my career I should ascribe the greater part
not to the possession of any particular ability, but, in the great
variety of instances, more to the benefit I have found resulting
from a feeling in one's favour produced whenever I have been
fortunate enough to have it in my power to confer any advantage
or any kindness on others. I am perfectly confident that the
principle of mutual benevolence, of an universal desire to do
good, derived from Christianity, and which is the first lesson
inculcated when you are taught to read the New Testament, is
one of the best and most sure modes of securing even temporary
success in life.'
This lecture on Christianity, as it was termed,
made the Attorney-General the target of a great
deal of witty banter. It was declared by his critics
that he had held forth the grace of universal bene
volence as a profitable speculation in which he had
himself invested with remarkable success. The
leading journal in an amusing article hailed his ap
pearance in the new character of a Christian advo
cate and in a strain of delicate raillery commented
on his theory of the worldly advantages resulting
from the observance of Christian principles.
' There is a danger,' it said, ' in resting the merits of Chris
tianity so much upon this ground, because as ninety-nine people
out of a hundred cannot "get on in life," but are tied by birth,
education, and circumstances to a lower position, where they

296 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1859-
must stay, if the great merit of Christianity consists in "getting
men on in life," the only conclusion will be that Christianity
signally fails in its object. It may, indeed, from time to time,
produce an Attorney-General, and it will not be denied that that
is a great achievement and does credit to our dispensation. But
• what are we to say to the great mass of the human race who cannot
by hook or crook, whether they are as malignant as demons, ,or
whether they shine with the benignity of a patriarch, an angel, or
Sir Richard Bethell, rise above the level in which nature has
placed them, and reach a brilliant and distinguished position?'
Questions of wider importance than those of
legal improvement claimed the attention of Parlia
ment in the early months of i860. The policy of
the Government with respect to Italian Unity
and Independence, the Expedition undertaken in
concert with the French against the Chinese to
enforce Treaty obligations, the ratification of the
Commercial Treaty lately entered into with France,
and the important financial changes introduced by
Mr. Gladstone's famous budget, thrust into the
background matters of minor interest. Even the
production of Lord John Russell's long delayed
proposals of electoral reform excited only a languid
interest, and the Bill was eventually stifled by the
mass of amendments which it provoked. Sir Richard
Bethell writes : ' I am not satisfied with the state of
the Ministry. There is but little, if any, cordiality
among its members. Everything has been sacrificed
to the Commercial Treaty and the Reform Bill.
We shall waste half the remaining Session over the
Reform Bill, and then have to abandon it. But we
have no antagonists. And, in fact, I find such

i860 DISTASTE FOR PUBLIC LIFE 297
evidences of incapacity in the members of the late
Government (particularly Lord  ) that I cannot
think they can ever be reconstituted.'
The discussion of questions with which the
Attorney- General had little concern gave him
leisure to devote attention to the troublesome and
thankless task of amending the bankruptcy law.
He writes to one of his daughters early in the
Session : —
' I wish I could run down to see you, but I am chained like
a galley slave to the oar, and I fret and pull at my chain very
much and very ungratefully ; but, in truth, I long for quiet and
rest, and, as we have enough for all reasonable wants, I long for
some peace and time for contemplation and rational enjoyment
of the close of life, " before I go hence." As soon as the present
Ministry quits office I retire, but at present there seems no prob
ability of that event ; but we may get over-confident and pre
sumptuous, and fall from our own pride and conceit. I told
Lord John Russell (who has suddenly become wonderfully
attached to me), after one of our great majorities, that our only
care should now be " to walk humbly and circumspectly." I
earnestly hope and pray we may do some good, or may be
replaced by others who will.
' All my measures are postponed through the desire to pass
the resolution, that the trade with France may commence at
once.' He was, as we have seen, liable to these recurring
attacks of discontent with public life and office. Mere
party politics had little charm for him, and he was not
sufficiently imbued with the spirit of faction to become
a successful political leader. Ordinary social topics
do not appeal with enough force to the intellect
to interest the scientific mind. Problems of juris-

298 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1859-
prudence or philosophy, esoteric speculations, which
stimulated the critical faculty and called for scientific
exposition, more naturally engaged the subtle mind
of the eminent lawyer.
His ready attention to the interests of the
University of which he had been the legal adviser
led to much friendly intercourse with Dr. Jeune, the
Master of Pembroke, then Vice-Chancellor of the
University, and afterwards Bishop of Peterborough.
'March 12 [i860].
' My dear Vice-Chancellor — I am happy to say that I fiave
received and completed the grant of license to the University of
Oxford to purchase and hold lands in mortmain to the extent of
,£10,000 per annum. It is, I am satisfied, a wise step on the
part of the University. There is going on insensibly a deprecia
tion in the value of gold, and therefore in the value of money
generally, although perhaps to a less extent than might be sup
posed, by reason of there not being a proportionate augmentation
of the quantity of silver ; but I fully expect that the drain of
silver to China will be completely put an end to by the greater
extent of our imports, if the Chinese expedition is successful.
' I have had great satisfaction, therefore, in getting this grant
made, though it somewhat exceeds ordinary limits. The value
of land is certainly very high, and probably will not decrease, for
I expect that this commercial treaty will augment the fortunes of
the Lancashire, Yorkshire, and North manufacturers to such an
extent that they will buy up all the land in the market.
' We have had immense success in the House, thanks to Glad
stone, whose irresistible charges scattered the ranks of the Opposi
tion. They have not ventured lately to show fight on the legal objec
tions to the treaty, and I have therefore had little to do with the
debates. Upon the whole the treaty is a wonderful production,
and, extemporised as it was, I am astonished that it has not more
flaws. It has rendered the world still more careless than ever of
the Reform Bill, which every one would gladly get rid of except

i860 THE BANKRUPTCY LA W 299
Lord John. However I trust the rate-paying clause will prevent
its doing much harm. Without that clause it would add in
Wolverhampton 14,000 to the existing constituency ! . . .
' I am obliged to postpone my great legal reforms, but I shall
bring on the New Bankruptcy Code on Thursday next. We shall
have much better talk still on the subject of Savoy. — Believe me,
yours very sincerely, Richard Bethell.'
The law of bankruptcy and insolvency had for
thirty years been the subject of incessant denuncia
tion, but all attempts to find a satisfactory remedy
for its evils proved ineffectual. In 1831, 1842, and
1 849 extensive changes, amounting on each occasion
almost to a new code on the subject, were intro
duced, only to lead to new and stronger complaints,
until the last state of the law was admittedly worse
than the first. In introducing his Bill Sir Richard
Bethell observed : —
' The difficulty arising from this state of things is that he who
now addresses himself to the subject finds the whole ground encum
bered with the remains of previous alterations of the law ; he is
not at liberty to sweep away that which is done with, and erect a
new and simple edifice ; he is obliged to adopt the building that
exists, and construct entirely out of old materials. . . .
' In principle nothing ought to be more simple than a law of
bankruptcy. Bankruptcy is nothing in the world more than taking
the whole of the debtor's property by one universal execution, or
by one universal surrender, for the benefit of his creditors ; and
all that should be required would be a tribunal simply for the
purpose of ascertaining the extent of the rights of those who are
interested in the distribution, and some simple machinery for
realising the property and dividing it among the parties entitled.'
As the result of the successive alterations a host
of official persons had been introduced into the

300 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1859-
Administration, and the cost of winding-up an estate
in bankruptcy amounted to 33 per cent upon the
property realised, so that a third part of every
creditor's debt was deducted for the cost of collection
and distribution. That alone was enough to demon
strate the utter impropriety of the existing law.
There was further the monstrous anomaly of having
two separate systems for bankruptcy and insolvency.
The insolvent debtor, if not a trader, was thrown
into prison as the only means of wringing from him
a full discovery and surrender of his property ; and
if he chose to defy his creditors he might lie there
for an indefinite period. Moreover, through the
difficulty of showing that his estate would yield
,£150, the prescribed amount, many a trader was
debarred from recourse to the Court of Bankruptcy,
and was driven into the Insolvent Debtors Court
and submitted to imprisonment in order to obtain
his discharge. Even after an insolvent's discharge
his future property remained liable to his creditors,
paralysing his fresh exertions and destroying the
strongest motive for industry and providence.
The Bill proposed to abolish the distinction be
tween bankruptcy and insolvency, and to apply one
uniform system of distribution to the estates of insol
vent debtors, whether traders or non-traders ; to give
facilities for composition by voluntary arrangement
with creditors ; to appoint a Chief Judge in place of
the existing Commissioners ; and generally to simplify
the procedure and establish a uniform, expeditious,

i860 HIS REFORMS OPPOSED 301
and economical system. Before 1831 the creditors
had practically the uncontrolled management of the
estate. Lord Brougham's Act of that year was
founded on the system of administration by official
assignees, and the codes of continental nations, under
every one of which larger assets were obtainable
than in England, provided for an official control.
The Bill of i860 was to a great extent a return to
the voluntary system. Unfriendly critics professed
to find strong traces in it of the influence of the
Attorney-General's connection with a great mercan
tile constituency, and declared that the interests of
the smaller estates were sacrificed to the larger.
The difficulties which surrounded the question
appear from the following letter to Lord Palmer
ston : — ' Hackwood Park, April 8, i860.
' Allow me now to call your attention to our legal mea
sures brought and to be brought before Parliament, and to
beg you to tell me what you think best to be done. You
will recollect three subjects were mentioned in the speech
from the Throne. The consolidation and reform of the laws of
bankruptcy and insolvency ; the introduction of measures to
simplify the title and facilitate the transfer of landed estates ;
thirdly, that which in the speech (the passage being, I presume,
contributed by the Lord Chancellor) is called " the fusion of law
and equity," by which was meant, measures to remove the reproach
under which we labour that suitors in our courts of justice are
bandied from one court to another. What has been done to fulfil
these promises ? I will report to you.
' The Bankruptcy and Insolvency Bill has been introduced by
me. On my personal request to them, the Opposition permitted
it to be read a second time without discussion. It stands for
Committee on the 23d inst. It is very long, nearly 600 clauses,

302 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1859-
and of course, in a measure making such a radical change, there
will be very many subjects of discussion. It has been very well
received by the mercantile world, but as it is adverse to the
interests of many lawyers, who profit by existing abuses, a strong
party is being formed against it. In the House of Lords it will
have the opposition of Lord Brougham, who for the last twenty-eight
years has been the author of all the legislation in bankruptcy with
unfortunate results, and whosemeasures are subverted by the present
Bill. To pass this Bill through the Commons I shall want four
nights, and perhaps two morning sittings. But to ensure success
in the Lords, it should be sent up there by, at the latest, the first
week of June. Together with this Bill stands another very im
portant measure — a Bill for the consolidation of all the laws
relating to joint- stock companies. What I wish to ask you is
whether you think it possible to do more this session than pass
these two Bills ?
' The Bills relating to landed estates will cost me at least a
month's labour to render them fit to present. I have had them
prepared, but they are not at all to my mind.
' The Bankruptcy Bill has half-ruined me in my practice, but
I will incur still greater sacrifices and bring in the Landed Estates
Bill by the beginning of May, if you think there is a chance of
doing so to any purpose.1 I entirely despair of it, unless the
Reform Bill could be sent to a better world or, as its enemies
would say, consigned to " that limbo vast and large,"
' " Where entity and quiddity,
The ghosts of defunct bodies fly."
Cito in cozlum redeat, whence no doubt it came. Let me know
your wish therefore as to the Landed Estates Bills, and if it be to
bring them in, I will do so.
' The third measure, " fusion of law and equity," has come to
grief. The Lord Chancellor brought in a Bill into the House of
Lords without telling me of his intention or showing me the Bill.
1 He wrote to a friend : ' I calculate that the professional
business I have been obliged to refuse, whilst preparing the
Bankruptcy Bill, has exceeded .£3000. The labour has been
immense.'

i860 BANKRUPTCY BILL WITHDRA WN 303
It is unfortunate. The Bill has been prepared by persons not
conversant with the subject, and all the Judges in Equity, the
Master of the Rolls, Lords Justices, and Vice-Chancellors, .have
sent to the Lord Chancellor an earnest remonstrance against 'the
measure. I am sorry this should have happened, but the Bill
deserved it, and this part of our promised measures will therefore
have to be abandoned. Such, my dear Lord, is the state of your
legal crops — they are not very flourishing, but I think if we save
the Bankruptcy Bill that we may look the landlord in the face.'
The Law and Equity Bill, which was drawn by
Mr. Justice Willes, was approved by all the Common
Law judges, who hastened to answer the memorial
presented against it by their Equity brethren. It
proposed to give the Courts of Common Law addi
tional jurisdiction of the kind hitherto exercised
only by the Court of Chancery, and was therefore
regarded with hostility by Equity lawyers as an
unjustifiable encroachment on their domain.
In the event, however, the Attorney-General's
sweeping measure of bankruptcy reform shared the
fate of Lord Campbell's Bill. The extraordinary
pressure of Government business delayed its in
troduction ; and when, after much consideration had
been given to a third of the clauses, it was menaced
by an amendment which struck at the most valuable
provision of the Bill, little hope remained of passing
it in that Session. The Attorney-General was
naturally much disappointed. He writes to Lord
Palmerston : — 'July 19 [i860].
' My dear Lord — I have been anxiously thinking what is to be
done with the Bankruptcy Bill, if the House of Commons shall

304 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1859-
adopt Henley's amendment this evening, and I am reluctantly
compelled to say that I cannot go on, not from vexation or
opposition, but simply because so great a change in the principle
and extent of the Bill would require it to be entirely recast, and
its provisions quite altered to meet its reduced sphere of operation.
In that event, viz. of the Bill being confined to tradesmen, we
must continue the Insolvent Debtors Court, and I shall not want
the staff, either judicial or ministerial, which the Bill provides.
All the arrangements touching the County Courts will become
inappropriate and unnecessary, and in fact the plan of the Bill
must be altered. It would require at least ten days' hard work
to do this, and then it must be recommitted and the new scheme
reconsidered. If therefore we have a majority against us, I think
we must be prepared to pass on to the next order of the day.
If we do get a majority, you will give me, I suppose, until twelve
o'clock to-night, and I shall then want Tuesday morning, Thursday
morning, and Friday morning, in order to get through next week.
If not got through next week, it would be utterly hopeless to
knock at the door of the House of Lords. Do not trouble to
send any answer.'
The courageous attempt to consolidate the entire
law, instead of dealing merely with the proposed
changes in it, after the piecemeal fashion in which
our legislation is usually attempted, deserved a
better fate. Sir Richard Bethell as a law reformer
was somewhat in advance of his time, and he chafed
under the opposition raised by the fears of some
and the prejudices of others to the amendments of
the law on which he was intent. ' I have been very
much occupied,' he wrote in the course of the Ses
sion, 'by parliamentary business, which is an un
grateful task and a very foolish thing for any sensible
and non-ambitious man to trouble about.' A little
later he wrote again : —

i860 TRIBUTE TO LORD PALMERSTON 305
' I have been a great sufferer from various causes, and am
still very weak and with a bad cough ; but at present I see very
little hope of peace or rest.
' The House of Commons has become thoroughly demoralised,
and it is a mere talking club, so that it is impossible to get any
real business done. ... I wish I was the owner of a boat and
had nothing to do but, like C  , to enjoy myself. It would be
much wiser than to do as I do now, toil and labour for other
people, only to be abused and suspected of some interested
motive.' The session was unusually long and laborious,
the greater part of it being consumed by discussions
arising out of the financial arrangements proposed
by Mr. Gladstone. Of these the repeal of the paper
duty excited a lively conflict between the Houses of
Parliament over the right of the Lords to reject Bills
relating to taxation sent up from the Commons.
Finance, the French Treaty, and Parliamentary Re
form were subjects each one of which might have
sufficed to occupy the attention of the Commons
during the whole session. But though the full
legal programme sketched out in the speech from
the Throne could not be carried out, the ses
sion was not unfruitful of amendments of the law.
Writing to Lord Palmerston on 23d August, Sir
Richard Bethell enumerated and explained them in
his usual luminous manner, and went on to pay a
striking tribute to the Premier's leadership : —
' I believe these are the principal legal achievements of the
session — Utinam plura et meliora essent. But they are by no
means despicable or unworthy of your Government, particularly
as they were accomplished under great difficulties.
VOL. I 20

306 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1859-
' I cannot close this note without expressing to you, with
the most unfeigned sincerity, my admiration of your masterly
leadership during this most difficult session. Great know
ledge, great judgment, great temper and forbearance, in
finite skill and tact, matchless courtesy, and great oratorical
talent, rising with each important occasion, have in a most
eminent degree marked your conduct of the Government and
your leadership of the House of Commons. And those who
know the secrets of the Cabinet must feel that none but you could
have kept it together. But what I esteem most is that happy
quality you possess, by which, whilst you receive the admiration,
you at the same time win the affections of all around you. I did
not intend to write this, but it has been forced from me by a
retrospect of the session.' 1
What Mr. Evelyn Ashley has termed Lord Palm
erston's ' peculiar talent for reconciling, cementing,
and commanding diverse idiosyncrasies ' invariably
excited Sir Richard Bethell's strongest admiration.
The rare combination of good temper, tact, and
courage which characterised the great leader's public
life won the heart of his law officer. ' Pam is such
a gentleman!' he used to declare with an enthusiasm
which he seldom exhibited ; ' he always says and
does the right thing.'
At the Commemoration at Oxford in the summer
of i860 Sir Richard Bethell, in company with Lord
Brougham and Mr. Motley, the historian, received
the honorary degree of D.C.L. Soon after he was
elected a member of the Athenaeum Club, under
the special rule empowering the Committee to select
1 The latter part of this letter has been published in the
Hon. E. Ashley's Life of Lord Palmerston, vol. ii. p. 400.

i860 THE ROAD MURDER CASE 3°7
persons eminent in science, literature, or the arts, or
for public services. Sir Richard was described on
the roll as ' highly distinguished, especially for his
exertions in the promotion of law reform and the
improvement of legal education.' He was the first
instance of an Attorney-General being elected under
this special rule, and there has been but one since —
Sir Roundell Palmer, now Lord Selborne.
In November i860, the Attorney-General in
person moved the Court of Queen's Bench that a
rule might be granted to issue a special inquisition
by a writ ad melius inquirendum with respect to the
notorious Road Murder. The case was without
exact precedent, and excited much public discussion.
At the inquest thus sought to be reopened, the
Coroner, as it was alleged, directed the jury that it
was no part of their duty to find out who had mur
dered the child. There was a very strong presump
tion that the crime had been committed by one of
the inmates of the house, and he held that, having
obtained sufficient evidence of the cause of death, it
was contrary to the course of justice to examine all
the suspected persons. The jury, accordingly, after
some protest, returned an open verdict.
There was a very general feeling that the inquest
had resulted in a miscarriage of justice, and that the
public interests required that a further inquiry should
take place. It happened that the written statement
of the finding of the jury had been returned on paper,
instead of on parchment, and the Attorney-General

308 LIFE OF LORD WESTBURY 1859-1860
also took advantage of this informality to impeach the
validity of the proceedings before the Coroner. After
very elaborate argument a rule was granted, calling on
the Coroner to show cause why the inquisition should
not be quashed, and the writ for a fresh inquiry
issued. But on cause being shown the rule was dis
charged, and the crime remained a profound mystery
until 1865, when the guilty party, who at the date of
the murder was only sixteen years of age, voluntarily
confessed the deed. Sir Richard Bethell gave a
great deal of attention to the case, and used to say
that nothing in the course of his life had puzzled him
so much. His suspicions never once rested on the actual
perpetrator of the crime. One evening, after dis
cussing the case for a long time with his youngest
daughter, he ended by saying, ' How thankful I
should be if that poor little child's spirit would
appear to me to-night!' He did not deride the
idea of spiritual manifestations to the living, being
of Hamlet's opinion, ' There are more things in
heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in
your philosophy.'

END OF VOL. I

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