EE 4 SR

2e Bi0

session of the ‘“prohibited articles at an unlawful hour of the night” Mr. Willan moved to stay judgment on the ground that the words amounted to an acquittal as there was no ‘“unlawful hour of the night” in Canada and the words “ pro.

hibited articles” could not be taken aa

the equivalent of ‘“ burglarious instru.Mfn

ments.” It was held so. W

Mr. Willan’s ready command of invec.

tive was instance, amongst others, by

the following : —

During the progress of a trial, a wit ness told Mr. Willan that he (witnesi

was ‘‘ not the sort of man he took hi

for.” “IT see very well” said the learne barrister, ‘what sort of man you art for you have the seven deadly sins 0 your countenance and the brand of Cal

on your villainous brow.”

les at an r. Willan

e ground

acquittal, ur of the

rds ‘* pro- | , taken as admitted : no taint of Negro, Indian, Chi-

“Only those of Aryan blood are to be

us instru-Mnese or any other blood must be in the

would-be members,” says a paper which

lhave before me entitled ‘“ Constitution id of invet-

and Preamble, Society of Aryan-America.” others, D}

Persons acquainted with physical sci-

. , Mnce asthesame paper rightly asserts,must rial, a wi Le (witness

Enow how much the blood of an inferior

Mace mixed with that of a higher one ree took hi

à the learnt

an you aft dly sins 0 There is no doubt whatever in my mind,

uces the fine standard of Aryan intel-

gence and levels purity to mediocrity.

and of Ca owing as well as I do the gentleman of hom [ am writing, that his ancestors

left the eastern shores ofthe Atlantic for this continent resolved to maintain the above-mentioned purity in an orderly condition.

The only mixture of race in Mr. Wil.

lan, as I have stated in chapter I, is that of the Anglo-Saxon with the French; and

consequentiy he is gifted with something

of the good, and I suppose has somethingk y of the bad qualities of both the Anglo-i:

Saxon and the French-Canadian. in

For instance, he is, after the English

manner, as curt and independent with

those he is not well acquainted with or

does not care for, as he is, after the

French habit, polite and suave with the

persons he knows well and has in regard

To illustrate his naturally exemplifyin®}o

a British trait of character the two follow

you ing short narrations of him will assist :

Jantic for tain the

derly con-

Mr. Wil- . J, is that ench; and something something he Angloan.

he English

ndent witili

ed with of s, after the ve with the

AS in regard

xemplifyinf

two follow

il assist :

One day a very wealthy gentleman, fishing for cheap law, as wealthy men sometimes do, asked a question (involving the construction of a recent act of parliament) of our learned legal friend, and receiving for answer that ‘he had not read the act,” thought to achieve the object by friendly ‘“chaff” and said,—‘ What, call yourself a lawyer and not read that!” He immediately got this answer : “If you were

[in the dock for felony, as I have seen bet-

ter men, and [ any way interested for the prosecution, I would precious soon let you know whether I was a lawyer or not.”

Mr. Willan, being seated apart, on a bench otherwise unoccupied, on board a steamboat, wrapped up ‘in his own houghts, was suddenly addresssd by a young Anglican divine with whom he had

0 previous acquaintance and who, coming

up to him, abruptly asked: ‘Are you not with ” (mentioning a well-known Canadian publisher.) The answer was:

‘“ No, Sir, and were it not for your unwarrantable intrusion I should be alone.”

Itis well known that the French are noted for momentary abstraction of

mind, and in this respect my friend is as

French as any man can be. To say that he has been unable to recall, once out of every twenty visits he has had the kind.

ness to pay me, where he had laid his hat, would be to say nothing very extraordinary, or is anything but what, from my acquaintance of him, Ï am not surptised at; but to mention that one day he would forget where he had put his right shoe (he invariably doffed his outer pedal.coverings when visiting), and the

next he would forget where his left slipper

“ Are vou h

Fe has ad been lying during the whole time of one of his Interviews and also I ;

sésnue Puzzle as to whether his coat Was to be but

r your un- front or at the bac

k : all the facts which, to use

à aré Xpressions,

raction of One d a h ay that Molière

d be alone.” Se are facts, —

| one of his technical I would affirm on Oath. ”

To say that once out of 1 the kindad laid his

what, from m not sur-

iat one day .

ad put his D

IZEnS and the disorde of his habiliments.

), and th This is the on!

| | Y Sort of abstrac left slippe think our barrister has not be e

; nd miry st -d his outer Fo

tion that n guilty

of, and this simply because he has never been known to be in a hurry. No coachman was or is ever able to please him, and so he leaves a vehicle almost before he has entered it; and chronicles say that he has never been seen driving but once, and that was on the occasion of the fu.

neral of a debtor’s near relative.

Speaking seriously, Mr. Willan is universally considered a great authority on

the Common Law of England in criminalk

cases and, indeed, in criminal procedure

generally, and is a great ‘“ stickler ” for

the generous and liberal maxims of ol

English jurisprudence which are rapidl

going out of favor.

During the Irish famine of 1847 th®

subject ofthts memoir published an elab

orate scheme of relief, by immigratia

s never o coachase him, st before s Say that but once, jf the fu

ss.

lan is uniithority on in criminal} procedure ickler ” foi ims of ol

are rapidi)

ed an elab

of 1847 th

immigr ati

from the mother country and settlement in Canada, which attracted great and favorable attention from the London press and many of the leading men both of England and Ireland, with whom he corresponded on the subject. Every portion of this scheme has since then, at different times and places, been put in successful operation.

More than a decade subsequently he Anade various suggestions for criminal law amendment, which now form portions of the Statute Law both of England and Canada. He also originated in court what snow a most important rule of practice n favor of destitute defendants. At the ame time he opposed many changes which mpairedthe characteristic ‘“‘individualism” f English jurisprudence and, in reference

) these, he gave the following account of

many changes in the ancient Anglo-Sax.

on aspect of that juridical system :

“ When the Whigs came into office, after Russell's Reform bill, having been long out of office, they carried with them a host of declaimers privileged to wear gowns and hungry for places. It was necessary to feed them in the Department of Justice. It was impossible to raise the capacity of these gentlemen to the level of the law, therefore it was resolved upon to reduce the law to the level of their incapacity. Hence we have the thing called law reform.” Mr. Willan was described on that occasion by no friendly critic as ‘having said in three minutes what other men were three hours trying

to say.”

€ EarL,. ”

glo-Sax-

to office, ing been vith them | to wear , It Was epartment o raise the , the level olved upon el of their the thing n was des o friendly 2e minutes

ours trying

ARL,

FABLE * pl

LE CHIEN, LE RENARD ET LE LAPIN He

Maître chien, sur l’herbe couché, noi Dormait sans crainte de dommage, dal Maître renard, sous un arbre caché, Guettait selon son vieil usage.

* Cette fable rappelle naturellement par sa forme celle du ard et du corbeau, mais comme il est aisé de s’en anercevoir, e s'en éloigne complètement par l’idée. Il va sans dire que je ai nullement la prétention de rivaliser avec l’immnortel fabuliste.