THE LIFE OF LORD CHANCELLOR BLACKBURNE.* As a general rule,
the biography of a distinguished lawyer is in- teresting only to lawyers or his relatives. Few lawyers indeed have attained to posts of the highest eminence without in some way miying in very important political matters. But these parts of their lives are usually so connected with a number of more or less technical incidents, that it is really a task for the ordinary reader to discover them in a minute and faithfully written biography. The names of the English Chancellors are more or less familiar to educated men, and the most marked points in their lives are also not generally unknown, but we suspect that this moderate- sized biography of an Irish Chancellor, a man of whom English- men, in their ignorance of Irish affairs, know little or nothing, will be much more interesting to the general reader than even that of a man like Sir Samuel Romilly, who has left his mark in the history of English law. The life which Mr. Blackburne has given to us of his father is mainly political, though per- haps it would be more correctly described as administrative.
* The Life of the Right Hon. Francis Blackburne, late Lord Chancellor of Ireland. By bia Bon, Edward Blackburne, Q.O. London: Macmillan and Co. 1874.
We think he has done wisely in thus confining its scope ; Irish legal technicalities would have no shadow of interest for the English reader. But we regret that he has not given us a few more personal sketches. The Irish Bar was always renowned for its wit and humour, and in the troublous times of 1848; in the years which preceded it, and in those which have since passed away, Blackburne must have met with many curious personal matters, and must have afforded opportunities for presenting to the reader more strongly marked personal characteristics than are to be found in this volume. Still, however, there can be no doubt that even as we see him in these pages Francis Blackburne is a remarkable and noteworthy man. Mr. Edward Blackburne has written an excellent book. A short, pointed work such as this is far more effective than a long and laboured, even though trustworthy chronicle of a man's life; but even several of the letters might here have been omitted, as well as some of the biographer's own remarks.
Francis Blackburne was born at Great Footstown, County Meath, on November 11, 1782. He was sent to school at the Rev. Hugh Nelson's at Dunshaughlirt, and he left in 1793, in consequence of the removal of his family to Dublin. This removal was caused by the discovery of a conspiracy to murder the whole family, which was made known by a herdsman to his uncle, Edward Blackburne, who, in consequence, hurried his brother's household from a home to which they never afterwards returned. Thus the first really noteworthy incident in Blackburne's life was connected with the unfortunate social and political troubles of the Irish people, in connection with which the best energies of his career were ex- pended. In a few pages, the biographer takes us over his father's early life up to the year 1822, when he was made a King's Counsel, "from which period to the close of his life his name was more or less connected with the history and affairs. of Ireland." That life was characterised by great firmness and great judgment, and it gives a remarkable picture of the administration of the law in Ireland during the present generation, with its various difficulties and complications, and shows also how dependent the highest authorities are upon the resident Irish legal officials. The years during which Blackburne held office were probably more trying to individual character than any before or since. Almost directly after he received his silk gown he was called upon to act as a Commissioner under the Insurrection Act, but a point of greater general interest was his conduct of the prose- cution of O'Connell in 1830. It was a matter which required great firmness and decision, and no little tact. The fact of O'Connell demurring to the indictment and then withdrawing that demurrer, pleading guilty to some counts and not to others, to which the Crown entered what is technically known as a nolle prose qui, and the necessary lapse of time between these various. proceedings and the judgment, which after all was never given, were matters of the most embarrassing kind. The slightest mistake was sure to be taken advantage of by O'Connell for revolutionary purposes, and legal victory, under certain circumstances, was only- too likely to be looked upon by the populace as a virtual defeat of the Government. Added to legal difficulties were others raised by O'Cormell's personal interference in the case, as, for instance, by writing to Blackburne on February 11, asking for a postpone- ment of his trial, on the ground that his duty to his constituents re- quired his presence in the House of Commons. The granting of such a request would have been considered by O'Connell's followers as a victory; the refusal of it might have raised great dissatisfac- tion, on the ground of undue severity and injustice to a political party. The final result of the prosecution was unfortunate, as owing to the unexpected dissolution of Parliament upon the Re- form question, O'Connell, who withdrew his pleas on February 12, was never sentenced. The Court could not pass sentence until the following Term, when O'Connell did not appear, his. counsel alleging that he was engaged in Parliamentary proceed- ings in London. Before the commencement of the following Term, Parliament was dissolved, and the Act under which O'Connell had been indicted expired, and he could not then be legally sentenced. Upon these simple facts—the miscarriage actually arose from the anachronism of legal Term times—Sir A. Alison built an utterly false account, and drew from it the most far-fetched assumptions, in order to glorify the Tory party and throw discredit upon the Whigs. The way in which political bias influences a presumedly impartial historian is sometimes unaccount- able. Sir A. Alison (History of Europe, vol. iv., p. 299, 1st edition) wrote, after relating the late Lord Derby's declaration that the law was to take its course :—" But on making that declaration, that highly-gifted nobleman was not yet aware of the degradation which, sooner or later, awaits all who for political purposes ally them- selves with popular demagogues. O'Connell was never brought
up for judgment. The Reform Bill was coming on in the House of Commons, a general election might at no distant period be anticipated, the support of the Catholic leaders in and out of Par- liament might be required by the Government, and the haughty spirit of Earl Grey yielded to the necessities of his situation. Nothing was done against O'Connell ; he openly braved and abused the Government, but he and his party supported them in Parliament." In a letter (p. 94) of June 6 of the same year to Francis Blackburne, when the latter had pointed out the above gross inaccuracy, the historian thus lamely attempts to justify himself :—" My object was to show how the whole evil arose, not from any fault ascribable to yourself or the Solicitor-General, but to the democratic pressure on the Cabinet." Mr. Blackburne's short narrative shows the baselessness of Sir A. Alison's facts and conclusions ; it is an interesting little bit of historical fact, showing up historical fiction.
Blackburne filled probably more judicial posts than have fallen to the lot of any other man ; he was successively Master of the Rolls, Chief Justice a the Queen's Bench, Lord Chancellor, and Lord Justice of Appeal ; he not only efficiently filled these seats, but was probably an abler judge than many who have devoted their powers to one branch of law only. It may be oneof those exceptions which prove the rule, but Blackburne affords a clear instance of the capability which exists in some men, at any rate, of performing the duties of a judge both of Equity and Common Law. One of the most important events, perhaps indeed it may be considered the most important event in his judicial life, was the trial of Smith O'Brien, Meagher, and others, for high treason at Clonmel, in 1848. That case is too well known to form the subject of any lengthened com- ments here, but the very highest judicial authorities in England considered Blackburne's performance of his functions on that occa- sion worthy both of approbation and admiration. Blackburne was twice Lord Chancellor under the premiership of Lord Derby. This would stamp him as a Conservative in politics, but he appears never to have taken any lively interest in politi- cal matters, and was Attorney-General of Ireland under Lord -Grey. But his readiness to serve under any Government and his absence from the political field appear to have arisen not from any indifference to political matters, but from the fact that he was of too judicial a temperament to give himself up to them heart and soul. As an advocate, he was not one who made im- passioned appeals to juries ; he laid his case before them calmly and temperately, and asked their opinion upon it. Quoting from an anonymous description, Mr. Blackburne thus describes his father.(p. 60), "As he was one of the most powerful, so also was he perhaps one of the least flashy men that ever challenged great professional admiration at the Bar of Ireland. Ile had nothine- of that quick, eager temperament and vehement delivery, vividly brilliant manner, and inflated style which are popularly associated with the idea of a celebrated Irish barrister. Calm in the hurry of business, he was tranquil under the most violent opposition. He was never prolix or diffuse in his statement. He never said more than he thought was necessary to produce conviction in an intelligent mind. In Barrett's case he was cool and collected, and refrained from any attempt to excite the feelings of the jury by declamation." Such a man was born to be a judge. Intimately acquainted with Irish affairs and holding himself aloof from active political life, both in Ireland and England, no sounder advice was probably ever given to an incoming Viceroy, when be inquired from a minister high in office what course of action he wished to be pursued, than by the reply, "Keep a good cook, and consult Blackburne ?" He died in 1867, at the age of eighty-five. Few men were more loved for their simple and honourable character, and few men placed in the course of a long life in posts of much delicacy and difficulty so efficiently and kindly performed their duty. Had Blackburne's lines been cast in other places, and had he been endowed with more active political sympathies, Ireland might not be proud of him as a great judge, but he would undoubtedly have made his mark as a statesmanlike administrator of a high order.
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