Earl Russell

“ RUSSELL, JAMES (1790–1861) , law reporter, born in 1790, was the eldest son of James Russell, esq., of Stirling. After graduating with distinction at Glasgow University, he was called to the English bar from the Inner Temple in June 1822. Having been introduced by Henry Lascelles, second earl of Harewood, to Lord Eldon, he was appointed in the following year a reporter in the courts of the lord chancellor and master of the rolls. In 1824 he became sole authorised reporter. He gradually acquired a large chancery and bankruptcy practice, and took silk in 1841. ”

“ LORD JOHN RUSSELL has that degree of imagination, which, though evinced rather in sentiment than expression, still enables him to generalise from the details of his reading and experience; and to take those comprehensive views, which, however easily depreciated by ordinary men in an age of routine, are indispensable to a statesman in the conjunctures in which we live. He understands, therefore, his position; and he has the moral intrepidity which prompts him ever to dare that which his intellect assures him is politic. ”

“ It must be admitted, undoubtedly, that the severance of ties which bind together a Sovereign and his subjects is in itself a misfortune. Notions of allegiance become confused, the succession of the throne is disputed, adverse parties threaten the peace of society, rights and pretensions are opposed to each other, and mar the harmony of the State. ”

“ We are ready, in the face of Europe, however inconvenient some of those stipulations may be, to hold ourselves bound, by all our engagements, to keep the fame, and the name, and the honour of the Crown of England unsullied, and to guard that unsullied honour as a jewel which we will not have tarnished. With that sentiment, Sir, if I should ask my noble friend to go to the Court of Russia, and say, 'To be sure you have violated a treaty—to be sure you have extinguished an independent state. We have allowed this to be done. You shall hear no threat of war. We will not arm for the purpose. ”

“ At the same time I saw a lawyer's wig and gown, and by the eloquent gestures of the sleeves and the forcible nods of the wig, I perceived that [104] it was pleading a cause. This was the apparel of a young lawyer, which, finding no employment in court, was frequently exercised in the imagination of the wearer. ”

“ It is the prerogative of the Crown to make treaties, to carry on the correspondence and relations of this country with foreign Powers. Every public and every personal communication is agreed on in the name of the Sovereign, and by the command of the Sovereign. If a treaty has been signed and ratified, as this Treaty of Vienna was signed and ratified, by the Minister of England in the name of George III, and of the Prince Regent of England ”

“ I am surprised that Aristus, after being expunged as he has been, should still pretend to be a married man. His absconding in this strange manner is certainly equivalent to death; for as to the voice which is left to personate him, it is ridiculous to profess fidelity to a sound. How can a noise be entitled to a wife and children? ”

“ If a treaty of commerce or a treaty of subsidy is signed, that requires the intervention of Parliament, it is usual for the Minister of the Crown to ask for the sanction or concurrence of Parliament to that treaty.
But to affirm a resolution which is not thus brought by necessity before the House of Commons—to affirm a resolution merely declaratory of an opinion, that is not the correct nor the regular course of proceeding in this House. ”

“ Those whom we consulted, who were the highest authorities that we could consult with regard to the interpretation of Acts of Parliament bearing upon treaties—the legal authorities who are usually consulted on those subjects—have told us, that they think, according to the spirit of the arrangement, according to the spirit of the convention, the money ought still to be paid. ”

“ They can prevent me from taking part either in the Legislature or in the councils of the Sovereign; they can place others there who may have wider and more extended, more enlarged, and enlightened views, but they must not expect me to entertain these views. They may place others in my situation, but they must not call upon me to do that which I do not only consider unwise, but which I should not feel myself justified, without a breach of faith and honour, in proposing. ”

“ But from time to time a man is born in your dominions with a genius to overcome all the difficulties that separate us. He is versed in the characters and events of your reign, and also knows my disposition, what things I wish to know, and what I should reject, and he has skill to preserve him from being destroyed and forgotten in the seas through which I am to be reached. Such a man from the rocks in his way gathers the fragments of letters that you have sent by unfortunate voyagers, and judges what intelligence is worthy to reach my island. ”

“ But the imposition of any duty at present, without a provision for its extinction within a short period, would but prolong a contest already sufficiently fruitful of animosity and discontent. The struggle to make bread scarce and dear, when it is clear that part, at least, of the additional price goes to increase rent, is a struggle deeply injurious to an aristocracy which (this quarrel once removed) is strong in property, strong in the construction of our Legislature, strong in opinion, strong in ancient associations, and the memory of immortal services. ”

“ That the legal title of the North American Land Company to the land holden by the said company, by virtue of a grant of from His Majesty, under the public seal of the said province, and to the privileges conferred on the said company by the Act for that purpose made, in the fourth year of his Majesty's reign, ought to be maintained inviolate. ”

“ Men talked in the autumn of 1855 as if Lord John Russell’s retirement was final, and even his brother, the Duke of Bedford, considered it probable that his career as a responsible statesman was closed. His health had always been more or less delicate, and he was now a man of sixty-three. He had been in Parliament for upwards of forty years, and nearly a quarter of a century had passed since he bore the brunt of the wrath and clamour and evil-speaking of the Tories at the epoch of Reform. ”

“ Russell was over six feet high, and proportionately broad. To a somewhat sallow complexion, an abundance of black hair and dark-brown eyes, he added a voice of singular depth and sweetness. The dominant idea of his life was that the laws of God were outraged in Ireland, and that revolution was a sacred duty and a political right. ”

“ He was the elder son of Arthur Russell (1785–1845) and Margaret, daughter of Matthew Mullin and widow of John Hamill, a merchant of Belfast. The Russells were of an old stock long settled in the county of Down. The family had clung to the ancient faith, and, like others, had suffered from the persecutions of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Arthur Russell died in 1845, and the care of his young family devolved upon their clever mother and their paternal uncle, Dr. Charles William Russell [q. v.] ”

“ Eric could not have had a better friend; not so clever as himself not so diligent as Owen, not so athletic as Duncan, or so fascinating as Montagu, Russell combined the best qualities of them all. And, above all, he acted invariably from the highest principle; he presented that noblest of all noble spectacles—one so rare that many think it impossible—the spectacle of an honourable, pure-hearted, happy boy, who, as his early years speed by, is ever growing in wisdom and stature, and favour with God and man. ”

“ Russell’s fame as an advocate wholly overshadowed his reputation as a politician. He was twice Attorney-General; he had a place of importance in the inner councils of the Liberal Party; and he spoke with industry and intelligence wherever he was wanted to speak. But he was not at his happiest either in the House of Commons or on the platform. With fellow-members of Parliament he was too haughty, and with popular audiences too cold and formal, and his mind had neither the breadth nor the geniality for the part either of a statesman or a demagogue. ”

“ But in his grasp of every case presented to him, and in his power of imposing the view he sought to uphold upon a northern jury, even Russell was not his equal. A man of great physique, in person cumbrous and heavy, and in facial expression unalert and uninspiring, he sometimes gave to his hearers rather the impression of a giant talking in his sleep. ”

“ He ultimately became leader of Vice-chancellor Knight Bruce's court, but overwork destroyed his eyesight, and for some years before his death he was blind. He was on four occasions asked to become a candidate for parliament, but declined each invitation. While not a brilliant pleader, Russell held a high position at the bar, owing to his learning and acuteness. ”

“ He looked solemn, stroked up his fine black hair, and with a sweetness of countenance peculiarly his own, and in a gently modulated but sufficiently audible tone of voice he begged of his friend Neilson to respect the dignity of the Bench.” Russell was a deeply religious character, with that combined humility, consciousness of his own weakness, and striving after perfection which is the foundation of saintliness. There is nothing nobler, more touching, or more edifying in our history than the story of how he went to his death. ”

“ Russell was a striking figure, belonging to a classic type found at its best in the border states. A tall man, he held himself erect, despite his years, and the color continued to flow back into the face, which was shaped in a fine strong mold. ”

“ Russell supported the new India Bill, which transferred the government of that country to the crown, but led the attack on Disraeli's Reform Bill in 1859. In the general election which followed its defeat the liberals had a majority of forty-eight, Russell being again returned for the city of London. He now took office as foreign secretary under Palmerston. On 1 March 1860 he introduced a reform bill into the House of Commons, reducing the qualification for the franchise to 10l. ”

“ In 1859 he was called to the bar, after gaining by examination a first-class honour certificate, and joined the Northern Circuit. Except some valuable introductions to friends in London and Liverpool, which his uncle, the president of Maynooth, had given to him, Russell brought to the work of his profession no external aids. He had to rely upon himself; But the equipment was sufficient. A well-built frame; a strong, striking face, with broad forehead, keen grey eyes, and a full and sensitive mouth ”

“ In order to find a remunerative field of work Russell went to Canada, where he started his one-man entertainments that made him famous. For a short time he was organist of the presbyterian church, Rochester (N. Y.) From 1833 to 1841 he travelled incessantly in Canada and America, singing his songs, 'Cheer, boys, cheer,' 'There's a good time coming, boys,' 'A Life on the Ocean Wave,' 'O Woodman, spare that Tree,' and many others with extraordinary success. ”

“ Russell possessed a warm, generous nature, combined with integrity of character, which gained for him the love and esteem of his many friends. Ever ready to extend a willing hand to those in need, and, as far as lay in his power, to assist those in distress, he will ever be remembered with kindly feelings by all who knew him. ”

“ On the 10th, of August 1900 the great advocate and great judge passed quietly away at his London residence, after a short illness due to an internal malady
In private as in public life Russell was always strenuous, and most attracted by things that called for the exercise of activity, whether bodily or intellectual. Inaction he disliked both for himself and in others. Though not an athlete, he took an interest in manly pastimes: he was fond of riding and of breeding horses ”

“ But beyond and above all these was his immense personality, an embodiment of energetic will which riveted attention, dominated his audience, and bore down opposition. His successful advocacy in the Colin Campbell divorce case in 1886, and his famous cross-examination of hostile witnesses and still more famous speech before the Parnell Commission in 1888, afforded perhaps the best examples of Russell’s characteristic powers. ”

“ Lord Arthur Russell, though a man of a gentle, tranquil spirit, had a great sympathy with youth. He was, like all his race, a Whig, and a Moderate, in every human function and aspiration. He did not, however, allow that liberal spirit to be dimmed by fear or by selfishness. He was one of those fortunate men who are not awed by rumour or carried away by prejudice. Still less was there any touch of pride or vulgarity in his nature Meanness and commonness of mind were as far from him as from any man I have ever known. ”

“ In Russell were combined qualities of character and temperament that are usually found apart. He was a blending of the northern and southern Irishman. With his keen intellect and resolute will he united much sensibility and even enthusiasm. He was a man of business and a man of dreams. Under a manner often cold and severe there lay concealed great kindliness and consideration for others. ”

“ Or if he had been a hard-reading man from choice—or a stupid man—or a “saint”—no one would have troubled themselves about [Pg 12] him or his proceedings. But Russell was a gentleman-commoner, and a man who had evidently seen something of the world; a rich man, and apparently by no means of the character fitted for a recluse. ”