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The Forum, Or, Forty Years Full Practice at the Philadelphia Bar
The Forum Or Forty Years Full Practice at the Philadelphia Bar Author:David Paul Brown Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF THE PRACTICE OF THE LAW BEFORE THE REVOLUTION—AND JUDGES AND MEMBERS OF THE BAR. In his " Lives of the Chancellors and Chief Justices... more » of England," Lord Campbell repeatedly complains of his inability to trace them through the lapse of more than five centuries. But although it is certainly easier to prosecute our researches through little more than a century and a half, than to thread the labyrinth of five centuries, yet from the records and cotemporaneous history derived from the British archives, a much better clue is to be obtained, than any possessed by us. But, without repining at evils which we cannot cure, let us, with the imperfect lights and means supplied, take a hasty retrospect of what may be called, the birth and infancy of the State of Pennsylvania. Indeed, the very difficulty at this time encountered, in procuring authentic information upon the subjects proposed to betreated of in this chapter, is strong evidence in itself of the necessity that exists for redeeming without delay, the earlier events of our history from the grasp of for- getfulness. Every passing day increases the labors of research, and a few years will obliterate and consign to utter oblivion, all that we should desire to remember and preserve of our past annals. The origin of societies, communities, and nations, like the youth of individuals, gives some denotement of their future career, and furnishes to others those examples of wisdom and virtue, which it would be proper to emulate; or those instances of folly or vice, which it is commendable to avoid. When we are told that Penn's treaty with the Indians was the only known treaty, " Never sworn to, and never broken," we may well be proud of the great founder of our native State, and be at no loss to understand the i...« less