第37章

therewasnobodyintheEnglishvillagetointerpretthesetwoworldsto

eachother。M。BabeauhaspointedoutthatinFrance，undertheancientré；gime，

thelawyersrepresentedanddefendedinsomedegreetherightsofthepeasants。

Thiswasoneconsequenceoftheconstantlitigationbetweenpeasantsand

seigneursovercommunalproperty。Thelawyerswhotookthesideofthepeasants

livedattheirexpenseitistrue，buttheyrenderedpublicservices，they

presentedthepeasants’casebeforepublicopinion，andtheyunderstoodtheir

ideasanddifficulties。ThisexplainsastrikingfeatureoftheFrenchRevolution，

thelargenumberoflocallawyerswhobecameprominentaschampionsofrevolutionary

ideas。OneofBurke’schiefcomplaintsoftheConstituentAssemblywasthat

itcontainedsomanycountryattorneysandnotaries，’thefomentersandconductors

ofthepettywarofvillagevexation。’(11*)InEnglandthelawyersnever

occupiedthisposition，anditisimpossibletoimaginesuchadevelopment

takingplacethere。Thelawyerswhointerestedthemselvesinthepoorwere

enlistednotinthedefenceoftherightsofthecommonersbutinthedefence

ofthepursesoftheparishes。Forthemtheall-importantquestionwasnot

whatrightsthepeasanthadagainsthislord，butonwhichparishhehad

aclaimformaintenance。

Thecausesoflitigationwereendless：ifamanrentedatenementofthe

annualvalueof£；10heacquiredasettlement。Buthisrentalmightnot

haverepresentedtheannualvalue，andsothefurtherquestionwouldcome

up，Wastheannualvalueactually£；10？’Ifitmaybereallynotfar

fromthatsum，andthefamilyofthepauperbenumerous，theinterestsof

thecontendingparishes，supportedbytheconflictingopinionsoftheirrespective

surveyors，leadstotheutmostexpenseandextremityoflitigation。’(12*)

Iftheannualvaluewerenotindisputetheremightbeniceandintricate

questionsaboutthekindoftenementandthenatureofthetenure：ifthe

settlementwasclaimedinvirtueofacontractofhiring，wasthecontract

’general，special，customary，retrospective，conditional，personal’orwhat

not？(13*)Ifthesettlementwasclaimedinvirtueofapprenticeship，(14*)

whatwasthenatureoftheindenturesandsoon。Ifclaimedforanestate

of£；30，wastheestatereallyworth£；30，andhowwasitacquired？

Theseareafewofthequestionsindispute，andtoaddtotheconfusion

’onnobranchofthelawhavethejudgmentsofthesuperiorcourtbeenso

contradictory。’(15*)

Thustheprincipaloccupationofthoselawyerswhosebusinessbrought

themintotheworldofthepoorwasofanaturetodrawtheirsympathies

andintereststothesideofthepossessingclasses，andwhereaspeasants’

ideaswereacclimatisedoutsidetheirownclassinFranceasaconsequence

ofthecharacterofrurallitigationandofrurallawyers，theEnglishvillager

camebeforethelawyer，notasaclient，butasadanger；notasaperson

whoserightsandinterestshadtobeexploredandstudied，butasaperson

whoseclaimsontheparishhadtobeparriedorevaded。Itisnotsurprising，

therefore，tofindthatbothFieldingandSmollettlaygreatstressonthe

reputationoflawyersforharshnessandextortionintheirtreatmentofthe

poor，regardingthem，likeCarlyle，as’attorneysandlawbeagleswhohunt

ravenousontheearth。’ReadersoftheadventuresofSirLauncelotGreaves

willrememberTomClarke’whosegoodnessofhearteventheexerciseofhis

professionhadnotbeenabletocorrupt。Beforestrangersheneverowned

himselfanattorneywithoutblushing，thoughhehadnoreasontoblushfor

hisownpractice，forheconstantlyrefusedtoengageinthecauseofany

clientwhosecharacterwasequivocal，andwasneverknowntoactwithsuch

industryaswhenconcernedforthewidowandorphanoranyotherobjectthat

suedinformapauperis。’Fieldingspeaksinafoot-notetoTomJonesofthe

oppressionofthepoorbyattorneys，asascandaltothelaw，thenation，

Christianity，andevenhumannatureitself。

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