JACOB M. DICKINSON

me, certainly this afternoon, to comment upon any of the propositions advanced by him. I am sure that no one who has listened to the very facile and elegant argument of Mr. Robinson, whose style is at once a source of admiration and despair to all those who have heard him, or to the very able speech of the solicitor-general, would, as applied to either of them, advise me, by way of friendly warning to touch Ralph de Vipont's shield as my easiest bargain. I am forced by the fact that the attorney-general has gone so fully and so elaborately into all these questions, and also for the reason that I have had some opportunity for studying his argu ment, to ring the Templar's shield, and try conclusions with him. I do not speak in any spirit of bravado or confidence. Indeed, as was said upon an occasion where the dis parity did not appear so great as now, I say, Mr. Attorney-General in all sincerity : — "' Les palmes dont je voie ta tete si couverte Semblent porter e"crit le destin de ma perte.' "Would that I might add in the language of the Cid : "' Ton bras est invaincu, mais non pas invincible.'" At the conclusion of his argument he added these words : — "And now, Mr. President, si parva licet componere magnis, I announce, in the language of a distinguished Englishman closing a memorable debate, ' I have done ' — that is, with the argument of this case. "I have — I was about to say — another duty to perform, but it can never be a duty to express sentiments that come straight from the heart, and to speak words that struggle to the lips for utterance. For my associate counsel and myself I desire to thank opposing counsel for the uniform courtesy they have extended to us, the Tribunal for the patient and considerate hearing they have given us, and to thank you, Mr. President, for the impartiality with which you have directed our sessions. It is worth, not merely an ocean voyage, but a long and painful pilgrimage to enjoy what has been incident to this occasion. "We esteem it as a rare privilege to feel at home, for a season, in these historic chambers which for so many years have been associated with the diplomacy of the world, and our souls are filled with awe when in imagination we repeople them with the disembodied

565

spirits of the mighty dead, to whose voices they once gave echo. "The memory of having, even for a short time, moved in the same orbit with the great legal luminaries of this country, famed for so many centuries for its great lawyers, will always be cherished. "Even if one shall have played, in his own esteem, his part lamely, it is worth the pang of a bitter disappointment to be in the cast of such a drama, enacted upon such a stage, and in such presence. "Whatever may be the outcome of our labors, and although there may be some immediate regrets, we may, sustained by an abiding faith in that omniscient Providence that guides the affairs of nations through darkness that is impenetrable to mortal vision, murmur, ' Forsitan et haec olim meminisse juvahit .'" When he had uttered these words and after taking his seat, the Lord Chief Justice paid him this high compliment: " Mr. Dickinson, on behalf of my colleagues and myself, I wish to thank you for your very brilliant and powerful argument. It has been my privilege to listen now to several of the great leaders of the American Bar and I can assure you that your argument will not suffer by comparison with those that preceded you either on this or any other arbitration, and -certainly, speaking for myself, and I am sure I may speak for my colleagues, none the less powerful, because of the great courtesy and fairness with which you have treated the arguments of those who were opposed to you." The opinion of the tribunal was announced on the 20th day of October, 1903. It was not signed, however, by the commissioners from Canada. It seldom falls to the lot of a lawyer to be concerned with such a great historic case. Sometimes the members of the profession, impressed with the vast amount of intellec tual labor which they perform in the prep aration of briefs and arguments in cases involving important questions of law, some times important public or constitutional questions, feel, and not without some justice, that they do not receive much in the way of public recognition or reputation for their arduous labors, too often but poorly com pensated in other ways, and that a little