for, unless the judges are protected in the exercise of
their functions, the public opinion of the excellence of our laws will
be inevitably weakened,--and to weaken public opinion is to weaken
justice herself."

That sort of argument, too frivolous and faulty, it might be supposed,
to influence any one, had weight with the House of Commons to which it
was addressed; and the Solicitor-General adduced much more of it.
To him the spotless character of Lord Ellenborough appeared to be an
ample defence against Lord Cochrane's charges. "Never," he said, with
a truthfulness that posterity can appreciate, "never was there an
individual at the bar or on the bench less liable to the imputation
of corrupt motives; never was there one more remarkable for
independence--I will say, sturdy independence--of character, than the
noble and learned lord. For twelve years he has presided on the bench
with unsullied honour, displaying a perfect knowledge of the
law; evincing as much legal knowledge as was ever amassed by any
individual; and now, in the latter part of his life, when he has
arrived at the highest dignity to which a man can arrive, by a
promotion well-earned at the bar, and doubly well-earned at the bench,
we are told that he has sacrificed all his honours by acting from
corrupt motives!"

Sir Francis Burdett replied effectively to the speeches of the
Solicitor-General and others who sided with him, and nobly defended
his friend. He showed that the proposal to refuse investigation of
this case because it might weaken the cause of justice, by making the
conduct of the administrators of justice contemptible, was worse than
frivolous. "Such language," he averred, "would operate against the
investigation of any charges whatever against any judge; would indeed
form a barrier against the exercise of the best privilege of this
House--the privilege of inquiring into the conduct of courts of
justice. It would serve equally well to shelter even those judges
who have been dragged from the bench for their misconduct." He then
reviewed the incidents of the Stock Exchange trial, and urged that
Lord Cochrane had good reason for bringing forward his charges. "The
question for the House to consider is, 'Do these charges, if admitted,
contain criminal matter for the consideration of the House?' I
conceive that they do. No doubt the judges who condemned Russell and
Sidney were, at the time, spoken of as men of high character, who
could not b