at his
own expense, and with triumphant success. The Vice-Chancellor of
England, (Sir Launcelot Shadwell,) after an elaborate argument, refused
to grant the desired injunction--expressing his very decided opinion
"that on the substance of the case, and on the conduct of the
plaintiffs, (the publishers in question,) they were not entitled to the
injunction which they had asked." Against this decision the plaintiffs
immediately appealed to the present Lord Chancellor, Lord Cottenham,
who, after another very elaborate argument, and taking time to consider,
delivered a luminous judgment confirming the decision of the
Vice-Chancellor, triumphantly vindicating the propriety of both author
and publisher's conduct, and supporting the right which Mr. Smith had
thought proper to exercise; and his lordship dismissed the appeal with
costs.[5] Thus ended, what has always appeared to me a very absurd, and
as the event proved, expensive experiment, on the part of the
plaintiffs. Only one of them now carries on the business, and is a
gentleman of such high respectability, and also liberality in his
dealings with the profession, that I feel satisfied he had really very
little part in this most unsatisfactory proceeding. Mr. Smith's right
to continue his selections from the Reports, for the purpose of
annotation, having been thus established, and the excellence and
importance of his labours conspicuously made known (had that, indeed,
been necessary) to the entire profession, he at once proceeded with, and
in due time completed the remaining portion of the second volume; and
for the sake of legal science, it is to be lamented that there this
admirable work ended. Mr. Smith felt no exultation at the defeat of this
most thoughtless and unjustifiable attack upon him, nor evinced any
pleasure in the friendly congratulations showered upon him. His
sensitive mind had, indeed, been thoroughly shocked by the imputation
which had been sought to be fixed upon him; and the only feeling on the
subject which he ever expressed to me, or appeared to entertain, was one
of calm indignation. I must say that in this I think he was abundantly
justified. He repeatedly told me that he should never write another
book, for "that he had had quite enough of it." As it happened, he never
did; nor do I think that he would ever have done so, even had his career
not been cut short by death. Whenever works of solid interest and
importance in general literature appeared