2 DECEMBER 1876, Page 2

The Right lion. James Whiteside, the Lord Chief Justice of

Ireland, died on Saturday at Brighton, somewhat unexpectedly. He was not a great Judge, or a very able politician, but he was a splendid advocate when he had a jury to deal with, and a very effective debater in the House of Com- mons. Though a strong Tory, he was always retained by the accused in Irish treason-trials, and his speeches excited the intense admiration of a people who think nothing so fine as a grand speech, especially against the Crown. His superiors in the Tory Ministry seem, however, to have regarded him rather as a soldier of the party than a statesman, and though they gave him the Chief-Justiceship, they passed him over for the higher office of Lord Chancellor, a slight which is believed to have wounded him as deeply as it irritated his friends.