The serjeants, who, before the allow ance of utter barristers to plead in courts, appear to have been the only advocates, were called from the Inns of Court by the king's writ, which was only issued at the discretion of the crown, and generally as a matter of favour ; and indeed this con tinues to be the case at the present day. In process of time it became convenient and necessary to enable utter barristers to practise ; but some time after they began to act as advocates in the superior courts, the terms upon which they were called to the bar, and allowed to plead, were pre scribed by the Privy Council. Thus an order of council, regulating the proceed ings of all the Inns of Court in this re spect, dated Easter Term, 1574, and signed by Sir Nicholas Bacon as lord keeper, and several lords of council, di rects that "none be called to the utter bar but by the ordinary council of the House (i.e. the Inn), in their general ordinary councils in term time ; also, that none shall be utter barristers without having performed a certain number of mootings ; also, that none shall be admitted to plead in any of the courts at Westminster, or to sign pleadings, unless he be a reader, bencher, or five years' utter barrister, and continuing that time in exercises of learn ing; also, that none shall plead before justices of assize unless allowed in the courts of Westminster, or allowed by the justices of assize." (See Dugdale's Origins. Judieiales.) This appears to bo the last instance of the immediate inter ference of the Privy Council with the arrangements of the Inns of Court re specting calls to the bar. In the reigns of James I. and Charles I., the judges and benchers of the several Inns con. jointly made orders on this subject, and, since the Commonwealth, the authority to call persons to the degree of barrister. at-law has been tacitly relinquished to the benchers of the different societies, and is now considered to be delegated to them from the judges of the superior courts. In conformity with this view of the sub ject, the practice has been, in the several cases of a rejection of applications to be called to the bar which have lately hap pened, to appeal to the judges, who either confirm or reverse the decision of the benchers.
Previously to a general arrangement made by all the Inns of Court in 1762, the qualifications required for being called to the bar varied extremely, and no uni. form rule was observed at the different houses. In the first year of the reign of James I. it was solemnly ordered by a regulation signed by Sir Edward Coke, Sir Francis Bacon, and other distinguished names, that no person should be admitted into any of the Inns of Court who was not a gentleman by descent. Other regu lations were occasionally made, as to the length of standing required, and the num ber of persons to be called at each time, which were often inconsistent with each other. The greatest inconvenience, how ever, arose from the absence of uniformity in the practice of the different Inns, as to the qualifications which they respectively required. To remedy this evil, it was determined, in 1762, by the concurrence of all the Inns of Court, to adopt a com mon set of rules for their guidance in this respect; and at the present day, the gene ral rule as to qualification in all the Inns of Court is, that a person, in order to en title himself to be called to the bar, must be twenty-one years of age, have kept twelve terms, and have been for five years, at the least, a member of the so. ciety. If he be a Master or Bachelor of Arts of either of the English universities, or of Trinity College, Dublin, it is suffi cient if he has kept twelve terms and has been three years a member of the Inn by which he desires to be called to the bar, By an order made by the benchers of the Inner Temple, in Trinity Term, 1829, every person proposed for admission to that house must, previously to his admis sion, undergo an examination by two barristers appointed by the bench, who are required to certify whether the indi vidual is proficient in " classical attain ments and the general subjects of a liberal education." This regulation has not been
adopted at any of the other three Inns of Court. The expense of being called to the bar amounts to between 801. and 901., exclusive of the three years' commons and the admission fees. In order to qualify a person for the bar in Ireland, it is necessary that he should have kept eight terms at one of the four Inns of Court in London, and nine terms at the King's Inn in Dublin. [Anvocarrs, FACULTY OF ; COUNSEL ; INNS OF COURT.) The following statement of the regula tions now in force as to the admission of advocates in the ecclesiastical and ad miralty courts of Doctors' Commons, and in the provincial court of York, and the present number of advocates in these courts, is taken from a Parliamentary Return (No. 282, seas. 1844). According to the present rules, a candidate for ad mission as an advocate is required to deliver in to the office of the vicar-general of the province of Canterbury a certifi, cats of his having taken the degree of Doctor of Laws, signed by the registrar of the university to which he belongs, A petition, praying that in consideration of such qualification the candidate may be admitted an advocate, is then presented to the archbishop, who issues his fiat for the admission of the applicant, directed to his vicar-general, who thereupon causes a rescript or commission to be prepared, addressed to the official principal of the Arches Court of Canterbury, empowering and requiring him to admit the candidate an advocate of that court. This commis sion contains a proviso that the person to be admitted shall not practise for one whole year from the date of his admis sion. The candidate is admitted on one of the regular sessions of the Arches Court; the rescript of the archbishop being first read, and the oaths of alle giance and supremacy with two other oaths being taken. This admission in the Arches Court qualifies the person for practising in any of the other ecclesiasti dal courts of Doctors' Commons. The present number of advocates is 24.
Advocates admitted in the Arches Court of Canterbury are admitted to 'be advocates of the High Court of Admiralty of England upon their alleging such their admission in the Arches Court. The present number of advocates is 24.
The advocates of the provincial courts at York must be barristers-at-law ; and they are admitted as advocates of the Consistory Court there, with power to practise 111 all other the archbishop of York's courts, by virtue of his grace's fiat directed to his chancellor : the stamp-duty on their admission is 501. But it is not required that they should be doctors of civil law, nor does the constitution of Archbishop Pickham, 9 Edw. L, 1221, apply to them. The number of advo cates, as far back as any record shows, has been limited to four; but the present number is only two. The admitted ad vocates of the courts have exclusive right to practise therein, though in cases of weight and difficulty, counsel on the northern circuit are occasionally taken in to their assistance.