Re: Casting call--who would you like to see...?

Some of the Line's officers would have made Perry
> Mason look bad!
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Mark Chirnside.
> Webmaster:www.markchirnside.co.uk

You probably already know this, Mark, but perhaps not everyone who
p***** by here does.  There was automatically presumed to be an
adversarial relation****p between lawyers and merchant seaman/
officers.   (Still is, to be blunt.)  THe assumption, not without a
pretty sound foundation, on the part of the sailors was that the
attorneys were out to simply make them look bad, no matter who the
attorneys were actually working for.  Consequently the seamen and
officers would offer only the most minimal cooperation to the
barristers; hence the predeliction to monosyllabic answers on their
part when giving evidence or under cross examination.  Getting
information out of some of those seadogs was like pulling teeth!

All the best,

Dan Butler

www.danielallenbutler.com