The issue of a cause rarely depends upon a speech and is but seldom even affected by it.
It is even more true at the present time, when what was once commonly reputed a great speech is seldom heard in our courts, -because the modern methods of practising our profession have had a tendency to discourage court oratory and the development of orators.
It was written some fifty years ago and at a time when oratory in public trials was at its height.
This is the conclusion arrived at by one of England\'s greatest advocates at the close of a long and eventful career at the Bar.
But there is never a cause contested, the result of which is not mainly dependent upon the skill with which the advocate conducts his cross-examination.
The issue of a cause rarely depends upon a speech and is but seldom even affected by it
