Recording our history
Editorial
Stabroek News
July 23, 2004
The well known law firm Cameron & Shepherd recently published `A Centenary History' to commemorate a hundred years of its existence. The partnership was formed in 1901 by two solicitors (before fusion of the legal profession in this country there were two types of lawyers, solicitors and barristers) William Stuart Cameron and Charles Edward Shepherd. The firm continues to this day at its office in the Avenue of the Republic opposite the law courts and the current partners, J.A. King S.C., Ralph Ramkarran SC, Josephine Whitehead and Rafik Khan must be congratulated for undertaking this venture. The research which involved going through records at Cameron & Shepherd, the Supreme Court and the National Archives was undertaken by Kamal Ramkarran, one of Mr Ralph Ramkarran's two sons who are qualified lawyers practising at Cameron & Shepherd.
Recording the past has not been a practice of our professional classes and it is valuable to have a book like this which puts in an easily accessible form information about legal practitioners of bygone days, however basic and anecdotal. The firm represented big business primarily, in particular Bookers, though it did other work as well. It may be of interest to look back briefly at three of the partners from different generations.
Of G.J. de Freitas K.C. (1874-1938) a report in The Daily Argosy of 12th July, 1938 said: "Mr de Freitas was a man of a very modest disposition and repeatedly declined to hold offices offered to him. The few offices he accepted were practically forced upon him. Except for the period of his appointment in 1930 by the Government to be a member of the Executive and Legislative Councils, Mr de Freitas had nothing to do with the political life in the colony.
Mr de Freitas was a tennis player in private. He was also an ardent racing man. His colours were cerise and grey. With the Hon F. Dias OBE, he was part owner of Reproach which won several cups and prizes. He was a Steward of both the Bel Air Park Club and the D'Urban Race Club. He was also keen on private poultry rearing."
And there was H.C. Humphrys K.C. (1891-1958), of whom after his death the Chief Justice, Sir Frank Holder, at a special sitting of the Full Court said: "Hubert Humphrys was a plain, blunt man who did not shrink from expressing his views, however unpalatable or unpopular they might be; he was a man who had the courage of his convictions. He was a very capable lawyer and a successful advocate. Reference to the Law Reports of the West Indian Court of Appeal and of this Colony show how extensive was the practice he acquired and the many cases of importance in which he appeared. But his success came from hard work, honesty of purpose, frankness in expression and dependability. He was appointed a KC in the year 1937, which he had won by his merit."
He continued: "With his death there passes a familiar figure who played a conspicuous part in the life of this community for many years. The age in which he blossomed and flowered is now fading away. A new world, a new generation with new ideas, new concepts has arisen, but we cannot but be mindful of those strong and able personalities who formed the solid foundation upon which much that is worthy - much that is valuable in this country - has been built. He may have been a `praiser of his time', Laudator temporis acti, but like most of us he was a creature of his time and generation. He strove with might and main for the things which he cherished and which he felt were for the good of this Colony."
Perhaps the best known partner to an older generation of Guyanese still alive was Joseph Edward de Freitas (1902-1972) who was senior partner for many years prior to his death, and of whom it was written in his obituary:
"He was, of course an intimate and trusted advisor of the Catholic hierarchy for many years and received the papal award of the Knight of St Gregory for his services, an award made only to one other Guyanese, Mr John Fernandes. It is not this that I had in mind, however, when speaking of him as an exemplary Christian but rather his practical contribution to social welfare and charity.
His crowning achievement was undoubtedly the Catholic Hospital, popularly known as St. Joseph's Mercy Hospital, which was incorporated in 1944, near the end of the Second World War, to take over and run the clinic then run by a few doctors including the late Caesar Romiti, an Italian, who had been interned at Sibley Hall. J. Edward was the guiding force behind its formation, with the help of substantial donations from leading Catholics, and was the chairman from 1945 until a year ago when he was unable to carry on because of illness. Countless thousands must have benefited from this work of his.
He was, in addition, a leading light in the St Vincent de Paul Society and other Catholic organisations and was never too busy to offer his services. His Christianity was not, indeed, that of the Pharisee but very practical and constructive. To put it simply, I believe he took it seriously, which is most unusual."
"He was, of course, an extremely busy man. Company law was perhaps his speciality and he must have formed a hundred companies in his time. He was on the board of numerous companies. The New Building Society was one of his pet causes and he guided the affairs of that company for many years.
In fact a large proportion of the corporate structure that now exists in this country can be traced to his hands. But most of all he was a confidant, a father confessor to literally hundreds of worried businessmen and property owners and quite a few small men who were permitted to inflict their troubles on him at all hours of the day and night without regard for his declining health. Truly he saw the role of a lawyer as a responsible and exacting one and acted it out fully and unflinchingly."
There are not too many institutions in this society that are still going strong after a hundred years, having survived the vicissitudes of the modern era. Cameron & Shepherd is one such, partly because it has shown the ability to adapt to changing times. In his foreword, Mr King, the only remaining partner whose link with the firm goes back to the fifties pays tribute to Mr Ralph Ramkarran whose "presence has made all the difference to the firm" and to his two sons, Nikhil and Kamal, "very intelligent, hard-working young men on whom perhaps the future of Cameron & Shepherd will depend". The book lists a number of leading cases argued by lawyers from the firm. It is important for the maturity of our young country to recognise the achievements of past generations, including during the colonial era, and to see the human dimensions beyond the sometimes narrow confines of race and class.