JOINT CONVENTION ADDRESS OF WELCOME BY BARNEY E. EATON OF GULFPORT, MISS. Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Joint Associations: The Bar and citizenship of the Coast do not lightly esteem the privilege of entertaining this distinguished assemblage. When as upon an occasion like this it should be the lawyer, not environed by considerations of personal interest, lends his talents to the solution of purely professional ethics and necessary legal problems, his presence means much to the mental and moral well-being of any community. Yet, while we so regard your coming, we feel that ours is the ideal location for the joint meeting of our Associations. Precedent-the authority which the lawyer can ill afford to disregard-fortunately speaks in our favor. Scarcely more than a year ago the chief executives of our respective commonwealths, with many distinguished attendants, became our guests and confirmed our hope that here, at least, the citizens of our two States could meet in delightful harmony and with mutual good will and esteem. We now cherish the second hope that our present gathering will so reaffirm and establish this fact that each recurring year will witness a similar gathering of these two Associations. From a professional stand-point, our meeting is, however, the more significant, in that it represents the two dominant legal systems of the world. But we need not quarrel as to which is the more perfect, nor need we attempt to apportion either to |