The Express.
London, England, 1864-11-29 00:00:00

LAW sarostrzsa.

Yesterday afternoon • meeting of members of the
bar, convened by the Attorney-Gauen!, was held in the
Dining-ball of LincolL's-ion, to take into consideration the
scheme of reporting reoommendad by the committee ap-
pointed on the 2nd Dezember, 1863. The meeting was
numerously attended.
The Arroarier-Gratrukt., on taking the chair, said be
would state in a few wows why the meeting had been con-
vened. On the 2nd December List year a meeting of the
bar was called upon a requisition sent to him, and at that
meeting a committee was appointed, to *insider whether
any plea could be proposed for the amendment of the
present system of editing. sod preparing, and publishing law
reports. The committee which waa appointed consisted at i
gantlenne ODPiDODi a their profession, both an Qua...eel
counsel and behind the bar, and they reported on the 14th of
June. Their report and recommendations had been widely
circulated, and it had been illumine proper that the bar should
have the opportunity of meeting and considering whether
the subject wee ripe for action or not, and accordingly a
meeting was held there ou tie 2nd of July, when Mr. Am.
West named the adoption of the report, and Mr. Best and
Mr. Miller moved an amendment ; and an amendment was
eventually carried that the further consideration of the mat-
ter should be postponed till a day to be fixed in the month
at November by the Attortny-Ormaral. He would now
call on Mr. Daniel to move the first resolution in the place'
of Mr. Amphlett, eh.', he was awry to any, was absent in
consequence of a domestic bereavement.
Mr. DAIIIIII4. Q.C., said be would not go over the old
ground of the evils of the present system. He would
neither enlarge upon them nor on the sdvautages to be de-
rived from standard reports, if such could be sew
blisbed, but he would at 000 e proceed to bring before them the
scheme which the committee had devised se a practical
remedy for a practical grievance. He would look at it in
a commercial point of view, so that they might consider
whether it was likely to be seU-supponn.g. The commit-
tee sought to obtain information as to the circulation of
the authorised reports, se they were called, previous to the '
commencement of the present system of competition. They
went heck to the time of !Warman end Cromwell, and Merl-
vale, and Jacob sad Walker, to the years 1824 and 1825,
the system of competition not beginning till the years 1832
or 1833. They ascertained from various soarers that the
regular issue of the Queen's Bench reports in 182,4 and 1825
up to the end of &seawall and Cromwell wee 4,000, and
the regular issue of the Chaucer, re was 2,000. Well,
then, basing themselves on the 2,000, which was the small-
est amount of circulation existing 40 years ago, the eons-
mitten endeavoured to ascertain whether as that small
circulation a scheme could be devised which, commercially
speaking, would be self-supporting at a subscription of five
guineas per annum, and for that purpose the committee
endeavoured, through several of its members, to obtain
information from those who were competent to give it. Ho
placed himself in communication with Messrs. Clowes, the
printers, of Duke-street, Stamford-street, and requested
them to furnish him with the wet price of a set of reports,
selecting for the purpose one of the moat expensive of the
present authorised reports—Clerk's House of Lords Reports
—a part which was charged to the profession at 12a. 6,1.,
and he requested them to give him an estimate of the
cost of printing, paper, sale, and distribution of each such
part, excindiug from it all publisher's commandos and the
proprietor's profit. The result was that for au man of 500 the
oast would be ls 100. • of 1,000, le. 4d.; of 2,000, la. ld. ;
of 3,000,110. ; of 4,000, 10fiL ; and of 5,000, 100. per copy
of that which was now cheeped to the profession at 12s. 6d.
Them figures seemed to him so striking, that if true he could
not avoid owning to the conclusion that the was a radical
defector the present system, as regarded consumers. Mr.
Hemming, to whom be showed these figures, pointed oat
that there was an omission of one item for correcting the
press. That would be small if the came were carefully
edited, as it was proposed they should be, before being seat
to the pennon, but he had added 75 par cent of the cost of
composition, aad that would increase the 100. to lld.
These figures coincided with others eternised by Mr. Lisdlsy,
with information given to them by Mr. Loogueville Giffard,
and they coincided also with the results of the reports of the
Law Amendment Society, published in 1852 and 1853. Fol-
lowing them data, the report proceeded upon the assumption
that the salaries to the aggregate would be 10,7001. a year,
and that the first moiety of the salaries should be guaranteed
out of the consolidated or suitors' fund. Individually he
had no desire that suck a source should be resorted to ;he
did not think it would be neesseary, and he did not think it
would be granted it it were asked for, and the committee
recommend that in cam payment of the first moiety of the
salaries should not be obtained out of the consolidated or
suitors' fund, it should be made a term of contract with
the printers or publishers that they should pay it out of the
proceeds of the sale of the reports. Ibis scheme had been
spoken of as nobusinemlike ; but Mr. Westlake, whose
competency no one would doubt, had gone through the
figure., and was satisfied that they were rather over than
under estimated. Not satisfied with this, however, he west
beet Saturday to Mr.Clowes's counting house,and putting this
document into his hand asked lurn to takeit,and appended Wit
this question, "Assuming that the reports in each year would
make eight octavo volumes of 800 pages each in your opinion,
without any capital being aranteed from any other
geezer, would any printer undertake it !" and the answer
was—" I would rather not give a hypothetical opinion ; we
are quite willing to undertake it on the above conditions.
Do not let it be supposed that we are tendering for such a
thing, hut I should be very much surprised if any printer
with a sufficient capital would return you any other mower."
It must not be supposed that the would be 35 per cent. for
publisher's 0002IMOSiOD, but the actual cost of one set of
standard reports, making up eight volumes per annum,
could be had on a circulation of 2,000 copies, at 5 guineas
per annum, that being the circulation which, before oompe-
titiou began, was the legitimate circulation of &enemy re-
ports. And he thought that when they considered the isa-
memo Mamas in the members at the profession,
sad how the reports of the Englishcourts
were regarded as authorities in our colonies and
in a great part of the globe, he did sot think they were un-
reasonable in expecting that the standard reports at five
gateau a set per annum would be self-supporting. He had
assumed that eight volumes a year would be printed. He
believed that in that the was an error, but as error on
the aide of excess, because one of the conditions of the sys-
tem suggested would be that the should be proper judg-
ment in the ealeetioo of the cams, which would coosiderahly
reduce the umber. Is =whine% he moved that the re-
port of the committee be adopted,

Mr. DICKINSON seconded.
Mr. W. M. FLINT moved an amendment to the efface that
the words "that the reports shall be prepared by reporters
under the supervision of editors," be omitted. If the
editors were merely to wad the reports to correct typoere.
phi& error there could be so objeatios, exempt that they
were to receive 6001. a year for that which • clerk
could do. But if they were to suppress or alter the reports
there would •rise all the evils of • divided responsibility.
The reporter should be independent, which he would not
be if be had an editor above him. Is the QUOINS'S Bench re-
ports the reporter who did not report the an revised it
'ad made friendly suggestions, and that system worked
The amendment having boss roccadol,
- - -

Mr. DOMAN said, haying beset most reluctantly placed
as the committee, and harms attended a great number of
the ineetinp, he wished to state his reuses for dissenting
fray the recommendations of the committee. The mis-
deal objection to the presses system, if it oould be called a
system, wee that they were liable to have good reports
stopped for want of snakiest support, sod is consequence
there was a want of continuity in the reports. Now, if
this scheme were to fail, of amuse they added most
•erimisly to that sort of inconsonance, and they intro-
duced into the prolasioa an illusory good which
turned out to be an evil—a fresh sat of reports which lived
only for a time. and which flourished jaielongenough todnve
out of the field other reports. Oa the other hand, if they
were successful, they could be so rely by creating a (*oriel
monopoly, and when they had established • monopoly the
reports would sone become practically ankle A few words
as to the alleged prevent enk. Ilea. Dubai had glibly as.
Nomad that the evils were so great that they could sot be
removed without a gigantic scheme like this. Now, lm
believed that • meeting is Lianas'.-Me would consist
mainly of members of the Chesney bar. (Cries of " No,
no," and " Yes, yes.") Be believed that if that meeting
were polled two-thirds of it would be found to be Chancery
banisters. He believed that the two cease, that of the
common law bar and that of the Chester, bar, were die.
Mad. In Chanowy the jadgmeet went cm a mixed state-
meat of law and feat, sod the reports were ten times as
difficult to prepare es those at common law. He
believed that was use mama why the members
of theCtancery bar were more anxious for a change in the
system than the common law bar.

'Mr. Monour objected to that part of the report which
related to the retaining of the present authorised reporters,
and moved an amendment that it be expunged, 1.L.1 that
words be substituted authorising the council to treat with
them as to the tense onwhichthey will be willing to dis-
continue their reports.
Mr. JOSHUA Wrcuates moved, as another amendment—
" That so reports of asset can be selected by this meetisg
which ere sot inverted by paramount authority with the
privilege of exclusive citation.
Mr. T. Winerrut said he thought they world all
that the present system was bad, and that they world ha
stultifyiag themselves if they did not adopt the report of
the committee, though for one he did not epee with it In
allznatters of detail.

Mr INCE, who spoke amid much ioterruptiou, oontesded
that the scheme could not answer, as it would be impossible
to obtain the number of subscribers required.'
Mr. HILIIIIISO (who bad bean called upon) said the pre-
sent system was very objectionable, and he should delight
in Dothan; eo much as any feasible scheme for the estab-
lishment ef • better system. But he was not quite satiated
with this scheme, sad he thought before they were called
npoe to givens opinioe, Mr. Daniel's figures, which worsen
couleur de roe as he read them, should be *iced before
them, end that they should have some time to examine
them. Tbe scheme ought to be tried if them was • sound
bests for it, but they ought to have the opportunity of
secertainiog whether it had &sound basis. He moved as as
amendment " that the committee be requested to circulate
among the bar the financial date as which their scheme is
based, awl the result of the appeal roads for siehersriP
and any other information in their powering which rZI
assist the bar in forming an opinion on the principle and
feasibility of the project."
Mr. E. WIESTTIit moved as as smendminali--" That I.
the opinion of this meeting it is expedient that law re.
podia( and kw reports be bought by the gokrwask