The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1824-08-30 00:00:00

REPORT OP TM! COWSSIONERS UPON
THE SCOTCH COURTs.

It has long been a matter of surprise to every km, hi
this part of the world how there could ari'e such nunibes
Id Scotch appeals, with which the Lord Chancellor ia
cee.
(vide(' prom than half the time he is seated on the Wool Sack.
Indeed it was at one time stau d, that ar and upped, were
the staple articles of export front Scotland to Lunatic.
Various were the reasons assigned for this a phenomenon
r-among others. the known propensity of the tionteh fur
litigation—and the fact that weir law, particularly as
'sting to mercantile case!, had not yet become diced
leaks!. Every one admitted the nuisance, Let r.o
could fall upon a way to remedy it; when, in an era
hour, Ministers, barn% their minds occupied with
weighty matters abroad, gave their sanction to Nit
flimsiest of all Whirl jobs, the Jury Court. 14
people of Scotland were at the time taken in by the
specious npearance of this institution. It was expeeq
that it would remedy, what was cunfessetny a gnat mil ia
their system of jurisprudence, the necessity of taljeg
proofs by commission ; and that it would tend &hair rs
make law prose lings Loth wore exmliticus sod less 'es.
pensive • and, on the whole, though sane few rentxtrrii
saw through the absurdity from the
generality of the nati it augured much good from the in.
stitution ; while these (of wboin there is a large prornek,,
in every community) who lack upon every altcnuon as an
improvement, opined that Se3tlar.l had at a single step w.
rived at the very climax of peefection in forensic matters.
All these flattenng hopes and anticipations, however, were
destined to be cruelly disappointed ; nrul it was foutal,
instead of expediting, the Jury Court uniformly retarded
the course of justice • and that so far from givir.g to the
good p.ople of Seotlaifd, what to them is the grtatestof al
luxuri. K. a law suit cheaper than before, it. only addcd
other link to the already too weighty Otani, and atetLer
fl:: to the appaling sum total pi the ac.-ount of their niza
of business.

In utter despair, after a trial of ten years, a czessatnin
was List down to inquire into this and divers other manna,
as the dry-nurses of the Jury Court I:egan to be appribeg
site list it would die of pure inanition; for the goodie:es-
tions of the Court of Session, in catering a case for it now sad
• then, just to demonstrate its vitality, were often frustrat:ll
by the parties being frightened into a annpremise,inwar
pure dread of risking their property to the deeisime;
such a tribunal. As the case was not allowed to coot iim
the Court in the shape tile), tni:itt bat was Fatal
down into what was termed " Issues" by the c'euks d tb
Court, it often happened that after a trial people found
that w`•-it they hail gone to law shout rtmained unticcithil
From the Report of the Connnissieners we quote Wow,
it will be easily seen, that with every geod irtent:ca
towards the Jury Court, they treat it as teielerly nits it
were a cobweb, and And thanaelvto, obli:Tel to act as
apologists of the institution. The reastin of this
obvious. The gentlemen of the long robe, from %omit the
Commissioners derived their inf,tination, hare a f eNg
for thetas lies and each other. The Court, thong!' it in-
nislits them with but little business, still gives thew se:a
occasionally ; and then it has some eight or tea iSsa
about it that are almost as good as sinecures. Thew meg
be held by lawyers, and who knows who may r
noa ? Certainly not those who abuse the Court is tots.
But we are well mace that were the great majority of dv
Scotch Bar to give their embiasittel opinion, tiny wi,t:l
say the Jury Court is a flimsy job, answering no purpm
but to add expense And lc.is of time to litigation, and ulle.
tle the laws of the country, by baldeiJashing theta with a
.heterogeneems mixture of rules and laws, wLicli are tape
and unmade at the will of the Judge, besides caroairl;
worthy people to be laughed at, by giving their ol.iii;ent
as Jurors on subjects of which, from their habits and pt.
suits, they nitn,t be most profoundly ignorant. If tie re eta
be a Jury, let it be attache! to the Court of Session, the law •
of which the bar and the people are um: email to, sal
have confidence in.

By the fifth article of your llajesty's loan-Jr:he's. the Corsair
sion.rs arc direr:eel to report, " Whether the Trial I; Jury ii, a
Scotland as largely resorted to as it might be? Whorl,. r the r.r.
mare jouisdictitm of the Jury Conn nUght not be adraniageredy
exientled ? Whether Trial by Jury might not hr tirefully reseed
to hr proceedings before the inferior courts ? And. PA. t.,r,'. ire
they any alteration or improvement might be Ithale by h.; i! I
1 forms of proceedings before the Jury Court, ativinatu6..air tu :la
ataitors and to the public?"
The l'ommissioners have, in obedience to the Arresttie:ref
your 3lajesty'a instructions, made lull inquiry, and do rias 'cat.
bly report—
! I. 'that, in their opinion, the Court of Suasion ban rnraltnin
1 the Jury Court for trial, as many of the eases brought befeve that
as, in the exercise of a round ...i.cretion upon the mhjeet, rhea
were called upon to remit; hart they have reason to biker. thn
many of the eases so remitted hate never Clgi.e to 11:1 actual viol,
having either been cottiprorniecol or otherwise settled between di
, paellas. What is the number of the cues so compromised onsets
tied, or what proportion they bear to the number cf thowerixis
rally remitted, the l'onunissioners arc unable., after every irseef
on the subject. precisely to ascertain. But they do not :het a
nacre comparison of the number of causes ren.ii tett, ilk :Seams-
ber of :hose tried, can inroad any ground fur the infere re, tint de
Trial by Jury in Scotland has not been so largely reuoetodt.by the
subjects there, as it might have been, under the exii:tre A,a.4
l'arliament. Aid they see no reason to conclude, that aslant
causes have not been brought to actual vial, attainder the Seim.
stances of the tot elty of the institution• anti the per.exisdig par
judices in favour of old forrus, could fairly be expected.
2. That from the contradictory statements nude to the tone&
. shiners, and from the total want of any seal.: by *'.itch a cisifir
1
son could be Route, racy arc unable to limn a very nearsteastam
upon the subject of expenses, upon which much has herring:
, taut they are of opinion, that the costa of Jury Trial have hides
, horn i: creased by causes which are twat erary, and which pulsar
be evicted to c. arc.
3. That tire some time afier the first ietroduetites n: Jury Trig
into Seotlatad, much inconvenience was found ea arise furs ths
want of skill in the ten:pan:ion of issues to be tried by., Ji.:,. /.:
the Conimisaioners are enabled now to trate. that earsideuuteCr.•
provement has beta made, and is making, in tins essentia. Hatt
land th-y hare 11J doubt that the practice of a ler years anar..lO`b
the Jue observance of the regulations which they hare reorbrewl.
ed in this Iteport. relative to the preparation 01 rou,* will rel.?,
facilitate the Nper.ly and accurate preparation 4: issues.
4. That Trial by Jury could nut be usefully resorted is I
1 ,troree.linga before the inferior Courts; but. if the alteranws "bids
the Caornoissioners have suggested, as to the musk and Mac of 1.-
1 moving causes into the Court of Sessio), shall be adopted. dirks
netit in Trial by Jury will be extended to many evil soizh taci
row be decided be:bre the inferior Coot ts, wiliaour such trial.
Government luckily has fallen on a tuner better eel"
prevent the multiplicity of Scotch 1, peal;—that of ect,ing
i them quickly through rile House m Pees; PS it is well
kticwii to every one at al conversant with Scotch n/3lt re,
that it was* very common trick of lew7ers to apj::al ni the
House of Peers for ito other eiol titan to harass their
adversary by gaining time. Indec4, w: have heardaSceca
ltahweytglabonreltlotrhlitot
from final decision fcr at least seven yt cars. The delay hl
g%eiththert,behase siscorhele
morantba,Jeehroyiltiz„u‘nrat
eaLde
the House of Lords is now h..ppily at au end, and OC:e Ow
Jury Court to he swept away with the besom of il aurae'
:inn, it would be looked upu as a blessitt; and a boon by
...I1 .57Jtland.

MONUMENT TO THE LATE MR. rEMBLF

TO TILE EDITOR OF THE BRITISH ?KE

St a,—A writer in the John firllnrwspaptr at Sutdsy len
having attetopted to raise a question as to the propr:al
greeting a monument in iVestminster Abbey, to the awrsil
of J. P. Kettible, resting the grounds his ejeeintic
prim...41211y on the profession of that distinguisLol
tuented individual, I beg to make a few rtaliat!:s ROY
Ito Lis observations. I)ves not this censer Liam :list die
ban by which actors were proscribed lisa been nitiona
! lean the Statute Book, and that the atietnalv of his ihr
jeslys special screanls being rogues o”. 1 en:Tawas hI ia
of Pat !lament, rm longer exists; and fusilier, that (evali
by the Cantwell school), an actor, it is now admilwd, w•I
by possibility be a Christian. a Scholar, and a tientlemas?
1 trust that the Public will not, by any gloomy and 1%-
natical machinations, be deprived of the Pleasare cf hiv-
ing back to their rle;lections a man whose retimmt Nal
the stage left a void on it, which, without in the
le
trading from the merits of the numerous individuals 11;4
DOW adorn it, has not yet been
' In conclusion, will you allow :no to envie
your medium, that the rumoured deScit in the fitiai.tas for
carrying 11w projected monuitio.t into effect, might poosibil
be supplied, if tlw library keepers at the waterltg plows
would be kind enough to open bodks for rewiring subscrip-
tions to promote the of jest. I am, Sir,
s
Wit gr
h eat rt egtpr
LO-DItA ATICL6
Aug. PO,

A Itirge lobster was taken it) tho Menai last week, weigh'
ing uearly itioe pout:do, kild measuring $a it