The Sun.
London, England, 1859-02-01 00:00:00

and clients were deprived of ,services which
might have ensured their future fortunes, or, at
least, placed them in far -more advantageous posi-
tions so far as pecuniary matters were concerned.
There have thus been serious differences, simply
because, as Sir R. BETHELL truly declared, "the
system of administering justice in this country had
been divided by accident, and that which was our
misfortune had become our characteristic." Law
had formerly its domicile in Westminster Hall, but
with the increase of population it has swelled be-
yond its former limits, like a child that has out-
grown its former garments ! There are, no doubt,
many parents who would still maintain the former
regime, but there is a pressing necessity that re-

quires a change.
Fashion requires that every barrister must
reside in one or other of the Inns of Court. He
must be a member of either the Inner or Middle
Temple, Lincoln's-inn, or Gray's-inn. Many
solicitors and attorneys reside in the same vener-
able localities for the purpose of being enabled to
obtain immediate advice ; but the tribunals are
distant. Time, of which every minute is worth
gold, is wasted in dancing from place to place, and
the injury is not merely theirs, but that of the
general public—at least of all who are compelled
to engage in litigation, either as plaintiffs or de-
fendants.

It is required that there should be a convenient
point at which all could meet—at which the dis-
tinguished leader, overwhelmed with briefs, and
the aspiring junior, could appear on neutral
ground. It may be supposed that in this crowded
metropolis it might be a work of intense difficulty,
if not of impossibility, to discover such a locality.
But it is clearly indicated. The space between
Temple-bar and Lincoln's-inn-fields is palpably
available. The ground is, unquestionably,
valuable ; but it could, perhaps, be obtained
at a far cheaper rate than any other offer-
ing similar advantages. There is a space, or

what our transatlantic brethren term " a block,"
that may be purchased on reasonable terms. It
would give ample accommodation to all the Law
Courts, enable the Judges to try cases—civil, cri-
minal, metropolitan or county, legal or equitable—
under the same roof; learned gentlemen might
argue before different tribunals, and receive the latest
instructions from chambers without the slightest

inconvenience or annoyance, and the chief benefit
would not be that merely of legal practitioners,
whether barristers or solicitors, but of their clients
and of the community at large, who have a deep
interest in the pure administration of justice.
The only question relates to cost. The Chancel-
lor of the Exchequer will have rather a hard game
to play. The navy estimates must be increased.
We must keep up the " national assurances" at an
adequate amount. It may be regarded, therefore,
as something out of the way to ask for what will
be sufficieut to purchase Carey-street, Clement's-
inn, the two Boswell-courts, and, possibly, Clare-
market and the adjoining streets. But the project
will be self-supporting. Nothing beyond a gua-
rantee will bo required. The suitors' fee fund
would provide the means, and the Government
might, without undertaking any extraordinary re-
sponsibility, undertake to satisfy the claims of any
parties that could prove the justice of their de-
mands.

THE LATE PREDICTION.