The Sun.
London, England, 1818-01-09 00:00:00

INFERIOR COURTS OF LAW.

. FOR THE SUN

Ma..EDlTOß,—Having stated that your columns
shall be open to any thing that will tend to
support the credit or interests of the Profession,
I beg leave to call the attention of your Readers
to a subject which is certainly of great importance
to the Public. I allude to the Petite Or Interior
Courts of England, in, which exist abuses and
evils universally aiul loudly complained Of.

That Parties should be put to an expence of
from 501. to 1001. in seeki-ng to recover a debt
of 51. or 101. is a hardship upon the Public, and
tends to cast an odiuM upon the profession ; but
is it right that a man should be Compelled to ap-
pear in propria personna, and to have his feelings
lacerated, at,a Tribunal, where ( ifhe happens to be
defendant) he is nine times out of ten sure of
being saddled wilt debt and costs, right or wrong?
and for this plain reason, because the fees of the
Judge ziniformly depend upon the number of causes
tried, and therefore he must have an interest in
holdnig forth inducements to plaintiffs to sue in
his- Court.

Attornies daily meet with persons who can with
great difficulty make themselves understood, or
lay out their case in such a clear manner that the
Solicitor to whom they apply can advise them cor-
rectly, and what chance has a man of this de-
scription with a man who has the powers of utter-
ance, or is a more opulent man, and one, per-
hap, acquainted with the Judge ?

Inferior Courts are created and governed by
Local Acts, which, of course, not one attorney or
tradesman in 1000 are acquainted with. Those
Acts, in many instances, protect the parties living
within the verge of the .respective Courts, from
process issued out of the superior Courts ; for in-
stance, if a person in London contract any debt
under 101. and go to reside in, or within some
miles of Bath, the London creditor may issue a
process out of either of the superior Courts, and
-file declaration at an expence of from 71. to 101.,
when the debtor may plead the jurisdiction of the
Bath Court, and thus throw the expence upon the
unfortunate creditor, whose only remedy is to
take a journey to Bath, in order to appear perso-
nally in Court and support his debt. .This incon-
venience is not applicable to the Bath Court
alone, but almost every other Local Court.
In most places the processes issued by Inferior
Courts are not subject to any stamp duty, to the
great injury of the Revenue.
A remedy will be joyfully .and thankfully re-
ceived by the Public,. and I beg leave to propose
one, leaving it to more able hands to improve
upon it, or substitute a better.
-The mode I propose is to repeal all the Local
Acts for establishing Petite Courts in England and
Wales for recovery of debts above 21., and in
lien thereof pass one general Public Act for reco-
very of debts amounting to 21. ond under 101 , and
in every 10 or 12 miles appoint a Barrister or
Attorney as Steward or Judge, with a salary of
from 1001. to 2001. per annum, and liberty to
follow his profession in other Courts ; depend
uj►on it thousands of men of talent and integrity
would gladly accept the appointment. Let his
appointmeni be made by the Judges, or his Ma-
jesty's Ministers, authorizing him to hold a Court
once in every week. All processes should be
issued from the Court of Exchequer, directed to
the Steward or Judge of such Inferior Court, upon
which a 'certain stamp should be impressed, and
the Steward might haVe them in blank 50 or 100
at a time. The tees should be regulated, but so
as not to exceed 20 shillings or 30 shillings in
each cause. The Steward should be allowed 501.
or 1001. for a clerk, and all- other trifling ex-
pellees, and be sworn to snake a just return of all
fees, &c. once in every quarter of a year, or
oftener, if required ; and any act of partiality to-
wards the parties, or dishonesty towards the Re-
venue, should be a high misdemeanour, and sub-
ject to severe punishment ;. this would, of course,
materially assist the Revenue. Every man should
be at liberty to employ an attorney to conduct
or depend his cause, whose fee should be limited
to ss. or 6s. Sd.

An Act might easily be framed by selecting the
valuable clauses in the Local Acts, and expunging
all the useless
I have hastily, thrown these hints. together
solely with a view of serving the Public and sup-
porting the intereth of the plotession, without
regard to elegance of style or language, having,
no time to spare for the purpoie of correcting ande'
recopying, which you will believe when you are
informed that I am in good practice and
Bristol, Dec. 23, 1817._ AN ATTOItNEY.

LIVERPOOL.