The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-02-22 00:00:00

PHILHARMONIC HALL.

TO-MORROW EVENING, the 23d Instant,
THE FIRST GRAND SUBSCRIPTION CONCERT
OF THE

PHILHARMONIC soC;iii,ry THIS SEASON.

Galleries open to the Public (UNDRESS)—Front Seats, 55.;
Tickets may be had in thß ack, 2s. 6d.
e Hall on the Evening of performance.

(see particulars in another eldvertisemCnt.)

POSITIVELY THE LAST NINE NIGHTS
OF THE
SPLENDID SHILLING CONCERTS
BY

THOMAS'S ADMIRABLE BAND,

AT THE
PHILHARMONIC HALL,
Which combines with MAGNITUDE and GRANDEUR the
COMFORTS and WARMTH of a DRAWING-ROOM, so that
the most delicate may sit and pleasantly enjoy these CON-
CERTS as if by their own FIRESIDE.
Commencing THURSDAY NEXT, the 24th instant.

FIRST NIGHT.
MR. LAZARUS'S BENEFIT.

(See another Advertisement.)

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

t, We shall be happy, at all times, to receive communications
on subjects of local or general interest ; and if our tr,ends
will be good enough to authenticate the same by their signa-
tures, for our own satisfaction, we shall feel obliged.

tiberpool #tanbarb,

TUESDAY MORNING, FEB. 22, 1853.

LAW REFORM.

AMONG the subjects not immediately involving
political party distinctions which have lately taken
hold of the popular mind, that of Reform of the
Law and the Procedure in Courts of Equity and
Justice occupies perhaps the most prominent posi-
tion. It is not long since the greatest difficulty was
experienced in effecting any alteration in a sys-
tem to which antiquity had given dignity; but now
the only fear appears to be that the strong desire
for alteration should lead to the abo.ition of those
safeguards which experience had imposed against
Precipitation in judicial proceedings. From the
extreme of doing nothing, the tendency is now in
the opposite direction—to do what may prove to be
too much, and a greater degree df caution is there-
fore the more necessary. The late Lord Chancellor,
Lord ST. LEONARD'S, better known as Sir EDWARD
SUGDEII, succeeded, during the last session of Par-
liament, in effecting an immense amount of good in
'Chancery proceedings, by the bills which were then
Passed into law, abolishing the Masters in Chan-
cery, and making other alterations to diminish ex-
pense and avoid delay; and 'his absence from office
by the change of Ministry has not lessened his
exertions in the same direction, for, on the first day
after the recess, he introduced several Bills relating
to proceedings in Bankruptcy, Lunacy, Suitors in
Chancery, and a Digest of the Criminal Law. The
tew Lord Chancellor, LOTdCRANWORTH, has also
taken up the question, and, on Monday, last week,
entered into an elaborate statement, showing, not
Only what he proposed to do, but what he proposed
not to do. He alluded to the proposal which had
been made to assimilate the practice of the Higher
Courts of Law to that of the County Courts, by
dispensing in some cases with the assistance of
juries, and leaving the decision to the judge who
tried the case. He said he had not conclusively
made up his mind on the -subject, as he thought it
' dangerous to withdraw from those who exercised a
variety of local jurisdictions the duty of assisting in
the administration of justice. Those who, like him-
self, had attended in assize towns, had often ob-
served that, at the end of the assizes, those who had
been summoned as jurors quitted the assize-hall a
much more intelligent set of men than they entered
it. He should, therefore, hesitate in withdrawing
from them those advantages by dispensing with
their services. He should also not propose any
'further changes in Chancery proceedings until more
experience had been afforded of the beneficial
operation of the system lately introduced. He then
touched upon the Law of 'Divorce, and said he
should wait for the Report of the Commission which
'is now inquiring into the subject before proposing
any measure upon it. Having thus stated what he
did not intend to do, he proceeded to comment upon
:the difficulties which attended the transfer of real
Property, and showed the inutility of the sug-
gested registry of title deeds as ineffectual to prove
a good title, or lessen the expense of conveyance,
Where doubts existed. He, however, introduced a
Bill by which titles of future purchases of land
would be registered, leaving existing doubts still
_undecided, and affecting only subsequent changes
in ownership. It is to be a register of titles,
with all present faults, but proposing to remove
any 'future difficulties, with this proviso, how-
ever* that settlements may be made with-
out registry, leaving the parties interested to
seek t remedy at law. The bill was opposed b}
Lord ST. LEONARD'S, who said it would prove
quite inoperative for the object desired, and in-
crease instead of diminish the expense of convey-
ance..rlt was, however, read a first time. The
D CuAlacELLon also promised to introduce a
bill for the better regulation of charities, similar to
one introduced in a former Session, with some mo-
dification, rendered necessary by the subsequent
abolition of the Masters in Chancery. He next
touched upon the necessity of some steps being
taken to simplify the statute law, by classifying
and rendering more intelligible the number of laws
upon the statute book. As an illustration of the
difficulty of such a step, and consequently of its great
advantage, he stated that from the first year of
EDWARD 111. to the end of the reign of Queen ANN K,
there were 3,236 statutes passed ; from the end of
queen ANNE to the Union with Ireland, there were
5452 Passed ; and from the 41st of GEORGE 111. to
turis close of 1844, there were about 5,200 more sta-
1 • Passed, making a total of 14,405, exclusive of
tho , and scotch statutes. Making allowance for
temporary, and private acts, the num-
ber would
he n be reduced to about one-fifth, and these
rroposed
to deal with by calling some of the most
experienced
men to his aid, and drawing out a com-
plete di ee-
g of the law as it applied to every several
department,
as, upon the result of their labours,
to found a Simple and intelligible code of laws,
which, as
the the Code VICTORIA, should immortalise
name of our present Sovereign. To this duty
he promised to apply himself with all diligence, in
the confidente hope that sooner or later such a de-
sirabl
ST T
consummation would be arrived at. Lord
on this point,remarked that no man
Was competent to perform such a task ; for even a
digest of the criminal law, notwithstanding that
110,1300 had already been expended in the attempt,
had not yet been satisfactorily accomplished ; and
he
thought it desirable to wait to see how that
worked before they proceeded further. Lord
"PBELL, on the other hand, approved of the
proposition of the LORD CHANCELLOR, and could
It
see any objection to the task being undertaken.
" will thus be seen that in dealing with this im-
portant subject of Law Reform, the progress made
by the present LORD CHANCELLOR is confined to
the simple question of the registration of title deeds,
the advantage of which is extremely doubtful ;
Whereas every other point which has been mooted is
left to mere promises,—a commodity in which the
party now in office have so largely dealt, that their
valuei s of the most infinitesimal character.