Indiana State sentinel., 1846-02-26
Cancellation Courts.

Inc SUBJECT OF Judiciary reform has of late occupied
much of the attention of the press and of the legal
profession of New York, and was one of the primary
inducements 10 the call of Convention for the amend
ment of the State Constitution Among other reform
atory suggestions, is one b. correspondent OF the
Evening Post, Mr.. D. d. Field, an intelligent and
liberal lawyer of New York city, who proposes to
establish Cancellation Courts" Upon this sugpes-
ton the Morning News has the subjoined appropriate
observations
There are plenty of courts to determine litigious
qusrrels once begun-forensic arenas judicial fight
lng-rngS, where the parties may stand up by self
by COUNSEL and battle it their hearts content till
they get TO the end of their passion or their purse
lhe Slate makes ample provision of all of facl-
ltes for this purpose Besides all the vast and COM
plex machinery OF lis various tribunals from small TO
great from first to last resort, in which be fought
so many renewed and re-renewed campa igns of the
war OF ltigatlon-besides all these ways aud means
TOR going to law and keeping at it, does it not kindly
furnish US with thousands upon thousands of OF
sharp wit and sharper appetite who depend for the
exercise of the one and the satisfaction of the other
upon the Litigation they invite, create, stimulate
probing? These all public unctionar.s-oficers
OF the courts-duly licensed and commissioned by
authority of the State attorneys, counsellorS so-
cltors Now has never occurred to unprofessiona
readers, tha. in this matter of law, in most other
things, of prevention is better than pound
OF cure! There public officers enough TO help
people 60 TO law to counsel them to do soto stand
for them, to fe for them-to make case for them
and true or false, right wrong, ma antain it for
years through al the chances Of the proverJal 'go-
rous uncertainty" Why should there not be some
similar public functionaries to prerent people from
going TO law-to give them impartial and wise ad-
vice upon the merits of their supposed or griev-
ances-to inform them of the true bearings of their
supposed rghts-to soothe instead of infaming their
excited fcelngs-to reconcile harmonize and pacify
Why not such officers we say-men well chosen for
such duty, learned, WISE good dsnterested to whom
all parties, before proceeding in litigation their
disputed rights or wrongs should be required to 90,
explain both sides of their case, listen to good
sell learned instruction. and friendly and concIatory
persuasion, with view to amicable compromise and
settlement There King counsel" and Queen's
Counsel In other countries; why not have few Peo-
ples Counsel in OURS In the sense here proposed We
have no doubt it would work to a charm. Three laws
suits in every four that now begun continued and
ended-begun in folly. continued in obstinancy, and
ended in repcntance-would be prevented. The fu-
ture flames would be extinguShed in the spark--the
unmatched cockatrices trodden out in the egg.
''The machinery for this night be very simple, and
easily engrafted the existing system of law and
practice. A number Of commissioners might be ap-
pointed literally paid. before whom the parties all
nnscent lawsuits would have appear, and only be
allowed to proceed to the ultima ratio when they shall
bring with them into court with their certili-
cate from that officer, that he has en1cavored vain
t. reconcile their difference by his advice and nstruc.
tion them upon their legal rights and duties in the
prem ses. How immeasurably better applied would
be the salaries of few wel-selected Judges of such
''Concation Courts" than those paid to the judges
before whom the "wordy war" isaferwards SO fierce
ly waged Mr. Field does not, in the article we re-
fer to- advance this suggestion further than for the
pertinent Of it in Justices of the Peace for the smaller
sort of litigation. But it would soon recommend and
extend itself This is most valuable popular idea,
conceived in the true interest of the public good The
profession will probably turn up cir at it
those noses of which many keeny en-
ployed on the scent of that very kind of game which,
already too thin for their overcrowded numbers would
by such reform as this be thinned still further But
from the people, the d.snterested people, different
reception of such proposition may be expected; and
we trust that it may be well to that there shall
not be in the Convention too great proportion of
lawyers, whose first professional instinct would be TO
sihe all such suggestions this-of which it is
ly remarkable that it should have proceeded from a
rara ari of their own number