New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1847-04-24
respondence of The Tribune.

graph in the Law Reform Commissioners Bill,
which Mr.. Balloon. Mr.. Hadey, and many more
gentlemen in this Legislature have endeavored to
vote down, and which they consider bad enough to
authorize the exercise of Governor Youngs power
the whole measure. What evil IL there in tn Is
not the thing needful in the law practice Why is
there lawyer In the State ready to oppose principle
the practical establishment and success of which would
give us speedy decisions the merits of cause in
place OF endless appeals on the mere form under which
the action was brought az to the Court which should
ofrght try iii see but for the steady op-
position made by many of the profession. II could
eaOe ha ne fees and enonents n0p obtained By Lay1s
IN The pockets Of their clients
This great question Of Law REFORM has nothing in
II of the usual features of Party but opposed and sd
vocated without reference TO party lines all over the
United States by persons and presses who In other
matters connected with law and government usually
agree 20 disagree.
Thus have spoken of and reasoned about it.
see no force whatever in Mr.. Balcom's remarks.
II you ask lawyer what Common Law TO- he will re-
fer you TO Backstones General Rule, "a, The decisions
Of Courts Of Justice the Evidence Of chat Is Common
LaU-fn the same manner as, in The Girl Lac, Khat The
Emperor had determined for guide for
the future" want something concise and definite
for Courts Of Justice within the last 900 years
have made the most contradictory decisions and three
millions of rules OF life really too many in Democ
racy, especially where one million Of them doubtful
and the other two much at variance with each other
as the dogmas Of the various creeds secaries and
lgionsts Of the world, from the Hebrew down to the
Mormon.
Mr.. Worden and Mr.. Simmons as everybody knows,
were leading advocates In Convention for perpetustng
the present system Of Law and Equity separate
tens, and for providing different tribunals and different
Judges. Ask Mr.. OConor whom the Wings and Dem.
ocrats of New York united to send here, and have
doubt he will tell you that two struggled
than Mr. Simmons and Mr. Worden TO fasten down again
upon this society the oppressive system which in Britain
aud America has made justice byword and reproach
delayed and often denied redress made the fortune of
fnfn
able art and mystery, by of which the honest and
straightforward have been piaged OF the fruits OF their
industry, and vast numbers compelled as 1t were, TO
adopt THE DANGEROUS DOCTRINE. that as speedy and
lust decisions In the Law Courts hopeless the bet
wsy would be TO abolish all legal means Tor the re-
covery of claims for debt the lesser evil OF the two
Finding that most of the lawyers here, with the cum
ming peculiar 10 their profession as now constituted,
had followed the successful example OF their brethren
in another nation, and chosen NuLLFYISG Commits
sioners stood firmly By the amendment moved IN sen
ate nv Mr. sedgwick and on account of which Mr.. Bal
com threatened the Legislature with VETO because II
Instructed the Commissioners to take course apparent
ly beneficial to society but ds,asefu 10 NOSE VINO re-
sort to Law as of deceivng and outwittDg their
opponents and those Members OF the Bar VINO nave
grown. growing, or expect to grow rcn oy egahy
aiding such receptions n according 70 Law. ~
There are as Mr. OConer stated last Summer IN Con
vention, two sorts of legal practice-at LAW and at
EQUITY By practice 10 equity the relief may be pc
cunsry otherwise, and there no special FORM OF
practice whatever man states his case and gets
decree on its merits II proved. Al law, a man must
seek for a OF money-he can nothing else
and he must adopt Of six or seven forms oil action
most of these forms being in plain language tissue of
legal alsehoods-downright liespure hctions These
cons the Judges and Attorneys comprehend and cling
because they are to the public absurd sno
hens!ble. Mr. O'Coor showed and no one denied the
fact that the effect ~ to make clients, lawyers JUDGES
and defendants adopt and sanction NOTORIOUS FALSE
HOODS in the form OF action In the deciaauon 10 tne
charge TO the jury, and in the verdict VIII
Christianity sanction this s not such system cecu'
lated to undermine public and private morals and so
what forms of Government worth when un6iest by
vrtuef
Mr. oConor stated a of RENT in which he was
engaged counsel The FORM OF the action was cove
nant the claim $1,000. In THREE years the Court was
ready TO try it, and the Judge delivered opinion
long as Mr. OConors that the suit was rightly laid
that the lawyers had hit upon or chosen the true
FORM The other party, however used 1.-THE lies OF the
law as means of keeping back the money-he appealed
10 the Court of Errors majority OF which decided Az
TER SEVERAL MORE YEARS OF DELAY, mat the acuon
should not have been on covenant BAL nave tahen
other name No one denied that the 81 OO OF rent
were iustly due-yeton the form the highest
in the State had denied his client redress pronounced
the Judge who first decided the case ignorant oil law
and thrown heavy bill of costs on his INT OConor9
client who of course had begin again bis law jour
ney in search Of his 900, under some other COMMON
law form. =, ,.,, of
such wicked system this that client had come 10
the false conclusion that there ought to be no law 10 en-
able poor man to recover just claim from rlca
knavei Yet, the true remedy is-As IN Waterloo
sort of machinery-snd this Mr. OConor desired 10 90
and Mr. Worden, Mr. Simmons, and four-ffths OF " the
profession" did their utmost to prevent hm. hence
is that disiked the appointment oil Mes,rs Wofnen
and Waworth and commended for an amendment which
with Commissioners hearty In the cause, would nave
been less valuable.
How much better il would be TO have plain state
nent OF case made out by plain man nied IN Court
copy served on his opponent the case tried ana us
judgment promptly rendered thereon ana carried n'o
effecti ~, r.h ,h
SCOTCH the United States Court equity pianl the
Al Oo0 rent would have been paid over In ie" weeks
or months. u.ra fh.,..rv
jurisdiction ends and Common Law begins Wns'
twenty thousand precedenu would sno" Tue uue me
of demarcation Why should there De tnls q'esuons
III. vsrietv of Jurisdictions aud torms lie only an.
IA 10 enable lawyers 10 consume the substance oi
the community in useless disputatons and delays ana
10 enable srtul kpsves to use the Jaw ana ne
worst LAWYERS to hinder and pervert justice BY
means of a mass of lee abhorrent TO Christianity and
good morals aud variance with the true spirit OF our
tree institutions -
was cheated and bsied by bringing his suit as DEBT
and who had been at law seven years and would pIooa
hIv be kept in years because he had not
S,,he outset baptised bs action COVENANT All the
frs uer. truly stated $40 600 due him buhe had
entesed the temple of Justice at the wrong door
An@dividual sued wealthy Corporation In your Su
perior Court The lawyers the other side said that
that Court had no jurisdiction in the msttsrhe must
begin before Walworth in the Court OF Chancery. |
Seven egh, years were consumed merely to settle
the question 70 what Court what sort Of Court
could try the cause Ito enable the debtor to discover
which of the sancuses OF the law he should enter In
search Of order that bis claim might be inquired In
TO and finally the Court of Errors told him, 81 an
immense expense, of cour>e that the Superior Court
could try the IL did try it-snd verdict of
$4,000 was speedily delivered, aud judgment given |
therefor In his favor.
Did the creditor get his money thus declared to be
due TO him Did be get justice No indeed Il took
him seven years find the right Court viii take him
other seven TO find the right form.
The Corporation who owed him had hired cunning /
crafty unprncipled lawyers who instead OF paying the
man his money now pretended to have suddenly dis
covered that his lawyers bad called his claim DEBT 1
ON ne law pspers-(which II really wss)-wnie in \
srict nicely oil COMMON Law they should have csh~d
n an action ON COVENANT This new ples, or pu,
zler ON the form stayed farther proceedings-tne Cor
porstion laughed their creditor TO scorn-he WA nave
to begin again and probably be delayed or years
longer. =, =. s-.,s !
Rather than continue such syssem--wth trick rand
and dishonesty sitred In the slinrins garo OF
Renublicsn Jusnce--the hghwaymsn and his pistols
would be maahness itself There, there Is sort oil
equality. .,.h 1
sys,em as the above, be- pure How can thar soeie
.hrsb elevated and noble sentiments and admire ana