The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1851-09-23
ENGLISH REPORTS IN LAW AND


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street, Boston, for publishing by subscription nsl0
series Of Laiv and Equity Reports.
TIME want Of some SYSTEM by which the decisions
IL and judicial opinions OF the several Courts oil
Law and Equity in England can be more prompt
ly and cheapy furnished TO the legal profession IN
this country has long been seriously felt and ac-
knowledged To meet a similar want in England,
the "Laio Joi1nGl Reports" and "1hs Jurtst,"
which, together report decisions IN aH e Courts "a
LGlo and Equity, within few weeks after their
delivery, were commenced u number Of years
since, and have met with the universal approba-
ton Of the legal profession, Their high cost, how
ever, has hitherto prevented their general circu-
latlon IN this country, and their merits are as YET
but little known among US.
The subscribers propose to republlsh these re,
ports IN full as fast as they appear In England ana
can be received here. They will contain reports
of cases decided in the House OF Lords, the Privy
Council the several Courts Of Equity, the Court Of
Queens Bench, the Court of Common Pleas, the
Court of Exchequer and Exchequer Chamber, the
Ecclesiastical and Admiralty Courts, the Court OF
Bankruptcy, including also the Election cases, the
Crown Cases Reserved, and the Railway and Canal
Cases.
These reports will be published in numbers or
parts, commencing with the decisions OF Michael
mas (November) term, 1880, and will be carefully
edited by member of the bar, with notes and re-
ferences TO analogous American decisions.
Each number will consist of over three hundred
pages closely printed octave on the best paper, and
IN clear fair type. and will contain table oil cases.
plete volume by itself, well as part OF an en-
tire series. Every alternate second number will
be PACED consecutyely from the number lmme-
diately preceding, and will contain table OF cases.
and of contents TO both, and thus form complete
volumes ready for binding, of ouer siT hundred pages.
In each volume the of the several courts will
be found arranged together and; In point of style
and typographical execution, this series will be
fully equal to The beat reports of England or this
country.
It's designed to make this PERMANENT PUnLl-
CATION, aud thus establish series of English
Law and Equity Reports, which shall, in all re-
spects, be far in advance of any other reprint OF
English Reports in this country, and which shall
furnish to the American lawyer the decisions OF
Westminster Hall, nearly too years before they
could oterDise be obtained, and long before the pub
LEGATION of the contemporancous decisions OF most
of our own tribunals.
The price of this publication will be y 10 for
twelve numbers, payable in advance, or for the SIX
volumes, handsomely aAd uniformly bound In law
sheep, $l2.
The parts will be sold separately, il desired, at
S each
Single volume, bound, So %.
Parts l. and III. stitched, or Vol. L., bound in law
eheep, containing reports OF one hundred and
eighty eight cases, now ready for delivery.
The following are among the opinions OF tins
work expressed on the publication of the first num-
Der:
Letter from Hon Maiard Fillmore, President Of the
United States.
w WASHINGTON April 10 1901.
JAMES BnowN ESQ: MY DEAR SIR-Some days
since | received, by the hand of the Postmaster
General, the first number of the English Reports,
which you propose to republish i'll this country,
every case reported in England; and
now have your letter of the 9Th instant, inquiring
my opinion of the enterprise.
While pursuing my profession, took deep in
terest in publications of this kind. The able
judges who have adorned the Judicial tribunals of
Eng land, have shed luatre upon the Common
iroAif mr. 6pefIa he
slider no law library complete that does not contain
their principal reports in Law and Equity, and in
their Eccesias teal Courts, and in Admiralty. For
some years had been in the habit of receiving
these in '' condensed form. This condensation,
however, consisted, not in abbreviation of each
case, but a selection from the several cases, and
was often annoyed by finding a reference to cases
in the Digests, which deemed very important,
wholly omitted in the 90 c0ndenSed reports" |
therefore hailed with great pleasure effort which
was made som9 time since to republish the whole.
If the English Reports entire, can be republished
with despatch in this country, at price so low as
to bring them within the reach OF the members OF
the bar generally, conceive that it will confer
great benefit upon the profession and the Judiciary,
and consequently upon the country at large Know
ing your enterprise, anticipate your success, and
] can only express the hope that your reward may
be equal to your merits ] am your obedient
servant, WILLARD FILLMORE.
From he Ns,o York Literary IVorld.
Messrs. Little s. Brown, of Boston, whose law
books in point of typographical execution, vie
with the best similar issues of the English press,
and in point of value and importance are inferior
10 none in this country, have Just commenced the
publication of legal series, deserving the especial
attention OF the profession throughout the country.
The basis OF this series, OF which the first num-
Der is before US, are the Ldtc Journal Reports and
the Jtrtst, two English serials which communicate
to the British Bar, within few weeks after their
delivery, the prominent decisions of all the courts,
from the House of Lords to the Court of Bankrupt
cy, and other tribunals of limited but practically
important Jurisdiction. This excellent arrange
ment might be followed with greatadvantagein this
country, for the purpose of obviating the delay
which necessarily attends the issuing Of the regu
lar volumes Of reports of particular courts and
glad to see the enterprise of our legal pub
fishers avaling themselves OF it, to introduce the
English Reports promptly and regularly to the pro-
fesson The authority of Westminster Hall has lost
nothing of its sanction and the permanently high
character OF the English judiciary gives to their
adiudications a continued weight and decisive in
huence with courts. Hitherto the difficulty has
been that the reported cases there have grown old
before they could be quoted and applied here, and
there was way in which the current iurispru-
dence and adjudications of the day in the English
courts could be made available by the American
bar except at great expense and by continual vigil
lance This difficulty Messrs. Little & Browns
Reports will remove; the cases decided in the
Queens Bench, the Common Pleas, and the Ex-
chequer Chamber in January, will be ready for de-
livery here in April or May, long before adudged
OF the same date IN our own courts appear In
the regular reports in which they are perpetuaed.
Nearly two years will thus be gained over the pre-
sent system, which requires delay until the large
volume of authorized reports is published on the
other side and has hen been reprinted on this.
One advantage 4 the present series is, that the
decisions which j, gives those of courts in bGnc
the deliberate Judgments of the bench, and the
less reliable decisions at NiSi Prius, which, how
ever interesting in many instances, do not carry
with them the same authority and force.
The Reports edited by f. H. Bennett and
Chauncy Smith, esqs., of the Boston BAR and their
systematic arrangement, and the with which
the notes, index, &c, are prepared, evidence the
thorough manner in which the proposed series will
be carried out.
In this connection we take pleasure in advertng
to Messrs Little and Browns other legal publica
tons among which are included many Of the most
conspicuous and authoritative treatses of our uris
prudence Judge Story'a works, for ping n library
almost OF themselves, and familiar FOR their nigh
value and extensive reputation TO American read
ers in general, as well TO the legal profession
have ali issued from their press; have also the
several works of Professor Greenleaf Two very
valuable and extensive annual publications also
issued by them, the United States Digest and the
Statutes at Large; the latter being the authorized
edition OF the Acts of Congress, got up in much
better STYLE both for reference and preservation
than under the old regime of public printing al
Washington, which included the annual statutes
"A a. l.