The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1851-05-19
ENGLISH REPORTS IN LAW AND
no IIITK.

ENGLISH REPORTS IN LAW AND
EQUITY.
Proposals By LITTLE & Baowr, liz Washington
street. BosiOn, fer Publishing By subscriptions nsO
series Of Latr and Equity Reports.
| THE want Of some system by which the decisions
Il and judicial opinions Of the several Courts of
Law and Equity in England can be more prompt
y and cheapy furnished to the legal profession in
this country, has long been seriously felt and ac
knowledged To meet similar want in England,
| the "L0lO Journal Reports" and "7xs Juyisf,'
which, together report decisions in all the Courts an
LaD and Equity, within few weeks after their
delivery, were commenced a number of Year,
since, and have met with the universal approba-
ton OF the legal profession Their high cost, how
ever, has hitherto prevented their general circu-
aton ia this country, and their merits are as yet
| but little known among US.
The Subscribers propose to republish these re-
ports In full fast they appear in England and
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 (Novcmber) term, 1850, and will be carefully
| edited by member of the bar, with notes and re-
fercnces 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 Of cases,
and fulltable of contents, thus forming COM
plete volume by itself, well part of an
tire series. Every alternate or second number will
be PACED consecutively from the number mme-
diately preceding, and will contain table Of cases,
and Of contents to both, and thus form complete
volume, ready for binding of ouer sig hundred pages
In each volume the cases of the several courts will
be found arranged together, and, IN point of style
| ia vii he
fully equal to the beat reports OF England or this
country.
! It'll designed to make this a PERMANENT puBLI-
CATION, and thus establish neD series of English
Law and Equity Reports, which shall, in all
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 tico years before they
could otherscse be obtained, and long before the pub
lication OF the contemporaneous decisions Of most
of our own tribunals.
twelve numbers, payable in advance, or for the six
volumes, handsomely and uniformly bound in law
sheep, $l2.
The parts will be sold separately, if desired, at
81 each.
Single volume, bound, 50 rs.
Parts l. and H., stitched, or Vol l., bound in law
| sheep, containing reports of one hundred and
lightweight cases, now ready for delivery.
work expressed the publication of the first num-
Der
Letter from Hon. Nlord Fillmore, President of the
United States.
| WASHINGTON, April IS, 1851.
| JAMES BaowH, 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 republsh in this country,
comprising 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
| England, have shed a lustre upon the Common
slider no law library complete that does not contain
their principal reports in Law and Equity, and in
their Ecclesiastical Courts, and in Admiralty. For
| some years had been in the habit of receiving
these in a :" condemned" form. This condensation,
however, consisted, not in an abbreviaton of each
case, but selection from the several cases, and
was often annoyed by finding reference to cases
in the Digests. which deemed very important,
| wholly omitted in the "condensed reports"
therefore hailed with great pleasure effort which
was made some time since to republish the whole.
If the English Reports entire, can be repubished
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 obedent
| servant, WILLARD FILLMORE.
| From the Ne,c York Literary Vuld.
| Messrs. Little & 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
| to 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 il before u.s. the La,o Journal Reports and
the Jurist, 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 great advantage in 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
we are glad to the enterprise of our legal pub.
fishers awaiting themselves of it, introduce the
English Reports promptly and regularly to the pro.
nothing of it's sanction and the permanently high
character OF the English Judiciary gives to their
adjudications continued weight aud decisive in
hucnce with our courts, Hitherto the difficulty has
been that the reported cases thore have grown old
before they could be quoted and applied here, and
there was way in which tho current jurispru-
dencc and adjudications of the day in the English
courts could be made available by the American
bar, except at great expense and by continual vigi-
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 adjudged
cases of the same date In our own courts appear in
the regular reports in which they are pcrpetuated
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 then been reprinted on this.
One advantage Of the present series is. that the
decisions which it gives are those of courts in banc
the deliberate judgments of the bench, and not 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 E. H. Bennett and
Chauncy Smith, esqs, of the Boston bar. and their
systematic arrangement, and the care with which
the notes, index, &C., are prepared, evidence the
thorough manner in which the proposed series will
be carried out
In this conncxion we take pleasure in advertng
10 Meaars Little and RrOun,a other lennl ranhlica