The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1851-11-03
ENGLISH REPORTS IN LAW AND

ly and cheaply furnished to the legal profession in
this country, has long been seriously felt and ac-
knowledged. To meet similar want in England,
the "Laio Journal Reports" and 'Ihe JIist,"
which, together, report decisions in all he Courts an
Lao and Equity, within a few weeks after their
delivery, commenced 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-
ation in this country, and their merits are az 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
I Cases.
These reports will be published in numbers or
parts, commencing with the decisions OF Michael
mas (Noyember) term, 1850, 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
III clear, fair type and will contain table of cases,
and a full table of contents, thus forming COM
piete volume by ITSELF as well as part of an en-
! tire series Every alternate or second number will
be PACED consecutvely from the number imme-
dately preceding and will contain table of cases,
and Of contents TO both, and thus form a complete
volume, ready for binding of oUer sT hundred pages.
In each volume the OF the several courts will
be found arranged together, andj in point OF style
and typographical execution, this series will be
fully equal to the best reports of England or this
country
Its designed to make this n PERMANENT PUBL
CATION and thus establish neto series of English
Law and Equity Reports, which shall, i'll 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 tico years before they
could otherwise be obtained and long before the pub
lcation OF the contemporaneous decisions of most
! of our own tribunals.
J The price of this publication will be $40 for
4 twelve numbers payable in advance, for the six
volumes, handsomely AID uniformly bound in law
sheep, 10.
( The parts will be sold separately, il desired, at
I 5 each.
Single volume, bound 81 %.
Parts |. and H. stitched, or Vol. l., bound in law
sheep, containing reports of hundred and
eighty eight cases, now ready for delivery.
The following are among the opinions of this
work expressed on the publication of the first num-
Der:
Letter from Hon, AIiIaYd Fillmore President of the
United States.
WAsHISGToN, April 10 1851.
JAMES Brown, Esq: My DEAR SlR-Some DAYS
since received, by the hand of the Postmaster
/ General, the first number of the English Reports,
which you propose to republish in this country,
comprising every case reported in England; and
now have your letter of the 9th instant inuuring
my opinion of the enterprise.
While pursuing my profession, took deep in
/ crest in publications of this kind. The able
| judges who have adorned the judicial tribunals of
| England, have shed lusre upon the Common
Law, and illumined its profoundest depths. con-
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 'condensed'' form. This condensation,
however, consisted, not in abbreviation of each
case, but 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 condensed reports"
therefore hailed with great Pleasure effort which
was made soma tune since to republish the whole.
II the English Reports entire, can be republished
with despatch in this country, at price 50 low
| to bring them within the reach of the members of
the bar generally, conceive that it will confer a
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
he equal to your merits. am your obedient
servant, WILLARD FILLMORE.
From Tie Mem York Literary World
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
1 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 mum
Der Is before us, arc the Lao Journal Reports and
the JlUist, two English serials which communicate
10 the British Bar, within few weeks after their
delivery the prominent decisions Of all the court to-
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 advantagein this
country, for the purpose Of obvatnp the DELAY
which necessarily attends the Issuing of the rcgu
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-
fcssion. The authority of Westminster Hall has lost
nothing of its sanction and the permanently high
character of the English Judiciary gives TO their
adjudications continued weight and decisive in
fuence with our 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 no way IN which the. current jurispru-
dence and adjudications of the day in the English
courts could be made available by the American
bar, except at great expense and by con tuua vigil
lance. This difficulty Messrs. Little s. 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 dc.
livery here in April or May, long before adiudged
cases of the same date in our own courts appear
the regular reports in which they are perpetuated
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 H. len been reprinted on this
One advantagr the present series is that the
decisions which gives those Of courts in banc
the deliberate judgments of the bench and not the
less reliable decisions at Nisi Prius which how
with them the same authority and force.
The Reports arc edited by f. H. Bennett and
Chauncy Smith, csqs., Of the Boston bar, and their
Systematic arrangement, and the care with which
the notes, index, &c, arc prepared, evidence the
thorough manner in which the proposed series will
be carried out.
In this conncxion we take pleasure in adverting
70 MessrS. Little and Browns other legal publica.
tions, among which are included many of the most
conspicuous and authoritative treases of our uris-
prudence. Judge Story's works, for ming library
mi .f and Iiar fi.o,.
value and extensive reputation to American read
ers in general, well as to the legal profession
have all issued from their press; as have also the
several works OF Professor Greenleaf Two very
valuable and extensive annual publications are 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 at
Washington, which included the annual statutes
and sent them forth to the world thin paper and
in bad type
From the Neio York EUening Post
10 g. Ofn IN nh,