The republic., 1851-07-10
ENGLISH REPORTS IN LAW AND
EnEEFfY


series Of LatU and Equity Reports.
TINHE want of some system by which the decisions
| a. 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 a similar want in England
| the 'sLdlo Journal Reports" and '1ne Jtrist, -
which, together, report decisions in all the C0ur
LGD and Equity, within few weeks after their
! delivery, were 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-
aton In this country, and their merits are as yet
| but little known among
The subscribers propose to republish these re-
ports IN full as fast as 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 Hallway and Canal
Cases
These reports will be published in numbers or
parts, commencing with the decisions OF Michael
mas (November) 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
In clear fair type and will contain table of cases,
and full table of contents, thus forming q COM
plete volume by itself, as we'll part Of
be PACED consecutivcly from the number imme
djately preceding, and will contain table of cases,
and of contents to both and thus form complete
volume ready for binding, of ove sir hundred pa ges
In each volume the cases 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 best reports of England or this
country.
CATION, and 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 tioo years before they
could oeroiSe be obtained, and long before the pub
lcation of the contemporaneous decisions of most
of our own tribunals
The price of this publication will be $40 for
twelve numbers, payable in advance, for the six
volumes, handsomely and uniformly bound in law
sheep, s. 10.
The parts will be sold separately, If desired, at
s each.
Single volume, bound, 81 %.
Parts |. and H., stitched, or Vol. L. bound in law
sheep, containing reports of one hundred and
eighty eight cases, now ready for delivery.
The following are among the opinions OF this
work expressed the publication of the frat num-
ber:
Letter from Hon. Dfillard Fillmore President Of the
United States.
WAsHINaToN, April 13, 1851.
JAMES BRowN, 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 IN this country,
comprising every case reported In England; and
now have your letter of The 9th instant, nquiring
my opinion of the enterprise.
While pursuing py profession, took deep in
terest in publications of this kind The able
judges who have adorned the judicaltribunals of
England, have shed a lustre upon the Common
Law, and illumined its profoundest depths con-
slider no law library complete that doea 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 s condensed" form. This condensation,
however, consisted, not in abbrevaton of each
case, but a selection from the several cases, and
often annoyed by finding reference to cases
in the Digests which deemed very important,
wholly omitted in the 90 condensed reports.'' I
therefore hailed with great pleasure effort which
made some 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. l am your obedient
servant, MILLARD FILLMORE.
From the Ncto York Literary World.
Messrs. Little & Brown, of Boston, whose law
books, in point of typographical execution, vie
with the beat similar issues Of the English press,
and III 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 is before us, the Ldto Journal Reports and
the Juyist, 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 mi ght be followed with great advantag in-this
o.
which necessarily attends the issuing of the regu
lar volumes Of reports of particular courts and
we are glad to see the enterprise of our legal pub
fishers avalng 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
ndjudications 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 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 continual vigi
lance. This difficulty Messrs. Little & Browns
Reports will remove; the decided in the
Queens Bench, the Common Pleas, and the Ex-
chcquer Chamber in January, will be ready for de-
livery here in April or May, long before adjudged
cases of the same date in our courts appear in
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 has then been reprinted on this.
One advantage of the present series is that the
decisions which ii gives 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. II. Bennett and
Chauncy Smith, esqs. of the Boston bar, and their
systematic arrangement, and the care with which
the notes, index, &C., prepared, evidence the
thorough manner in which the proposed series will
be carried out
In this connexion take pleasure in adverting
to Messrs. Little and Browns other legal publica
tons, among which included many ofthe most
conspicuous and authoritative treases of our uris
prudence. Judge Storys works, for ming a library
almost Of Themselves, and familiar for their high
value and extensive reputation to American read
ers ,in general, as well to the legal profession,
have all 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 Congrcss, got up in much
better style, both for reference and preservation
than under the old regime of Dublic nriutinp nj