The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1851-10-17
ENGLISH REPORTS IN LAW AND
EnUITK.

I
y and cheaply furnished TO the legal profession in
this country, has long been seriously felt and ac
knowledged To meet a similar want IN England ,
the 'tLGiD Journal Reports" and "Ihe Jtrtst, >"
which, together report decisions in all the Courts IN
Lao aud 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-
lation i'll this country, and their merits are yet
but little known among as
The Subscribers propose to republish these re-
ports in full as fast rs 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 Excheuuer and Exchequcr 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 (Noyember) term, 1850, and will be carefully
edlted by member oil the bar, with notes and re-
! tercnces 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 n full table of contents, thus forming n com
plete volume by itself as well part of an en-
tire series. Every alternate or second number will
be pa ged ~consecutively from the number lmno-
diately preceding and will contain table OF cases.
and of contents TO both, and thus form u complete
VolulneJ Dnulng OF OCeT 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 best reports OF England or this
country.
| It's designed to make this PERMANENT PUBL
CATION, and thus establish eio 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 tco years before they
could ohertose be obtained and long before the pub
LEGATION of the contemporaneous decisions of most
of our tribunals.
The price of this publication will be s 10 for
twelve numbers, payable in advance, or for the six
volumes, handsomely and uniformly bound in law
sheep, $l2.
The parts will be sold separately, il desired, at
S each.
Single volume, bound, 50 25.
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 on the publication of the first num-
Der
Letter from Hon. Milard Fillmore, President of the
United States
WAsHINeToN, April Is 1851.
I JAMES BRowS, 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, inquring
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 lustre upon the Common
Law, and illumned its profoundest depths. | con-
slider 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 an abbreviation of each
I.,A, .ala. Il
was often annoyed by finding reference to cases
in the Digests, which ] deemed very important,
wholly omitted in the 50 condensed reports.'
therefore hailed with great pleasure effort which
was made some time since to republish the whole.
1 If the English Reports entre, 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 "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
! be equal to your merits. am your obedienL
servant, WILLARD FILLMORE.
From Tie Ne,c York Literary World
Messrs. Little & Brown, of Boston, whose law
books, in point Of typographical execution, vic
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 is before us, the Lar Journal Reports and
the Juist 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.
nent 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 10 see the enterprise of our legal pub
themselves il. To in he
English Reports promptly aud 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
authorizations continued weight and decisive in
fluence with courts Hitherto the difficulty has
been that the reported cases thcro have grown old
before they could be quoted and applied here, and
there no way IN which the current lurispru-
dence and adudcations 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 Wilt remove; the decided in the
Queens Bench, the Common Pleas, and the Elk
4 chequer Chamber in January, will be ready for de-
livery here in April Or May, long before adjudged
cases of the same date in 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 l. hen been reprinted on this.
One advantag. II the present series is, that the
decisons which is gives are those Of courts in banc
the deliberate judgments of the bench, and not tho
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, are prepared, evidence the
thorough manner in which the proposed series will
be carried out
In this connection we take pleasure in advertng
to Measrs Little and Browns other legal publica-
tons, among which are included many of the most
conspicuous and authoritative treatses of our uris
prudence Judge Storys works, for ming library
almost Of themselves, and familiar for their high
value and extensive reputation to American read
era in general, as well 10 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 asc
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
and sent them forth to the world on thin paper and
in bad type.
From The Nelc York EUening Post.