The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1851-11-13
ENGLISH REPORTS IN LAW AND
EQUITY.

"A
~ and cheaply furnished to the legal profession in
this country, has long been seriously felt and &C.
knowledged. To meet a similar want in England,
the "Laic Journal Reports" and ''1he JTisf,"
which together report decisions in all the Courts ia
Lap 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 clrcu
Iation in this country, and their merits are as yet
but little known among US.
The subscribers propose to resuhlish these re-
ports in full as 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
Erclesastcal and Admiralty Courts, the Court of
Bankruptcy, including also the Election cases, the
Crown Cases Reserved, and the Railway and Canal
C.AB.
These reports will he published in numbers or
parts, commencing with the decisions OF Michael
iras (November) term, 1880 and will be carefully
edited by member Of the bar, with notes and re-
ierences to analogous American decisions.
Each number will consist of over three hundred
pages closely printed octave, the heat paper, and
Ia clear fair type. and will cor tain table of cases.
and foil table of contents, thus forming COM
plete volume by iieeli, as well as part OF an en-
tire series Every alternate second number will
be paged consecutively from the number imme-
dately preceding, and will contain table Of cas.s
and of contents 10 both, and thus form complete
volume ready for binding, of oUer siE hindred pages
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 10 the beat reports of England or this
country.
ltia designed to make this q PERMANENT PUBL
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
knghsh Reports In this country, and which shall
furnish TO the American lawyer the decisions of
Westminster Hail, nearly tioo years before they
could otsyiose be obtained, and long before the pull
dor
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, Sl2
Tie paris will he sold separately il desired, at
81 each.
Sings volume, bound, So 25
Parts |. and H., stitched, 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 the publications. the first
pef
Letter from Hon. Niilard Fillmore. President of ue
United States.
WAsHINGToN, April Is 1851.
JAMES BRowN, ESQ: MY DEAR SIR-Some DAYS
since ! received, by the hand of the Postmaster
General, the fret number Of the English Reports,
which you propose to republish in this country,
comprising every case reported In England; and
have your letter of the 9th instant, inquiring
my opinion Of the enterprise
terest in publications Of this kind The able
Judges who have adorned the judicial tribunals OF
En- gland, have shed ustre upon the Common
Law, anu illumined its profoundest depths | con
eder no law library complete that does not contain
their principal reports in Law and Equity and in
their Eccesastical Courts, and in Admiralty For
some years had been in the habit of receiving
these in - condenSed' form. This condensation
however, consisted, not in Authorization of each
Gaze, but selection from the several cases, and
was often annoyed by finding n reference 10 cases
f.tsh Aaarl a
wholly omitted in the {" condensed reports - |
therefore hailed with great pleasure effort which
made SOM TIME since to republish the whole
II The English Reports entire, be republshed
with despatch in this country, at price 40 low as
10 bring them within the reach of the members OF !
the bar generally, conceive that il will confer "A !
great benefit upon the profession and the judiciary
and consequently upon the country at large. Know
lag your enterprise, anticipate your success and
can only express the hope that your reward may |
be equal to your merits ] am your obedieni !
servant, WILLARD FILLMORE.
From Ge Ne,s York Literary JForld.
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 inferior
to none in this country, have just commenced the
publication of legal series, deserving the especial
attention o the profession throughout the country
The basis OF this series, of which the frat mum
Der ia before u.s. are the Latc Journal REPORTS and
the Jmist. two English serials which communicate
to the British Bar, within a few weeks after their
delivery, the prominent decisions OF all the
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 adyantagein 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 avsling themselves of II, to introduce the
English Reports promptly and regularly to the pro-
fession The authority of West minister Hall has lost
nothing OF its sanction and the permanently high
character of the English judiciary gives TO their
adiudicat ons continued weight and decisive in.
fuence with our courts. Hitherto the ditficuty 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-
dencc and adjudiCations Of the day in the upsli
courts could be made available by the American
bar, except at great expense and by continual vigil
lance. This difficulty Nossrs. Little & Browns
Reports will remove; the cases decided in the
Queens Bench, the Common Pleas and the Elk
chrquer Chamber in January, will be ready for de-
livery here in April or May, long before adjudged
cases of the same date in courts appear in
the regular r, porte in which they perpetuated
Nearly two years will thus be gained over the pre-.
sent systenl, which requires DELAY until the large
volume of authorized reports is published on the
other side and men been reprinted on this
One advantage d the present series is, that the
decisions which gives are those of cours in bGnc
the deliberate judgments of the bench, and not the
lees reliable decisions at Nlsi PriUs, which how
ever interesting in many instances, do not carry
with them the same authority and force.
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 winch the proposed series will
be carried out.
In this connexion we take pleasure in adverting
10 Messrs. Little and Browns other legal pubca-
tons, among which are included many OF the most
conspicuous and authoritative reases of our jurs-
prudence Judge Story's works, for ming library
almost Of themselves, and familiar for their high
value and extensive reputation TO American read |
ers in general we'll 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 are also
issued by them, the United States Digest and the
Strttes at Large; the latter being the authorized
edition of the Acts Of Congress, got up in much
better style, both for reference aud preservation
than under the old regime Of public printing at
Washington, which included the annual statutes,
and sent them forth to the world on thin paper and
in bad type.
From the Netr York Ecening Post
Little & Brown, of Boston, whose enterprise