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


: U
ly and cheaply furnished to the legal profession in
this country, has long been seriously felt and ac-
knowledged. To meet similar want In Eng gland,
the "Lalr Journal Reports" and "Ihe Jlrist, "
which, together, report decisions in all the Courts in
Lao and Equity, within a 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 in this country, and their merits yet
but little known among US.
The subscribers propose to republish these re-
ports in full 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 Railway 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-
terences to analogous American decisions.
Each number will consist of over three hundred
pages closely printed octave, the beat paper
in clear fair type and will contain table of cases,
and full table of contents, thus forming a COM
plete volume by ITSELF as well as part OF an en-
tire series. Every alternate or second number will
be PACED consecutively from the number imme-
dately preceding and will contain table OF cases.
and of contents to both, and thus form a complete
|
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.
It's designed to make this a PERMANENT PUBL
CATION, and thus establish rietD 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 Hail. nearly t,oo years before they
Il -I1E1-
LEGATION of the contemporaneous decisions Of most
of our own tribunals.
The price of this publication will be $40 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
81 each.
Single volume, bound, So %.
Parts |. and H., stitched, 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
Letter from Hon. DTillard Fillmore, President Of the
United States
WAsHINaToN, April 10 1851.
JAMES BRowN, ESQ.,: MY DEAR SR-Some days
since i received, by the hand of the Postmaster
General, the first number of the English Reports,
which you propose to repubiish in this country,
comprising every case reported in England; and
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
Law, and iumined its prooundest 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 80 CONDENSER form. This condensation,
however, consisted not in an abbreviation of each
case, but selection from the several cases, and
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
made some TIME since TO republish the whole,
If the English Reports entire, be republished
with despatch in this country, at a price so 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
be equal to your merits. ! am your obedent
servant, WILLARD FILLMORE.
From The Ne,o York Literary IVord
Mcasrs 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 is before us, the Lato Journal Reports and
the Jtvist, 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
mentmight be followed with great advantagein this
country, for the purpose of obviating the delay
which necessarily attends the issuing of the rcgu
lar volumes of reports of particular courts /; and
we are glad to see the enterprise of our legal pub
fishers avaing 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
adjudications continued weight and decisive in
luence 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 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 htinual vigil
lance. This difficulty Messrs. Little & Browns
Reports will remove; the decided in the
Queens Bench, the Common Pleas, and the Elk
Chequer Chamber in January, will be ready for do
livery here in April or May, long before adudged
cases of the same date in own courts appear in
the regular reports in which they 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. hen been reprinted on this
| One advantage II the present series is, that the
decisions which IL gives those of courts in banc
the deliberate judgments of the bench, and not the
! less reliable decisions at Nisi Pr;l.s, vnicn how
/ eyer interesting in many instances do not carry
with them the same authority and force,
The Reports are edited by +. II. Bennett and
! Chauncy Smith, esq., 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 connexion we take pleasure in adverting
! to Messrs. Little and Browns other legal publica-
tons, among which are included many of the most
conspicuous and authoritative reatses of our iurs-
prudence. Judge Story's works, for ming library
almost of themselves and familiar for their high
value and extensive reputation to American read.
crs in general, as well as 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
1 issued by them, the United States Digest and the
! Statutes al Large; the latter being the authorized
edition Of the Acts of Congress- got up in much
better style, both for reference and preservation
4 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.
Nom me Nom York Ereuiup Post