The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1851-11-20
ENGLISH REPORTS IN LAW AND
EOUITY.

4 and judicial opinions OF the seNcral COurts OF
law and Equity in England can be more prompt
Nv and cheapy furnished to the legal profession in
this country, has long been seriously felt and ac-
knowledged. To meet similar want in England
the "Laip Journal Reports" and "Ihe JiHisf. 3"
which together report decisions in all the Courts in
Karp 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 u.s.
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 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-
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 a full table Of contents, thus forming COM
plete volume by itself, well as part OF an en-
tire series. Every alternate or second number will
be PACED consecutively from the number lmme-
diatey preceding, and will contain table OF cases.
and of contents TO boD and thus form complete
volume, ready for binding, of orer SIR hundred 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.
Its designed to make this a PERMANENT PUBL
CATION, and thus establish neID series Of English
Law and Equity Reports, which shall, in all
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
Waaf rnIu lfpr Hall inn IpfO then
could oteTIoise be obtained, and long before the pub
lication of the contemporaneous decisions Of most
of our own tribunals
The price of this publication will be so for
twelve numbers, payable in advance, or for the six
volumes, handsomely aad uniformly bound in law
sheep, $l2
The parts will be sold separately, il desired, at
S each
Single volume, bound, So %.
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 among the opinions OF this
work expressed on the publication of the first
Der:
Letter from Hon. NIillard Fillmore, President of the
United States
WAsMNGToN, April - 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 repubhsh in this country,
comprising every case reported in Engand and
now nave your lctter Oh tne Stn lnCulrlng
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 illumined its proloundest 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 a condensed form. This condensation
however, consisted, not in an Authorization of each
case, but a selection from the several cases and
was 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 Tune since TO republish the whole.
If the English Reports entire, 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
i can only express the hope that your reward may
be equal to your merits. i am your obedient
servant, WILLARD FILLMORE.
From the Ne,o York Literary JVorld
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 OF the profession throughout the country
The basis of this series, of which the first num-
Der is before us, are the Lao Journal Reports and
the Jtnist two En- lsh serials which communicate
to the British Bar, within a few weeks after their
delivery the prominent decisions of all the courts,
from the House of Lords to the Court Of Bankrupt
CIV, and other tribunals of limited but practically
important jurisdiction This excellent arrange
might be followed with great advantagein ths
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 availing themselves of il, to introduce the
md tn he
fession The authority OF Westminster Hall has loat
nothing OF its sanction and the permanently high
character of the English judiciary gives to their
adjudcations continued weight and decisive in
fluence 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 no way in which the current iurispru-
dence and authorizations 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 will remove; the cases decided in the
Queens Bench, the Common Pleas, and the Elk
chequer Chamber in January, will be ready for de-
livery here in April or May, long before adiudged
of the same date in own courts appear in
the regular reports in which they perpetuated.
Nearly two years will thus be gained 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 gives those of courts in banc
the deliberate judgments of the bench, and not the
interesting in many instances, do not carry
with them the same authority and force
The Reports are edited by +. II. Bennett and
Chnuncy 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 connexion we take pleasure in adverting
TO Messrs Little and Browns other legal publica-
tions, among which are included many of the most
conspicuous and authoritative reases of our juris
prudence Judge Storys works, for ming library
almost Of themselves, and familiar for their high
value and extensive reputation to American read
in general, 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 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 NelD York EUeiing Post.
4 of 40 yubf ;ao