The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1851-11-07
ENGLISH REPORTS IN LAW AND


IL and judicial opinions of the several Courts of
Law and Equity in England can be more prompt
ly 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 ''LGto Journal Reports and The Jtlrist {"
which, together report decisions in all e Courts an
Lao and Equity, within few weeks after their
delivery, were commenced number OF years
since, and have met with the universal approba-
non OF the legal profession Their high cost, how
ever, has hitherto prevented their general circu-
lation IN this country, and their merits are yet
but little known among
The Subscribers propose to republish these re-
ports IN full 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
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
ferences to analogous American decisions.
Each number will consist of over three hundred
pages closely printed octave the best paper, and
in clear, fair type and will contain table of cases,
and full table of contents, thus forming COM
piete volume by itself, well as part OF an en-
tire series. Every alternate or second number will
be PACED consecutively from the number imme-
dIatey preceding, and will contain table OF cases,
and OF contents to both, and thus form complete
volume, ready for binding, of 0oer sir 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 best reports of England or this
country.
tits designed to make this a PERMANENT PUBL
CATION, and thus establish 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
Westminster Hail. nearly t,co years before they
could oteroise 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 $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.
Singio 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 fret num-
Der:
Letter from Hon. D1alard Fillmore, President of the
United States.
WAsHINGToN, April 10 1851.
JAMES BRowN, ESQ: MY DEAR SIR--Some days
since l received, by the hand of the Postmaster
General the first number of the English Reports
which you propose to repubish in this country,
comprising every case reported in England and l
now have your letter of the 9th instant, inguiring
my opinion of the enterprise.
While pursuing my profession, l 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 profoundest 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 80 condensed" form. This condensation,
however, consisted, not in an abbreviaton of each
case, but 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 50 condensed reports"
therefore hailed with great Measure effort which
made some time since to republish the whole
II the English Reports entire, can be repubshed
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
ms your enterprise, anticipate your success and
can only express the hope that your reward may
be equal to your merits. i your obedient
servant WILLARD FILLMORE.
From the Ne,o York Literary World
! Mcssrs. Little s. Brown, of Boston, whose law
books, in point of typographical execution, vie
! with the best similar issues of the English press,
and III point of value and importance are inferior
! to none in this country, haYe 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 ia before US, the La,o Journal Reports and
the Jmist 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
10 might be followed with great ore in this
! country, for the purpose Of obvatng the delay
which necessarily attends the issuing Of the regu
lar volumes Of reports OF particular courts and
we are glad to see the enterprise Of legal pub
fishers availing themselves of it, to introduce the
English Reports promptly and regularly to the pro-
fession. The authority of Westminster Hall has lost
nothing of its sanction and the permanently high
character OF the English judiciary gives 10 their
authorizations a continued weight and decisive in
/ uence 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 iurispru-
dence and adjudicatons of the day in the En- lish
courts could be made available by the American
bar. except at great expense and by continual vigil
! lance. This difficulty Messrs. Little & Brownss
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
cases of the same date in our own 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
J other side and b hen been reprinted on this
! One advantage # the present seres is, that the
decisions which Ia gives are those of courts in balo
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 are edited by E. III. Bennett and
Chauncy Smith, esqs., of the Boston bar, and their
Systematic arrangement, and the care with which
! the notes, index, SC, are 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 pubGca
tions, among which are included many of the most
conspicuous and authoritative tleatiecs of our uris-
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, well to the legal profession,
have all issued from their press; as have also the
several works of Professor Grcenleaf. 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 Id 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 pe Netp York Buening Post.
Little u Brown, Of Boston, TO whose enterprise