The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1851-05-21
ENGLISH REPORTS IN Law AND

EQUlVYs
Proposal: by LITTLE BaOws, III mashinston
street, Boston, for publishing BY subscyjption
series Of Law and Equity Reports.
VNHE want of some system by which the decisions
Il and judicial opinions Of the several Courts OF
Law and Equity in England can be more prompt
~ and cheaply furnished to the legal profession in
this country, has long been seriously felt and ac
knowledged. To meet similar want in England,
the ''LaD Journal Reports" and "Ixe Jurist."
which, together, report decisions in all the Courts in
LaD 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-
ation in this country, and their merits are as vet
but little known among
The subscribers propose to repubsh these re-
n
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, 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 we'll as a part Of en-
tire series. Every alternate second number will
be PACED consecutively from the number imme-
diately preceding and will contain table Of cases.
and Of contents to both, and thus form complete
volume, ready for binding Of 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 this
country
tits designed to make this q 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 Hall, nearly too gears before they
could otherwise 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 for the six
volumes, handsomely aad uniformly bound in law
sheep, $l2
The parts will be sold separately, if desired, at
S each
Single volume, bound, So 25.
Parts l. 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 num-
per-
Letter from Hon. Willard Fillmore, President Of the
United States.
WAsHINsToN, April ID, 1851.
JAMES BRowN, ESQ.,: NV DEAR SIR-Sume DAYS
since received, by the hand Of the Postmaster
General, the frat 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, nquiring
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 it's 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 '' condensed" form. This condemnation,
however, consisted, not in abbreviation of each
case, but q selection from the several cases, and
was often annoyed by finding a reference to cases
in the Digests. which deemed very important,
wholly omitted in the "condensed reports"
therefore hailed with great pleasure effort which
was made some time since to republish the whole.
If the English Reports entire, be republished
with despatch in this country, at price SO low
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 tlarge. Know
ing your enterprise anticipate your success, and
can only express the hope that your reward may
be equal to your merits l am your obedient
servant WILLARD FILLMORE.
From the Ne,c York Literary World
Messrs. Little s. 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, are the Lap Journal Reports and
the JWist, 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
Cyl and other tribunals of limited but practically
imDOrtant iurisdctiOn. Thia Axcellent
ment might be followed with great advantage in 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 glad to see the enterprise of our legal pub
fishers awaiting themselves Of it, to introduce the
English Reports promptly and regularly TO the pro-
fcssion, 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
iuence with courts. Hitherto the difficulty has
before they could be quoted and applied here, and
there was no way in which the current jurispru-
dence and adjudicatons 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 adjudged
of the same date IN our 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
other side and has then been reprinted ON this.
One advantage of the present series is, that the
decisions which it gives those of courts in banc,
the deliberate judgments of the bench, and 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 edited by E. H. Bennett and
Chauncy Smith, esq.,, of the Boston bar, and their
systematic arran cement, and the care with which
the notes, index, Sc. arc prepared, evidence the
| thorough manner in which the proposed series will
| be carried out.
In this connection 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 treatises 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
era in general, well to the legal profession,
have all issued from their press; have also the