The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1851-12-01
ENGLISH REPORTS IN LAW AND
EQVJTTK.

yINHE want of some system by which the decisions
a. and judicial opinions Of the several Courts OF
y 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 LAO Journal Reports" and "Ihe Jifrist,"
which, together, report decisions in all the Courts IN
Lalo and Equity, within few weeks after their
delivery, were commenced number OF years
since, and have met with the universal approoa
ton of the legal profession. Their high COST now
ever, has hitherto prevented their general clrcu
laton in this country, and their merits are as YET
but little known among us. -.
ports in full fast as they appear In England ana
can be received here. They VIII 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 fleas, the
Court of Exchequer and Exchequer Chamber, the
Ecclesiastical and Admiralty Courts, the Court oil
Bankruptcy, including also the Election cases, the
Crown Cases Reserved, and the Railway and Canal
Cases.
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 oil 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 ooer sag pages
In each volume the casess the several courts will
be found arranged together, and, in point of style
ard typographical execution, this series VIII be
fully equal to the best reports of England or this
country.
Its designed to make this n PERMANENT PUBL
CATION and thus establish series OF English
Law and Equity Reports, which shall, III all re-
spects, be far in advance OF any other reprint OF
English Reports in this country, and which snail
furnish to the American lawyer the decisions oil
all rly
could otherwise be obtained and long before the pub
LEGATION of the contemporaneous decisions OF most
of our own tribunals. -
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 ueslreu' Ut
S 4 each.
Single volume, bound, 50 25.
Parts l. and H., stitched or Vol. l., bound in law
sheep, containing reports oil one nunoreo anu
eighty eight cases, now ready for delivery
The following are among the opinions OF this
work expressed on the publication of the first NUM-
Der:
Letter from Hon. Millrd Fillmore, President Of the
United States.
WAsHISeToN, April 10 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 republish In this country,
Comprising every case reported in England; and /
now have your letter of the 9Th Instant lnqulrlng
nv opinion of the enterprise.
Wi1e pursuing my profession, took deep IN
terest IN Publications. of this kind. The able
judges VINO nav. cdorned the judicial tribunals OF
England i nIs9 its Gstre upon the Common
slider no law library complete oess not contain
their principal reports in Law and Equity, and in
their Ecclesiastical Courts, and in Aorn-aIfv For
acme wears had been in the habit Of reSS,:vina
these in a condensed form. This condensatiO!s
however consisted, not in an abbreviation OF each
case but a selection from the several cases, and
was often annoyed by finding reference to cases
in the Digests. which l deemed very important,
wholly omitted in the condensed reports"
therefore hailed with great pleasure effort which
was made some tune since to republish the whole.
If the English Reports entire can be republlshed
with despatch in this country, at price 30 low as
to bring them within the reach OF me members oil
the bar generally, conceive that 1t will confer
great benefit upon the profession and the judiciary,
and consequently upon the country at large. Know,
Lean only express the hope that your reward may
servant, MlLLARD FlLLMORE-
From The NerD York Literary JYorld.
Messrs Little Brown, of Boston, whose law
books, in point of typographical execution, vic
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 ia before US, are the Lato Journal Reports and
the Jarist, two English 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
cy and other tribunals of limited but practically
important jurisdiction. This excellent arrange
might be followed with great advantagei in this
country, for the purpose of obviatng 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 our legal pub
fishers awaiting 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
authorizations a continued weight and decisive in
fuence with our 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 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 decided in the
Queens Bench, the Common Pleas, and the Ex-
chequer Chamber in January, will be ready for de-
livery here in April or May, long before adjudged
cases 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 the
other side and has then been reprinted on this
One advantage OF the present series 10, that the
decisions which it gives are those of courts in bGnc
the deliberate judgments OF the bench, and not the
less reliable decisions at Nisi PritE, which, how
ever interesting in many instances, do not carry
with them the same authority and force
The Reports are edited by F. IL. Bennett anc
Chauncy Smith, esqs., of the Boston bar. and the
systematic arrangement, and the care with which
the notes, index, &c, prepared, evidence the
thorough manner in which the proposed series vii
be carried out
In this connection take pleasure in advertinE
TO Messrs. Little and Browns other legal pubiCa
tions, among which are included many off mos
conspicuous and authoritative treatises of our juris
prudence. Judge Story's works, for ming library
almost Of themselves and familiar for their higt
value and extensive reputation to American read
ers in general, as we'll TO the legal profession
have all issued from their press; as have also th
several works OF Professor Greenleaf. Two verJ
valuable and extensive annual publications. ais
Issued by them, the UFniied States Digest and tn
Statutes at Large; the latter being the authorized
edition Of the Acts of Congress, got up in muc
better style, both for reference and preservation
than under the old regime OF public printing a
Washington, which included the annual statutes
and sent them forth to the world on thin paper AM
hot txyna