The republic., 1852-01-09
ENGLISH REPORTS IN LAW AND
EQUITY.

ENGLISH REPORTS IN LAW AND
EQUITY.
Proposals by LIrTLE & BRowN, II Washington
street, Boston, for publishing by subscriptions
series Of La,o and Equity Reports.
| yINHE want of some system by which the decsion
Il and judicial opinions of the several Courts o
Law and Equity in England can be more prompt
y and cheaply furnished to the legal profession II
this country, has long been seriously felt and ac
knowedged. To meet a similar want in England
the ''Ld,o Journal Reports" and ''IHe JuTist,
which, together report decisions in all the Courts !,
Lam aud Equity, within few weeks after thei
delivery were commenced a number of years
since, and have met with the universal approba
ton OF the legal profession. Their high cost, how
,ver, has hitherto prevented their general circu
iation in this country, and their merits are as ye
but little known among us.
The subscribers propose to republish these re-
ports In iull as last as they appear In England ano
can be received here. They will contain reports
of cases decided in the House of Lords, the Prvy
Council, the several Courts Of Equity, the Court
Queens Bench, the Court Of Common Pleas, the
| Court of Exchequer and Exchequer Chamber, the
Ecclesiastical and Admiralty Courts, the Court OF
Bankruptcy, including a so the Election cases, the
Cases.
These reports will be published in numbers or
parts, commencing with the decisions of Michael
mas (Novcmber) 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
\ ct,dll
in clear, fair type and will contain table of cases,
| and full table of contents, thus forming com.
! plete volume by itself, as we'll part of
tire series. Every alternate or second number will
he 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 oper hundred 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 to the best reports of England or this
country.
tits designed to make this a PERMANENT PUBL
CATION, and thus establish s"rirs 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 ttoo years before they
could oteaoise ba obtained and long before the pub
licaton 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 and uniformly bound in law
sheep, Sl2
The parts Will be sold separately, II 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-
Letter from Hon. Milard Fillmore, President of tie
CnileQ StGteS.
WAsMNGToN, April l3 1851.
JAMES BRows, ESQ: My DEAR SIn-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 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 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 80 condenscd' form. This condensation,
however, consisted, not in abbreviation of each
case, but selection from the several cases. and
was often annoyed by finding a reference To cases
in the Digests, which | deemed very important,
wholly omitted III the CONDENSED reports." |
therefore hailed with great Pleasure an effort which
made some time since TO repubish the whole.
II the English Reports entire, can be republlshed
with despatch in this country, 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
| can only express the hope that your reward may
be equal To your merits. ! your obedient
servant, MILLARD FILLMORE.
From Re Ne,v York Literary World
Messrs. Little & Brown, of Boston, whose law
books, in point OF typographical execution, vie
with the best similar issues Of the English press,
and ia point of value and importance are inferior
10 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 Ldio journal Reports and
the Juist, two English serials which communicate
to the British Bar, within a few weeks after their
delivery the prominent decisions OF all the courts,
from he of %
cy, and other tribunals OF limited but practically
important jurisdiction. This excellent arrange
ment ghtbe followed with great adyantagein In this
country, for the purpose oil obviatlng the delay
which necessarily attends the issuing of the regu
lar volumes Of reports OF particular courts aud
we are glad 10 the enterprise of our legal pub
fishers availng themselves of IL, 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 to their
| adiudicatons a continued weight and decisive in
huence 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 adjudications Of the day in the English
/ courts could be made available by the American
bar, except at great expense and by continual yigi
/ lance. This difficulty Mossrs. Little & Browns
I Reports will remove; the cases decided IN the
/ Queens Bench the Common Pleas, and the Ex
chequer Chamber in January, will be ready Tor de-
Z livery here in April or May long before adiudged
J OF the same date IN our own courts appear
1 the regular reports in which they are pefpetuatcd
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 eide 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 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 +. II. Bennett and
Chauncy Smith, esqs., Of the Boston bar. and their
| systematic arrangement, and the care with which
/ the notes. index, &c, arc prepared, evidence the
thorough manner in which the proposed scrics will
/ be carried out.
! In this conncxion VIC take pleasure in advorting
to Mcssrs Little and Browne other legal pub,ica
! tions among which are included many of the most
conspicu uUus and authoritative trcatises Of juris-
prudence. Judge Story's works, for ming library
! almost Of themselves and familiar for their high
value and extensive reputation 10 American rcad-
/ ers in general, well as 10 the legal profession, b.,
have all issued from their press; as have also the
scverai works OF Professor GreenleaE Two very
valuable and extensive annual publications arc also
.I | A a. tt