The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1852-02-19
ENGLISH REPORTS IN LAW AND
EQUITY.

ENGLISH REPORTS IN LAW AND
EQUITY.
Proposals by LlrTLE & BRowN, III Ipashingio
street. Boston, for publishing by silbscTp ton II
seriesof La,o and Equity Reports.
NHE want of some system by which the decision
Il aud judicial opinions of the several Courts o
law and Equity in England can he more prompt
y and cheaply furnished to the legal profession ii
this country has long been seriously felt and &c
knowledged. To meet "A similar want in En- gland
the 'Lato Journal Reports" and 1.-The Jpisf,
which, together report decisions In aHhe Courts u
, Lao and Equity, within few weeks after thei
delivery, were commenced number Of year.
since and have met with the universe approba
ton of the legal profession Their high cost, how
ever, has hitherto prevented their general circu
Iation in this country, and their merits are as ye
! but little known among
The subscribers propose to rcpublish these re
ports in full as fast they appear in England anc
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 OF
Queens Bench, the Court of Common Pleas the
Court Of Exchcquer 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-
tcrences 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.
| aud tull table OF contents, thus forming com
pletc volume by itself, as well part Of en-
IRE series. Every alternate or second number will
| be PACED consecutiyely from the number iuime-
diately preceding, and will contain table of cases,
| and of contents to both, and thus form complete
volume ready for binding o, ouer sir 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.
IL is designed TO make this a PERMANENT PUBL
cArIoS, and thus establish series of English
Law and Equity Reports, which shall in all re-
spects, be far in advance of any other reprint OF
English Reports IL this country, and which shall
furnish 10 the American lawyer the decisions of
Westminster Hall, nearly tipo years before they
could ottoise be obtained, and long before the pub
LEGATION 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 AID uniformly bound in law
sheep, Sl2
The parts will be sold separately, il desired, at
= each
Singie volume, bound 50 IS.
Parts l. and H., stitched, or Vol, L., bound in law
sheep, containing reports OF one hundred and
eight eight cases, now ready for delivery.
The following are among the opinions of this
work. expressed on the publication ofthe first num-
Letter from Hon Mlard Fillmore, President of The
United States.
WAsHIsGTos, April - 1851.
JAMES BRowN, ESQ: My DEAR SfR-Some DAYS
sincc ! received, by the hand of the Postmaster
General, the fret number of the English Reports,
which you propose TO repubish 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 n 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 ilumined its proioundest depths con-
slider no law library complete that docs 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 n - condensed" form. This condensation
however, consisted not In an abbreviation of each
case, but a selection from the several cases and
was often annoyed by finding reference 10 cases
in the Dlgests, which / deemed very important
wholly omitted in the "condsIised reports" |
therefore hailed with great pleasure effort which
was made some Tune since TO republish the whole
II the English Reports entire, can be repubishcd
with despatch in this country, at price go low as
to bring them within the reach OF the members of
the bar generally, conceive that il will confer a
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 WILLARD FILLMORE
From E,e Mem York Literary World
Mcssrs. Little Il Brown, Of Boston, whose law
ho9ks, in point Of typographical execution, vie
with the r-t similar Issucs of the English prc5s
and in point Of value and importance arc 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 Lasis Of this series, Of which the first num-
Der il before us, arc the Ldic Journal Reports and
the Juisi two Fl. -lish serials which communicate
20 tho Bdhsh Bar, within few weeks after their
delivery, the prominent decisions OF all the Coufts
rom tic House Of Lords 10 the Court Of Bankrupt
~. aud other tribunals Of limited but practically
important Jurisdiction. This excellent arrange.
incut mi ght be folio wed with great advantage Ina this
country, for The purpose OF obviating the delay
~ hch necessarily attcnds the Issuing Of the regu-
tar volumes Of reports Of particular courts and
glad 60 see the enterprise Of our legal pub
lishc-s ayalng thcmaclvos 81 o., 10 introduce the
n-lish Reports promptly and regularly 20 the pro
tcslon 1Lc authority Of Wostminstcr Hall has loot
nothing II its sanction and the permanently high
.baraotcr u the English judiriary gives 10 their
sdjudi'ations continued weight and decisive in
Aurucc Vitb courts. Hitherto the difficulty has
hcon that the reported cascs there have grown old
fl fore they could be quoted and applied here, and
there Wa no way IN which the current jurispru-
dcncc and adiudicatiouE 81 The day in the English
courts could be- made available by the American
bar except az great Expense and by continual vgi-
lance This difficulty Mcssrs. Little n Browns
Reports will remove; the cascs decided in the
Queen's Bench. the Common Pleas, and the Er
livery here in April or May, long before adjudgcd
gises OF tho same date IN our own courts appear in
the regular reports in which they are perpctuatcd.
Nearly two years will thus bc gained over the pre-
seut system, which requires delay until the large
vol unlc 81 authorized reports il published on the
other side and has then been reprinted on this
One advantage Of the prescul series H., that the
decisions which Il gives thOsc II courts in banc
he deliberate judgments Of the bench, and not the
cs- reliable decisions at Nisi Priifs, which, how
rver interesting in many instance, DO not carry
with them the samc authority and force
The Rep0rts arc edited by y. a. Bennett and /
Chauncy Smith, csqs., II the Boston bar aud their
sysiemsti- arrangement, and the care with which /
inc notes index, &c, are prepared, evidence the /
thorough manner in which the proposed series will I
Dol carried out
Iu tli5 connection We take pleasure in alvcrting
to Mcssrs Little and Br0Eus other legal publica-
tons, among which are included many Ofthc most
and authoritative trcstscs Of our iuris
prudence. Judge Story's worgs, Tor ming library
am4st o. themselves, and familiar Tor their high
value and extensive reputation o. American read
ere in gcAefal, well az D. Che legal profession,
have on issucd from their prcss; have alBo tho
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