New-York daily tribune., 1857-10-01
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1857.

uo.. # the bu,;pes,-well bit OF BY Dickens IN
hi, novel Of David Copperfeb. These omee'
we're al paid-aDd ia some instances euofmoa''
over psd-out Of the ftes eItOrsed from the e'.a''
broueh ut under their judicial cognizsoce, aod whcu
in the Gaze Of small properties were eIceedIoeT
ruipous.
An act Of the last session Of Parliament
has swept away all these Courts, and has
substituted in,tead q single tribunal, aided
BY thirty or forty subordinate local jars
dictiors. But the saving in cash, and the
reduction by 90 per cent. Of the professional
leeches, authorized by law to prey upon the
remains of tes,ators and intes.ates, is bBs
the smallest benefit Of the change. Under the
old system there was constant conflict Of IuSs
diction between the,e four hundred Cours, each
struggling to get possession Of the s2oils- The
uncertainty as to the proper Court 10 which to prove
Q will, and the Liability that an administration
granted BY local Court might be suPer'eded by
subsequent proceedings in . metropolitan Court
was source Of constant trouble and rik. IN
consequence of the absurd principle on which tho
Jurisdiction of the local Courts was regulated, tho
discovery that the estate to be administered upon
comprised twenty FIVE dollars worth OF properly
beyond the limits Of particular parish or diocese
might serve to upset all the proceedings BY which,
with all the established formalltes and after the
payment Of the usual fees, an executor had been
allowed to distribute the estate Still more mis-
chevous and even sometimes ridiculous was the
conflict of jurisdiction when the validity OF VIII
vas called in question. Though the will hsd once
been pronounced valid BY competent tribunal the
same question might be raised over and over again
in ether Courts having different methods OF pro
cedure, different rules Of evidence, aud what Wa
worst Of ali, different Court Of Ultimate sppeaL
Thus it might happen, and sometimes did happen
that with respect to bis money in the funds ne
same testator was decided by the Court OF ultimate
appeal to be mad, who as to the disposal OF h' real
estate by the same instrument was held by anoshef
Court Of appeal sane and the devise binding. all
these distractions have at last after twenty-five
gears struggle, been done awsyvith BY the sub'i'
tuition Of the sy.tem above described.
Let it not be supposed, however, that eur
Epsli,h friends have obtained this great reform in
the laws without paying for it. John Bull always
pays; and Of course the Ecclesiastical Courts were
q branch Of the Circumlocution Office not to be
got rid Of without coming down Handsomely.
TIE persons connected with these Courts were gen.
tlemen who must live, and &c ,tlemeu possessed OF
SO much Parliamentary influence that it wal i'm
possible to do anything without first buying them
Of. They have consented to retire on pensions
amounting in the aggregate to something near half
million OF dollars ru,ly, but which. Of course,
will go on decreasing as these gentlemen With
nothing to do gradually die of. However, even
with this draw back of being obliged to support for
generation to come one set Of officials to do the
business and another not to do it, tho change il
regarded as very beneficial enc.