, 1870-03-27

known by r.zne 10 chs reAd4ra Of Eng1ish Ut
erasuso thAn Tho Dou1t Of Chaneezy. IhAnIa
/ % NJ. Dickens, that court hAs been made she
subject Of denuncistion b9 thosn Who nerof
eurefed in patoon OF estate through IT, Acsion;
4 eaidc1 STORY Of tho law's delay than thai
tela h !" Blsak House" i would bo hAfu 70 e
fnd tbs effect OF tho statomnat. eha1e maao
!, not ieesened X sls tsss la tnes .ns plt 81
Cl,anora3 drawn BY Mr.. Dickcns is ~ CORRECT =
eketch of tho cxiating court a. Maesulay pc
turu Of Tho BtAI Chamber Is Of Any court of
Inv st tho present dar In no aopaameat; p ans nas M
cHectually " in &l,at relating 10 the sdninis-
t1xtinn Of The Court Of ClAncary. Tbs roons
in which the Lard Chancellor and Vice Chm
ccltoes sit form portion Of lincoln'a Inn.
Courts arc 1t Westminster, and ara under the
samo roof as That which oorezs tho Houses Of
Parliament, 1hctc ia nothing in this country
which corresponds to the Bnpztme Court
sf tho United States. From the
70 tho House Of Lors}a. In the Divorce Court
there is no Appeal after tie desision OF tho
Judge Ordinary has been rosiowcd BY the menn-
beth OF another court sitting with him aud oon-
stitutiug \ full court Tbs House of LoEls is
the final Court Of Appeal for Ill Other proceed
Admiralty and Ecclesiastical Court, tho apPeal
is to the Judicial Committee of tho lTiyJ Coun-
eli, md this body Lkcwito heazs all sppeala
frurn tho colonies. The decieion Of the House
OF Lords in reality, though not In name, Is That
Of its legal membczs, that il, Of tho Lord
Chancellor Of tho day md Lard Chancellors,
and Of any other Judges who may lave been
raised to the peesage. The judicial Commit
tee Of the 11isy Council il, in like manner,
composed Of those among its me1nbera who
arr, o. hare been, Judges. In ecclesiastical
ca.es an Archbishop and ono Bishop arc preA-
es,t md giyo Judgment IA they s1o noariy
a1wzyy in the minority, and as the opinion or
the aAjoritJ prtSAi1s, these no-legal members
Of the committee z1e seldom other thAn mcre
ornamcnts- do not know wbetle. have said
enough 70 make m5 meaning clear; but an
quito sure that what have said mus.
show that tho whole arrangements are
extremely complicated. THIS is not surprising
Fhcn It Is remembered that IL the legal and
ottler institutions Of England haro Len tbs
growth of centuries, and that diatinct AMI
definite purpose Was never manifested By
those who might hive regulated their course.
It Was devised. The rules Of the Con,mop
Law Cou1ts proving fruitful IN grievances, =
system Of law called Equity, and 4 court Of
Law called The Clanccry, wero provided 10
remedy the es1. Nov that antique systeus
a1o being tested ~ the rules Of modern CON-
rnnsements has beon clearly perceived. The
result h1s been determination on the part Of
thohein authority to giyc effect to tie schemes
81 Law rcfoHuers. Il il proposed to break
down tho barriers which separate the courts Of
Common Law and Equity, and to fuse tho two
systems Of legal procedure into one simple and
UNIFORM s!stcn- All tho courts are to he re-
modelled and concentrated under ona roof.
Nothing is to be retained merely because OF
its antiquity, or rejected because OF it,
novelty. Many a revelation, conducted
With great noise. and attended with
daughter, has turned ont to 10
less productive Of sweeping changes than tho
reforms in our law Will certainly oiYcct-. The
old things viii be made new. Still however,
after all that ia now in contemplation and
progress shall have been performed and COM
pletod, gTest anomaly will conhnue for :
time to BE- the opp1obtium OF the United
Kingdom. In Scotland the Law differs from
that Of England - mach a. the common Law
the Code Napoleon. The differences sre dif-
fercnces Of detail ~ veil ~ Of essence and
principle. A member Of the English bAr is =
ba11ister; = member Of tho Scotch bar IL An
advocate. The first law officer in England is
the Attorney General; in Scotland the head Of
the legal profession is tho Lord Advocate
Scotch Judges arc Senatoss Of tho College Of
Justice; Scotch solicitors or attorneys are
writer's TO the Siguet OF Wntera. In short, the
Justinian gave Ills name, aud the forms and
technicalihes aro those Of anciont Rome. Tho
time may come when the United Kingdom viii
haTc but one code Of law aud one method OF
procedure. Certainly the progrc4s OF reform
is 30 I1pid that this may be accomplished far
sooner than might he supposed By those who
arr unAware Of the desire which prevails in
this country to allow nothing to remain IN
changed which can bc improved.