Birmingham age-herald., 1894-12-23

interest of all concerned.
 Wishing you happy Christmas.
 TEACHERS OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS. SHALL CHANCERY COURTS BE ABOL-
 ISHED?
 To the Age-Herald:
 Our distinguished governor in a recent message to the legislature advocated and recommended the increase of the circuit judges in order to have justice speedily ad ministered, and pointed out the great necessity and economy to the state by such increase in strong and forcible language. In this he was decidedly correct, for the necessity of such increase is evident to all persons acquainted with the crowded con dition of the dockets in the several courts. In the message he said: ''With this in crease Of circuit judges 1 also recommend that there is no necessity for the continu- ance of the office of chan ncellor. : Why retain separate chancery system while only three states of the union retain Il? lawyer who is capab ble of dis charging the duties of circuit judge is ca pablo of deciding cases in equity. If the distinction oo tween law and equity, which is theoretical, technical and useless, still be retained it is an easy matter to keep docket of equity cases in the circuit cogrts.' It has been conclusively shown by distinguished lawyers that a change cannot be made without the making of a new constitution. Should 1t be made if a convention WaS calleU! ln an article published in the AGE HERALD of the date of the 18th of August, 1890, a writer, under the signature of Marcellus, fully considered this subject. It was con- clusively shown that the plan recom- mended by the governor once was the practice in Alabama, and because of the inconvenience attending that system it was in the year 1887 changed and our pres- ent system adopted. The article, after re- plying to objections similar to those now N1iI H. the states so mentioned have improved upon our present system is mere assertion without proof, Reclamation without argu- ment. If mere assertion be of any weight, those who fail to follow this delusion, if I may sc term it, will assert with equal em- phasis that the system now existing in Alabama, the separate chancery system, is superior to any system ever devised, com bining equity and common law jurispru- dence.' 1t will make this article too long to more than refer to that article.
 It is a great mistake to say that the ma iorty of the states or that England has done way with distinction between law and equity. They all have equity sides of the docket. All of the states, except the three referred to by our governor, have venient and have adopted "fuson' of the courts and jurisdiction without doing away with the system itself. In some of the states, although all the circuit judges HdNG tQullJ TUT GOuNSultutoy the judges by agreement assign some of their number to try equity cases alone, while others are assigned to try common law cases. This is our system st last, by agreement, except that in our state the system is kept separate by law. The changing of our system to conform 10 the system of other states necessarily re- quires change in the practice, and re- quires commission to frame practice act. But what system is proposed? The .t- in .f I will give, in addition to what is given in the article signed "Marcellus,' some ex- tracts from the learned lawyers of that state.
 That great and learned lawyer, Frederick R. Coudert, in an address this year, said: s'I do not think that qualification in New York has been a success. The code of civil procedure has grown from timid, shrink ing baby, dressed in 300 or 400 brief sec- tions, into an aggressive, self-sufficient octave, that has puzzled the courts, oafii ed the lawyers and ruined the clients for half a century.'
 MT. J. Newton Fiero, x-president, now chairman committee on law reform New York State association, ia a n address made this year, said: 'One of the most serious objections to the present code of circuit procedure is it's immense bulk, resulting from the attempt on the part of the com pliers to regulate every matter which can possibly ever arise, and from the diffuse style adopted In attempting to accomplish that result We have therefore in the twanty chapters as enacted 3356 sections, going into detail to such an extent that it has be- come source of endless confusion and serious delay in the transaction of legal business.
 So in England MT. M. B. Chalmers, in an article written for the American Law Review in 1882, said: "When the judca- ture act had vested in one and the same tribunal all the powers formerly possessed by the various amalgamated courts, it be- came necessary to give directions as to how the consolidated, but Heterogeneous jus risdicton .was to be exercised and an eu- actment was made in 1873 which, among other thinge, provided that where law and equity were formerly at variance, and wnere there was any variance between equity and common law with reference to the same matter, the rules of equity will prevail"
 How different is the system in Alabama. Separate courts administer law and equity. The rules of practice are plain and simple We need no explanatory act. No unneces- sary verbiage or proiixily is permitted. Everything is simple and tends to facilitate trial without unnecessary delay. The code of Alabama is our pr Ic.ice act.
 It has been said th at there is no need of any speciality iu tbe different branches; that anyone who is competent to be cir cult judge is competent to be chancellor; tbat the supreme court has to decide all cases irrespective of ihe fact that they arise In law or in equity. Thisis all true, but it should be remembered that the supremef -l.~a L | <l..~