Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1913-11-14
INTERESTING PHASES
or ENGLISH COURTS

In the early Norman period the posi-
ton Of chancellor was q high church
and was closely connected with
the row and among the various
duties pertaining to this position was
Of keeper Of the great seal OF the
kingdom. In those days in order to
q law suit 1t was necessary
to apply to the lord chancellor for q
writ to which he would affix the great
e These writs were of a set form
and character and 1t was the duty OF
the chancellor to select a writ to At
that az the business OF the country got
complicated the set forms Of writs
would not always At the case, and
sometimes they could not be made to
so even with q liberal use Of judicial
felton," SO 1t came about that in such
%returnable before himself and the
parties would appear before him and
would hear and determine the case.
The court that he held In this manner
came to be known as the lord chancel-
lor's cour or the court nf chancery,
English courts OF chancery and our
courts of chancery or equity.
The first ch~ancellOrs being of the
clergy the new court waS in q measure
an ecclesiastical court, and the posi-
ton was filled by the clergy down to
the Sixteenth century, the great Car
dinal Wolsey being the last church man
dinal Wolsey's downfall Sir Thomas
More, a great scholar and very honor
able man, vas given the chancellor
ship. he being h first layman to NIL
the position. Sir Thomas More held the
chancellorship until he was beheaded,
on Tower Hill, In 1856, for having the
courage to oppose some OF the Schem-
ing Of Henry VIII. Foremost among
many famous men that have held the
position of chancellor was Sir Francis
Bacon, the famous philosopher, poet,
essayist and lawyer who was chancellor
early in the Seventeenth century.
The court Of chancery has eve fig-
ured in literature. Charles Dickens
taking it's many delays (Which in .
trail theme of his novel, "Bleak House."
The freedom of the chancery courts
from many of the limitations of the law
courts q had q marked effect upon
the development of the law.
Old W~estministsr.
One Of the most interesting historic
buildings in London 10 the old West
minister hall. which could rightfully
be called the ancient our house OF
England. This building was first built
IN 1897 and rebuilt. by Richard II. In
1897. and was n Of the buildings adj
joining the old Westminster palace.
which was the royal residence. until
the time Of Henry VIII. and the meet
Ing place Of parliament. When the
old palace N the adjoining buildings
were destroyed by q disastrous fire in
1884. Westminster hall escaped and
when the present houses OF parliament
We're built the old hall was Joined on
and made q part of the parliament
buildings. It 10 a large hall and In
good preservation and could easily be
mistaken for az new q building a. the
houses of parliament themselves. It
mas been = scene OF h most famous
trials In English history. In fact In
much unless he had been tried and
convicted at Westminster hall, be-
headed. and his head stuck up In some
public place for a number Of weeks.
Here Charles / was tried and sen.
fenced and Oliver Cromwell was pro-
claimed protector and here. after the
restoration. h heads OF Cromwell and
two or his followers were brought and
exposed on the southern cable for e
quarter of q century. It was the scene
OF the trial and condemnation OF VIII
liam Wallace. Sir Thomas More. the
Protector Somerset. the trial and &C.
quital OF the v bishops and the
long trial and %acquittal Of Warren
Hastings. In this hall some Of the
earliest parliaments met and all the
important trials were held until recent
lines It was actually used az q court
room from 1924 until 1882. although
Of course other buildings were quite
extensively employed for this purpose
In recent centuries.
Supervision Of Fees.
would like to Investigate fully the
no just know how to get completes
information on this subject and have
only been able to get q general idea In
regard to the same. but / think I am
perfectly sole in saying that 1t costs
the Engltsh client more to pay his two
sets Of lawyers than It does the Ameri-
can client to pay one. Under the Eng
ltsh system each party to the suit adj
yances his w court costs and the
attorney fees are taxed an part OF the
court costs to be paid by the unsuc
cessful party. These costs are re-
viewed by an officer Of the court,
known as a taxing master and if any
cost or attorney fee 10 ~exorbitant It il
reduced. neither solicitors or barristers
are permitted tt take q case on 4 con-
tingent basis.
/ am impressed with the thought
that the courts OF the United States
and England should be brought into
closer touch with each other so that
each. n might observe the procedure
Of the other to their mutual beneft,
Here are two great nations with the
same general constitution and the same
general law. whose constitutional law
n common aw have q common or
igin. whose courts adhere to the same
legal principals and cite each Others
decisions and vet each one knowing
very little of the other court pro-
cedure.
II Tor Instance we could inject a lit
tie of the English speed into our cases
that drag along for days or adopt. their
system OF simpllfied instructions to
Juries. in short II we would take from
them all that is good and fortify our