Weekly journal-miner., 1915-08-25

the bench, turns the case against you
 The difference between the British and American practice was shown when efforts were made to get copy of the printed brief and affidavit, which Sir Edward Carson had been reading in open court. In American courts these printed briefs are open tO anyone. But when application was made to the clerks of the prize court they were scandalized by the request. Briefs, they explained, were rigidly secret, never going beyond the solici- tors, who guarded them as matter of professional ethics.
 The registry of the Prize court is another vast structure adjoining it, with endless bureaus through which the American attorneys wander in quest of various branches of their cases, always receiving the greatest courtesy, but always with the mass of tradition and conservatism against quick action. And yet the officials resent any suggestion that there has been any delay in these prize cases, although the American litigants are smarting under what they claim is delay. One of the chief officials, Mr Lowell register of admiralty, said:
 There is absolutely no delay so far as the Prize court is concerned. Sir Samuel Evans is sitting early and late. He has already given up the usual summer recess Of the court which began in August, in order to dispose of these cases with the great est promptness."
 One of the British officials who has had the most to do with these prize cases, said it was manifestly impossible for the political branch of the government, the crown, to hurry the legal branch, where the eX-
 sting law had to be administered according to the existing customs. It would not be expected, for eX- ample, he said, that the executive branch at Washington would try to hurry the United States Supreme court on political grounds or in any way outside the usual application for advancement, which, after all, was at the discretion of the court
 Answering this, an American, off. cial, who has had much to do with the prize cases, said there was an i'm portant distinction between the Amer ican and British courts, as the former in reality had to administer the eX- isting law according to existing rules, whereas in the Prize court political branch, the crown had such power that it could even change existing law to meet new cases. This is done by the process of an "order in coun ,il" He cited the following instance ;n one Of these prize cases:
 At decisive stage of the Wilhel- mena case, the solicitors for the crown made the point that neutral ship could be requisitioned by one of the belligerents. This was laughed at by the attorneys for the Ameri- can owners, who had article 39 of the prize court law before them and were ready to go into court the next morning and laugh the crown solici- tor out of court with their own law.
 "The solicitors for the crown ap- pear to have overlooked" they said n the prize court next day. "that article 39 of the prize law is specific against their contention"
 That was quite true up to nine o'clock last night" came the quick reply from the crown solicitors. But the claimants appear to be unaware that at nine o'clock last night an or der in council was signed entirely changing that law"
 On inquiry, this proved to be the case, a special order in council had been made-not the wholesale order in council dealing with contraband growing out of the war z0ne-which had never appeared in the official gazette and which is difficult even now to learn much about But if fitted this particular case exactly.