1826, 2582; in 1829, 1654.* All these breakings up yield an abundant harvest of spoil to the gentlemen of the long robe. In most bankruptcies the solicitors, the bar, the commissioners, the accountants, and auctioneers divide the assets. Very few estates pay anything worth a man's while going after. Under the present bankrupt-law, a man has nothing to do but to get into credit to as large an amount as possible— buy goods in every place-turn merchant-ship off such goods to every quarter of the world-fly kites in every possible way-keep no books, or those so confusedly that no man, called in by the name of an accountant, could make head or tail of them-carry this system of buying, and exporting, and kite-flying to its utmost extent-purchase goods on credit at any price, and for the greatest length of time declare his insolvency-go into the Gazette; the solicitors, the bar, commissioners, the accountants, and the auctioneers would set to work; the larger the amount of the man's debts so much the better for the legal, accounting, and auctioneering agents. In such case, the professional men call it a good fat bankruptcy; and, if they can get it into chancery, so much the better; and, in general, it is contrived that a good fat bankruptcy shall get into chancery. The result, in general, is-ten or twelve years' meetings of commissioners, actions, bills in chancery; and at length, when the legalists have absorbed the estate, they tire, and the creditors are told, "Here, gentlemen, are the accounts!" the Mr. Montague has justly characterised a commission of bankruptcy "a tribunal in which the minimum of justice is administered at the maximum of expense." All the commissioners are either very old or very young men, whose only pretensions are the friendship of the chancellor, or the friendship of some friend of the chancellor, or others connected with the government. They are all either counsel or solicitors, whose sole object is to gain as much money in as little time as possible. Some of them understand the art of accomplishing this so well as to have been known to boast of pocketing thirty guineas a-day. These, however, are only ignoble quarry, compared with the great feegatherer himself. It appears, from a parliamentary return, last session, that the several sums sacked by the purse-bearer to the lord chancellor, in the year ending 30th April, 1830, amounted to £4081. In the same year, the sealing of 4861 writs, at 3s. 3d. each, produced £789, which was shared between his lordship, chaff-wax, sealer, and porter. From returns in the same year, the masters in chancery appear to net £4000 per annum, their chief clerk upwards of £1000, and the copying clerk £500 and more. Mr. Wellesley, in a book lately published by him, on the court of chancery, states that the litigation into which he has been forced has cost him £20,000 in four years, and a sum of equal amount has been paid out of the estates of his children. Mr. Davies, the * Parliamentary Paper, No. 280, Session 1830. late tea-dealer, of Philpot-lane, was put to an expense of £32,000 by a chancery commission, appointed to ascertain whether he was in a sound state of mind. Sir E. Sugden stated, not long since, that the equity proceedings, under the will of Mr. Thellusson, had been as productive to lawyers as many principalities to their sovereigns. But we must return to the subject from which we have digressed. The fraud, impoverishment, and desolation resulting from the administration of the Debtor-Laws are almost incredible. In the processes issued against the person, lawyers and attorneys are the parties who chiefly profit. From returns of affidavits of debts, it appears, in two years and a half, 70,000 persons were arrested in and about London, the law-expenses of which could not be less than half a million.* In the year 1827, in the metropolis and two adjoining counties, 23,515 warrants to arrest were granted, and 11,317 bailable processes executed.† Thus were eleven thousand persons deprived of their liberty on the mere declarations of others, before any trial or proof that they owed a farthing! So gainful is the trade to attorneys, that they frequently buy up small bills for the purpose of suing the endorsers, and bring nine or ten actions on each. One house alone has brought five hundred actions in this way, and most of them for sums under £20. The sum on which arrest is allowed has been gradually augmented to £20; but this is too small, and the consequence is, the prisons are crowded with debtors for the most paltry amounts. The number of persons committed to the five principal prisons of the metropolis, exclusive of crown debtors, and those imprisoned for contempt, averages 5000 per annum. Of these more than one-third are for sums under £20. In the years 1826-7, the Court of Requests for the city of London imprisoned 753 persons for various terms, from twenty to one hundred days, for sums under £5. In the same year, the Court of Requests for Southwark ordered 9758 executions, and 1893 persons were actually imprisoned for debts amounting only to £16,442.1 The minor tribunals for facilitating the recovery of small debts we do not think entitled to the praise usually awarded them. They foment domestic animosities, promote law-suits, and encourage a trumpery system of credit, which is ultimately ruinous both to the retail tradesman and his customers.§ Neither are they so economical a source as is generally imagined; the costs of proceedings in them usually amounting to a tax of twenty-five per cent. payable either by creditor or debtor. A debt can seldom be recovered in the Marshalsea or Palace Court for less than £8, even if no resistance is offered. In the several courts of request for the city of London, Middlesex, West * Mr. Hume, House of Commons, February 19, 1827. + Parliamentary Paper, No. 149, Session 1827. Parliamentary Paper, No. 487, Session 1828. § Treatise on the Police and Crimes of the Metropolis, by the Editor of the Cabinet Lawyer, where the tendency of the debtor-laws is more fully investigated. minster, and the Borough, the expenses of recovering a debt of 40s. or under, is at least 11s.; above that sum, twice as much. Such a system can be no advantage to trade; it only tends to fill the coffers of attorneys and clerks of courts, by the ruin of the industrious classes. Only think of the fees received in the request court of Southwark amounting, in one year, to £4255, of which £2475 arose from debts of 40s. or under. In four years, the fees received, in the request court of the City, amounted to £7322.* Our legal institutions are chiefly beneficial to those under whose auspices their rules and modes of procedure have been framed and regulated. Hence the circuity and expense of law-suits. No prudent man ever thinks it for his interest to sue for a debt below £15; the costs in prosecuting for a small debt being equal to a large one, owing to the proceedings being the same, and the pleadings as voluminous for the recovery of a few shillings as £100. In the King's Bench, the expenses of recovering a debt under £5, even if no defence is made, and judgment goes by default, are not less than £15; if defendant appear, and, as is not uncommonly the case, puts in a dilatory plea, they are increased to £20; and, by taking out a writ of error, they are still further augmented. The following receipt has been often given to debtors, who wish to be troublesome, and to weary out their creditors by an expensive process: When arrested and held to bail, and after being served with a declaration, you may plead the general issue, which puts you on for trial sooner than any other plea; but, if you wish to vex your plaintiff, and put him about, put in a special plea; if you are in custody, order your attorney to plead in person, this will cost you £1:1, and run your plaintiff to £30 expense. If you do not intend to try the cause, you have no occasion to do any thing more till the plaintiff gets judgment against you, which he must do the term after you have put in a special plea. The plaintiff is obliged to send you a paper book, which you must return to his attorney with 7s. 6d. otherwise you will not put him to more than half the expense. When he proceeds and gets judgment against you, then order your attorney to search the Final Judgment Office, in the Temple; when searched, and found they have got final judgment signed against you, then give plaintiff's attorney notice for him and your attorney to be present with the master at the time the plaintiff taxes the costs; at which time your attorney must have a writ of error with him to give to the plaintiff's attorney before the master, at the time the master taxes the costs; it will put the plaintiff to great expense, which he will have to pay, or go the ground over again. The writ of error will cost you £4:4 by a London attorney; but, if you wish to be more troublesome, make the writ returnable in parliament, which will cost you £1:1 more, and your plaintiff £100. If he has the courage to follow you further, you may then file a bill in Chancery or Exchequer; if he does not then give his answer, your bill will get an injunction against him: you may then get an attachment from the * Report on Small Debts, Parliamentary Paper, vol. iv. Session 1823. court where your bill was filed, and take his body for contempt of court. The costs incurred by plaintiff and defendant, respectively, will then be as follows: This is a fine exemplification of law, and shows how greater are the advantages offered to finesse and knavery than to integrity and plain dealing. Some restraints are laid on frivolous writs of error by 6 Geo. IV. c. 96, but in other respects the above outline is a substantially correct exposition of the legal resources available to the unprincipled debtor for harassing his creditor. SUMMARY OF LEGAL ABUSES AND DEFECTS. In the preceding exposition our principal objects have been to give a general idea of the law of England; secondly, the number and gains of the individuals engaged in their administration; thirdly, the abuses and defects in those laws especially intended for the benefit of trade; and, lastly, we have brought together a multitude of facts, to exemplify the emoluments and salaries of judges and the fees of lawyers and attorneys, in order to show the mass of interest-begotten prejudices that must interfere with, if not be absolutely arrayed against efficient reform in the judicial system. After proceeding thus far, we still despair of bringing the remainder of our subject within reasonable limits. Mr. Brougham, after an extraordinary speech of six hours' duration, was compelled to leave various departments of legal delinquency unexplored, though equally claiming the attention of his powerful mind. All that our circumscribed space will permit is an indication or digest of the more prominent defects, and this we shall endeavour to comprise in the present section. Abuses often exist only because they are concealed, and the first step to their reform is general publicity. JUSTICES OF THE PEACE.-These are virtually appointed by lords lieutenant of counties; for, though the lord chancellor issues the commission, it is the lord lieutenant who designates the persons comprehended in it. Hence an important source of aristocratic influence; which is exerted in raising to the magisterial bench gentlemen who have distinguished themselves by their political opinions or activity in local contests. The tenure of office is fully as secure as that of the judges; whatever be the conduct of a justice, he is seldom removed; and lord Eldon laid it down as an inflexible rule never to strike a magistrate off the list, either for private misconduct or party feeling, until he had been convicted of some offence by the verdict of a court of record, and such conviction, it is notorious, is wholly unattainable. Hence these petty judges may be considered so many irremovable and irresponsible functionaries, and the great power confided to them in the administration of the game-laws, the punishment of theft and assaults, and the granting of licenses are very liable to be abused. Numerous instances of abuse were cited by Mr. Brougham, in his great speech of the 7th of February, 1828. Still we do not agree with this gentleman in thinking, as he seems to incline, that a stipendiary magistracy, consisting of lawyers, would, in lieu of the unpaid magistracy, afford the best security for a pure and independent administration of justice. Costly justice, no doubt, is better than cheap injustice. But lawyers have their prejudices as well as sporting parsons and sporting squires; and we think justice would be quite as corrupt when paid for as when administered gratuitously, unless there were responsibility. This would be best obtained by the entire publicity of justiciary proceedings;-here is the best guarantee against abuse in all functionaries of whatever rank or degree. The game-laws are a source of intolerable oppression; but these ought to be reformed, and game protected like other property, and no better. Clergymen ought to be disqualified for the magisterial office as for other lay functions, and justices, in lieu of being nominated by the aristocracy, might be chosen on a similar principle to that of a coroner for the county, or the registrar for the West Riding of Yorkshire. With these reforms the magistracy would be made a much less objectionable branch of domestic jurisprudence, especially as a material source of their misdoings has been curtailed by the opening of the beer trade. DIFFERENT LAWS IN DIFFERENT PLACES.-Nothing can be more inconsistent than the different modes of inheritance and tenure in the different districts of the country. In the county of Middlesex the eldest son succeeds to the estate; cross over the Thames, into Kent, and all the sons succeed to the ancestor's inheritance in equal shares ; proceed a little to the westward, and another law prevails, the youngest son inheriting the land to the exclusion of the other children. What can be the motive for perpetuating these divers usages-the relics of a barbarous age-in a county subject to the same general government? But even the customs of gavelkind and borough-English are not so inconvenient as those which regulate the customary tenures in a thousand different manors. In one manor copyhold property is not devisable by will; in another it may be so conveyed. In one manor a devise is not valid, if made longer than two years before the testator's decease; so that it is necessary for wills to be renewed every two years; in another one year; in a third three years are the period; while in many there are no such restrictions. In some manors the eldest daughter succeeds to the exclusion of her sisters, as the eldest daughter (in default of ma le heirs) succeeds to the crown of England; in other manors all the daughters succeed jointly, as co-parceners, after the manner of the |