Exam. BERRIMAN, FREDERICK MARK, Driffield, fruiterer. Ct. Kingston-upon-Hull. Meeting, CAMPBELL, JAMES, Leeds, late dry salter's traveller. Ct. Leeds. Meeting, Feb. 22, DAVIES, ROBERT, Pontlottyn, builder. Ct. Merthyr Tydfil. Meeting, Feb. 19, at 3, at 65. High-st, Merthyr Tydfill. Exam. March 3, at 3, at Court-house, Merthyr Tydfil. DAVIES, SAMUEL, late Trebannog, watchmaker. Ct. Carmarthen. Meeting. Feb. 20, at 11.30, at office of Off Rec. Carmarthen. Exam. March 3, at 11, at Guildhall, Carmarthen. DUFF, JAMES ROBINSON, Tottenham, laundryman. Ct. Edmonton. Meeting, Feb. 22, at 3, at 95, Temple-chmbrs, Temple-av. Exam. March 1, at 11.30, at Court-house. Edmonton. DE STE. MARIE, HARRIOT, late Teignmouth, countess. Ct. Exeter. Meeting, Feb. 23, at 11. at office of Off. Rec. Exeter Exam. Feb. 25, at 11.30, at the Castle, Exeter. EDWARDS, ARTHUR HERBERT, Leighton Buzzard, farmer. Ct. Luton. Meeting, Feb. 19, at 12.30, at office of Off. Rec. Bedford. Exam. March 2, at noon, at Court house, Luton. GOSNELL, ALFRED ERNEST, Leytonstone. Ct. High Court. Meeting. Feb. 19, at noon, at Bankruptcy-bldgs. Exam. March 18, at 11.30, at Bankruptcy-bldgs. GARDNER, GEORGE (deceased), late High Wycombe, grocer. Ct. Aylesbury. Meeting, Feb. 19, at 3, at Bankruptcy-bldgs. GUDGEON, JOHN, Derby, ironmonger. Ct. Derby. Meeting, Feb. 22, at noon, at HUXTABLE, TOM, Chiswick, draper. Ct. Brentford. Meeting, Feb. 20. at 11, at 95, HUGHES, JOHN, High Ercall, innkeeper. Ct. Madeley. Meeting, Feb. 20, at 1, at office of Off. Rec. Shrewsbury. Exam. March 3, at 11.30, at County Court, Madeley. HOPLEY, JAMES, Manchester, watchmaker. Ct. Manchester. Meeting, Feb. 19, at 3, at office of Off. Rec. Manchester. Exam. Feb. 22, at 11, at Court-house, Manchester. HEBRON, WILLIAM PEIRSON. Whitby, grocer. Ct. Stockton-on-Tees and Middlesbrough. Meeting, Feb. 24, at 3, at office of Off. Rec. Middlesbrough. Exam. Feb. 24. at 10.30, at Court-house, Stockton-on-Tees. HEALD, JOHN, Knottingley, boat hauler. Ct. Wakefield. Meeting, Feb. 19, at 11, ROSSER, WILLIAM JAMES, Narberth, licensed victualler. Ct. Pembroke Dock. SHELDRICK, FREDERICK SAMUEL, Cambridge, printer. Ct. Cambridge. Meeting, Feb. 22, at 11. at office of Off. Rec. Cambridge. Exam. March 17, at 11, at Guildhall, Cambridge. SCHULZ. RUDOLPH, Kingston-upon-Hull, late wagonette owner. Ct. Kingston-upon- WRIGHT, GEORGE. Nottingham, late farmer. Ct. Nottingham. Meeting, Feb. 19, ANCELL, THEODORE ROBERT, Great Winchester-st, company promoter. Ct. High Court. Meeting, Feb. 23, at 11, at Bankruptcy-bldgs. Exam. March 17, at 11, at Bankruptcy-bldgs. BRANDER, A. I., Berners-st. Ct. High Court. Meeting, Feb. 23, at noon, at Bankruptcy-bldgs. Exam. March 17, at 11, at Bankruptcy-bldgs. BROADHEAD, JOSEPH CONYERS (trading as J. C. Broadhead and Co.), Garforth, leather merchant. Ct. Wakefield. Meeting, Feb. 23, at 11, at office of Off. Rec. Wakefield. Exam, March 4, at 11, at Court-house, Wakefield. BROUGH, WILLIAM HENRY, West Hartlepool, late publican. Ct. Sunderland. Meeting, Feb. 23, at 4, at office of Off. Rec. Sunderland. Exam. Feb. 25, at 11, at Court-house, Sunderland. BUTLER, WILLIAM, Southsea, commission agent. Ct. Portsmouth. Meeting, Feb. 23, at 3, at office of Off. Rec. Portsmouth. Exam. Feb. 22, at noon, at Court-house, Portsmouth. Meeting, BARWICK. JOSEPH, Rushden, boot manufacturer. Ct. Northampton. BROWN, GEORGE FOWLER (trading as Brown and Love), Ashby-de-la-Zouch, solicitor. GUNDELACH, H. H. F. (trading as F. Gundelach and Co.), Distaff-la, Cannon-st, fur merchant. Ct. High Court. Meeting, Feb. 23, at 11, at Bankruptcy-bldgs. Exam. March 25, at 11.30, at Bankruptcy-bldgs. GOUGH, HE BERT JAMES, Bristol, coal merchant. Ct. Bristol. Meeting. Feb. 24, at noon, at office of Off. Rec. Bristol. Exam. March 26, at noon, at Shirehall, Bristol. HUDSON, PERCY SEAFORTH. late Llanynys. limestone merchant. Ct. Wrexham. HARDY, WILLIAM, Stockton-on-Tees, foreman fitter. Ct. Stockton-on-Tees and Exam. Feb. 26, at 3 15, at office of Off. Rec. Southampton. Exam. March 31, at 11, at JOHNS, THOMAS, Stithians, farmer. Ct. Truro. Meeting, Feb. 25, at noon, at office of KNOTT, ELLEN PHOEBE, Dursley, housekeeper, spinster. March 2, at 11, at office of Off. Rec. Gloucester. Exam. March 2, at noon, at Shirehall, Gloucester. LOOG, HERMANN, Finsbury-pavement, manufacturers' agent. Ct. High Court. Meeting. Feb. 24, at 1, at Bankruptcy-bldgs. Exam. March 26, at 11.30, at Bankruptcy-bldgs. LEE, TOM STACEY, Leicester, jeweller. Ct. Leicester. Meeting, Feb. 23, at 12.30, at office of Off. Rec. Leicester. Exam. March 4, at 10, at the Castle. Leicester. LUCAS, WALTER, late Shefford, licensed victualler. Ct. Bedford. Meeting, Feb. 23, at 10.30. at office of Off. Rec. Bedford. Exam, Feb. 23, at 11, at Shirehall, Bedford. MORGAN, THOMAS (late trading as Thomas Morgan and Son), Newport, late greengrocer. Ct. Newport, Mon. Meeting. Feb. 23, at noon, at office of Off. Rec. Newport. Exam Feb 23, at 10, at Townhall, Newport. MARGETTS, GEORGE, Withington, builder. Ct. Cheltenham. Meeting, Feb. 27, at 3.30, at County Court-bldgs, Cheltenham. Exam. March 11, at noon, at County Court, Cheltenham. MACBEATH, MARGARET, Bloomsbury-st, Bedford-sq. widow, Ct. High Court. Meeting, Feb. 24, at 11, at Bankruptcy-bldgs. Exam. March 26, at noon, at Bankruptcy-bldgs. NORMAN, HARRY ADOLPHUS (trading as E. S. Norman and Co.), Liverpool, portmanteau manufacturer. Ct. Liverpool. Meeting, Feb. 24, at noon, at office of Off. Rec. Liverpool. Exam. Feb. 25, at 11, at Court-house, Liverpool. OSTERHAUS, ADOLF (trading as the Colonia Whip Manufactory), Great Winchester-st, whip manufacturer. Ct. High Court. Meeting, Feb. 23, at noon, at Bankruptcybldgs. Exam. March 26, at 11.30, at Bankruptcy-bldgs. REEVES, JOHN SIMS, Ridgemount-grdns, Gower-st, professional vocalist. Ct. High Court. Meeting, Feb. 24, at noon, at Bankruptcy-bldgs. Exam. March 19, at 11.30, at Bankruptcy-bldgs. STOKES, BENJAMIN, late Aston, pork butcher. Ct. Birmingham. Meeting, Feb. 24, at 11, at 23, Colmore-row, Birmingham. Exam. March 11, at 2, at County Court, Birmingham. TURNER, JOHN (trading as Turner Brothers), Kendal, bootmaker. Ct. Kendal. Meeting, Feb. 23, at noon, at Grosvenor hotel, Stramongate, Kendal. Exam. March 13, at 2, at Court-house, Kendal. TUCKER, RICHARD, jun., Bridport, solicitor. Ct. Dorchester. Meating, Feb. 24, at 3, at Bull hotel, Bridport. Exam. March 12, at 12.15, at County-hall, Dorchester. WEBB, WILLIAM. Romsey, butcher. Ct. Southampton. Meeting, Feb. 26, at 3.45, at office of Off. Rec. Southampton. Exam. March 31, at 11, at Court-house, Southampton. WATSON, JOHN, Darlington, fireman. Ct. Stockton-on-Teǝs and Middlesbrough. Meeting, Feb. 21, at 3, at office of Off. Rec. Middlesbrough. Exam. Feb. 24, at 10.30, at Court-house, Stockton-on-Tees. WATTS, HOPKIN MATTHEW, Cowbridge, baker. Ct. Cardiff. Meeting, Feb. 25, at 11, at office of Off. Rec. Cardiff. Exam. March 30, at 10, at Townhall, Cardiff. WARD, SAMUEL, Derby, fish dealer. Ct. Derby. Meeting, Feb. 24, at noon, at office of Off. Rec. Derby. Exam. March 9, at 11, at County-hall, Derby. YOUNG, ALEXANDER STUART (trading as A. Stuart Young and Co.), Manchester, grey cloth agent. Ct. Manchester. Meeting, Feb. 24, at 3, at office of Off. Rec. Manchester. Exam. March 1, at 11, at Court-house, Manchester. NOTICE OF PUBLIC EXAMINATION. GAZETTE, FEB. 16. KIRKPATRICK, JOHN HENRY, Denton, late licensed 'victRaller. Ct. Manchester (by transfer from Ashton-under-Lyne and Stalybridge). Exam. March 1 (in lieu of Feb. 18, at Ashton-under-Lyne), at 11, at Court-house, Manchester. ADJUDICATIONS. GAZETTE, FEB. 12. ALLEN, JOSIAH (trading as J. Allen and Son), Hednon, builder. Ct. Barnet. Order, Feb. 6. BRYCE, JOHN (trading as John Evans and Co.), Mostyn-rd, Brixton, manufacturing confectioner. Ct. High Court. Order, Feb. 9. BEDDOE, EDWARD CLARENCE, Walsall, engineer. Ct. Walsall. Order, Feb. 9. BOWEN, EVAN, Tonypandy, carpenter. Ct. Pontypridd. Order, Feb. 9. Order, Feb. 10. Ct. Huddersfield. Order, Feb. 10. Ct. Edmonton. Order, Feb. ε. Order. Feb. S. Feb. 9. CHIPP, SAMUEL, Ludlow, cattle dealer. Ct. Leominster. CROSSLEY, SAMUEL, Huddersfield, shuttle maker. DUFF, JAMES ROBINSON, Tottenham, laundryman. GUDGEON, JOHN, Derby, ironmonger. Ct. Derby. GOUGH, HERBERT JAMES, Bristol, coal merchant. HESKETH, HENRY, Bolton, fruiterer. Ct. Bolton. HANNAY, WILLIAM GORDON, Birmingham, clerk. Ct. Birmingham. Order. Feb. 10. HUGHES, JOSEPH, Althorpe-rd, Wandsworth, wine merchant. Ct. High Court. Order, Feb. 8. Ct. Bristol. Order, Feb. 10. Order, Feb. 8. HAMLYN, CHARLES, Heavitree, gentleman. Ct. Exeter. Order, Feb. 8. Ct. Ashton-under Order, KNOTT, ELLEN PHEBE, Dursley, housekeeper, spinster. Ct. Gloucester. LEE, TOM STACEY, Leicester, jeweller. Ct. Leicester. Order, Feb. 10. RIDINGS, W. R., Birmingham, electrical engineer. Ct. Birmingham. Order, Feb. 3. SHAW, JOHN JAMES, St. Anne's-on-the-Sea, stonemason. Ct. Preston. Order, TRATT, GEORGE EDWARD (trading as Edward Tratt), Leicester, boot manufacturer. GAZETTE, FEB. 16. BACKWAY, THOMAS, late Bideford, carpenter. Ct. Barnstaple. Order. Feb. 11. BARRACLOUGH, HERBERT, Bradford, Yorks, commission weaver. Ct. Bradford. Order, Feb. 12. COSTIN, FREDERICK, Harley-rd, Harlesden, mercantile clerk. Ct. High Court. Order, CURTIS, FRANK, Rhymney, fruiterer. Ct. Tredegar. Order, Feb. 11. CONSITT, WILLIAM STRATFORD, North Ormesby, beerhouse-keeper. Ct. Stockton-on- COLLINS, HENRY JOHN, Landport, fruiterer. Ct. Portsmouth. Order, Feb. 6. DOVE, HENRY, Newport, butcher. Ct. Newport and Ryde. Order, Feb. 12. DAVIES, EDWARD, late Aberdare, innkeeper. Ct. Aberdare. Order, Feb. 12. GREWCOCK, FREDERICK, Overseal, cow keeper. Ct. Burton-on-Trent. Order, Feb. 11. GIBBINGS, EDWARD WILLIAM, late Bond-ct, no occupation. Ct. High Court. Order, Feb. 12. GOLDSTEIN, BARNETT, Chicksand-st, Brick-la, Spitalfields, baker. Ct. High Court. HARBUT, ERNEST EDGAR, Southampton, greengrocer. Ct. Southampton. Order, HUME, ROBERT, and LABBETT, SAMUEL, Bridgend, cycle agents. Ct. Cardiff. Order, JONES, THOMAS BOOTH, late Prestwich, farmer. Ct. Salford. Order, Feb. 11. MADDER, CHARLES, Bedford, jobmaster. Ct. Bedford. Order, Feb. 13. PATMAN, DAVID, Barton, coal dealer. Ct. Cambridge. Order, Feb. 13. RAPER, MARY JANE, Trebovir-rd, Earl's Court, widow. Ct. High Court. Order, REES, WILLIAM (trading as William Rees and Co.), Aldersgate-st, artificial flower merchant. Ct. High Court. Order, Feb. 10. REGAN, WILLIAM FREDERICK, Threadneedle-st, estate agent. Ct. High Court. Order, Feb. 10. SPACIE, THOMAS, Aston, grocer. Ct. Sheffield. Order, Feb. 11. SISSLING, GEORGE KING, Long Eaton, lace manufacturer. Ct. Derby. Order, SNOWBALL, GEORGE EDWARD, Forest Hall, plumber. Ct. Newcastle-on-Tyne. Order, THOMPSON, CHARLES, Darlington, boilersmith. Ct. Stockton-on-Tees and Middles- The following amended notice is substituted for that published in the Gazette of Jan. 5. ADJUDICATION ANNULLED. GAZETTE, FEB. 12. STUART, EDWARD HENRY (commonly called Lord Clifton), Dumpton Park. Ct. Canterbury. Adjudication, Dec. 6, 1889. Annulment, Feb. 2, 1897. Winding-up of Companies. THE COMPANIES ACTS 1862 TO 1890. WINDING-UP ORDERS. GAZETTE, FEB. 12. BRITISH FLAG EXPLORATION SYNDICATE LIMITED, Broad-st-av. Ct. High Court. Order, Feb. 8. Pet. Jan. 27. QUEEN ANNE AND GARDEN MANSIONS LIMITED, Queen Anne's-mansions, St. James's Park. Ct. High Court. Amount per pound, 2d. First and final. Payable, Feb. 16, or any subsequent day (except Saturday), between 11 and 2, at 33, Carey-st. WILLIAM LEVETT AND CO. LIMITED, Eastcheap. Ct. High Court. Amount per pound, 3s. 10d. First. Payable, Feb. 16, or any subsequent day (except Saturday), between 11 and 2, at 33, Carey-st. MURRAY.-On the 6th inst., at Harpley, Watford, Herts, the wife of Arthur Turnour Murray, Barrister-at-law, of a daughter. PATTINSON. On the 6th inst., at Gurnett House, Higher Sutton, Macclesfield, the wife of Arthur T. Pattinson, Solicitor of a son. PRIOLEAU. On the 3rd inst., at Villa Bidartea, Biarritz, France, the wife of Richard MARRIAGES. BARKER FLOWERS.-On the 8th inst., at New York, Frank Leigh Wynyard Barker, youngest son of J. E. Barker, Q.C., of the Inner Temple, and Brooklands, Bakewell, to Ethel Alice, elder daughter of Lieut.-Col. Flowers, late 4th Batt. Lincolnshire Regt. LUCE SCOTT. On the 11th inst., at St. Peter's Church, Coverack, Cornwall, Richard MORRISON MITCHELL.-On the 11th inst., at Christ Church, Morningside, Edinburgh, TUKE-FRANCIS.-On the 10th inst., at St. James Norlands, Notting Hill, W., the DEATHS. BAKER. On the 8th inst.. at 180, Devonshire-rd, Forest Hill, S.E., Elizabeth Ann, widow of William Baker, of Manor House, Chipping Ongar, Essex, Solicitor, and second daughter of the late William Crewe, Esq., of Shelly House, Essex, aged 83. BELLINGHAM.-At Gwydir-grdns, Swansea, Edward Nugent Bellingham, Solicitor, third son of the late Thomas Charles Bellingham, of Battle, Sussex, aged 64. BRIDGWATER. On the 9th inst., at her residence, 7, Bolton-grdns, S. W., in her 69th year. Eliza Ann, widow of the late John Pugh Bridgwater, Barrister-at-law, only daughter of the late William Rawling, of 70, Mount-st, Grosvenor-sq. GOODWIN. On the 5th inst., at Boulogne-sur-Mer, Frederick Goodwin, LL.D.. younger son of the late William Henry Goodwin, Solicitor, of Hastings, aged 34 HADDELSEY.-On the 6th inst., at Caistor, Lincolnshire, George Robert Foster Haddelsey, Solicitor, aged 72 years. years. KEIR-MACKINTOSH.-On the 7th inst., at Inveran House, Nairn, N.B., Campbell Keir- Mary MATHEW. 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ON Tuesday Mr. ATHERLEY-JONES brought on his motion in the House of Commons for a Royal Commission to inquire into the unsatisfactory working of the Judicature Acts. An extremely scanty attendance of members proved how little the ordinary senator (and presumably his constituents) cares for the administration of justice. WE must candidly say that this great opportunity for exposing the vices of our common law system was largely dissipated. The Law Lords and their salaries, the Court of Appeal and the salaries of the Lords Justices, do not vex the soul of any professional man. Increase their salaries by all means. Leave all these eminent men to do the work which they are doing so well undisturbed. So, again, if the country chooses to pay for such a tribunal as the Railway and Canal Commission Court, let it pay. The lawyer does not complain. County Courts also do not enter the sphere of the critic of the Judicature Acts. But the ATTORNEYGENERAL was quite right. Extend their jurisdiction, and they are doomed for all the purposes for which they were established. A GOOD way of getting at the great grievance existing is to confine attention to the Queen's Bench Division and the Circuits. As Sir FRANK LOCKWOOD said, the facts are admitted. The Circuits, as at present arranged, involve a vast waste of judicial time. But here again, if the country will have judges go round on idle tours, and will pay for it let the system continue, but not at the expense of the metropolis, where litigation comes to a standstill that judges may go these idle tours. Provide an adequate number of judges for London, make the courts punctual, and the business regular, and the one great cause of complaint would disappear. No one complains of delay either in the Court of Appeal or the House of Lords. THE judges of the Queen's Bench Division received the fair measure of criticism which they deserve. Since the Common Law courts lost their three chiefs, they have become to a certain extent demoralised. The judges sit at a later hour and less punctually than they did. With few exceptions (including the Chief Justice), they appear to take little interest in making the division efficient. They have the matter entirely in their own hands, but we fear that a High Court judgeship on the Common Law side has come to be regarded as a reward and a position of ease, rather than one of renewed activity and weighty responsibility. IN support of this statement, there is one feature of our common law system which stands out prominently-the readiness with which causes involving figures or details are referred. We do not refer to trials with juries; but in every case a few pages of accounts, or a collection of documents, or examination of machinery, are enough to take the burden from the High Court judge and place it upon the shoulders of an official with a third of his salary-the Official Referee. This is not done in Chancery; it is not done in a patent action; why should it be done in a common law case? The only answer is, that it saves the judges trouble. We could not forbear admiring the recent conduct of his Honour Judge WIGHTMAN WOOD, who was asked to refer a complicated case with 437 witnesses. He declined because he would thereby be shifting his own burden on to an arbitrator. IN the course of the discussion the ATTORNEY-GENERAL expressed himself strongly in favour of a scale of costs framed on the basis of giving the successful litigant an indemnity. Having regard to the general consensus of professional and judicial opinion upon this point, it is remarkable that this very practical reform is so absolutely neglected. EVERGREEN Appleby once more satisfies us that our Assize system is valued as much for its comedy as for its utility. Mr. Justice COLLINS visited this northern town last week to take part in a pleasant pantomime. There was absolutely no business of any kind. The learned judge is reported tɔ have remarked that the duties of grand juries have been curtailed by the development of the newspaper Press. This doubtless had reference to a grand jury's function in presenting grievances. Will extinction as an Assize centre never come to moral and peaceful Appleby? WE trust that no member of the Bar will inscribe his name upon the "Bar Subscription List" of the Daily Telegraph for the PRINCE OF WALES'S Hospital Fund for London, as Sir EDWARD LAWSON invites the Bar to do. The Profession is not yet perfectly organised, we know, but to be led by a string by a penny paper in the cause of Imperial charity would be a depth of humiliation hitherto undreamt of. LATE and unpunctual sitting, one of the evils of our judicial system, is not entirely confined to the judges of the Queen's Bench Division. Some of the County Courts are great offenders in this respect. One court, within fifty miles of the metropolis, at one of its sittings in this month, did not touch one of the original causes for that day, the whole of the judicial time being occupied with arrears, and in several courts within the same area the seat on the bench is not taken till 11.30 or 11.45. Such a state of things is nothing more or less than a scandal, and its seriousness can be well appreciated in the case of interpleader actions with possession money running through all this period of delay. WHO is responsible for the present continuance of affairs at the Croydon County Court? That borough boasts of a fine townhall, recently completed at a cost of about £130,000, which contains two spacious courts. But the County Court still continues to be held in a corrugated iron building, formerly a lecture-hall and billiard-room to a political club, at the rear of the offices and the residence of the registrar. In this place counsel have to robe behind a curtain at the rear of the bench, which has to be crossed in order to reach even this accommodation, and the judge has to go outside to get to his private room. We presume the Treasury pays a substantial rent to the owner, whoever he may be, and no doubt for the same sum the borough would permit the use of their hall and courts, where the business could be conducted with dignity and in comfort. THE New York World of the 7th Feb. has an illustrated account of the law's delay, which it attributes largely to easy judicial hours-four and a half a day for 200 days in the year. The midday adjournment is from one o'clock to two. by the delay is shocking. Longer sittings, and the abridgment of cross-examination are remedies suggested by our contemporary. THE recent experiences of the Court of Appeal in the House The last case is of Lords have been far from exhilarating. striking. Mr. BLOOMENTHAL was kept on the register of Veuve Monier et fils as a holder of 16,000 shares by Mr. Justice WILLIAMS and by the Court of Appeal. And yet the LORD CHANCELLOR said "it would have been a scandal to the administration of justice if the appellant had been held liable as a contributory." He had made advances on the distinct understanding that the shares fully paid-up were to be collateral security for his advances to the company. The courts below had proceeded on the ground that certificates issued had informed the appellant that he was a shareholder, and that he could not now repudiate. This is another case of vague acquiescence being substituted for contract. THE recent discussions in Parliament on foreign affairs, and the plea urged by the Government that information should not be disclosed in the public interest, emphasises a curious anomaly in our Constitution. According to the letter of the Constitution, with the Crown lies the power of proclaiming war, of making peace, and of entering into treaties with foreign powers. These great prerogatives have, as we know, been transferred in practice from the Crown to Ministers responsible to the House of Commons and through the House of Commons to the public at large. Questions, however, of foreign policy generally come before the people, not in their inception, but when decisive action has already been taken on them by the Government and it only remains for the people through their representatives to approve or to disapprove of that action. Writing so far back as 1872, Mr. WALTER BAGEHOT, speaking of the constitutional practice in this respect, says: "I think everyone must admit that this is not an arrangement which seems right on the face of it. Treaties are quite as important as most laws, and to require the elaborate assent of representative assemblies to every word of the law, and not to consult them even as to the essence of the treaty, is prima facie ludicrous. No doubt it may be beneficial, many seeming anomalies are so, but at first sight it does not look right" (Bagehot's English Constitution, Introduction to the second edition, pp. xli.-ii.). : We learn from an Irish correspondent that the late Mr. Baron FITZGERALD not only refused the great office of Lord Chief Justice of Ireland in 1876, but that he declined in 1866 the Mastership of the Rolls and in 1878 a Lord Justiceship of Appeal, and when sounded as to his acceptance of the Irish Lord Chancellorship if it were offered to him, firmly requested that no such offer should be made, as it would be met by an absolute refusal. Mr. Baron FITZGERALD held with Lord BROUGHAM that there should be no promotion for the occupants of the Judicial Bench. "The hopes of it," wrote Lord BROUGHAM in 1861, "the struggle for it, the chagrin of not receiving it, all interfere with the perfect calmness, the entire abstraction from court intrigue, the complete independence of all party connection, the exclusive devotion to judicial duties, which ought to characterise the great functionaries of justice-the oracles of the law:" (Brougham's British Constitution, pp. 357-358). MR. WALTER SCOTT, in his address to the Cardiff Law Society, which we published recently (ante, p. 350), has very properly called attention to the desirability of "shortening or otherwise altering the Long Vacation," and urges that, if it were to commence at the end of July and end about the third week in September, the change would be both beneficial to the public interest and also convenient to the judges and the Profession generally. We cordially agree, and the earlier in the year a movement in favour of some such change is made the better. As Mr. GLADSTONE observed, when the question of an earlier rising of Parliament was brought before the House of Commons many years ago, the present period of the Parliamentary vacation, which corresponds in its commencement with that of the courts of Law, begins just when summer is drawing to a close, and some of the hardest professional work is done at the very hottest and most trying period of the year. It should never be forgotten that Sir GEORGE TREVELYAN once carried in the House of Commons a motion in favour of earlier risings of Parliament. From the speeches in the debate on this motion it may be gathered that Lord BEACONSFIELD was at one with Mr. GLADSTONE on the side of earlier risings, and that Lord PALMERSTON was the only politician who ever objected to the change. Parliament having met this year so much earlier than usual, we hope that an effort may before long be made in the direction of Sir GEORGE TREVELYAN's proposal, and if such an effort should be successful, there is no doubt that the authorities by whom law sittings and vacations are regulated would very shortly follow the example of Parliament. MR. BROADHURST, Sir WALTER FOSTER, Mr. HAVELOCK WILSON, Mr. P. STANHOPE, and Mr. WILLIAM ABRAHAM have brought in a Bill of a very summary character to repeal the Truck Act 1896 (which we referred to last week), and to provide that "an employer shall not make any contract with any workman for any deduction from the sum contracted to be paid by the employer to the workman, or for any payment to the employer by the workman for or in respect of any fine, or for any payment to the employer by the workman for or in respect of bad or negligent work or injury to the materials or other property of the employer." Any employer entering into any such contract is to be guilty of an offence against the Truck Act 1831, and the employer, instead of being able to treat damage to his property, &c., as a set-off against wages payable by him, is to be left to his common law remedy of suing the workman for compensation for such damage. IN connection with the Arbitration Treaty with the United States of America recently published, it may be well to call attention to the fact that this is the twenty-fourth arbitration to which this country has been party during the present century. So it appears from the list given, under the head of "Arbitration in International Law," in the new "Encyclopædia of the Laws of England," of which the first volume has just appeared. Of the twenty-three arbitrations in the list, no less than ten were between this country and the United States, the two most important being those of 1871-2, in the first of which, arising out of the Alabama case, this country was adjudged to pay more than three millions to the United States; while in the second, upon claims arising out of the War of Secession generally, the United States were adjudged to pay more than three hundred thousand pounds to this country. The most important amongst recent arbitrations preceding that just arranged for is that which was arranged for between this country and Portugal in 1890, to decide upon the compensation due to British subjects in respect of the seizure of the East Africa and Delagoa Bay Railway by Portugal. This was referred to three Swiss arbitrators, who have not yet seen their way to giving an award, though frequent sittings have been held. THE Government Bill for allowing accused persons to give evidence differs in some respects from most of its many predecessors. In the first place, it is not to extend to Irelandan exception which will materially aid the progress of the Second Sheet. Bill, inasmuch as it is Irish opposition that has been the chief obstacle to similar measures, as may be seen from a perusal of the only debate which has taken place on the subject in the House of Commons during the last fifteen years, and which occurred in 1887. In that debate almost every Parliamentary lawyer took part, but both Sir CHARLES RUSSELL and Sir HENRY JAMES (as they then were), as well as the late Mr. PARNELL, urged that the exclusion of Ireland from the Bill then under consideration was desirable. In the second place, there is no express repeal of the very numerous statutes- now amounting, we believe, to twentythree-under which the evidence of an accused person is already admissible. This defect will, we presume, be remedied in Committee; but, as the existence of so many isolated enactments in pari materia with the Bill has frequently been put forward as an argument by its supporters, the omission of them from any schedule of Acts marked out for repeal is very surprising. It is proposed, however, that Revenue proceedings, to which sect. 34 of the Crown Suits Act 1865 applies, and proceedings under the Evidence Act 1877, in which the evidence of a defendant on an indictment for non-repair of a highway is admissible, are not to be deemed " criminal proceedings within the meaning of the Bill." The two main clauses run: (1) That "in any criminal proceeding the person charged shall be competent, but not compellable, to give evidence," and (2) that "in any such proceeding the wife or husband of the person charged shall be competent, and, unless jointly charged, compellable to give evidence." THE BENCH AND 66 THE BAR. THE critic of scenes between judges and counsel in open court who was not present may do injustice by attempting to apportion blame. Should he be a judicial person, he will be keenly alive to the provocations arising out of hotly contested cases. Should he be a practising advocate, he will know the almost unintelligible irritation of particular judges, and the carping criticism sometimes recklessly delivered against counsel whose only aim is to do their duty to the best of their ability. To be truthful, we must say that there is almost a dangerous feeling of resentment now being generated at the Bar by the manner and conduct of some of the more elderly members of the Judicial Bench. The Bar is a profession crowded with men of capacity and learning equal to that of the great majority of judges. Practising advocates know a great deal better than the judge upon the bench what the case demands at their hands. And, we may add, that never were litigants more exacting in their demands upon their professional advisers. Although voiceless, they resent strongly any judicial curtailment of their rights. Nevertheless, on the whole, we believe it is correct to say that counsel very rarely waste the public time-having the courage to resist pressure from behind as they have to resent dictation from above. We have spoken of a dangerous feeling of resentment at the Bar. An outburst of approval of an advocate who hurls uncalled-for reproaches back upon the judge, proves that the Profession is ripe for revolt-a revolt which cannot fail, if not anticipated in time, to bring the courts of law into contempt. As we appreciate the position, what the Bar fails to understand is, that men once themselves engaged in the forensic arena, having then a lively sense of the difficulties attending the work of bringing all material facts in their true aspect before the courts, undergo in course of time so complete a metamorphosis, and learn to assume a tone of dictatorial superiority which there is absolutely nothing to justify. has Waste of public time is a great evil. Mr. Kemp, Q.C., certainly not the reputation of sinning in this respect, and when Mr. Justice Hawkins said that the cause before him was being spun out, the probabilities are that it was no fault of counsel. The phrase was unhappy: the retort was sharp. May we be pardoned if we add that complaints about the waste of public time come with greatest weight from quarters which are above reproach. |