dually been subjected to expansion from time to time, until now, when they may be said to present a careful abridgment, very much condensed, however, of the descriptions of the lands as given in the writs. The Committee, in the course of their investigations, have been much struck with the care and diligence manifested by the several keepers in the discharge of this very important portion of their duties, and with the precautions which, by repeated comparison and collation, are taken with the view of ensuring accuracy in the minutes, and of adapting them to the purposes of a search. They have to state, however, what is propably well known already, that the Minute Books themselves, however carefully they may be kept, cannot and do not afford all the facilities for accurate and rapid examination of the Registers which are now required. The circumstance of their being in manuscript, necessarily of itself occasions difficulties of some magnitude. Again, the condensation of the descriptions of the lands, which is necessary in order to admit of the minutes being brought up contemporaneously with the ingiving of the writs, interposes obstacles of no ordinary kind in the way of presenting that precise enumeration of the several names and portions of land, which is an essential condition in order to ensure accuracy in a search; and similar difficulties arise from the impossibility of giving, in minutes rapidly prepared as these must needs be, that full information which is requisite as to the purport of the deeds, the warrants on which they proceed, the burdens created, or the restrictions and conditions by which the rights conveyed are affected and qualified."

One of the most important reforms ever introduced in the Register House, was the commencement, by the late Depute-Clerk Register, Mr Thomson, of a plan for indexing the Registers of Sasines, in the form of printed abridgments. This work, which consists of at present five separate series, embracing as many periods between 1781 and 1850, is still being continued under grants voted by Parliament for the purpose, and will, ere long, be completed to the present time. The plan is thus explained :

"In preparing these abridgments, Mr Thomson proceeded, in the first instance, on the principle of a subdivision of the contents of the Registers General and Particular, by counties, and of a combination, at the same time, under the head of each county, and in proper chronological order, of all sasines affecting lands in such county, whether the same had been recorded in the General Register at Edinburgh, or in the Particular Register of the district. The next particular attended to is the chronological arrangement of the writs under the head of each county, and in doing this, priority is given to the writs registered in the Particular Register over those recorded of the same day and date in the General Register, distinguishing the Record in which each writ will be found entered by the addi

VOL. 1. NO. viii. august 1857.

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tion, at the conclusion of each entry, of the references G. R. 1000' '25,' or 'P. R. 100, 30,' signifying the General or Particular Register, as the case may be, and the number of the book, and the folio of the volume of the Register where the writ is engrossed. The dates of registration precede each entry in the Abridgment Book, and all the entries have affixed to them the consecutive numbers, 1, 2, 3, etc., going regularly onwards, these numbers again being the references by which the several entries are to be found through the media of the relative indices of persons and of places which will be immediately mentioned."

Such being the mode at present in use, our readers will understand the nature of the suggestions which the Committee make, as the results of their investigation:

"1. That the General and Particular Registers of Sasines as now existing should be discontinued, and the whole Registers of Sasines kept in Edinburgh.

"2. That it is inexpedient to transfer the keepers of the District Registers to Edinburgh, and that the Registers of Sasines should be kept there in one office, under the management and control of one keeper, assisted by the requisite staff of assistants and clerks.

"3. That the writs for each county should be registered in separate books kept for each county respectively, and where the lands are in more than one county, or where the situation of the lands is unascertained or doubtful, the writs relating to these lands should either be registered in another book, entitled a Miscellaneous Register, or registered in the manner suggested at page 23 of the Report.

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4. That a Minute Book should be kept in the Sasine Office, containing minutes framed and signed immediately upon the ingiving of each writ, in terms of the Act 1693, c. 14.

"5. That with reference to writs transmitted by post or other public conveyance to the keeper of the Register of Sasines, proper authority should be given by statute to the said keeper, or one or more of his officials, to receive and present the writs for registration, and to sign the Minute Book as presenter; the signature of the said officer to have the same effect as if the party transmitting had signed the writ himself.

"6. That the said Minute Book should be transmitted by the keeper of the Register of Sasines to the General Record along with the record.

"7. That a Book of Abridgments should continue to be framed in accordance with the plan originally formed by the late Mr Thomas Thomson, and thereafter printed as soon as possible, for the purpose of searching.

"8. That besides an Index of the names of persons, as at present, there should be an Index of names of places, for the purpose of searching, carried on simultaneously; while the Index of places,

which was discontinued in 1830, should be completed as soon as possible by a separate staff of clerks, specially appointed for the purpose if necessary.

"9. That in every case in which the parish or parishes are stated, the names of the parish or parishes should be marked on the margin of the Abridgment Book, the Minute Book, and the Record.

"10. That it is not expedient to adopt the tabular form of recording entries in the Minute Book.

"11. That it would be expedient to abolish the Particular Registers of Inhibition, and to maintain in future one General Register at Edinburgh for all Scotland; and to incorporate this Register with the Register of Adjudications. And that it would be expedient to enact that Registration in the General Register should, in itself, be due publication of an Inhibition.

"12. That there should no longer be maintained a separate Register of the Interruption of Prescriptions, and that the existing Register should be incorporated with the Register of Sasines.

13. That in any statute providing for the Registration of Leases, it should be enacted that these leases should be recorded in a separate Register, and not in the Register of Sasines."

For these recommendations we bespeak a candid consideration. A bill is understood to be in preparation for next session, and before Parliament interferes, it is very desirable that action should be taken on as wide a basis of opinion as possible. For the discussion, therefore, of this great book-keeping question, our pages are freely open. There are several collateral questions, e.g.-the diminution of the number of the Registers; and the abolition of the Sasine altogether, with the substitution of a fee to the agent for recording the disposition. But the consideration of these we must postpone in the meantime.

Review of the Month.

Current Legislation.

THE Court of Session Bill, after being read a second time in the House of Commons, has disappeared from public view. According to the newspapers, it has passed through committee; but we have no information on the subject. However, whatever its present stage, or whatever its present form, it is now very doubtful whether the bill can pass this session-even supposing (which is granting a great deal) the Lord-Advocate to be hearty in support of what can only be designated as a half-measure-met by decided and energetic opposition. There cannot be a doubt-unless Mr Dunlop's amendment for the permanent extension of the sittings of the Court is also carried-that the bill, instead of being a blessing, will prove the greatest curse, to Scotland. In our preceding Number, we had occasion to refer to the change in the modern system of pleading, by which the whole work of the Judges is done in Court, and causes are now determined upon an oral instead of a written argument. Where the day is occupied with long speeches from four Counsel, and still longer opinions from four Judges, of course fewer cases can be undertaken, and arrears accumulate from year to year. Grave doubts have been suggested as to the expediency of the change in the mode of pleading. At all events, it renders imperatively necessary that there should be permanent extended sittings of at least full two months every year. The First Division have, by Act of Sederunt, and in consideration of the three years' arrear under which it has sunk, extended the sittings for the period of nine days to commence on the 2d of November next. It cannot be said that this was all that the emergency demanded, or that the country was entitled to expect; and, we confess, it appears to us to be too paltry a concession to have much influence in allaying the popular discontent with the present distressing state of things.

If there had been anything in the character of the labours of the Judges, or in the extent of their present sittings, which would render it unreasonable to insist on a greater amount of work, of course there would be a ready answer to the popular demands. But, when it is considered that the Judges of the Supreme Court of Scotland sit for a shorter period every year than do the Judges of any other civilised country in Europe-shorter than Parliament itself shorter than all other public officers in the State-and that

for their labour they are remunerated beyond the ratio of other public officials, it is only asking them to pay a debt of justice, and to accommodate their position to the times, by making such an extension of their sittings as will enable them to overtake arrears.

In England, the labours of the Judges, instead of extending to 133 days (being the sum total given by the two Divisions-i.e., four months and three weeks), extends over a period of upwards of eight months. No doubt the English Judges have larger salaries-a Puisne Judge there receiving L.5000, while a Lord of Session only receives L.3000. The remedy, however, is not by giving insufficient labour, because there is insufficient pay, but by increasing the salary, if it be not adequate to support the dignity of the office, or to command the first talent from the Bar.

The short sittings of the Court of Session have the most depressing influence upon the profession of the Law in Scotland. It is matter of notorious fact, that the long vacation of nearly four months (from 20th July to 12th November), is the cause, in every recurring year, of compromises-where just rights and interests are sacrificed. Cases never come to the Court of Session, that otherwise would be there, simply because people are afraid that, when once they are embarked upon the ocean of litigation, they will never see the shore. These compromises and settlements, and the abstaining from the prosecution of just rights, tell, of course, with great effect upon the professional gains of all classes of the legal community--a result all the more grievous to bear, seeing that, in this instance, what is ruinous to them, is also a grievance to the general public. The only defect, therefore, in Mr Dunlop's amendment is, that it does go far enough, and fix down a permanent extension of the sittings of the Court commensurate with the wants of this busy generation. It is preposterous to adhere to the regulations of two centuries ago, as fitted for the Scotland of the present day.

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The Registration of Long Leases Bill is now law. In the House of Lords, it has received several amendments, which will obviate many of the objections which we deemed it proper to throw out, for the consideration of those who were intrusted with its passage through the remaining stages of its Parliamentary progress. With respect to some of its features, we still have our misgivings, but, on the whole, we are satisfied that it will prove one of those admirable measures, in the direction to which law reform is now happily tending--we mean the removal of every possible obstacle to the utmost freedom in every species of transaction. It is not the interest of lawyers, still less that of the public, that, for the sake of antiquated theories and useless forms, parties should be fettered in the exercise of those rights, which are of the very essence of the right of property itself. At present, for example, the law with respect to leases operates injuriously in a variety of ways. 1st. With assignees and creditors. No law practitioner can tell how his client's right of security for a loan, can be absolutely completed