before the secretary of state. It also provided that the clerks of the sheriffs and high courts in Scotland should do their duties in person; but left those then holding office to accept the new fees or not, at their own option. It required that sheriffs' substitutes should be properly acquainted with the law, and prohibited them from being practitioners, or partners of practitioners, within their own counties. This act has some analogy to the King's Bench and Common Pleas regulation Acts, already noticed but the reform effected in the Scotch courts was not so complete and valuable as that in the others, probably because information on the subject could not be so well obtained.

The second act enabled the sheriff to decide upon all cases for the recovery of debts under eight pounds, in a summary manner, and at small costs. The sheriff to hear the parties vivá voce, and solicitors not allowed without leave of the court; and the judgment of the sheriff not to be stayed, except upon application to the Court of Session.

An act was passed relating to the Small Debt Court, which repealed, after 1st January, 1826, the former act for the recovery of small debts, before the justices of the peace in Scotland; gave them the power of deciding all claims under five pounds; directed them to hear parties, vivá voce; prohibited practitioners of law from acting before the justices; allowed the defender to stay judgment obtained in absence; provided for a record of decisions; fixed the officers' fees; and prohibited the peace-officers from acting as auctioneers, and the justices as solicitors.

By an act for Scotland relative to Sedition and Blasphemy, the heavy punishments formerly inflicted for those offences were remitted, and fine or imprisonment, or both, at the dis

cretion of the court, substituted in their stead. Upon a second offence, a power was added of banishing the offender out of all parts of his Majesty's dominions. If the persons so banished did not depart within thirty days, they were to be conveyed out of the country, and if not within forty days, they were to be transported. The act also took away from the Court of Session the discretionary power of adding to the statutory bail in cases of sedition.

An act for Scotland, amendatory of the act of grace, was passed, which provided, that, where a poor debtor should have made a disposition of his property to his creditors, the imprisoning creditor should be bound to deposit in the hands of the gaoler ten shillings, out of which, an aliment should be paid to the debtor, until he should be either set at liberty, or alimented according to law.

A very important act, connected with the administration of justice in Scotland, was also passed. It enacted, that the number of Lords Ordinary hearing causes in the outer house of the Court of Session, should, upon the appointment of new judges, or immediately, if the incumbents should consent, be increased to seven instead of two, and that the remaining eight should form the two inner houses,by which means (and they had the same effect as the erecting of five new courts) the progress of justice would be wonderfully facilitated. It enacted, that pursuers and defenders before the Court of Session, should each set forth, in limine, the nature and extent of their pleas, producing the writings upon which those pleas were founded; prohibited either the Lords Ordinary, or the courts, to give judgment upon the merits, until the record should have been made up; authorized the Lord Ordinary to determine the expenses in cases dismissed upon dilatory defences, or to repel such de

fences, reserving the expenses to be settled afterwards; and making his judgment in such matters final, unless brought under review within twentyone days.

When the Lord Ordinary has repelled the dilatory defences, or where no such defences have been made, his lordship is to examine into the correctness of the summons, and decree against the pursuer for any incorrectness therein. If, in like manner, the defences have to be amended, the defender to pay the expenses of the same; the expenses paid by either party in these cases to be paid over to the other. Where the record of the summons and defence, with the documents upon which both were grounded, should be complete, if the parties should not agree that these contained the whole case, condescendences were to be allowed; but these, as well as the answers to them, were to be accompanied by the writings founded on, as well as notes of all the points of law, signed by the respective counsel, and authenticated by the Lord Ordinary. These to be the whole law and facts of the case upon which the parties are to ground their proceedings; but the judges to have power to suggest and introduce new matter. The object of these regulations (and the detail of them was very minute) was to bring the cases fairly into court, and prevent the litigation, first of one point and then of another, by which so much delay, vexation, and injustice, had previously been produced. If the parties admitted the facts, the Lord Ordinary to decide upon them; but when they did not, the act gave him the power of remitting to the Jury Court the whole case, or such parts of it as he should deem necessary. Where no remit to jury should be required, the Lord Ordinary was empowered, either to decide the cause himself, or to report it to the Inner House for decision

there; and in giving final judgment upon the merits, he was to decide upon the expenses without any separate action. Parties dissatisfied with the decision of the Ordinary, allowed to appeal to the inner House, the ground of action there being the certified record by the Ordinary. In cases of doubt or difficulty, the whole judges of both divisions of the court to consult, and judgment to be according to the opinion of the majority. Decrees of the Court of Session to be final from fourteen days after the commencement of the next Session of Parliament; and in case of appeal to the House of Lords, which must be made within that time, the appellant to lay the record of the court below before their Lordships, to which, however, there might be added any new arguments that the appellant should think fit. The act further provided that all actions should, if possible, originate before the Ordinaries, and be conducted according to the same method and principles.

With regard to the Jury Court, the act directed that all actions of personal injury, libel, injury to movables or land, (not involving titles,) breach of promise of marriage, seduction, adultery, delinquency, responsibility of persons intrusted with the carriage of property, nuisance, furiosity, idiocy, force, insurance, and wages of mariners, should be sent to the Jury Court at once, and without any previous pleading before the Ordinaries or Inner House. Two judges of the Court of Session to be additional commissioners of the Jury Court. The decision of the Jury Court to be final upon the facts, but the law to be remitted to the Court of Session. The act repealed the injunction formerly given to suitors before this court to exchange lists of witnesses before trial; it directed that the Jury Court should sit during all the sittings of the Court of Session.

fences, reserving the expenses to be settled afterwards; and making his judgment in such matters final, unless brought under review within twentyone days.

When the Lord Ordinary has repelled the dilatory defences, or where no such defences have been made, his lordship is to examine into the correctness of the summons, and decree against the pursuer for any incorrectness therein. If, in like manner, the defences have to be amended, the defender to pay the expenses of the same; the expenses paid by either party in these cases to be paid over to the other. Where the record of the summons and defence, with the documents upon which both were grounded, should be complete, if the parties should not agree that these contained the whole case, condescendences were to be allowed; but these, as well as the answers to them, were to be accompanied by the writings founded on, as well as notes of all the points of law, signed by the respective counsel, and authenticated by the Lord Ordinary. These to be the whole law and facts of the case upon which the parties are to ground their proceedings; but the judges to have power to suggest and introduce new matter. The object of these regulations (and the detail of them was very minute) was to bring the cases fairly into court, and prevent the litigation, first of one point and then of another, by which so much delay, vexation, and injustice, had previously been produced. If the parties admitted the facts, the Lord Ordinary to decide upon them; but when they did not, the act gave him the power of remitting to the Jury Court the whole case, or such parts of it as he should deem necessary. Where no remit to jury should be required, the Lord Ordinary was empowered, either to decide the cause himself, or to report it to the Inner House for decision

there; and in giving final judgment upon the merits, he was to decide upon the expenses without any separate action. Parties dissatisfied with the decision of the Ordinary, allowed to appeal to the inner House, the ground of action there being the certified record by the Ordinary. In cases of doubt or difficulty, the whole judges of both divisions of the court to consult, and judgment to be according to the opinion of the majority. Decrees of the Court of Session to be final from fourteen days after the commencement of the next Session of Parliament; and in case of appeal to the House of Lords, which must be made within that time, the appellant to lay the record of the court below before their Lordships, to which, however, there might be added any new arguments that the appellant should think fit. The act further provided that all actions should, if possible, originate before the Ordinaries, and be conducted according to the same method and principles.

With regard to the Jury Court, the act directed that all actions of personal injury, libel, injury to movables or land, (not involving titles,) breach of promise of marriage, seduction, adultery, delinquency, responsibility of persons intrusted with the carriage of property, nuisance, furiosity, idiocy, force, insurance, and wages of mariners, should be sent to the Jury Court at once, and without any previous pleading before the Ordinaries or Inner House. Two judges of the Court of Session to be additional commissioners of the Jury Court. The decision of the Jury Court to be final upon the facts, but the law to be remitted to the Court of Session. The act repealed the injunction formerly given to suitors before this court to exchange lists of witnesses before trial; it directed that the Jury Court should sit during all the sittings of the Court of Session.

The act provided that motions for new trials should be made in the two divisions of the Court of Session alternately, in all cases of an issue suit from the Court of Admiralty; but that, in all other cases, the motions should be made in the Jury Court.

With regard to the Admiralty, the Consistorial, the Sheriff, and the Burgh Courts, it was enacted that the form of procedure should resemble that directed for the Court of Session, as close ly as the nature of those courts might admit. The judgment of the inferior courts to be final in cases not exceeding 121. Proof in the inferior courts to be held as establishing the facts, in cases carried to the Court of Session, and no new proof to be taken in that court; but the Court of Session to have the power of sending issues to the Jury Court; and power also given to the parties, in cases exceeding 40l., to remove the cause to the Court of Session, for the purpose of procuring proof before the Jury Court; power was continued to the Lord Ordinary, upon security given, to suspend the judgment of the inferior courts.

A number of acts were passed, having reference chiefly to the fees and emoluments of the clerks and other officers in the Irish Courts, which, charged according to the Act 4, Geo. IV., cap. 61, had been found inadequate. Besides these, an act was passed, consolidating the prison laws in Ireland; another regulating the Grand Jury presentments, and fixing the salaries of officers; a third for facilitating the judicial inquiry, which authorized the commissioners to send for persons, books, and papers, and punish those

giving false evidences; a fourth for fixing the fees chargeable by poundkeepers, making them find security, and punishing them when committing faults; a fifth enabling money to be levied, not exceeding 50s. a-year, for the maintenance of deserted children: and several others, for petty or local purposes, interesting only to the country for which they were enacted.

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Various other measures with regard to the definition of the rights of persons, and the regulation of points of legal procedure, were carried into effect; such as an act to prevent dealing in wines; an act to regulate the laws relating to lunatics, and to fix the time within which they might traverse; an act to render 57 Geo. III., cap. 101, regulating arrests for debt, perpetual; an act regulating the salaries of the judges in the East Indies; an act extending certain parts of Lord Ellenborough's Act to Scotland, and declaring the throwing of sulphuric acid upon the person in that country a punishable offence; and various acts of minor importance.

One of the most important legal enactments, however, next to that which went to the general regulation of the courts, and the abolition of the sale of offices, was that for preventing the staying of judgment in the Courts of Westminster by frivolous writs of error. The act declared that execution should not be delayed by writ of error without special order, granted compensation to the clerks and officers of court who should thus be deprived of their emoluments; but left the solicitors and counsel no compensation for the loss of their fees.