Legal Reform

Last week we presented some thoughts, on tho delaijs of the law, showing that they ore usually of no benefit to any except the legal practitioners; and expressingour opinión that the same expedition might be used in the Circuit and Supreme Courls as in justice's Courts, and a decisión be luid in every case at fa rt he rest in six months. Especially did we endeavor to bring to the attention of onr readers the fact that a large proportion of the suits of the higher Courts are never contested at all: that no defence is ever made: that the proceedings are a mere farce and mockery: thnt in every such case a final decisión could as well be given the first half honras at the end of twoycars; and tliat the present practice wasan expensive burlesque of justice, and a robbery of the creditor, andcalied loudly far reform. To-day we shall throw out some thoughts on THK EXPENSES OF THE LAW. The poor man needs the protection of the law as well as the rich. Vory oflen he needs to appeal to the law against the rich to obtain justice. Now if justice costa $25, it is eveident that a poor man who cannot spare that sum from his carnings, cannot have juslice. There might as well be no legal remedy for lus wrongs, if the remedy be placed bevond his reach. But suppose that juslice costs $50. Then it can be had by a still less number of persons, and just in proportion as the cost increases, will the number who can attain it djminish. Henee it is better for a poor man to suffer wrong to a considerable extent thnn to appeal to the law against a rich and obstinate antagonist. It ís evident that a proper administraron of justice cannot be had without the time, labor, and expense of the individuals who must bo employed in dispensing it. But the expense in the higher courls is vastly more that it need be. A considerable proportion of the whole cost of proceedings is expended on suits where no defence is made, and where, if judgment were rendered forthwith lor the plaintifT, the costs would be but a mere triÜe. The enormous expenses of suits arise partly from the prolixity and technicality of the proceedings, partly from the numerousdelays in bringing the suit to a conclusión, and partly from some provisions of the Statute law. In reference to this last particular, we will state a case which carne to our knowledge. Tveo persons had a difiieulty about a pair of horses: the case was tried before a justico and appealed. One of the witnesses, whose p'ace of business was withinsight of theCourt llouse, charged $40 for his fees. He had really been hindered from hi.s business but about half an hour, but having been ready to testify whenever called upon, he charged for every day the Court was in session. til! the case was put over to the next term. - He then charged in a similar manner till the case was disposed of. Several lawyers were consulted, but they all 6aid the charge was laioful, and the loser was obliged to pay it. Perhaps we cannot more forcibly demónstrate the necessity of a reduction of expenses than by giving a succinct history of a few cases; and to avoid all dispute as to facts, we will take only those instances which we find authenticated in the report made on this subject to the lost Legislature. "R. borrowed $100 of G. to buy a yoke of oxen, for which he gave his note for $108 on interest, and gave II. for an endorser. The note not being met at maturity, was left with an attorney for collection, the law being so intricate, as to render professional services indispensable. Suit was commenced; the signers of the note had no defence, and wished none. All they wanted, was to have judgment taken against them, with as 1 it t Ie costs, and as much delay as possible. R. quitted his own farming, and took a cash job of ploughing, to raise the money. In due time judgments were rendered, and costs taxed at $90 save twenty-five cents. The attornies for the plalntifF rendered professional services in this difficult matter, to the value of $75,12. The clerk did recording ennugh to come to 817,05. and the crier cried 60 cent's worth, and the court was paid from the public treasury, and defendant paid his own attorney, we know not how much; if this note had been for $100 instead of #108, a justice of the peace could have put it into judgment for about 50 cents,or $l's costs, this includlng his own pay; but you see that one dollar more than &100, makes all the difference in the world, in the great difliculty of such an intricate piece of business! The sherifl takes these executions and makes costs, amounting to $14,50, without selling any thing, however, or rendering any services thai could not just as well have been gol along without. Making the aggregate costs $104,28; $4,28 more thah the sum originally borrowed! Now, in this transaction, there was no dispute between the parties whatever, and under the system we propose, a summons would have been issued, and on return day, a judgment rendered by defauh, at the cost of one or two dollars. This would have taken five or ten days. But, in this transaction, it took G. twelve or eighteen months to get a judgment, and he was kept out of his money about Iwoyears, besides being put to n great denl of trouble; nnd for all this deiay, trouble and expense, he never received one cent, to indemnify him." "Again, Pnge sued Case on n note of $600 Nov. 17, 1838. "Case said the note had been given more than six years, therefore he was not obliged to pay it." Page said "you have renewed your promise within that time." Case replies "I have not," and upon this they go to trial. But now let us see how our judidicial system disposes of this matter. Page commenced by serving a written narr "for labor, for money had and received," "money laid out for your use;" "a large amount due on settlement, &c. &c." - Case, in writing, pleads wilh great formality. Page replies, and thus they go on with their plens, amended pleas, replications, stipulations and rejoinders and so on; until at the end of three years and three days, their cause is ready for the jury. Now if written plendings, or the nncient forms of written pleadings, andlerms were aboliahed, this issue wou'd have been formed in five minutes, instead of three years. In staling this case in the first instance, we stated all the truth there was in the pleadings of the parties, in three lines ncross this paper, nnd the statement there made is better to go to trial on, it is better for the parlies, attorneys, witnesses, judge and jury, than the h story of the case in the judgment record, containing forty folios,4000 words, being three times as long as the Declnration of Indopend- ence. Nearly all the costs accrued in this case belbre coming to trial, there being but one witness sworn. To ascertain bv one witness whethcr Case had renewed his promisi?, look three years and three days, 40 folios of pleaders and sundry copies before trial ; und taxed cosls $57 23 (verdict for defendant.) All the other costs probably nmounted to as much, if not twice as much more." "Jesse Meachüm vs. Jeremiah Post and Joel S. Post. Not sued separatelv, bui both togetlier, and but two counts in the dcclaraiion of eiglu folios; evidently no design of making much costs. They both plead that J. Post had given five judgments before justice Lawrence, for the identical note sued on, and J. S. pleaded nfancy. Meachum replied, the judgments had not been recorded, and that J. S. Post had renewed the promise, to pay afier he was ot o ge. J. S. Post rejnined that he had not so ratified. J. Post demurred; i. e. he aid t made no difference, whether the five judgments were recorded or not. Meacham said it did made a difIVrence, md so they joined issue in demurrer. - After hearing the arguments, the judge decided it was not material whether the udgments were recorded or not, and consequently, ïMeacham's rejrfication was nol good, and he was allowed to amend. - This reply Post could not deny, and f he could not, he was advised that Meacham would recover, so the Posts concluded to withdraw their pleas, and let judgtnent be entered by dein uit. Now here we have given you a ful! and unvarnished history of this whole matter. At first the Posts feit a little doubt ful about being brought into the circuit courj, under all the circumstances, and queried a liltle, but finally resolved not lo go to trial, but to allow the judgment to be entered up, and save further costs and litigation. Hut what must have been the astonishment of the poor Posts, on enquiring for the taxed costs, to be told it nmounted to$83 23, besides their own and their attorney's costs. "What bas been done," they enquire with amazement, "to get up such e bill of costs?" - Mr. Meacham protests bis innocence; he says, "I only commenced one suit, and I might have commenced two, one against each of you. I only declared on the note, and one common count, when I might have declared on a dozen counts, and made my declarations consist of forty instead of eight folios." On further enquiry, they were told by ihe attorneys that this was ono of the most complicnted and intricate cases of special pleading that is often witnessed. "But," says Jeremiah Post, "l do not see how it should be considered so intricate, to just say I had nlready given five judgments before jiKstice Lawrence on that dentical note." And Joel asks, "Why is it so complicated, merely to say that I was not 21 when the note was signed; nnd how can it cost so much?" "Listen to me," said the attorney, "and I will explain it toyou so that you will be perfectly sntisfied. You see it was necessary in the first place, in order to do business in a lawyer like way, to plead the general issue for Jeremiah Post; for that deniesevery thing and confesses nothing; nnd then it was necessary to make five special plens, one for each of the justice's judgments. To do this so as not to cali up the ghosts of Coke and Liltleton, it was necessary to use at least seventeen hundred words, besides copies." (The Posts now begin to look still more nmazeü.) But the attorney proceeds: "It was necessary, likewise, that Joel S. Post should make the same six written pleas on his part, that his brother made, and in addition put in the plea of infancy.This, you will perceive, cannot be properly done short of cighteen or nineteen hundred words more, exclusive of copies. This innkes thirteen pleas io the declaration; and now you will perceive thnt when Meacham comes to put in his replications ,o each of these thirteen pleas," - Here Post interposed, and enquired how many folios of written pleadings were used, and was told seventy-three! More than five times as long as the Declaration of Independence; and they were moreover informed, that it wns necessary to have sundry copies of these papers, some four or five besides the judgment record; n all, asmuch writing as to copy the Book of Genesis. The lawyers tried to explain the necessity of all this to Mr. Post, by telling him "it had been the custom so long, that the memory of man runneth not io the contrary," and "it was as ancient at least as the fourteenth century," &c. Post reinarked that "he saw no good reason for republicans holding in such stupid veneration the laws ond usages of oíd monarchies," and finally he said "he would ns soon encounter the ghosts of Coke. Liltleton and Blackstone, all three, as to pay many more such bilis of costs." But after nll, the parties pay only a part of the costs. Each County pays n large sum nnnually. Every day that the Court is in session, the County fínds a Court House and keeps it in repair, provides fuel, lights, and stationary, pays two associale judges $'2 a day each, a sheriff and four or five constables $1,50 a day each, and twcnt'y-four petty jtirors 81,00 n day each. The presiding judge is paid by the State, about S'5,00 a day. The whole expense to the County is not far from Forty Dollars a day. Thosuits vary much in lengih but if the contestcd ones avorage two dnys each, here is an expense paid by the County of Eighty Dollars per suit, naddition to all theother costs. In return for all this, the parties pny over to the County for each suit the sum of three dollars. M:iny of our most substantial citizens think a leform is needed here, if in no other particular. They can see no propriety inannually taxing multitudes of quiet and peaceable citizens who never go to law for the benefit of the litigious and qmrrelsome. in all civil cases, the whole. expenses of the law sioufd be paid by those who make use of it. All others should be exempt from its burdens. Is not this justand rensonnble? (LTThe Syrncu#e Journal, n landing Wliig oaper, eays of Guv Scwurd's letter ti the CiDcitinHti Cmivention: "Wnh the Evenir Jolfrna! we endorse the !PQífní sf'ntiineniK ol Gov. Sewurd's lelfer. It m ndmiruhiy cnlciilited to clenrly the mist away from the Sla very inovemeni, Bnd io point nut fnngible nnri practicable objncls t'or the actio of AiriSlavery mon. VVö !iodc its words of wisdom and 3ntrioti-rn tvill nnt p;iss itn'iseded hy any who do not Lelie ' be níiino of Republicnnisin bv bowinc down ;) ilie dnrk shrine of JSlavkrt." "Tiie tnnjrible nn.l practicable objectu" Gov. Seward ''points out.' luive been pointd out for ycars m the Liberty papers. The Joonwl hüviiig hnd o mist ' beforc ts eyes, has } erlmps lieen blind to them. Hre they aro as stated by Gov. S. himself. VVbich of tlif-rn Wave not abolitionists ndvocatcd? "In many of the Fiee Staies there i j large ma.es of citizpns rlislruncliisod on the arcount f color. Thfj must be invesied with the rieW of snffrng-p. Give them this right nnd their influence wil] be imniPiliately feit m Ihe Na'ional Connrilp, ond il is nocd'ess to sny wili be ens! in fuvor óf those who upbold the canse of human liber.y. We must resist unceasintjly the admission of Slave States, and urge nnd demand the abolition of tlavery in '.he District of Colnnihia. We have seciired the Right of Petition, bilt the Federal Govnrument continúes to be swerved by the influence of S'avery na before. This tendency can and rijost be counterncted; nnd when one independent Congress shail have bren elected the interna I Slavo Trade vt be mibjected to inquiry. Amendmeuts to the Constituticn mav be initiated and the obstacles in the way of the Emmicipntion will no ionger appear insnrmountable.''03a" The Whig Stntc Convenlion of Vermnni, whicli nominaied Wm. Slade for Governor resolved that that "the Liberty pnrty (; gross misnomer,) is fftiided by eelfish and recklcss politicians - is efficiënt only f'or cvil- nnd is nt nnce the tooi and jeet of the Slave party.'' Va?tly cotnplimentnry Trom vhat Mr Siade snys is the "true Liberty p:irty,'f but fnlse in every particular. When hus a Blaveholder ever tre.'ited tlie formuion of the l.ibsrty party us '(a jest?" Th; -ame Whig Convention pa.-scd n re.-olucion comjilimentary to Henrv Cl.'iy. ml virtnullv pronnsingr him ihe vote of that Stutoshould he consent to run for Preeident ngaiii. (t?0 Quite a large fire occurred in Uochester, N. Y. It broke out at half [jast nine, on the löth, and consumed a large number of buildings on Front street and Work street. Theorigin of the firo is unknown. When the fire broke out, neorly all lhemembersof the fire department were at the landing, two and a half miles off, to which place tbey had but an hour before marched to receive the To rontofi remen. OC? The Spirit of Liberty mentions an attempt lo carry into slavery the wife of a colored man of Pittsburgh. Three or four ruffinns seized her, but her husband raised the alarm, nnd pursued the slave catcher, who was held tobail lor his nppenrance at court in $1,700. Not being able to obtain this, the affair was com promised by giving the colored tornan a deed of manumisslon.