A Synopsis of the Members of the English Bar; containing their Academical Degrees, Inns of Court, Dates of Call, Courts in which they practise, Official Appointments, Circuits, Chambers, &c. arranged in Alphabetical and Chronological Order. Together with Lists of the Judges, King's Counsel, Serjeants, &c. with the Dates of their Appointments; of the Advocates, with the Dates of their Admissions; and a Table of legal Precedency. By James Whishaw, Esq. Barrister at Law. In 12mo. price 9s. boards. This is a useful book, but not uniformly accurate. In the list of the Plain Instructions for Overseers and Electors in the Registration of Voters for Counties, Cities, and Boroughs in England and Wales. By William Henry Cooke, Esq. B. A. of the Inner Temple. In 18mo. price 2s. sewed. A Treatise on the Practice of the Court of Chancery; with an Appendix of Forms and Precedents of Costs, adapted to the last New Orders; and an Index to both Volumes. By John Sidney Smith, of the Six Clerks' Office. Vol. II. In 8vo. price 16s. boards. A Practical Treatise on the Law of Life Annuities, with the Statutes and Precedents to which are added, Observations on the present System of Life Assurance, and a Scheme for a New Company, with various Tables. By James Birch Kelly, of the Inner Temple. In 8vo. price 10s. 6d. boards. This Treatise will be found to contain an accurate summary of the branch of law in question. The Equity Pleader; comprising all usual Forms of Bills, Answers, Pleas, Demurrers, Interrogatories, &c. By a Chancery Barrister. In 12mo. price 4s. 6d. bds. The Duties and Liabilities of Executors and Administrators under the Stamp Acts; the Decided Cases, Illustrations, and Forms recognized at the Legacy Office, and Practical Directions for adjusting and passing the Accounts, including an Analysis of the Legacy Duty Acts; also Tables of Annuities and their respective Values. By James N. Mahon, Esq. of the Middle Temple, Barrister at Law. In 12mo. price 7s. boards. THE LAW MAGAZINE. ART. I.-CONSOLIDATION OF THE STATUTE LAW. Report of the Commissioners appointed to inquire into the Consolidation of the Statute Law. Presented by command of His Majesty. Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed, 21 July, 1835. In reviewing the First Report of these Commissioners, we found ourselves under the distressing necessity of dissenting from every one of the measures proposed by them; and, judging from the tone, style, and spirit of that Report, it seemed by no means improbable that we should find ourselves in an equally painful predicament as to this. We have been most agreeably disappointed in this respect, for we are enabled to concur most cordially in the most urgent of their recommendations, and do not hesitate to admit that there is no inconsiderable weight of authority for the rest. Contrary to the commonly received custom in such cases, the Commissioners commence their Report by a statement of their conclusions:: "We humbly report to your majesty that we are of opinion that a revision of the Statutes, to a limited extent, would be attended with manifest advantage, to be obtained by simple, easy, and unobjectionable means. "We apprehend that the mere extirpation of all such enactments as are obsolete or superfluous, the rejection of repetitions of terms of frequent occurrence, and the extrication of material words from the superfluity of language by which the law is often obscured, would greatly reduce the bulk and consequent costliness of the statute book, and would render it more accessible and intelligible to the generality of your Majesty's subjects. "We think that such a reduction would be still more beneficial, if an arrangement were added which would render the law more accessible, without diminishing the aid for its interpretation now derived from context and order of time; and if such discretionary alterations were also made in consolidating and generalizing its enactments, and removing and supplying obvious ambiguities and omissions, as might be effected without danger of uncertainty. "We also think that a complete and systematic consolidation, accompanied with an adjustment of the enactments to precedent and judicial decision, is practicable and desirable; but so extensive a reform, however beneficial, could not, we are aware, be safely accomplished without great pains, nor ought it to be attempted without cautiously weighing the means of performing so arduous a task, and steadily contemplating the difficulties to be encountered in its execution. "Having thus, at the outset, stated generally our conclusions, we proceed to examine in detail their reasons and grounds." They begin by a recapitulation of former projects for a revision of the statute law, mostly taken from Mr. Cooper's valuable work on the Public Records. From this recapitulation, it appears that from Elizabeth's time downwards, projects of this kind have been repeatedly under the consideration of the legislature, and that on the list of their propounders or favourers, may be placed the names of Bacon, Hale, Coke, Blackstone, Wood, Daines Barrington, &c. &c. In 1806, also, the Commissioners of Public Records engaged Mr. Hargrave to prepare a report as to the best method of reducing, systematising, revising and amending the statute law, though from some unexplained cause the undertaking was eventually abandoned; and in 1816 the House of Lords came to two resolutions declaring the expediency of arranging the enactments in the statute book under distinct heads, to which the House of Commons assented. North America is perhaps the only country in the world whose example can be plausibly adduced, and it is thus brought to bear by the Commissioners: "We are fortunate in having an example from which we may estimate the advantages likely to result from a revision and consolidation of our statute law, in the labours of the commissioners recently appointed by the State of New York, to revise the statutes of that country; and we have reason to believe, that the task assigned to those commissioners has been executed with great skill. We have added, in the Appendix, No. 3, the commission under which these gentlemen acted, together with their preliminary Report, which, we think, shows that they were fully competent, both to estimate the difficulties, and to appreciate the advantages likely to result from the performance of their arduous undertaking. The difficulties and objections arising from a mass of inconsistent and obscure statutory provisions appear also to have been felt by the state of Massachusetts, and consequently a commission has been appointed by the Legislature of that State for the purpose of revising the Statute Law; and from the parts of the work already executed, which we have had an opportunity of inspecting, we consider that there is every just reason to suppose that the change will be advantageous. As an incidental confirmation of their views, they cite the various acts passed for the consolidating particular branches of the law-as Sir Robert Peel's acts for the amendment of the Criminal Law, the Ship Registry Act, and the acts relating to trade, commerce, and customs-with the remark: "We may in this place observe, that although such partial consolidation must, of course, be beneficial in removing the inconveniences arising from a multiplicity of statutes relating to one subject, it may, we think, be assumed that a revision and consolidation, conducted on a general plan, and according to a systematic arrangement, would produce far more beneficial results than can possibly be derived from partial and successive alterations." This is begging the whole question, and reminds us of Mathews' well known fallacy-if one gingerbread nut will warm you for a month, what will a pound do? The Com missioners class the rest of their observations under the heads following: I. The Imperfections of the Statute Law in its present state. II. The Remedies. III. The application of Remedies; which is much the same as if a medical report should be divided into-1. The disease. 2. The physic. 3. The taking of physic. We ourselves have already taken two or three occasions to point out the imperfections of our statute law, which indeed we have never met with any one hardy enough to deny. We may, therefore, content ourselves with a brief summary of the observations ranged under this head in the report. "The principal imperfections in the present state of the Statute Law are such as render it less accessible and intelligible, and of less easy application than is expedient, when it is viewed either as a rule of conduct or as the basis of future legislation. "The Statute Law is rendered less accessible by its now extraordinary bulk, the result of an accumulation of enactments during the space of more than six centuries, without any effectual systematic effort to reduce the aggregate by a general consolidation; so that the number of public statutes now in force, together with many expired and repealed statutes and enactments at present printed in the collections in common use, occupy not fewer than 30 closely-printed quarto volumes, containing from 600 to 1200 pages each, and costing from 30l. to 401. "The Statute Book is further encumbered with numerous provisions, which, from the change of manners, have in effect, though not in law, become obsolete. These amount to nearly three hundred; among them may be enumerated many laws relative to villenage, husbandry and particular manufactures." The titles of about forty obsolete acts are subjoined as a specimen in a note. Most of these, it must be owned, have been very properly permitted to die away out of use; but perhaps two or three of them might be advantageously revived. For instance: ❝ 1 Hen. VI., c. 3. All persons born in Ireland (except as in the act mentioned) to quit the kingdom, within one month after procla |