the rest of the House, to be doomed, and the rather that of late years the salaries of the Judges in the Superior Courts have been charged on the Consolidated Fund, those of the County Courts being charged upon the suitors. The only difficulty regards the manner of the abolition. There are some fees which may, according to the strictest principle, be levied. These are, the expenses occasioned by a refractory party. When judgment goes forth against him, and he refuses to pay the debt, there seems no reason why he should not pay the expense of the execution, whether against his goods or his person, in the same manner as he pays the costs of the action to the party who gains. This would leave considerably above 200,000l. of fees to be actually remitted, and the expense of resorting to the Courts would be reduced in proportion.

7. The failure of justice from the restriction of the amount to 50%. is of daily occurrence. Claims are made of sometimes. two-thirds, sometimes only half the debt, in order to profit by the local judicatures. When it plainly appears, as by the debtor's own admission, that more is due, there could be no harm in suffering a second action to be brought for the balance, so as this should not exceed 50%.

8. The want of equitable jurisdiction is a universal complaint, and should be supplied, with due provision for removal to the Court above, as well as for appeal upon matter of Equity on facts found by trial or stated in a special case.

9. It has appeared to many that there is a risk of the Local Judges becoming too much mixed up with the society in which they live. Nothing can be easier than to provide that they should vary their circuits where their jurisdiction is confined to small places; for the evil cannot prevail in large towns.1

II. We are now to consider what alterations in our judicial system may reasonably be expected to follow from the change which the local judicatures have occasioned. It is

I The two publications of a learned and able County Court Judge, Mr. Johnes, of North Wales, deserve to be consulted by all who would fully master this subject. One is called " Popular Proofs," the other " Plain Expositions."

now quite certain that those Courts cannot with impunity be contemned by the Profession, judges included, any more than they can safely be neglected by the Government. Calling them Small Debt Courts, as by a great error the Acts persist in doing, may for that reason be allowable; treating them as such, and so slighting them, would be absurd. They are dealt with directly in four statutes confined to them, those of 1846, 1849, 1850, and 1852; they are dealt with incidentally in eleven others, some of which confer considerable authority upon them; and the Charitable Trusts Bill, the Succession Duty Bill, and the Customs' Bill, now about to pass, confer jurisdiction upon them of great importance. But even in their ordinary jurisdiction they try very many more causes between 207. and 50%. than all the Superior Courts together, while causes of that amount form a considerable proportion of the whole causes tried by these Inferior Courts. Hence it follows, not only that their importance as carrying on the bulk of the judicial business of the country must be acknowledged, but the diminution of the business in the Superior Courts must be the result of the late change. The Judges of these Courts, both in Westminster and on circuit, have no longer the same amount of occupation, and the Bar have no longer the same mass of business to transact. Hence there may arise the necessity of giving those Courts other employment, as by increasing the frequency of circuits to four times a year, both for Civil and Criminal trials. Hence, too, the formation of a Local Bar for the County Courts becomes an object of great importance. In the larger towns this will naturally result from the extension of the jurisdiction. In smaller places the difficulty will be greater, because the Bar must go a circuit and the amount of business would hardly lead to this. Considerable facilities, however, might be afforded by such an arrangement of the business as would secure all the causes to be tried the same day or days in which counsel

Of the whole number of causes tried by the Superior Courts, above one-half are for sums under 50%. The whole causes tried by them in a year amount to no more than 2000. The number tried by the County Courts, between 201. and

50l. amount to upwards of 8000.

were likely to attend. Some new regulations may be necessary with regard to the two branches of the Profession, for the purpose of discouraging their intermixture; it being, except perhaps in Bankruptcy procedure, highly inexpedient, both with a view to the interest of these professions and to that of their clients, that the office of advocate should be combined with that of solicitor or attorney.

The whole of the matters touched upon in these pages require, and we have no manner of doubt will receive, the careful and deliberate consideration of the Government. Whatever can be effected by previous investigation we are confident will be done, and done satisfactorily. Whatever can be effected by the discretionary powers vested in the Government we may rest assured will be honestly and discreetly accomplished. Whatever calls for the interposition of the Legislature we have every reason to expect will be cheerfully allowed and authorised, without any hindrance from party views or personal feelings. The subject is far too momentous to be made the ground of factious combination or political intrigue. Nor has there been any disposition evinced in any quarter so to treat it. The Bills of 1830 and 18331 have gradually been adopted in by far their most important branches, and in all that is essential to the system of Local Judicature. What remains to be added for the completion of that system is no doubt very material; but it is as incomparably less considerable than what has been already effected, and is now immoveably fixed as an integral part of British Jurisprudence.

It is well known that Lord Brougham postponed both his County Court Extension Bills last Session, one of which gave Equity Jurisdiction, in order not to interfere with the great measure of Chancery Reform then pending. It is most likely that the Commissions issued and about to be issued on Assimilation, Bankruptcy Procedure, and the County Courts, will prevent those Bills from being further proceeded with during what remains of the present Session; 50 that the entire adoption of the provisions in the Bills of 1830 and 1833 cannot be expected before next year.

ART. XIV.-RUSSIA AND TURKEY.

THE progress of Law Reform is so intimately bound up with the maintenance of peace, that we have looked with no small anxiety at the progress of a public question which has for some time past seriously threatened to involve England in a renewal of European hostilities.

The Emperor of Russia has thought proper to make a demand upon the Porte for the unprecedented concession to him of a religious protectorate over all the Greek Christians resident within the Turkish dominions; to propose, in fact, the establishment of a lay popedom of the Greek Church. It is hardly necessary to characterise this demand, as it bears upon the face of it all the features of hostile and arbitrary dictation from a powerful to a weak State, and discloses most palpably the design of setting up an imperium in imperio, which may familiarise the subjects of the Porte with the notion of Russian predominance, and prepare them for final submission to that great overshadowing Power, in which, according to the Russian creed, the Turkish empire is destined to be eventually swallowed up. The proposed protectorate would obviously involve, as between the Porte and its subjects, a system of foreign interference, which is quite irreconcileable with any theory of national independence, though that of Turkey has been expressly guaranteed by Russia herself. But so earnest is Russia in the prosecution of the object in view, that her armies have promptly crossed the Pruth, the boundary of the two empires, and occupied the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, in order to give weight to her reclamations, and coerce the Porte into submission, while the Emperor's proclamations to his subjects have represented the expedition as a holy war a modern crusade-in support of that religion of which he is de facto the head.

The British and French Governments have not thought fit to consider this proceeding of Russia as a positive or imme

negotiation, or perhaps remonstrance, and communications are now passing between France and England and Russia with a view of preventing hostilities. But if Russia should turn a deaf ear to these communications, we confess that we see no alternative for Great Britain but to adhere to the faith of treaties, and lend her assistance to Turkey in protecting the integrity of her dominions.

The relative rights and obligations of the Great Powers in this emergency are founded on three treaties, which must for the present purpose be examined in the same way as any contract before a court of municipal law, although, unfortunately, there is no international tribunal before which the parties can be impleaded, and final judgment pronounced.

The first treaty applicable to the question is that of Kaynardgi, which was made between Russia and Turkey in 1774, in the time of the Empress Catherine, and contains the following articles :

"Art. 7. The Sublime Portepromises to protect constantly the Christian religion of its churches; and it also gives permission to the ambassadors of the Court of Russia on all occasions to make representations as well in favour of the new church at Constantinople, of which mention is made in the 14th Article, as for those qui la desservent, promising to take them into consideration as made by a person in the confidence of a neighbouring and sincerely friendly Power."

"Art. 14. According to the example of other Powers, we permit the High Court of Russia to erect outside the chapel -built in the ambassador's house, in the quarter of Galata', in the street called Bey Oglu, a public church for Greek worship (au rit Grec), which shall be always under the protection of the ambassadors of the Russian empire, and secure from all molestation or vexatious interference."

The next is the Treaty of Adrianople, made in 1829, between Turkey and Russia. (British and Foreign State Papers. Ridgway.)

"Art. 3. The Pruth shall continue to form the boundary of the two Empires from the point where that river touches the territory of Moldavia into its confluence with the Danube."

! Anglicè, Wapping.