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OBSERVATIONS

ON

THE CORONERS' INQUEST BILL.

some clause having this object introduced in the Bill now before the House. But, at any rate, we object to the imposition of any additional burden on the coroner. If the Bill passes in its present shape, the coroner, who passes his accounts only once a year, will be out of his money, which may be a considerable sum, for a very long and inconvenient time, and after all he may, by the caprice of the justices, be refused payment altogether.

We would submit the following plan instead of the one proposed :-

A BILL has lately been introduced into Parliament relative to the expenses of Coroners' Inquests, which is very objectionable in some of its details. By sec. 1, the coroner is directed to pay these expenses out of his own pocket; and by sec. 2, he is to be reimbursed by laying before two justices, at some petty sessions to be holden for the division in which such inquest shall The county rates are paid by the overhave been holden, an account of his ex- seers out of the poor rate to the high conpenses, with proper vouchers; and the jus- stables of the various hundreds, and paid tices may examine the coroner on oath, and in by these constables at every quarter sesif satisfied, make an order on the treasurer sions to the county treasurer; so that the of the county for the payment of the ex- overseers as constables have always county penses out of the county rates. Thus, it money in hand. Now let the coroner give will be seen, that the disbursement of the an order on them to pay these expenses, coroner is obligatory, and his reimburse- and let the coroner's order be received by ment optional with the justices. Now the the treasurer as a voucher and discharge for coroners are a very deserving body, and are so much of the county rate as these may at present very slightly remunerated for amount to; or, if this should be considered their trouble. Their present allowance was as giving too much power to the coroner, fixed by the 25 G. 2, c. 29, (just eighty-five let him be empowered to exhibit his acyears ago,) and they receive only 17. for counts to two justices at quarter sessions, each inquisition, and 9d. a mile for their as provided by the 25 G. 2, c. 29, for travelling expenses; so that in an extensive passing the usual and ordinary accounts. district, considering their loss of time, they It is little inconvenience to a coroner to are frequently rather losers than gainers by attend a quarter sessions, he being genethe discharge of their duties. A Bill was rally there on other business, but a petty brought in some time ago by Mr. Cripps to sessions may be held at a distance from his increase this allowance, which was, how-residence, and he will be saddled with the ever, suffered to drop through. We believe, however, that Sir George Strickland and many other members, are favourable to this increase; and we should be glad to see

a Printed antè, p. 23. VOL. XIV.-NO. 898.

expense of going and returning there. These details may appear trifling, but the coroners are not at present so well paid for their trouble, as to make them unimportant to them.

We particularly call the attention of the

C

34

Observations on the Coroners' Inquest Bill. - Law of Attorneys.

long as he continues indebted to the agent for other business; citing Ward v. Kepple, 15 Ves. 297; and Ex parte Steele, 16 Ves. 164. It has, however, lately been held at nisi prius, that the town-agent of an attor

Legislature to this Bill, because by the late | ment or tender of the charges in any parAct for Registering Deaths, Births, and ticular cause will not entitle the attorney Marriages, (6 & 7 W. 4, c. 86,) several ad- to the delivery of the papers therein, so ditional duties are imposed on coroners, without any remuneration. Thus, by sec. 19, it is enacted, that in the case of any dead body found exposed, the coroner shall forthwith give notice of it to the registrar; by sec. 25, in every case in which an in-ney has a lien upon the money received in quest shall be held on any dead body, the jury shall inquire of the particulars required to be registered, and the coroner shall, by his certificate, inform the registrar of the finding of the jury; and by sec. 27, the coroner is to give an order for the burial in the form in the schedule F. Now the coroner has to do all this for nothing. The registrar, who is simply to make his entries, is to be well paid; but the coroner, who is to have almost all the work, is not to be paid anything: he is not even provided with blank forms to fill up, with which the registrar is fully supplied for his part of the duty. But the giving these notices will entail other expenses which are left unprovided for. There is a Bill for amending the Registration Act now before the House of Commons, and we are desirous of seeing the duty of giving notices required under sec. 19, placed on the overseer, and not on the coroner; and we submit that the coroner, for the certificate required under sec. 25, should receive the same fee as the registrar.

We sincerely hope that these observations may find their way to the proper quarter. There is perhaps no public officer so ill remunerated as the coroner, yet his duties are arduous, unceasing, and difficult to perform. We would propose, therefore, that he should receive a further fee for his increased labours under the Registration Act; that his allowance for travelling expenses should be increased to 1s. a mile; and that, if he is to advance the expenses of the inquest, he should not, at any rate, be longer out of pocket than three months.

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the particular cause and upon the papers
in the particular cause for the amount due
to him by the attorney for the agency bill
in that particular cause only, and that he
has this lien against all the world; and if
he has had no payment made to him speci-
fically on account of this cause, he is en-
titled to this lien until his agency bill in the
particular cause is satisfied; and that if the
agent has parted with the possession of the
papers by his own act, though by mistake,
his lien is at an end; but if the papers did
not get lawfully out of his possession, his
lien continues, and he may maintain trover
for them. In giving judgment, Mr. Justice
Littledale said, "It is a rule of law that an
attorney has a lien upon all papers of his
client which are in his hands for his bill for
all business of that client. However this
is not so with the attorney's agent. The
agent has only a lien upon the money re-
covered and upon the papers in his hands
in the particular cause, for the amount due
to him by the attorney in the particular
cause only, and in this case the plaintiff
would have a lien to that extent against all
the world, but his lien goes only to the
extent of the papers in that cause for the
money due to him in that cause only. The
plaintiff was the agent of Mr. Smith, and
it is proved that the remittances which
were sent him on Mr. Smith's general ac-
count had satisfied that account all but 51.,
but it appears that no payment had been
made in this cause specifically. Now, if
there was any balance due to the plaintiff,
he had a lien on these
till the agency
bill in this particular cause was settled.
The defence is, that the plaintiff had sent
the papers into the country to Mr. Smith.
Now if the plaintiff had parted with the
papers he had no lien upon them; but if
he had not, he still has his lien. If the
plaintiff parted with the possession of the
papers by his own act, he has no longer
any lien upon them; but if they were got
out of his possession wrongfully, his lien
remains." Dicas v. Stockley, 7 Car. &
Pay. 587.

papers

Law of Attorneys.

PRODUCTION OF CASES FOR THE OPINION OF

COUNSEL.

A party is not compellable to produce, for the purposes of an action or suit, cases laid before counsel in the progress of a cause, and prepared in contemplation of such action or suit. Bolton v. Corporation of Liverpool, 1 P. Cooper's Rep. 22.

"With respect to the cases sought to be inspected (says Lord Brougham, C.), these are the cases laid before counsel in contemplation of the action, and pending the proceedings. Their dates come down to the 29th Oct. 1831, the bill having been filed in Nov. 1830, and the answer sworn in Dec. 1831. Most of the cases were laid before counsel after the demurrer was argued; nay, after it came before me on appeal -some of them on the very eve of the present application to the Vice-Chancellor. They are sworn in the answer to have been prepared in contemplation of and with reference to the action and suit.' It is suggested, that one of them is the very brief for counsel at the trial of the action, to prepare himself against which the plaintiff in equity claims the inspection. And whether this be so, in point of fact, or not, is immaterial, as it may well occur in any cause, if the rases laid before counsel in reference to that cause at law can be obtained by coming to this court.

:

"It seems plain that the course of justice must stop if such a right exists. No man will dare to consult a professional adviser with a view to his defence, or to the enforcement of his rights. The very case which he lays before his counsel, to advise upon the evidence, may, and often does, contain the whole of his evidence, and may be, and frequently is, the brief with which that or some other counsel is furnished to con duct his cause. The principle contended for, that inspection of cases, though not of the opinions, may always be obtained as of right, would produce this effect, and neither more nor less that a party would go into Court and try the cause, and there would be the original of his brief in his own counsel's bag, and a copy of it in the bag of his adversary's counsel; nay, as often as a party found himself unprepared, or suspected that something new had come to his adversary's knowledge, he might (at least if he were plaintiff) postpone the trial, and obtain a discovery of those new circumstances, which in all likelihood had been laid before counsel for advice. If it be said that this Court compels the disclosure of whatever a party has at any time said respecting his case; nay, even wrings his conscience to disclose his belief, the answer is, that admissions not made, or thoughts not communicated to professional advisers, are not essential to the security of men's rights in courts of justice. Proceedings for this purpose can be conducted in full perfection, without the party informing any one of his case except his legal advisers; but without such communication to professional men, no person can safely come into a Court, either to obtain redress or to defend himself against a claim.

35

"Yet, violent as such compulsory disclosure may be deemed, and wholly inconsistent with the possibility of safely transacting judicial affairs, if the authorities are in its favour, we must submit. Radcliffe v. Fursman, 2 Bro. P. C. 514, is the case commonly relied on in these questions It is a decision of Lord King's, afded the question, there would have been no firmed in the House of Lords. If it had decialternative but submission. The report in Brown is imperfect, and in one respect not correct; for it conveys an inaccurate notion of the nature of the demurrer But even by the report, and certainly by the printed cases which I have examined, together with my noble and learned predecessor, it appears plain that the record did not show any suit to have been instituted, or even threatened, at the time the case was stated for the opinion of counsel; and the decision being upon the demurrer, the Court had no right to know any thing which the record did not disclose. All the Court knew was, that a case had been laid before counsel at some time in order to satisfy the party consulting, whether or not his rights had been affected by a certain lapse of time. Aud the ground on which the production was resisted appears to have been the mischief of disclosing statements confidentially made for the private ease and satisfaction of parties. So far this decision rules that a case laid before counsel is not protected; that it must be disclosed. But the decision does not rule that disclosure must be made of a case laid before counsel, in reference to, or in contemplation of, or during the pendency of a suit or action, to serve the purposes of which action the production is sought.

"The case of Preston v. Carr, 1 Yo. & Jer. 175, would seem to have carried the doctrine of Radcliffe v. Fursman this one most material step farther, but apparently without intending to do so, for one of the learned judges says, that he agrees with those who have expressed an opinion that it should not be carried further. There is, however, a decision of this Court since Preston v. Carr, by which I am disposed to be guided, in deference as well to all the principles upon which it proceeds, as to the authority of the noble and learned judge who pronounced it-I mean the case of Hughes v. Biddulph, 4 Russ. 190. I can, however, see no difference between the letters there excepted from the order to produce documents, and the cases laid before counsel. They were letters which passed between the client and the solicitor, and between two solicitors employed by the client in the progress of the cause, or with reference to the cause before it was instituted. This was the line which Lord Lyndhurst drew: and I can see no difference between the statements of a case in such correspondence, and the statements which are laid before counsel in the form of a case for their opinion. Something which occurred in the correspondence might happen to be kept out of the case so laid before counsel, and that might be a motive in one instance for not refusing the production of the case, while the party might have a reason for refusing the letters. But that is accidental, and cannot af

36

Law of Attorneys.-Notices of New Books: Maugham's Outlines of Law.

ect the principle; for it is clear that the case "Instead of voluminous works, designed for may, and in such circumstances probably will, the full and complete information which the contain as much matter as the letters, which practitioner requirers in all the details of his prothe client cannot safely disclose; and it may fessional duty,-a general summary of the Law very well happen that the case prepared by the and Practice appears to be necessary for the solicitor should contain more than the letters. student,-an Outline sufficiently full to afford a Vent v. Pacey, 4 Russ. 193, which followed two comprehensive view of the subject, but without years after, though reported next in the same entering either into minute particulars and volume, is said to throw a doubt upon Hughes | endless details, or into cases of rare occurence. v. Biddulph, at least as far as regards its appli "In attempting to supply this deficiency, cation to this question. In the first place, and to afford at least some additional means however, the Vice-Chancellor having acted on of instruction, the aim has been not merely to Hughes v. Biddulph, as regards the letters, his point out the course which the student should order was appealed from and affirmed. But take, but actually to accompany him on his next it is said, that a case laid before counsel way;-not merely to direct him to select for appears incidentally to have been produced. himself the useful parts of large and compre The observation which I have made will explain | hensive works, but to make the selection for that; for the party may not have resisted the him:-to cull from various sources into a comproduction, on the accidental ground which I pendious form that which he should render have referred to, of the letters happening to familiar to his recollection, and engraft abidcontain what he was reluctant to disclose, ingly into his mind. though the case did not. But be that as it may, there was no contest on the production of the case, and the question was not decided.

"I am therefore upon the whole of opinion, that cases laid before counsel in the progress of a cause, and prepared in contemplation of, and with reference to an action or suit, cannot be ordered to be produced for the purpose of that action or suit."

NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS.

STUDY OF THE LAW.

"

With this purpose in view, the compiler has endeavoured to bring the matter into such limits, and arrange it in such order and method, as may enable the student, within a reasonable time, to make himself master of a considerable extent of legal knowledge, on many of the subjects with which he ought to be intimately acquainted. He thus hopes to contribute, in some small degree, to diminish the difficulties in which his younger brethren are placed, and to assist somewhat in smoothing their path to a satisfactory result.

cognizable in the Superior Courts, affecting the Persons and the Property of individuals. These involve the important duty of the legal adviser to determine rightly in what Court, and in what form and manner, the Remedy should be sought,

"It appeared to the compiler that the most useful course would be to commence with some branch of the law, of very general application Outlines of Law or Readings from Black-selected for consideration, the various Injuries He has therefore to professional business. stone and other Text Writers; altered according to the present Law: comprising Injuries to Persons and Property, and their Remedies in the Courts of Law, Equity, and Bankruptcy. Designed for the use of Young Practitioners, Articled whether at the Common Law or in Equity; Clerks, and other Law Students. By redress thus afforded for each injury, and the or in the collateral branch of Bankruptcy. The Robert Maugham, Secretary to the In-specific nature of each remedy, ought of course corporated Law Society. London: Rich-to be well known to every practitioner. ards & Co., 1837.

"In considering these injuries, and the appropriate remedies afforded in the Courts of Common Law, it appeared impossible to follow

THE utility of this work, and its general scope and design, appear to be fully de-a better model than Sir Wm. Blackstone. His scribed in the Preface or Introduction; and the author thus adverts to the existing want, in reference to the means of study, which he aims to supply:

masterly summary of the Law relating to Private Wrongs, contained in the third volume of the Commentaries, stands altogether unrivalled; but the abolition of all actions concerning real property except ejectment, dower, and quare impedit, has rendered no longer practically useful a considerable part of that volume. Yet a concise account of so much of the former law as bears upon its present state, appeared necessary to be retained.

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"Our legal writers (he says) appear to have directed their attention to works suited rather to the busy Practitioner than the Student or the Junior Members of the Profession. With the exception of the Commentaries of Sir William Blackstone, there is scarcely any elementary Looking at the extensive and rapid alterawork to assist the student in the early stages of tions which have been made within the last few his progress. It is true there are many books years, compared with the slow and limited to advise him; but most of them point out so changes of former times, it is interesting to large a field for cultivation, that he is disheart-notice the remarks of Sir Wm. Blackstone. ened in commencing his labours, and has but little hope of satisfactorily concluding them.

When laws (he says) are to be framed by popular assemblies, even of the representative

Notices of New Books: Maugham's Outlines of Law.

37

lar skill and excellence. This task of omission has been reluctantly performed.

doctrines laid down in the early reporters.

kind, it is too Herculean a task to begin the would probably at the present day have deemed work of legislation afresh, and extract a new it advisable to leave to the historian and antisystem from the discordant opinions of more quary, much of that legal learning which he than five hundred counsellors. A single legis-wrought out and embellished with such singulator or an enterprising sovereign, a Solon or a Lycurgus, a Justinian or a Frederick, may at any time form a concise, and perhaps an uni- "In the department of Equity, the Outline form, plan of justice: and evil betide that pre- given in the Commentaries appeared to be sumptuous subject who questions its wisdom or insufficient for the purpose of the student, and utility! But who, that is acquainted with the not to bear an equal proportion to the summary difficulty of new-modelling any branch of our of the Common Law remedies. The first statute laws, (though relating but to roads or Chapter of the Second Part of this volume, to parish settlements,) will conceive it ever fea- which treats of the general nature of Equity, sible to alter any fundamental point of the com- contains all that is to be found in the Common law, with all its appendages and conse- mentaries on that subject; except a brief statequents, and set up another rule in its stead?ment of the principal stages of proceeding, When, therefore, by the gradual influence of which belong not to the present volume. It foreign trade and domestic tranquility, the became necessary, therefore, to resort to some spirit of our military tenures began to decay, other text-writer to extend the Outline farther, and at length the whole structure was removed, and fill up partially some of the principal heads the judges quickly perceived that the forms and of Equity. For this purpose, the compiler has delays of the feodal actions (guarded with their resorted to an early edition of the Treatise on several outworks of essoins, vouchers, aid-pray- Equity, edited by the late Mr. Fonblanque, ers, and a hundred other formidable intrench- and wherever necessary, he has stated the rements) were ill-suited to that more simple and cent authorities. The leading principles of commercial mode of property which succeeded Equity, however, have not undergone much the former, and required a more speedy deci- change in late times; and there has been comsion of right, to facilitate exchange and aliena-paratively little occasion to depart from the tion. Yet they wisely avoided soliciting any great legislative revolution in the old establish- "The Third Part of the volume, which ed forms, which might have been productive of treats of Bankruptcy, is unavoidably concise, consequences more numerous and extensive like the other parts of the work. This has been than the most penetrating genius could foresee, compiled principally from the statute of 6 G. 4, but left them as they were, to languish in ob- with the addition of some judicial decisions: scurity and oblivion, and endeavoured by a and it is hoped that it will be found arranged series of minute contrivances to accommodate in a convenient manner, and will enable the such personal actions, as were then in use, to student to fill up the Outline by further readall the most useful purposes of remedial justice: ing. The Fourth Part, which relates to the and where, through the dread of innovation, Law of Distress, and the Fifth to Arbitration, they hesitated at going so far as perhaps their are placed at the end of the volume, not being good sense would have prompted them, they connected directly with the remedies belongleft an opening for the more liberal and enter-ing peculiarly to any of the Courts. prising judges, who have sate in our courts of "It was deemed advisable to depart in some equity, to shew them their error by supplying instances from the arrangement adopted in the the omissions of the courts of law. And, since Commentaries, for the sake of coinmencing the new expedients have been refined by the with subjects which appeared more likely to practice of more than a century, and are suffi- occur in the ordinary course of professional ciently known and understood, they in general business. The text has been carefully preanswer the purpose of doing speedy and sub-served except where the law was subsequently stantial justice, much better than could now be effected by any great fundamental alterations. The onlydifficulty that attends them arises from their fictions and circuities: but, when once we have discovered the proper clew, that labyrinth is easily pervaded. Our syetem of remedial law resembles an old Gothic castle, erected in the days of chivalry, but fitted up for a modern inhabitant. The moated ramparts, the embattled towers, and the trophied halls, are magnificent and venerable, but useless, and therefore neglected. The inferior apartments, now accommodated to daily use, are cheerful and commodious. thaugh their approaches may be winding and difficult.'

"Whatever might have been the learned Commentator's opinion of the wisdom of that great legislative revolution in the old established forms' which has been effected in our times, and contrary to his expectation,-he

altered, and these alterations have been embodied in the work wherever they occurred. The passages which have been omitted, (besides the repealed parts of the law), consist of some of the historical statements, but others have been retained for their useful explanation of the existing law. Those portions of the Commentaries which relate to the mode of proceeding in the several Courts have been reserved for another volume, if haply the manner in which this has been executed should be favoured with the approbation of the profession."

The following is a summary of the contents of the volume. The First Part relates to Injuries to Persons and Property, and their Remedies in the Courts of Common Law, and the subjects are arranged as follows:

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