Page:Select Essays in Anglo-American Legal History, Volume 1.djvu/819

 so. VEEDER: A CENTURY OF JUDICATURE 805 raised to the peerage as Lord Penzance. The court now, for the first time, gave satisfaction, particularly in equity. The reports of its decisions, as contained in the last volumes of Clark's House of Lords Cases, the English and Irish Appeal Cases (1865-75), and the Scotch and Divorce Appeal Cases (1865-75) are of the first importance. They deal less with public and more with private cases, and the discussion of legal principles is much more scientific than any of the prior debates of the House. In the Privy Council during this period Kingsdown re- ceived valuable assistance from Knight-Bruce, who was learned in foreign systems of jurisprudence, and from Turner, Penzance and Westbury. Peel and Colville had great weight in Indian appeals. By a statute of 34 and 35 Victoria, provision was made for the addition of four paid judges, in consequence of which the court was strengthened by the appointment of Peacock, Collier, Montague E. Smith and Byles. Byles' service was unimportant, and Peacock confined his attention mainly to Indian appeals ; but Collier and Smith were able and industrious judges. Collier took an important part in formulating the opinions of the court, and the work performed by Smith was both considerable in amount and of permanent value. These judges were as- sisted principally by Cairns and Penzance. ///. From the Judicature Acts of 1873-75 to the End of the Century In his great speech introducing the Judicature Act ot 1873, Lord Selborne enumerated the principal defects of the existing system under four heads: (1) The artificial separation of legal and equitable jurisdictions; (2) divided courts and divided jurisdictions; (3) lack of cheapness, sim- plicity and uniformity of procedure; (4) necessity of im- proving the constitution of the court of appeals. " We must bring together," he said, " our many divided courts and di- vided jurisdictions by erecting or rather re-erecting — for after all there was in the beginning of our constitutional sys-