GREAT BRITAIN. 



333 



Judge of the Probate Court, the several Puisne 

 Judges, and the Judge of the Court of Admi- 

 ralty, except such of those Judges as shall be 

 appointed ordinary Judges in the Court of 

 Appeal. 



The " Court of Appeal " to which the juris- 

 diction of the Judicial Committee of the Privy 

 Council will pass is to be constituted of five 

 ex-offleio Judges, and also so many ordinary 

 Judges (not to exceed nine at any one time) as 

 her Majesty shall appoint ; the ex-ojftcio Judges 

 to be the Lord-Chancellor, the Lord Chief-Jus- 

 tice of England, the Master of the Rolls, the 

 Lord Chief-Justice of the Common Pleas, and 

 the Lord Chief Baron; the first ordinary 

 Judges of the Court to be the existing Lords 

 Justices of Appeal in Chancery, the existing 

 salaried Judges of the Judicial Committee, and 

 such three other persons as her Majesty may 

 please to appoint by letters-patent. Such ap- 

 pointment may be made either within one 

 month before or any time after the day appoint- 

 ed for the commencement of the act. But, if 

 made before, it shall take effect at the com- 

 mencement of the act. Besides the ex-offleio 

 Judges and the ordinary Judges, her Majesty 

 may appoint additional Judges. The Lord 

 Chancellor is to be the President of the Court 

 of Appeal. Any new Judge to be appointed 

 must be of ten years' standing, and on his ap- 

 pointment need not be made a sergeant-at- 

 law. 



The second part of the net has reference to 

 jurisdiction and law, and sets forth the busi- 

 ness to be conferred on both courts and the 

 transfer of pending business. The 24th sec- 

 tion declares that, in every civil cause or mat- 

 ter commenced in the High Court of Justice, 

 law and equity shall be administered by the 

 High Court of Justice and the Court of Ap- 

 peal respectively, according to the rules laid 

 down. 



The third part of the statute relates to 

 sittings and distribution of business. The 

 division of the legal year into Terms is to be 

 abolished, so far as relates to the administration 

 of justice. Vacations may be appointed, and 

 in London or Middlesex during vacation pro- 

 vision is to be made, by rules of the Court, for 

 the hearing of cases in London or Middlesex. 

 There are to be "five" divisions, called the 

 Chancery Division, the Queen's Bench Di- 

 vision, the Common Pleas Division, the Ex- 

 chequer Division, and the Probate, Divorce, 

 and Admiralty Division. Rules of Court are 

 to provide for the distribution of business, 

 and there are to be divisional Courts. There 

 is a provision in the act as to Crown Cases Re- 

 served to be heard by the Judges of the High 

 Court. 



The fourth part refers to " Trial and Proce- 

 dure." and the appointment of referees, a new 

 feature in legal jurisprudence. The fifth part 

 relates to " Officers and Offices," the sixth to 

 the "Jurisdiction of Inferior Courts," and the 

 seventh contains " Miscellaneous Provisions," 



in addition to an interpretation of terms used 

 in the act. 



The schedule as to the rules of procedure is 

 an important part of the new law, and will 

 effect considerable alteration in the practice of 

 the Courts. New rules are to be prepared to 

 regulate the sittings of the Courts, and at 

 Chambers, and for other matters not expressly 

 determined, and these rules will be published 

 some time before the operation of the act. 



Another act, whose justice has been long 

 acknowledged, was that to abolish tests in 

 Trinity College and Dublin University. The 

 act recites that it is expedient that the bene- 

 fits of Trinity College and the University 

 of Dublin, and of the schools in the said uni- 

 versity, as places of religion and learning, 

 should be rendered freely accessible to the 

 nation : that by means of divers restrictions, 

 tests, and disabilities, many of her Majesty's 

 subjects are debarred from the full enjoyment 

 of the same: and it is expedient that such 

 restrictions, tests, and disabilities, should be re- 

 moved. It is therefore enacted that from and 

 after the passing of this act no person shall be 

 required, upon exercising, or to enable him to 

 exercise, any of the rights and privileges ex- 

 ercised by students or graduates in the said 

 university, or upon taking or holding any office 

 in the said university or college, or upon teach- 

 ing within the said university or college, to sub- 

 scribe to any article or fortnulary of faith, or to 

 make any declaration or take any oath respect- 

 ing his religious belief or profession, or to con- 

 form to any form of public worship, or to do 

 any act in connection with any form of pub- 

 lic worship, or belong to any specified church, 

 sect, or denomination ; nor shall any person 

 be compelled in the said university or college 

 to attend the public worship of any church, 

 sect, or denomination, to which he does not 

 belong ; and no person elected to a fellowship 

 or any other office shall be deprived of his 

 office by reason that he is not or does not be- 

 come ordained in holy orders. It is provided 

 that the word "office " shall not, so long as the 

 University of Dublin shall continue to teach 

 and to grant degrees in the Faculty of The- 

 ology, apply to any Professor of or Lecturer 

 in Divinity ; but save, as aforesaid, the word 

 shall include every professorship, assistant 

 or deputy professorship, public readership, 

 prelectorship, lectureship, assistant lecture- 

 ship, provostship, fellowship, studentship, tu- 

 torship, scholarship, and exhibition, and also 

 any office or emolument not in this section 

 specified, the income of which is payable out 

 of the revenues or income of the said univer- 

 sity or college, or any of the schools therein, 

 or which is held and enjoyed by any member 

 of the same. 



The only event of British legislation of spe- 

 cial importance to us as a nation was the issue 

 of the order for the payment of the Geneva 

 award in the Alabama case, and the transfer 

 of the amount, in the month of September, 



