fore followed the English change in this respect, as well as in giving power to the defendant to exhibit interrogatories to the plaintiff in the same manner and for the same ends as the plaintiff requires an answer from him, and without the great expense and delay of a cross Bill.

It was well known to the practitioners in Chancery, that the plaintiff may on the hearing, and with or without evidence obtained, after issue joined, take such portions of the defendant's answer as may establish any part of his case, and as this was never done till the hearing, it was not possible precisely to know how far proof might be required on the broad grounds stated in the Bill and answer, which obliged the parties often to seek for evidence beyond what might be necessary, for fear of a deficiency in a matter so essential. To obviate this difficulty, and make it clear to all parties what is required to be proved, we have proposed a practice hitherto unknown in any of our Courts, but long existing, we believe, in Scotland, by which a Judge shall have power, after issue joined, in presence of the Counsel on both sides, to settle what facts are admitted and what denied, leaving only those not admitted by either side to be established by evidence.

It may also be properly observed here, that we have abolished what is called a rehearing after a decree, because all that is gained by a rehearing may be had on an appeal; and as a Bill of Review is only used after a decree has been enrolled, and a supplemental Bill in the nature of such Bill before enrolment, for newly discovered facts, we have also abolished those proceedings, an entry of the material facts of a cause in a regular Decree Book having been substituted by us for the enrolment; at the same time giving power to the Court to hear any newly discovered facts on the appeal, which can only be done on such a Bill, or such supplemental Bill, along with any other defect in the proceeding objected to; and by these changes disposing of a large amount of delay and expense.

We should have been glad to enter somewhat at large into an explanation respecting a great variety of improvements to be found in the Chapters we now present to Your Excellency, but fearing to be wearisome, we shall conclude our remarks on this branch of the Law, merely observing in addition, that in various proceedings in the Master's Office, in the foreclosure

and sale of Mortgages, in cases where Infants are interested, in Partition of Lands, besides sundry Forms, we have endeavoured by a great number of alterations to make the Practice in Equity procedure more plain and simple, and far less expensive.

We have nearly completed the preparation of various improvements in the Practice and Proceedings at Common Law, which we hope shortly to submit to Your Excellency.

We have the honor to be

Your Excellency's obedient servants,

W. B. KINNEAR, Solicitor General.
J. W. CHANDLER,

CHARLES FISHER.

Fredericton, 4th January, 1854.

THIRD REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS.

To His Excellency Sir Edmund Walker Head, Baronet, Lieutenant Governor and Commander in Chief of the Province of New Brunswick, &c. &c. &c. MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY,

In our second Report which we had the honor to lay before Your Excellency in the early part of the month, we stated the progress we had made since the last Session of the Legislature in the various duties of our Commission; and we also accompanied it with the drafts of the Bills to abolish the Court of Chancery, confer upon the Supreme Court the necessary Equity Jurisdiction, and to simplify Equity Practice.

The six Chapters upon Equity Procedure were all that we could complete in time to be presented to Your Excellency with that Report, though the various subjects which we now submit for the consideration of Your Excellency and the Legislature had been long and maturely weighed, and the process of reduction to a form fit for Parliamentary action nearly completed.

The codification of the Public Acts is completed, and if there is any omission in that department, we shall be able to supply it before the various Chapters into which it has been divided pass through the Legislature, and while we are arranging, the Private and Local Acts, which will form a second Volume.

In our first Report we referred to the principal alterations and amendments we have suggested in the Acts codified, but our object then being more to simplify and render intelligible the Statute Law than to amend it, reform was necessarily a secondary consideration.

During the past year we have been enabled to complete the revision, and carefully consider the different subjects of enquiry prescribed by the Legislature, and in this investigation we have discovered various defects in the Law, the amendments to supply which we propose to engraft upon the different Chapters in their appropriate places. This was the first part of our

duty, which in the language of the Act is stated to be, "as "well to consolidate, simplify, revise, and arrange in one uni"form code, the Acts of Assembly, incorporating therein such "alterations and amendments as we should deem necessary."

We were also required "to report on the procedure of the "Courts of Law and Equity, and to suggest such alterations as "might appear to us, or a majority of us, best adapted to lessen expense and advance justice; and especially to take into con"sideration the Law of Evidence as now existing in this Pro"vince, and the propriety of altering the same."

This enquiry compelled us to survey the whole condition and machinery of the Courts of Law and Equity; to ascertain their adaptation to the present state and wants of the country, and their capacity to satisfy the legitimate demands of a progressive people; to examine into the present mode of conducting suits, and practice of the Courts in relation thereto; to consider the ingredients of an ordinary trial and its incidents; to examine the Jury system; and especially to consider the state of the Law of Evidence and the propriety of altering it; and to enquire how far the present practice was likely to secure substantial justice to the litigant parties.

We have endeavoured calmly and deliberately to consider these several important questions, and divesting ourselves of all professional bias, to weigh well the changes and improvements which others have effected in these departments of Jurisprudence. We are of opinion that whilst every thing social, industrial, and political in this Province is rapidly improving according to the requirements of modern civilization, the practice of our Courts, and the administration of justice generally, retain too many features of a barbarous age, and too much of its ancient gothic character, and we think nothing but a series of radical reforms will adapt them to our age and country.

The two great ends which the Legislature have aimed at were to lessen expense and advance justice. From the earliest period of the history of the Mother Country, the Founders of our system of Jurisprudence have aimed at the same result.

We have already given the reasons which induced us to recommend the union of the Courts of Law and Equity, and we now recommend the abolition of the Inferior Courts of Common

Pleas, except in the City and County of Saint John, and the establishment of Assizes twice every year in each County of the Province, and that the General Sessions should be held at the same time. This will relieve the people from one Grand and one Petit Jury in every County except York, Charlotte, and Saint John, and two in York and Charlotte. This plan will require all Criminal and Civil Suits to be tried at the Circuit Courts over which a Judge of the Supreme Court would preside. The Sessions could either at the same time in a different apartment transact their ordinary local, fiscal, aud municipal business, or adjourn to a more convenient day. They would, as well as the Grand Jury, receive the advice and instruction of the presiding Judge; and the ordinary Criminal business of a Circuit, with the supervision of the County Accounts, might be disposed of in the time generally occupied by a Grand Jury under the present system, who are often delayed by the local officers. In incorporated Counties the duties of the Grand Jury will be confined to the Criminal business of the Circuit Court, and the business of the Session reduced within a narrow compass. Should the Legislature determine to retain the Inferior Courts, we recommend that either party to a suit should have a right to remove it into the Supreme Court at any time before the trial.

We have excepted the City and County of Saint John, because we believe that in a large and commercial community such a local tribunal for the settlement of controversies of small amount advisable.

We propose to transfer the Jurisdiction of the Court of Marriage and Divorce to the Supreme Court. Suits relating to marital rights are not of frequent occurrence, but we think the Supreme Court alone should be the tribunal for litigating every question of importance in this Province.

We believe these alterations will not increase the business of the Supreme Court, as may be at first supposed. The simplicity of legal proceedings, the abolition of so much that is technical, and provision for the disposal by a Judge at Chambers of many trifling questions which were hitherto required to be done before the Court in banc, will greatly lessen the ordinary routine business of the Term. We also propose that a single Judge should sit on the Saturday and Monday before