the collective virtue and public spirit of the individual citizens of our republic are the source, and the only source, of all our national power; that the functions of government are limited to devising the ways and means by which each individual citizen can most conveniently bear his share of the public burden; that taxation, and not loans, is the proper way of meeting an extraordinary expenditure which taxes the whole energies of the people, loans being advisable only when the emergency is not sufficient to necessitate the expensive machinery of taxation. When these principles are acted upon, our government will be a commonwealth in deed, as in name, and our financial system, from being the most complex, will become the most simple among nations.

ART. V.-1. Mémoire sur l'Origine et l'Organisation des Committés Conciliateurs en Dannemarc. Par A. B. ROTHE. Copenhague. 1803. 16mo. pp. 126.

2. Beyträge zur Kenntniss der Vergleichs-Einrichtungen in Dänemark. Von A. B. ROTHE. Copenhagen. 1804. 16mo. pp. 118.

Ar the close of the last century the administration of justice on the continent of Europe was in a very wretched state. At no time can the praise bestowed on the theoretical simplicity of the civil law be truly extended to the practice of the courts; and at this period the forms of procedure were to the full as verbose and cumbersome, as provocative of delay and expense, as those in an English chancery suit, while the legal profession generally were accused, and it would seem justly, of chicanery, and of eagerness rather to foment litigation than to promote the real interests of their clients. To remedy these growing evils several governments established Courts of Conciliation. for the amicable settlement of disputes. These courts differed considerably in their organization, and met with very different

success.

In most countries the experiment has entirely failed and

been abandoned. in Holland, and substantially at Geneva. In Denmark, on the other hand, these courts have continued down to the present time, and are said still to fulfil their intended purpose; in France too they still exist, but chiefly as a mere form, of little

Such has been the case in the Netherlands,

or no use.

Attempts have been made to introduce similar tribunals into England, notably by Lord Brougham in 1830, and also into this country, as by the commissioners who prepared the New York code. None of these attempts have, we believe, been successful.

We propose to give a short account of the organization and procedure of the Courts of Conciliation in the countries, Denmark and France, where they are still to be found, to note the measure of success which has attended them, to trace the causes to which success may be due, and to consider whether the same causes exist to lead to the same result among ourselves.

The Courts of Conciliation were established in Denmark by a royal decree of July, 1795. There is one in the capital, and one in each of the chief towns, while the whole of the kingdom outside the towns is divided into districts, each with its separate court. This system of judicature is, however, confined to the kingdom of Denmark proper, comprising Jutland and the islands; it was never extended over the rich duchies of Holstein and Schleswig.

In Copenhagen the court consists of three members, a president, chosen from among the assessors of the city court, one of the city magistrates, and one of the thirty-two representatives of the city. The president holds his office for four years, and may be reappointed; but the two other members are changed weekly in regular rotation. In the other towns the magistrates nominate four or six candidates, two of whom are elected by the citizens. These two compose the court, and remain in office three years. In the country districts the duty of holding these courts devolves upon the grand bailiffs, or those counts and barons who have the like authority; but the districts are so arranged that no place shall be more than twelve miles from the seat of a court; and if any bailiwick comprises more than one district, the bailiff appoints as deputies two worthy

citizens, who hold court in his stead in the districts remote from his own residence.

Both in town and country, service on these courts is compulsory; and no barrister, attorney, or judge of the ordinary court is eligible to them. Each court has a clerk, a seal, and a record; but in some of the smallest country districts the presiding member acts as clerk. A member interested in a case is not allowed to sit, neither is he if related to one of the parties, unless the other party waives the objection.

In Copenhagen the court is constantly in session; elsewhere the courts usually meet once a week. They always sit with closed doors.

The territorial limits of each court's jurisdiction are prescribed; and all persons within them, even the nobility, the military, and the clergy, who have special tribunals of their own and are not amenable to the ordinary law courts, are yet subject to the Courts of Conciliation. These courts have jurisdiction over all questions which might form the subject of a suit at law, with the following exceptions:-1. Criminal cases; 2. Suits brought by any department of the royal government; 3. Matters relative to bills of exchange; 4. Actions for libel against public officers; 5. Matrimonial causes. Under this last head it should be observed, however, that, though the court cannot decree a divorce or separation, even with the consent of the parties, it can compel the attendance of husband and wife, and attempt to reconcile them; and, failing this, can arrange terms of separation, which it reports to the court authorized to act in such cases.

The proceedings before the Courts of Conciliation begin with a complaint containing a brief statement of the plaintiff's claim and of the name and residence of both parties. This complaint, which may be oral, but is generally written and may be accom. panied by such papers as bear on the case, is entered, on its reception, in the record. Thereupon summons to the plaintiff and defendant are issued by the court, and served by its officers, who receive a trifling fee for each person summoned. These fees are paid by the plaintiff, and repaid to him by the defendant, if the award of the court so decrees and is concurred in. In the towns, parties are obliged to appear the day after sum

mons; in the country, on the fourth day. An appearance in person is required, unless the party has one of the legal excuses: these are absence, sickness, the performance of public duties, and "private business which cannot be deferred or which will be prejudiced by delay." When any one is prevented by a legal excuse from appearing in person, he must send a proxy, with full power to act in his name. All barristers, attorneys, and their clerks, are excluded from appearing before the Courts of Conciliation, either as proxies or in any other representative or advisory capacity.

If the plaintiff fail to appear when summoned, he is nonsuited. If the defendant fail to appear, the court certifies the fact on the original complaint, which is returned to the plaintiff, who can then bring the case before a court of law; and this court will order the defendant to pay the costs of the trial, the damages to which all persons temere litigantes are subject, the costs before the Court of Conciliation, and compensation to the plaintiff for loss of time. All these costs and damages must be paid by the defendant, even should the final decision of the cause be in his favor.

When one party appears by proxy, the Court of Conciliation has no authority to decide whether there is a legal excuse for the failure to appear in person, but the alleged excuse is entered on the record, and its sufficiency must be judged of by the law court should the case come before it; if deemed insufficient, the party in fault is mulcted in the same costs and damages as a defendant who has failed to appear altogether.

When the parties are before the court, their names and the subject-matter of dispute are entered in the record. The plaintiff then states his grievance, and the defendant replies, admitting its truth or making a counter-statement of his own.

If the dispute turns on a question of fact, which cannot be decided by the documentary evidence produced, the court grants a continuance to allow the plaintiff time to examine witnesses. This examination, which is in writing, takes place before the ordinary tribunals, the Court of Conciliation having no power to administer an oath. The defendant can cross-examine the plaintiff's witnesses, but he is not allowed to examine any witnesses of his own; if he finds it necessary to produce evi

dence on his own behalf, he must refuse to accede to the award of the Court of Conciliation, and bring the case before a court of law. When the examination is closed, the deposition is delivered by the magistrate before whom it is taken to the plaintiff, who appears with it before the Court of Conciliation at the adjourned hearing. The court then reads these depositions in the presence of the parties, explains to them the law bearing on the case, and makes its award.

The parties can agree to this award or not. If they agree, it is put in formal shape, inserted in the record, and signed by both parties. A copy is furnished to the plaintiff, who can at once have execution on it in the same way as on the judgment of a law court of last resort, no exception or appeal being allowed to interfere with or delay it.

If execution is not levied within a year and six weeks, the suit must be renewed before the Courts of Conciliation by a process analogous to scire facias at the common law. This provision, however, it should be observed, is not peculiar to the case of awards by the Courts of Conciliation, but extends to the judgments of the ordinary tribunals.

If either party refuses to agree to the award of the Court of Conciliation, or if the defendant neglects to appear before it, a transfer of the cause to the courts of law takes place. In case of a refusal to agree, the court notes it on the record, and returns to the plaintiff his original complaint, with a certificate. of this refusal; and the plaintiff can then proceed in the courts of law. The latter courts refuse to consider any case which has not been before the Court of Conciliation.

We have already said that these courts always sit with closed doors. This is a most important provision. No declarations or admissions of the parties are of any weight outside the court-room, or are allowed to prejudice or in any way affect subsequent proceedings. If the parties agree to an award, this is of course published by the court, and there are two other exceptions to the rule of secrecy. In the first place, all questions relative to the appearance of the parties in person or by proxy are certified to the courts of law, and a note of any actual violence or abusive language to an adversary before the court is entered on the record, and a copy furnished, if desired, to the party injured.