THE SCOTTISH LAW MAGAZINE, AND SHERIFF COURT REPORTER. VOL. I.-NEW SERIES. STANFORD LIBRARY GLASGOW: THOMAS MURRAY & SON, 49 BUCHANAN STREET. EDINBURGH: MACLACHLAN AND STEWART. 1862. SCOTTISH THE 80 110ST QUALITY CONTROL MARK 53 LAW MAGAZINE AND SHERIFF COURT REPORTER. PARLIAMENTARY NOTES. OF Legal Bills, apart from Political or Social mea- | Scotland, whether held by parties resident in Scotland sures, there have only been two, and we give copies or elsewhere, protests of bills or of promissory notes, of them in the present Number. These are the dispositions, assignations, or other conveyances of Moveable Property (Scotland) Bill, and the Church moveable or personal property or effects, assignations, Bill, introduced by Lord Belhaven. To the first we translations, and retrocessions, and also probative exdo not anticipate any objection, even from that tracts of all such deeds from the books of any comquarter where the change will be most felt. The petent Court; the word "assignation" shall also inabridging of deeds affecting land has been carried, clude translations and retrocessions, and probative we think, very nearly to its utmost limits, notwith- extracts thereof; the words "moveable estate" shall standing the cry for farther abridgement, which is extend to and include all personal debts and obligasometimes heard beyond the profession; and to any tions, and moveable or personal property or effects of one who can remember, or who may have compared every kind. The mode of transferring or assigning the older with the more recent portion of a progress these classes of securities is by endorsing a few lines of writs, the change is very great, and ought to satisfy on the back of the security itself and having it rethe wishes of the most ardent law reformers. These corded, and, if thought desirable, to have it intimated reforms were carried out with the full concurrence either by a notary public or by the holder sending and assistance of the profession, although here and a copy of the assignment through the post office. there an objection was muttered, but ineffectually. In this instance at least has been realised the mercanThe contrast which always occurs to mercantile men tile idea of brevity, cheapness, and certainty; for we in transactions in landed securities, is the cheapness see no reason why any man may not endorse the few and simplicity with which they can have transfers of lines pointed out in the schedule to the Act for himstocks and goods, compared with bonds over landed self, make a copy thereof and send it by post, without estates and transfers of these securities. For a few the intervention of a lawyer; only lawyers will conshillings they can have stocks of thousands of pounds tinue to think that if the sum be large, few prudent transferred or assigned, while a bond or security for men will do this. Having reached this point, if the one or two hundred pounds cannot be assigned or Bill becomes law, the next step of still farther simtransferred for less than three or four times the plifying all securities over land or real property cannot amount. The contrast is no doubt striking, and be delayed very long, and the profession should be prethough the length of deeds of security may to law-pared to meet this new inroad on their emoluments. yers appear to rest on sufficient grounds, yet there is no disguising the fact that these reasons are not appreciable by the times in which we live. l'eople cannot be made to understand why a bond bearing interest should be encumbered with all the forms of feudal conveyancing, and why, if that sccurity is to be discharged, a long and expensive deed should be required. We have no doubt the mercantile idea will more and more penetrate our land Lord Belhaven's Church Bill carries us into a diftitles, and lawyers do not seem quite prepared to sur-ferent region-and if this were the place to speak of render, unless this bill of the Lord Advocate indicate a change; but we think the time is not far distant when this must be done. The object of the present bill is to facilitate the transmission of moveable property; and provides that personal bonds for payment or performance, bonds of caution, bonds of guarantee, bouds of relief, bonds and assignations in security of every kind-which would seem to embrace bonds bearing interest, decrects of any Court, policies of assurance of any assurance company or association in We hope they may exhibit the same spirit they have all along done in the numerous and important changes which have taken place within the last twenty or thirty years; but whether they do or not, it appears to us that until this mercantile idea has been realised, law reform on transfers of property of all kinds will not have reached its end. them-into church politics. In both Assemblies it was made the occasion of opening up the old controversy of '33, 43; and both spoke of each other's principles in such terms as showed that the old spirit still smouldered, and was not extinct. The Bill seems to wear a very innocent appearance, and chiefly to concern the church, and its ministers and members. It may indeed involve important principles, and these may fairly enough be made the subject of observation in Assemblies or elsewhere, but if those whom it |