might, in a great measure, be ascribed. The attention of a man, who had so extensive and so
complicated a range of judicial functions to perform, should be confined exclusively to his own
court; he should never be permitted to travel out of it.' (4) Er was wel delegatie aan de Vice-
Chancellor en de 'Masters of the Roll', maar daarvan was altijd weer beroep mogelijk op de
Lord Chancellor zelf, die als enige rechter van het hof werd gezien.
Veel procedures stamden uit de Middeleeuwen. Op 18 april 1826 las Mr.Hume in House of
Commons een petitie voor van W.Richardson:
That the Petitioner is a labourer, and hath heretofore been accustomed to earn his bread by
the work of his hands, as a servant in husbandry; that in or about the year 1824, by the death of
petitioner's wife, he became seised for his life of an estate, consisting of about seven acres of
land, with a house thereon, worth about 6001., but subject to mortgage for 3001. and interest, lent
by one Teavil Leesonthat the said Teavil Leeson some time since gave the petitioner notice to
pay in the said mortgage money, but the petitioner being unaccustomed to the forms of business,
from the nature of his employment, and hearing no more about the matter, neglected to inquire
about other money to replace it; that, in the course of a short time afterwards, some one gave the
petitioner a nonsensical paper, about Richard Roe attacking John Doe, with swords, and staves,
and knives, and turning him out an estate, containing about seventy acres of land, with a great
number of houses, barns, &c.; that shortly afterwards, an officer of the sheriff of Yorkshire came
and took possession of the said estate of the petitioner, and delivered the same to the said Teavil
Leeson. (5)
Het procederen wisselend tussen common law en equity, de dubbele rechtsbijstand, de lange
(legal) fictions met kosten voor copiëren, het ontbreken van salarissen voor de rechterlijke macht
dreven de kosten van de procedures omhoog. Veel oude gebruiken en handelingen bleven
bestaan.
De solicitors zelf waren echter niet veel beter. Het was niet zo moeilijk een korte deed of
ander juridisch stuk op te stellen, maar de honorering hing samen met de lengte van het stuk (dus
hoe meer counts met fictions, hoe voordeliger voor de lawyer). De stukken werden dus 'stuffed
with needless recitals'. Een wet van 1845 trachtte de 'deeds', die nodig waren bij overdracht van
land, te verkorten. Deze wet werd in de praktijk volledig genegeerd.
Toen in 1833 in het House of Commons de Solicitor General sprak over de mogelijkheden
voor houders van wisselbrieven of promessen om hun vorderingen op het vermogen van de
schuldenaar te verhalen, moest hij opmerken:
But, in England, the debtors upon such instruments may compel creditors, before being
entitled to process for obtaining satisfaction, to file declarations and replications, and to go to
trial before a Jury, and to bring witnesses to prove facts about which there is no real dispute,
although when the trial comes no defence be attempted. The consequence is, that no
inconsiderable portion of the time of the Chief Justice of England is occupied in trying
undefended causes; great delay, vexation, and expense are occasioned unnecessarily; and the
fund is often squandered among lawyers which ought to have been applied in the payment of just
debts.
De scherpzinnigheid waarmee in The Pickwick Papers Dodson and Fogg geld binnen haalden,
was dus gebruikelijk. De solicitor van Pickwick, Perker, had bewondering hoe Dodson and Fogg
dat deden. Dat zij dat deden, vond hij heel gewoon (ch.47).
