The Lord Advocate's proposed reforms in the Law Courts of
Scot-. -land have now been very generally canvassed in that country ; and the common opinion seems to be, that they are nothing better than a barefaced job. The reforms in question will make justice more in- accessible than at present, by adding enormously to the expense of law ; and they will serve as a pretext for increasing the salaries of the Judges. It is worthy of remark, that these additional expenses and inconveniences are to be entailed upcn the country in order to carry into effect alterations to which the country has all along been opposed. The means and the end are equally obnoxious to the cen- sure of our Northern neighbours. In spite of the Lord Advocates assertions, jury trial seems to be unpopular in Scotland with every class but barristers; while the abolition of the Consistmial Courts, which were commonly cheap and expeditious, appears to be uncalled for on any public grounds whatever. We therefore trust that the Lord Advocate's reforms will be subjected to a more searching tiny in the House of Commons than they have yet undergone.
