Table of Receipts and Expenditures Central Railroad 1843. 1844. 1844. December, January, February, Receipts, 32,803 90 $8,290 74 REPORT of Select Committee. Mr. DENTON, from the select committee to which was referred the Senate "bill to improve the administration of justice," as reported by Senator Allen, have had the same under consideration, and have directed their chairman to report : That the committee have devoted such intervals of time as their other duties as members of the Senate and members of other committees have left at their disposal, to the grave consideration of the subject submitted to them. They are satisfied that the existing laws for the administration of justice are less perfect than they should be, that they are cumbered with many useless forms and much unmeaning verbiage, and are hence complex and obscure to the people, and illy adapted to the simplicity of our republican institutions and habits; tedious in their delays, and expensive to the public and parties litigant. In looking for the cause of these evils, so loudly and so justly complained of, your committee have come to the conclusion that they are attributable to the fact, that though the executive and legislative de partments of our national and state institutions have, since '76, been undergoing a series of important changes, all tending to their econo my and simplification, the judicial department, from reasons not now necessary to mention, has remained in statu quo, and probably is now in much the same situation it would have been, had we still continued the enslaved colonies of Great Britain. After more than half a century of national independence, and an astonishing progress in all other respects in republicanism, our system of administering the laws still remains of the old monarchial stamp. With the exception of the simple, straight forward procedure, republican simplicity and absence of technical formalities, which characterize our law proceedings in a justice's court, our system of jurisprudence is yet to be Americanized. There is still attached to it the unmeaning forms, ridiculous ver biage, interminable delays and ruinous expense which grew up with the system in the feudel ages, and under the reign of the corrupt and oppressive monarchs of our father land. But in order to form some notion of the magnitude of the evils complained of, and which the bill before us seeks to mitigate, we will attempt to make a few estimates approximating to the expense and delays of our present system. In making these estimates, we will take the population of Michigan as it stood in 1840, viz: 212,000 in round numbers; and as our calculations are based, in a great measure, on statistics gleaned from the county of Washtenaw, we will state her population at the same period at 23,000, or about one-ninth of the whole. The amount and costs of litigation in Washtenaw county, would, undoubtedly, be a fair proportion, according to its population, for the rest of the State, except the county of Wayne. During the four years preceding and ending February, A. D. 1842, there were 1454 civil suits commenced in the eircuit court for Washtenaw county, being at the rate of 358 per annum. In Wayne county, in the years 1838-39-40, 2,602 civil suits were commenced in the circuit court, being at the rate of 864 per annum; or 2 times more than in Washtenaw. For this reason, and for the sake of round numbers, we will hereafter estimate the cost of litigation for the whole state at ten times that of Washtenaw county. JUSTICES COURTS. During the years above mentioned the number of cases brought be fore the eighty justices of the peace in Washtenaw county averaged about 5,000 per annum; though it is possible the number is somewhat less at present in all parts of Michigan; and your committee believe that the number of suits and amount of costs are less in our higher courts than in 1839-40-41-42, but as the only exact data which we have on hand relate to those years, we shall deduce our calculations from them, leaving others to make such abatements as in their opinion the slight changes in times may justify in order that these estimates may be applicable to the present period. The costs in a justices court are found to average about $3 each, including every thing, viz: Summons, service, return, trial, swearing, witnesses, stay, execution, and the costs on execution, including the per cent in cases where executions are issued; and the average also includes criminal business where the costs are much more than in civil proceedings. In ordinary cases the justice's costs are about $1, and the constable's somewhat less, but including every thing, $3 will be found to be the average. We have verified this estimate within a few days by getting a justice of the peace in this city to add up all the costs in 100 cases, taking them in course from his docket, and they amounted to $303 03. At this rate the aggregate costs in the justices courts for Washtenaw county in the years named were $15,000 per annum, and $150,000 for the State of Michigan. CIRCUIT COURT. A As we have before said the number of suits docketed in the circuit court for Washtenaw county for the years named averaged 358} per annum, and 282 not early withdrawn by plaintiff ; annual sum in judgments about $80,278, averaging about $285 for a case not early withdrawn, or $300 per judgment actually rendered; taxed costs $10,104. But this exhibits merely the costs taxed, and we should be looking merely at the surface of things without taking into account the costs not taxed. The five per cent for collection to plaintiff, by his attorney would be $4,104 more; and if at this time there is not so much taxed in the costs for an attorney's fee as formerly, still the attorney charges just as much for his services, and if it does not come out of the defendant it must come out of the plaintiff. If so much does not appear in the taxed costs it still is charged in the untaxed costs, and as an attorney must be employed in this court, the same costs in this respect still exist and are paid by some one. Sheriff's fees for collection, advertising, selling, printing, &c. $2,000 per annum. We should mention here that but 28 of these suits per annum went to a jury less than eight per cent, of the whole. There was no dispute about the other; 92 cases in every hundred they were suffered by the defendants to be brought into court for the sake of delay. They incurred the costs merely as usury. In 330 cases per annum, which did not go to a jury, in addition to other costs, the defendant usually paid an attorney 10 or $20 for getting the suit put off or delayed, before judgment was rendered. This would amount to at least $3,300 more. And during the long sessions of our courts, we could hardly expect each party litigant to spend less than $5 in money and time in each of these cases, which will be $3,300. For the 22 jury or litigated trials, the costs are materially increased. The plaintiff's attorney usually charges about $20 more than is taxed in the fee bill, and the defendant's attorney charges from 20 to $80 dollars, according to the importance of the case, making about $1200 more. The sessions of the courts last about three weeks or more each, during which time parties litigant in contested cases must be on hand with their attorneys and witnesses, not knowing what hour. day or week the suit may be called, and if such suitor has on an average four witnesses, and stays half the term of the court, or say ten days, and we estimate one dollar a day lost for each witness, and suitor (ten in all) in time and money, and this item of expense by itself, amounts to $100 for every jury trial. But these cases are usually adjourned once, twice and often three times; but if they average once each, it makes this item of cost alone, in a jury trial before the circuit court $200, making $5,600 per annum for this item of exspense. The number of criminal causes in the circuit court was 22 per annum, and there was paid from our county treasury in 1839 and '40, for district attorney, sheriffs' fees, jailor, jurymen, clerk, &c., an average of $4,898 per annum, to prosecute those suits, and we are bound to believe that it cost more to defend than to prosecute them, if we include all other expenses as witnesses, &c., in behalf of the state who are paid nothing. Hence no one would hesitate to put this item of public expense for this one county at $10,000 per annum. Hence we perceive that the circuit court's expenses, including all the items enumerated amounted in the civil cases to Criminal cases, $30,000 10,000 $40,000 300,000 100,000 $400,000 Chancery Court. There were about 70 chancery causes per annum in Washtenaw, 53 of which were for the foreclosure of mortgages, in which it as |