On the Present Unsettled Condition of the Law and its Administration.
Scarce Treatise on Law Reform Inscribed by the Author Miller, John [d.1837]. On the Present Unsettled Condition of the Law and its Administration. London: John Murray, 1839. iv, 171, [1] pp. Octavo (8-1/2" x 5"). Disbound. Light toning, a few folded corners, presentation inscription "George Spence Esq. with the author's Complimen[ts]" to front free endpaper affected slightly by trimming, occasional manuscript notes and marginal marks in a different early hand, several small slips of paper laid in by the annotator. $450. * First edition. Miller was a Scottish jurist and eventual attorney general of the Bahamas. Like his others, reviews of the criminal and civil law of England, this work focuses on the potential for reform of the English system and the "inadequacy of the course hitherto pursued for the improvement of the Law" in a variety of areas. George Spence [1787-1850], the recipient of our copy, was a British jurist and Inner Templar who wrote extensively on chancery reform. His two-volume history of the Court of Chancery was a standard authority for many years, but the strain of its compilation and his unsuccessful advocacy for reform diminished his health and led to his death. The brief annotations, most likely his, are primarily to the portions of the book that deal with chancery reform. OCLC locates 2 copies of this edition in law libraries (Harvard, University of Cincinnati). Sweet & Maxwell, A Legal Bibliography of the British Commonwealth 2:242.
Price: $450.00
Book number 73702