THE CHANCELLOR'S CASE.—1 BLAND. 637

the Chancellor deems it wholly unnecessary to say one word re-
specting himself. When he accepted the office of Chancellor of

markable, that at all times, and under every change of circumstances in
Maryland, the compensation allowed to the Judges of the Court of the last
resort has been very small in comparison with that which has been paid to
those of the Courts of original jurisdiction. This, it is evident, has not been
the result of prejudice or accident; and therefore, the causes of it deserve
to be inquired into and considered.

In England the House of Lords is the Court of the last resort. Its mem-
bers receive no compensation for the discharge of their judicial duties; and
those of the Judges in office, or the ex-Judges who sit there, as peers of the
realm, receive no compensation whatever for their services there. But the
Chancellor and Judges of the Courts of original jurisdiction of Westminster
Hall have very great salaries; and besides, are allowed to receive a very
large amount of fees and perquisites. (Smol. Hist. Eng. ch. 16.) It is said,
that in old times writs of error in England were rare, for that men when
judgment was given against them by course of law were satisfied without
prying with eagle eyes into matters of form, or the manner of proceeding,
or of the trial, or insufficiency of the pleadings, &c., to the intent to find
error to force the party to a new suit, and himself to a new charge and vexa-
tion.—(Higgins' Case, 6 Co. 46.)

The Court of the last resort of the State of New York, is, in some respects,
apparently so strikingly analogous to that of England as to have been looked
upon, by some, as a mere adoption of the frame and principle of the ultimate
tribunal of that country. How that may have been is, however, unimport-
ant as regards the matter now under consideration. The New York Court
of last resort is composed of the Senate aided by and together with the
Chancellor or the Judges. The Senators are compensated for their attend-
ance by an allowance of so much for each day's attendance; and the Chan-
cellor and Judges are paid as Judges of the Courts of original jurisdiction;
but receive nothing in addition for the discharge of their duties in this Ap-
pellate Court.

This ultimate tribunal of New York, if not the very best, is admitted on
all hands to be fully equal to any Court of last resort in the Union. Its
business has never been suffered to accumulate or fall unreasonably behind
hand; and the reports of its decisions are received everywhere as illustra-
tions and guides of the highest respectability. It was organized in 1776;
and, on being reviewed, by the convention, called together in 1821, for re-
vising the Constitution, it was continued and re-established without a dis-
senting voice. (Debates New York Convention, 1821.) The Senators bring
into it a mass of sound common sense by which cases are met upon their
merits; the propensity to overmuch technicality is checked; and there is
besides, found among the Senators a degree of legal science often superior
to that of the bench, and always sufficient to keep down the mere esprit du
corps of the regular Judges. The Senators come from, and at short intervals
return to the people; and hence it has been truly and emphatically called
"the Courb of the people;" and as such its proceedings attract much and
general attention: and have necessarily a widely extended publicity which
does not always follow, and can rarely be given to the proceedings of a Court
attended by none but lawyers, and whose decisions are selected and reported
for their use only. (Debates N. Y. Conv. 517, 609, 611.)

Although in cases of family dispute in Chancery; to save the feelings of
the parties and with their express consent, the matter may be privately