date

8 May 1807 II. Omissa Letter
8 May 1807

II. Omissa

Letter VI

Introd.

My Lord

I am arrived at the 2 d of the three topics announced in the opening of the first of these letters. viz.: Omissa: things [...?] which, according to my humble conception of the matter, ought to have been proposed in a Bill /Plan/ having for it object "the better regulating the Courts of Justice in Scotland and the administration of justice in Scotland therein" and in the Bill /Plan/ in question are not proposed.

As to my /these/ Omissa, were the catalogue of them /here given/ to be given compleat, Your Lordship understands already that it would include every arrangement by which the technical system of procedure, according to the mode of it in use in Scotland differs from the natural mode: in a word almost every arrangement from /by/ which the procedure of the Court of Session differs - I can not say crudely and simply from the procedure of the Scotch Small Debt Courts and English Courts of Conscience, but what would be the procedure of those seats of uncorrupted justice were their field of jurisdiction with that of the regular, the technical Courts with the Court of Session at the /that/ head.
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    When an obscure, untitled, unofficial drudge like myself, makes professions, they must be sincere, my Lord, his chance for obtaining attention depends upon it - they must be sincere, or wear upon the face of them, at least the colours of sincerity - they must not be openly contradicted by practice. /By/ Authority /a man is/ exonerates a man from this as from all other obligations. Day by day to wring the matter of fees in dribbles out of the bowels of the innocent and injured, to any "worth the time of the Court in considering matters of little or no importance" -(if that Court which is so far from having time enough for matters of the highest importance -) wastes its time in doing what depends upon time to " render useless" that jurisdiction on which like that of the other seat /those other seats/ of unsophisticated /uncorrupted/justice, he is bestowing all the while his self-contradicted insidious eulogies. Day by day, in the process of his work, he may trample upon the laws which he is sworn to give execution by his obedience upon the acts of Parliament. And of what Parliament? Of the Parliament of Scotland - of that regretted Parliament by which his country was governed before the intrusion of the mongrel legislature which is now occupying itself /now so busily occupied in/ in making breaches in the Session (art:2.││) and in passing acts which if they were /are/ passed would /will/ as those Ministers of Justice upon your Lordships (art. / . 35-38) be not only "urgent" but "illegal", and contrary to law. Acts of Parliament contrary to law! Behold there, my Lord, a doctrine avowed by Judges!