(Delivered on the 30th October, 1869.) Ir is customary for tle Jus at home, when on circuit, to address the Grand Juries of the i counties upon the state of the calendar pre them. Here there is no Grand Jury and it is only when the Supreme Court is temporarily present in Japan that the services of the Common Jury panel can be called for. In England, the observations of the Judges are confined to the state of crime within the district and have no reference to civil cases. cannot but think, however, that it is quite og important that a Judge should, if the occasion seems to call for it, observe on the general character of the litigation pending in his court, as on the character of the crimes it is his duty to punish, I shall thereto make such Ubvervations on the nature of the fore take' this opportunity before leaving Yokohama cases which have come before me as they seem to demand.
And first let me draw your attention generally to litigation, its consequences, and the true means of avoiding it, or at any rate diminishing its evil results, There is no doubt that it is a great evil. In seems however to be almost a necessary one; men take different views of their rights and obligations, and a determination to regard any question that arises from tone point of view only, is one of the most fertile causes of litigation. There are however many ways of avoiding litigation, if men would but take a more common sense view of their own interests as well as the interests of others. Generally speaking, a calm discussion of the point at issue between the parties will lead to one side or the other seeing that right ness'demand concessions, if not confession of the wrong. Even if this mode of avoiding ion is tot successful there is another, namely, ig to refer the subject matter in difference to the decision of an impartial third party, each side to be bound by his opinion. In mercantile affairs the decision of an experienced merchant is frequently of far more value than that of a professional judges and niereauttile men should undertake the office of referee, not for reward, bat gratuitously as duty which they owe to their brother merchants, Arbitration by more than one individual L object to; because it generally results in the parties each naming a friend, more for the purpose of protecting his interests and advocating his views, than with the object of getting an impartial ilecision. Moreover, when men act 33 arbitrators, they are apt not so much to strive to arrive at " common conclusion founded on a correct appreciation of the merits of the case submitted to iti them, as to endeavour to convince each other that
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.