One of the strangest courts of law in the world has just assembled. There were no justices, no jury, and no cases to try. It met ina London restaurant and its business was over in a few seconds.
I refer to the Southwark Court of Quarter Sessions which still meets four times a year, though it has tried no cases for more than 50 years. Regularly each quarter the High Bailiff and the Clerk of the Peace of this London borough meet at a restaurant near London Bridge, solemnly hand' each other legal documents and then return to their ordinary duties.
This quaint survival is a reminder of the time, six centuries ago, when the stretch of country south of the Thames was sanctuary to London's wrongdoers. Onze they escaped across London Bridge, they were out Of the jurisdiction of the City authorities, who were therefore impelled to set up the Southwark Court especially for the benefit of these refugees from justice.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.