The Compleat Arbitrator
by Matthew Bacon
| The Compleat Arbitrator | ||
 at the College of William & Mary. |
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| Author | Matthew Bacon | |
Matthew Bacon (1702-1757?)[1] was a lawyer and legal writer, born in Ireland in 1702. He was admitted to the Inner Temple in 1726, the Middle Temple in 1731, and called to the bar in 1732. Bacon is known for his work on A New Abridgment of the Law, which was exceptional for its divergence from previous abridgements. Instead of listing statutes and cases under alphabetical headings, Bacon compiled treatises on all branches of law, much more similar to modern encyclopedias than the abridgements of his time. Bacon died in or before 1757 after fully completing three volumes of his abridgement, the final two being completed by Joseph Sayer.[2]
Criticizing the obscurity of legal literature,[3] Matthew Bacon wrote, "It is one of the greatest Objections to our Laws, that the Way to the Knowledge of them is so dark and rugged, so full of Windings and Turnings, that the most Knowing very often find it difficult to be able to pronounce with Certainty, concerning some Points they are solicitous about."[4] To try to rectify this problem, he published in 1731 The Compleat Arbitrator: or, the Law of Awards and Arbitraments, under the guise of "a gentlemen of the Middle Temple."[5] This work offered a compilation of the practice of arbitration in England and was meant to act as a guide to lawyers through the "Windings and Turnings" of the system. It covered topics such as the types of matters that could be brought to arbitration, the manner they should be brought, the nature of submission and which parties may do so, as well as the duty of the arbitrators and umpires in the system. It also compiled the manner of making, delivering, and enforcing awards.[6] It provided lawyers with the overall process of what was required to bring action in arbitration after the 1698 act that encouraged arbitration in business disputes. 9. Three editions were published: 1731, 1744, and 1770.[7]
Bibliographic Information
Author: Matthew Bacon.
Title: The Compleat Arbitrator or, the Law of Awards and Arbitraments; Containing Plain and Easy Directions to All Kinds of Arbitrators, what Matters are Proper to be Submitted to Arbitration, and in what Manner; the Nature and Different Kinds of Submissions, the Parties to the Submission, the Duty and Office of Arbitrators and Umpires; the Right Manner of Making and Delivering Up Awards; how Awards Have Been Construed in Equity, the Manner of Making and Enforcing the Performance of Awards, when the Submission Has Been Made a Rule of Court; the Right Method of Setting Forth and Pleading Awards: with Precedents of Submissions, Awards and Pleadings in All Cases By a Gentleman of the Middle-Temple.
Publication Info: London: In the Savoy: Printed by E. and R. Nutt, 1731, 1744 and 1770.
Edition: Precise edition unknown.
Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library
8vo.
External Links
Read this book at: Google Books
References
- ↑ H. St. M. Carter, "Queries," Notes and Queries 194, no. 16 (August 6, 1949), 347.
- ↑ N. G. Jones, "Bacon, Mathew (b. c. 1700, d. in or before 1757)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online ed., Oct 2009, accessed December 4, 2013.
- ↑ Julia Rudolph, Common Law and Enlightenment in England, 1689-1750, (Woodbridge, Suffolk: Boydell Press, 2013), 68.
- ↑ Matthew Bacon, The Compleat Arbitrator, (London: E. and R. Nutt, 1770), iii.
- ↑ Jones, "Bacon, Matthew."
- ↑ Matthew Bacon, The Compleat Arbitrator, (London: E. and R. Nutt, 1770), ii.
- ↑ Brief for Appellant at 60, Hub Industries v. George Manufacturing and American Rediscount Co., No. 7799 (N.Y. April 23, 1945); Henry Horwitz and James Oldham, "John Locke, Lord Mansfield, and Arbitration during the Eighteenth Century," The Historical Journal 36, no. 1 (March 1993), 144.
