As the first street trams rolled down the streets of Birkenhead, The Law Times (forerunner of NLJ) announced plans to publish six-monthly volumes of law reports. The Lord Chief Justice, opening an assize in Guildford, complained it was more like a barn than a court. Overall, there was ‘a dearth of judges and insufficiency of judicial staff’. About 11,000 people per year were sent to prison for debt.