It is not always appreciated that before a case is ready for trial, a vast amount of preliminary work has to be carried out. The playgoer who sits before the footlights, sees the actors, and hears them say their parts. He is but dimly conscious of all that has gone before—the playwright toiling at his manuscript, the rehearsals, and the labours of the dresser and the stage carpenter. So a visitor to the Law Courts who sees a judge on the bench provided with all the documents relating to the action, who watches counsel untie the red tape on his brief, and the solicitor produce documents from a dispatch case, is not always alive to the fact that all this has involved a deal of preparation, not only in the office of the solicitor and the chambers of learned counsel, but in the offices of the Supreme Court.