being an effective supreme court for the plantations, because it tended to en 
courage a spirit of independency. 
We have spoken thus far of the principles underlying the judicial process 
on appeal and the reasons for their shortcomings. It is not easy to estimate how 
far these may be said to have over-balanced the real strength of this court —it 
stood aloof from the atmosphere of local altercation, and there were active 
in it a succession of the most distinguished personalities of the English bench. 
Litigants who had been pushed around by politicians were perfectly aware 
of these advantages, and if the modern expedient of associating colonial judges 
in the Judicial Committee had been then thought of, the Council's power and 
influence would have been greatly enhanced. As it was, it did a considerable 
volume of business, but the immediate force of its determinations was never 
felt in any place with that steadiness and certainty essential to supreme magisterial 
authority. 
We have already noticed the fact that throughout the eighteenth century 
the Privy Council managed its authority, not as a court for an empire, but as 
a court of last resort for each particular jurisdiction. It is consequently desirable 
to inquire somewhat more closely into this matter of the relation of the 
Council to the overseas courts and the extent to which it was sustained. 
Between the years 1696 and 1783 almost fifteen hundred appeals were entered 
in the Council Register, from thirty-five different jurisdictions. 5 The number 
of appeals heard varied from place to place and from decade to decade. Within 
individual jurisdictions further subdivision is necessary, since common law, 
chancery, probate, and admiralty courts were independent judicial establishments. 
From the American colonies appeals were entered from common law 
courts in twenty dominions, from chancery courts in eight, from vice-admiralty 
courts in eighteen, from probate courts in seven, and from royal commissions 
in three instances. Further, the test is not altogether quantitative, for one 
Winthrop v. Lechmere might embrace twenty undistinguished ejectment actions 
in its lasting effect. Therefore, evaluation of the impact on the dominions 
of the judicial activity of the Privy Council must be in terms of the jurisdiction, 
the period, the court, and the subject matter of the litigation. 
In the field of common law civil jurisdiction only the courts of Rhode Island, 
Virginia, and Massachusetts of the continental colonies were subject to fairly 
well-sustained control by the King in Council. Of the insular courts, those 
of Jamaica, the Leeward Islands, and Barbados furnished the greatest number 
of appeals. Yet the volume of Barbados appeals declined sharply after 1720, 
while in Jamaica it was only after 1740 that appellate review became of importance. 
Criminal appeals were largely restricted to the early years of our 
5 See Appendix A for a statistical table of the appellate jurisdiction.