Star. — London, England, 1828-03-01 00:00:00

r i I. R' a ti he M.- el : tug !d to ve s He tche uris. sett he miry than there ought ht be arned would 'would be introduced to render responsible persons who made false representations of character; and anc•ti et Bill would have for its end a just arrangement of the question of o Variances," which had been so fully re mai ked upon by his Honourable and Learned Filmed.. lie belitved. also, that there WAS in co.itemplati-n a measure of a healing and quieting nature, whiCh would render it no longer necessary to go hack to the time when King Richard w ent to the I-1•4 Land to prove a prescriptive right to property—(Hear, hear). It must be confessed, that at present the law upon that point was sufficiently vexatious, and the measure would bring down to a reasonable per end theme rights which at present mere greatly in want of harmony—(Hear).— He had then made all the observations and statesneris upon the propositiou and speech cf his Honourable and Learned Friend which appeared to him to be necessary: He might seem to his Honourable Friend to be too lukewarm in the cause of alteration; but this he would .ay with perfect sincerity, that if his Honourable and earned Friend was inclined to receive his endeavours s a fellow-labouter in the same vineyard, he should find. im neither dilatory nor idle—(Hear). —Always taking he most unbounded care to preserve sacred and untouched he roots and stem of that vine, under which the coon. ry had so happily and so long fl)urished,.and uncle; hose shade their ancestors who had planted it. bad o long slept with honour and renown, he should not, found unwilling to use the pruning-knife when ver decay or a change of circumstances rendered it e-irablv. He was decidedly friendly to the intro •iction, of those modific.tions and alseratians which ' e lapse of time had rendered necessary, but he could ever consent to hew down rashly those great insti ll i ns which had been the source and protectors of , iteet ty and of property—(( - lear, hear). With-that under standing, he concurred most cordially with the propo tition of his Hon.. and Learned Friend los the appoint ent of a Commission, the denies of tkat Consurission . being limited and defined—(Hear, hear, hear). Mr. GEORGE LA MI3 said he ve43 scot.) , to hear the Solicitor-General accuse his lion. F ieod e.f ill treating the Justices of Peace; nothing could be more injuti us to the improvement of any public body-, than that sole ness which was felt when any defect waa mentioned. He did not undervalue their si rvices, nor agree with his Honourable Friend in his condemnation of the mode nmis- ion to I just h the honk! Lid he me in [Weed Caott n one next hpuld pre- Court ?fiend upied ht the o the it the could Xll the wblia 4ourts ations :ently io ihe I char•-. d that t Bar.• nee of cause r they slam arm ought ion.— of the lid be prin [UMW with on had froze It with he sta y that statute 0n..- eaiont riecid; many atti OM 10 se af to the tvl.ato having Liw at Inches . be the be had hem(' stotber. to the. its its lilt :the of their appointment. He thought the Lord Lieu , tenant of the County, from his hoc iI knowledge, • ust be better qualified to recommend proper par rns, than either the Chancellor or the Secretary if Sate. He hoped the Game Laws would soon .e repealed; but still feared a . bias would remain in the minds of the Magistrates, as if a person were onvictcd of any offence before them, and a whisper eached the Bench that he was a poacher, the highest .unishment was sure to be ii.flicted. • The great objet-. ion to the present system was, that Magistrates, from heir local residence, had local prejudices, and it was oo difficult to obtain redress for any abuse of power, Ither by criminal or civil process. His opinion, on the object of imprisonment for debt was, that in action for •ebt there should be no remedy against the person, but that the remedy against property should he made the most complete possible. The Solicitor General had said, that any alteration in the law of evidence should be, made he subject of separate legislation. In Chancery every an was allowed to state his case on oath in his answer. In he Coins of Law the practice was often absurd; a 'c ease was given in the face of the Corm which made thik iti.ess,competent who was not so before. • He thought he partieweight be allowed to give evidence in their own causes, if theydid it voluntarily. On the law of perjury e rule - Of law was, that there must be two witnesses calsrinte as Ocre Ytaa'arsa oasis op the other. side ; but e eels ,was not made, general, and in other causes oath ,was -.4- ono- witness was sufficient to convict gainst tbe,oaths of eveir fifty. Liwyers were so fond, (this rule, that they applied it to treasonort,it.was to. presumed the person accused had taken the oath of Ilegiance.. II the oath of a single witness should con ict in other cases, why alit in perjury , ? A question ight arise, would this deter witneums.llool giving ev trice ? Did any honest man, whensoing to give evi. Wee, ask himself whether he could be contradicted by Ue or two witnesses? Not so, however, with him who ent into Court to commit perjury ; he made his calcu tion, and acted accordingly. jle was glad, however, • it the whole subject was likely to be taken into con ider atinn. The ATTORNAT,PFINUAL.seid, that he agreed ith so4e . of theisuggestiossi:which had been made by. 's Hon..and Learned FrieestllMr. Brougham); and he ad no objection to a Commission, limited in the man er which had been pointed out by his Honourable and earned Colleague: With one remark made by his ion. and Learned . Friend he ; entirely concurred.. He • greed that there did .exist an overwhelmiug,quantity if business in the CoOrt• of King's Bench, : while the Learned Judges were compelled, to employ their time on matters unworthy of their great talents. At present important points were reserved to be heard before three of the Judges of that Court in Chambers, while the Chief Jastice, in whose' abtence no important point of aw could be decided, ,was occupied with Prim 'iusiness. He agreed that such a state of things was a ,rievance, and perhaps the only way of remedying it as by the appointment of a fifth Judge. Such a state things had arisen from the great inzrease of business. n the time of Lord Mansfield there used to be almost /00 causes upon the paper; in that of Lord Lord Ellen ioiough there were about 400; at present there were, enerally from 600 to 800 . ,It was a solecism and con• radiction in the law that three Judges should be called . pon to do that which in reality the four Judges only : ould discharge. As he concurred in almost revery ing that had fallen from hit Honourable and Learned riend with respect to the Court of Exchequer, e would not trouble the House with any remarks upon that part of the subject. With respect to the Court of Common Pleas, he thought it would be advisable to throw it open in. many respects; but it did appear to him that it would be unjust to deprive the Learned Sergeants of the privileges they enjoyed, and therefore be could not agree to that propositiori. It was true that the Crown conferred the distinction of Sergeant, but it was not given in the same way that its other favours were to the profession, of which he wax ad lambic member ; and although he had been so,fottunate. as to receive distinction from the Crown, he could not therefore comet to deprive his brethren of that source of distinction. To party put-- poses it was unknown, and it was beneficial to the me ritorious.-4 Hear, he.ar}..He was.ccrtaioly astonished art much which bad fallen from his Honourable a. • Learned Friend with respect . to the Privy Co unc il.— The great inci ease of our C olonies, and the naturally *ncreasing complexity of the litigation arising from that circumstance,, had hrOulltin with i t m uch 1 1 R9" business than the privy Cciuncil had formerly-10 entertain. Thst was the simple fact ; but be never could admit that thy construction of that Curt was inefficient, while the, Master of the Rolls, LAO tow 1. and his Right Hon. Friend. the Duo. of .Arches Yd." among the Judges. The Master of the Bolin feces hi, office, presided ; and although he only did so through . .. . custom, that did not appear to him any reason why the practice should be altered. From the Ptivy Council his Hon. and Learned Friend went at once to the 'ustices and Quarter Sessions. His Hon. and Learned Friend had opened an immense field—he had thrown open Burn's Justice ; but he skould not follow him, because the subject was not one which could with pro priety be delegated to a Commission. It might be a fit subject for a Bill, for some precise measures, but it ought not to be committed to a Commission. As his Hon. and Learned Friend had alluded to the official conduct of the late Chancellor, and considered the de termination which that Noble and Learned Lerd had come to with respect to not striking Magistrates out of the Commissions, he would inform the House what had led that Noble Lord to act as he had done. Shortly after the late Chancellor received the seals, re presentations were made to him, supported by affidavits, of the misconduct of a Magistrate. The Magistrate so accused not.only afterwards established his own inno cence. but convicted the parties who had brought the false charges against him. And it was upon that that the Noble Lord came to the resolution never to strike a Magistrate out of the commission until he had been convicted of an offence. The law was open to the injured party, and it was impossible for any Chancellor to adopt a more judicious or a more wise and consti• tuitional course than Lord Eldon had done—(Hear). But besides that, there was another consideration which tendered it advisable the Chancellor should not strike a Magistrate out of the commission. If such were the practice,. party feelings might interfere with the ap• . poiutmerit of. the Justices, and surely that was a thing which ought to be avoided.—(Hear.) —With respect to the licensing' system, he certainly looked upon the pub licahras the vassals of the brewers ; but still that did not make it a fit subject to refer to a Commission. It was a, point wLlch, in his opinion, ought to be dealt with by some distinct proposition from some Member of the House, and perhaps a country Gentleman would be mo t equal to the task. ffs Honourable and Learned Friend had at the outset of his speech declared it to be his int:nt'on not to touch upon the subject of real pro perty, but he bad not adhered to that plan. His Ho nourable and Learned Friend had said that he would abolish Trusts—entirely abolish them. Such a thing was impracticable. A more visionary idea had never entered into the head of any one at all acquainted with the subject. If it were possible to devise a scheme to abolish the occasion of Trusts, then indeed Trusts them elves might be abolished ; but until that could be effected, it was impossible it could be done. HHis Hon. Friend had said too that he would abolish Contingent Remainders. It was very easy to say such things, but until his Hon. and Learned Friend became possessed of more ingenuity than had hitherto fallen to the lot of man, it would be impossible for him to do so, without occasioning incalculable . mischief. Surely his Hon. and Learned Friend did not mean to say, that he would compel every man to make his will in a particular way, and if he did not do so, how was it possible to pre vent those questions which would necessarily arise ? It sometimes happened that an orator, in making a very long speech, forgot as he proceeded that he had • • • ,already said that which, in his love of new matter, he went in search of. That had been the case with his Hon. and Learned Friend, when he went in search of a Court of Arbitrationa place where parties might n set, and through the mediUm of an impedance, ar range 'their differences, and shake hands. Such an in ,titation wee already in existence, and it was authorised •by an Act of King William. But he should perhaps 'be told, that what his Hon. and Learned Friend wanted was a,compulsory Court of Arbitration; and if he were it told so, his reply would be, that it was a measure to which the people of England would .never submit.— By whom was the Judge of this Utopian Court of Arbitration to be appointed ? By the King ? And it that were the case, was it to be believed that the people of this country would submit to being de prived et one of the greatest blessings the Constitu don gave, and quietly be dragged into this Court of Arbitration, where the Judge should say, " I will, without your consent, strangle and put to death your claims, without allowing you any appeal whatever?" Such a proceeding could never be endured—(Elear)H His Ilion. and Learned Friend had alluded to Frees and Recovery, and seemed to think that that part of the' present law might very easily be entirely altered for the better, Further investigation of.the subject,, however, would .convince his Hon. : and Learned, Friend that he was wrong. Lord Feldon,..while , he. was in.officeo bed -effected considerable improvement. He had shortened the process, and not compelled:the outlay of, money to the prejudice, of the party. He did not say that he would oppose. au adequate. substitute to the, {present system ; but until something of that sort was brought forward he could not. consent to the abolition of the present one. In the Irma' ks he had made, and which he should make, it was not his object. to find, fault. He assured Iles Houourable and Learaed Friend/ that he came to the discussion of the subject with a, real wish to investigate it fairly, and to adopt all the. suggestions which could be deemed beneficial. He then came to the Common Law. It was curious to remark that only about forty years had elapsed since Lord Mansfield had been admired and commended by all the ablest lawyers of his time, for the introduction of that very system of special pleading which his Hoo. and Learned Farm.' was now so anxious to aholish—t Hear.) His Hon. and Learned , Friend . objected .to the many counts becau,e. they did. not set forth the partict4ars ; but that deficiency was .very easily supplied by taking out a Judge:s. bill of particulate, which cost 6s. Sdp And it would be bound that the present system was less expensive and troublesome than that advocated by his Honourable and Learned Friend. Upon the rules of evidence he would say nothing, because he entirely agreed with all that had fallen from his Honourable and Learned Colleague. His Honourable and Leat ned Friend had proposedthat simple contract debts should fall upon estates in tail, and Sir Samuel Romil t ly had proposed a similar alteration of the law ; but it had been thought by more experienced persons, and he agreed irt.the opinion, that it would be injurious. With respect to paying money into it, his Honourable, and Learned Friend had said he would not be cement with throw ing the .privilege open to the public in general merely as to actions commenced' • for, positive and fixed amounts; but that it should he in the power of any defendant—,whether. in a cause of libel, slander,,, qr any thing else, to pay a sum into Court in com pensation, ,and if, after that, the pla intiff proceeded to trial and the damages given were less than the sum paid into the, Court, then the plaintiff should be subject to the costs.. To such a proposition as that he could never consent. It would iiiiffict the grossest in- How Jelatalf netions were there for a libel, for assault, and a variety of other injuries sustained, which were carried on by the plaintiff as much and more for the public vindication cf his character than they were for the sake of damages?—(Hear, hear). If the proposition of hisz Honourable and Learned Friend should be adopted, flay persons might grossly insole another, although he only committed It slight assault, and bribe payment of five or tell pounds into Court, deprive the injured party of the power of I üblicly vindicating his character and exposing the defendant-- (llrai). Notvonstanding the objections hr had made to the plans of his 11;,i. and Learned Ft iend, he agreed with him en.iirly on many most important point t s, and to a limited Commission he had no objection.— He had bestowed no small degree of labour in ex amining the speech of his Hon. and Learned Friend, and if he had not touched upon all the subjects it embraced, he had purposely avoided doing so, because he felt that that they had been most ably reviewed by his Hon. and Learned Colleagues—(Hear, heat). Mr. FERGUSON, with reference to the law of arrest, observed, that he knew not whether it was a point to be considered by the proposed Commission, but as it was one of the greatest importance, he trusted it would. In many countries the law of arrest was confined to secu rities, and not to common debt. Monstrous cases of hardship had frequently and do frequently occur in this country incases of arrest, and he knew of nu Acts which more required revision. The next points which met the Hon. Member's attention were the laws of plea 4• ings, the , laws of evidence, and the proceedings in the Court of Chancery. They were points decidedly fit to be sent to a Commission. With respect to are three Courts of Law, they ought to be assimilated to appeals from either, but all equal in power. Great reform was also necessary in the Privy Council. Mr. Secretary PEEL said, it might perhaps be , some advantage in that stage of the debate, ►f they were riot to diverge into topics which, how ever impwtans in them selves, had ro immediate or necessary connection with the seject under consider 'don. With that view he should endeavour shortly to state to the House, what was the precise bearing of that advice which Govern ment was prepared to offer to the Crown upon this sub ject. When first brought under , the consideration af the House a short time back, lie understood from the speech of the Hon. and Learned Gentleman (Mr. Brou gham, that it was meant rather to be explanatory of his general views, than as indicating any pricise course which he judged necessary to be pursued. Tire Hon. and Learned Gentleman upon that occasion concluded with the fol lowing motion :—(Here the : Right Hon. Gent. read the motion with which Mr. Brougham concluded his speech this day fortnight)—He confessed it-appeared to him that it would be more consistent with the object which the Hoe, and Learned Gentleman professed to have in .view, if those points were to be cleanly and distinctly men tioned, which it was desirable should be developed in the course of the proposed inquiry. - The Hon. and Learned dentleman himself declared it to be his inten tion to exclude from the investigation •atious matters which in themselves were of considerable importance. la the fit st place, the Hon. and Learned Gentleman proposed to except from the objects of inquiry the Courts. of Equity. Their. Commercial Code, highly important in itself, was another branch, of the law which he pro posed to excluie ; and the third was the Criminal Law. In resolving not to embrace the Criminal Law within the scope of his motion, it seemed to him that the Hon.. , and Learned Gentleman acted on a wise and very just I principle, because, had the Criminal Law been included m l it might have produced false impressions on the public Mind which might be productive of inconvenience. ha making the last exception, the Hon. and Learned Gen-, denims took occasion to. express a hope that it was toot his (Mr. Peel's) intention to abandon those objects con. fleeted with the improvement of their Criminal Juris prudence, to. which, for the last four or"live years, hen, bad directed much of his attention.. He could assure the Hon. and Learned Gentleman that it was pot his intention to abandon those objects, .and that he was de termined to pursue the subject still, with a. view to any further improvements which it might be found practi cable and expedient to introduce. Separate measures were in preparatioa in reference to offences connected with the person, and the Bills would be ready in the course of the present Session. lie had directed his Inquiries to other branches of the Criminal Law, into Which he conceived that some alteration might be in troduced with advantage to the public.—Already the laws relating to Juries had been consolidated, and the whole included in one statute. The laws regarding offences against property had also been consolidated, in a second Act ; and those regarding malicious 'injuries, to property in a third.—There remained attil two impudent branches of their Criminal Law to be digeste,cks and, arranged, , as had been done with respect, toJuries, and ioffe ices again,st . property., 41e meant the laws which had iefeiencfs. to offence* against the person, which were not yet in a &Mei of sufficieet preparation to be submitted to the' House in a consolidated form, and the laws relating to forgery. To the last subject his attention should, in an probability, be directed . first. Complaints bad been made of the great and increasing Walk J the Statute Book, and the incooeessiencespioduced by an over indulgence 'in legislinieo. Me re.ult c of those labours which 'hitherto he had the pleasure of submitting r l e,the House, 'were not, be trusted, liable to that objection kthey tended rather, to diminish very considerably the bulk of the Statute Book than to augment it, for in three instances a vast number of laws had been compressed within the narrow compass of a single Act. Perhaps it would aff-rd some remedy for the inconvenience com- I (shined of, if the Statutes were to be reprints , leaving out all those pants of the -Criminal Law which had been repealed. This would tend to reduce, the bulk very materially. The H. n. Gentleman who spoke last (Mr. Ferguson), though be went at some length into the subject, seemed to have no wish to embrace, within the inquis y of the Commission, the state of the law as relating to their foreign possessions. He pet tectly agreed with the Hop. Gentleman, that the subject won not be a fit one to come under the consideration a irc the ommission, in connection with the other topics to be submitted to them. Their inquiry, to be pro ductive of advantage, must be directed to objects on which there were means of procuring all the necessary information. With this view, he must say, he much doubted whether it was prudent to confine the motion to the appointment of only one Commission.. The matters they must have to consider would, jahis.rapinion,be much too various, and.too important to be all embraced by a single Commission. So much, advantage was derived ' trona confining the attention of a Commission to some definite object, that he much doubted whether it would not be, better to appoint two Commissions than one, each to, direct itself to a distiuct blanch of inqu'ry ; per haps also it would be better it the Members were nct numerous.. With a number rather limited, the in quiry.could he much more advantageously conducted. I.Tlarce would be toufew ; ,five be.should think a pre ' terabluoumbnrahaving one fixed . place of me:ting. It was not necessary:that all the ,Commissioners should at the same momeut he employed upon any one point .connected with the inquiry. They might delegate the investigation of particular brioches to one or .more of their Members, It was out, perhaps, right to es peel, nor would _it, be expedient to appoint, more than Levi, Commissions..., One might direct its at tend 'n. to the practice in the higher Courts, and the mettns which it might be expedient to adopt for lessening both the delay and the expense of 4szucerdw........s. ings. The other might apply itself to that branch, eg.: law relating to the tiansfer of real property. if it shoss.sl Ike deemed proper to inquire into it. Admitting, bow. - ever,that these Commissions were appointed, it seeme I .to him that it. would still be desirable hot to preclude the Crow.p from seeking for information from ether sources, and upon points with respect to which benefi cial•ehanges might be made, without the necessity of bringing . them under the consideration of a COM mission.. „lie would mention, for instance, the al tering ol.the Terms. Such an arrangement might be made with respect to the Easter Term as would be a source of, gieat convenience tp the profession, and to the public in general. In matters like this, of minor importance, though still in themselves de serving of serious attention, inquiry might be made without the expense which necessarily attended Commis sions. With respect to the objects .of the Commission, it was right that .they should have tt clear and distinct ' understanding of the duties which were to devolve on them. It would now be premature to enter into the discussion. He should, however, suggest that the Address to the Crown might be drawn up in words to the following effect: g , That an humble Address be prexpoted to his Majesty, praying that he would be graciously pleased to take such measures as he might judge most expedient for the purpose of inquiring into the progress of Actions in the Superior Courts, and into the Laws relating to the Transfer of R-al Property."-- Upon consideration of the subject, he preferred the ap pointment of two Commissions to the bringing in of seve ral Bills, without previous inquiry. There was reason to apprehend that if Bills were brought in, not founded upon a general and com bined view of the subject, inconvenience might arise similar to that Which had been found to originate front a measure brought in last Session relative to Writs of Error. The object contemplated by that measure was of great importance ; but still having beta drawn up without a more general view to its bearing, inconveniences arose which had not been previously considered. There was one part of the Learned Gent.", (Mr. Brougham) speech on which he felt himself called upon with some regret to set him right—he alluded to his obser vations on the general ante tat the, Xlaoistracy of this country, and the mode of their appoint He could .not conceive hi what public officer die appoistment,.of Magistrates could be better or more advantageously placed than the Lord Chancellor.— Now if it was fit the appointment should rest with him, from what better source could he derive his knowledge of the character of • the individual, and his fitness for the office, than from some local authority, such as the Lord Lieqtenant of the. County ? It ',mild not be at all advisable to transfer to the Judges the appoint- • ment of. the Magistracy, Their acquaintance in the country was, generally speaking, limited; they reinaioed but a short time, not at all. n long enough to obtain sufficient local know ledge. He saw o reason to think that the appointment could be transferred with any advantage to the Custos .Rotiderusg. It was of the highest importance that one .responsibte officer should appoint the Magistrates, aqd derive his information with respect to their character from some local authority. The contrary practice prevailed in .Ireland, and he always looked upon it as , a most inconvenient one. If in that country them was one . Nobleman in each county. on whom was devolved, the same. duties as those performed by Lords-Lieutenant of Counties here, it would have the most beneficial effects on the Magistracy there. , The Honourable and Learned Gentlens - ao observed, in the, `course of his speech, that half. the mischief atose from the acts done not being the acts of the individual Magistrates, but of the Bench, and from the respontibility being thus divided, Be did net mean to say that no instances of improper conduct ever occurred. In a number which amounted to no less than 4,500, be could readily conceive that there might be.iodividual-instanccs of misconduct ; but he was bound in justice to say, that there did not exist any body of men more jealous, of misconduct in individual mein bers,or more desirous that it should be visited with punishment when proved: Most of those complaints which reached Lim against Ma gistrates in his official capacity were made by members of the. same body, who always seemed anxious to have any misconduct pu nisbed. The great subject of complaint was .the licensing system- If any better system could be devised than the pies. nt, he should be most ready to OT C the sublect every attention in kis power.— If the duty of licensing could be devolved more a,:vantageouoly upon any other authority, he could feel no desire to, oppose such a change. They should inquire, however, before they . pronounced a .general seutence of condemnation. The most important advantages were derived from the appointment of that class of persons who new generally filled the office of Magistrates in this country. Their duties necessarily gave them no inconsiderable knowledge of the laws, and brought them into frequent contact with the poorer classes of tit , tr neighbours, to whom justice was thus administered in a muck more satisfactory way than in any 'other that perhaps could be devised. What substitute could be provided for the present system.? If they were to do away with it, a large number ef stipendiary Magistrates must be appointed. The next consideration world be their salary, which must form a very large sum. 'The appointment of stipendiary Magistrates was found necessary in London and other places; but to apply this principle to the country genera) , would, as he conceived, be itnpracticable, and if cable, would not be wise. He had been blamed by Mr. 13enthani a with whom, he believed the Honourable and Learned Gentleman was acquainted, for allowing such a salary as 850/. to a London stipendiary Magistrate. That Gentleman was of opinion that Magistrates adequate to the performance of their duties might be bad for 2001. or 3001. a yeas, like the Jaye de Purr in France— ,at most for 4001. or 5001. a year. He would put it to the house, whether it amid be possible, at a salary so small as 2001. to procure a sufficient number of persons to fIU the office of Ol.gio , trates throughout th . e country, and to discharge the duties of it in a satisfactory way ? But suppose for a moment such a principle to be adopted. In whom was the appointment to be vested 1—(1-lear i) Independent of the expense, which must necessarily be considerable, there would be a great difficulty. To vest in the Crown the ap pointment of so large a body of stipendiary Magistrates would, he conceived„ be liable to great objection. I'erhaps, however, it would be much better to vest it in the Crown than in any other authority. It was clear enough that the appointment could not be left to •he local authorities without producing serious evils. To leave it a matter . of election would be still more mischievoisa; it could not fail to give rise to continual differences and squabbles in eves y part of the coon. try. There were some of the snanufacturiug districts, Staffordsittre for instance, in which, Gentlemen having gradually removed their residences to sober pans, it was difficult to hod a sufficient number of them to di-charge the d,uties. of the Magistracy. Is places where it became necessary-sometimes to appoint stipendiary Magistrates, the great difficulty he felt was, that one individual was -recommended to the t (lice by this person, and anotlur by that. After long official communication with the Magistracy, as a body, he came to the conclusion, that no men, taken altogether, could adivioisted justke more purely or more satisfactorily. There existed a conviction on the part of the public generally, and parti cularly among the peasantry, that they were more likely to have justice delete them by their latullords and neighbours than by any o'hers that could by substituted by any stipendiary Magistrate with a salai yof five hundred pounds a year. It was, as he stated before, the general wish of Magistrates, that when any indi vidual of their body transgressed, he should be punished. As to the licensing system it was highly worthy of conaideistion, and he should be most happy if any check could be devised against the abuses complained of. He believed they all bad but one object in view—that of removing whatever defect might e s ist in the Administration of justice—(Fear). No Government could, have, no Government ought to have, an object of more important • consideration, than the impartial, speedy, amainexpensire adnainis tratiou of justice—(Hear). To effect such objects, however, was not the work of a moment. Any attempt at legislation in such matters ought to be preceded by diligent inquiry. Nothing could, tend more effectually to defeat their object than precipitation. With the permission of the House he should endeavour to convey, in the , words of the Poet, an idea of that principle by which, in his con temp, latioh they should he guided in the work of altering cite laws, and institutions of the country : o w o laen, without noise, Sou as h y l U irea l gtieatls ichan ged ht t r b o y y s.""u ;, Mr. Berk e as expressing , with great r a e l ae l txa a scl l t t ee e nd r e a t lions, such as those now rise passage sa d s ne rising o w y a o ssu u snp r o l distem per s k e e , nt night's howef by beauty, Cha the m ed principle e world', w b g an woposed, should proceed. It was on this principle he concurred ho the Hon. and Learned Gentleman in thinking that inquiry should precede legislatiou—(hear, hear). Mr. SUDDEN said, he lookbd with some degree of alarni at what he conceived, to be a too general desire to innovate and alter. Laws, as it bad been often said, were not so much made, as introduced by time. He trusted the House would not agree to a too extensive inquiry. By appointing an extra Judge in the Court of F a xcheatier s .be thOirgln all the Judtroal business of the Country might be got through with sufficient-expedition. Sir J. SC'ARLETT said, be should peter the intro duction of Bills to the appointment of a Commission. This was the course followed by the Lord Chancellor Cooper, in the last great 1 i ill , I i ' L 1 11 111 ~. 1 ? r ) , I k ; , li, ~ .... 1 I' ; • • h • r I o f . , . • . • tr, I. ' . a , t •; :1 1 , 1 . ' V it 1• v , •• ,;t; i ! • '. I tt: 1 ! 1 ~ i 1- -01 1 , oi • A; . ~,1 , ~. l i ; :.' ; • ; • : , ~ 4 f 4.. • I I 0 , , . 1 .. : . it 4 P ' k ci ' •I't • i 1 ,. 01 v; • e•',, r•.' 1 .1 1 r ''' i:'': ' 1 -1/ • ~. ~- ~• ie' •^ • rif el? k e ed. . - . Arida, his the a U~ , , '•~' ~ 1