The National Register. — London, England, 1821-03-05 00:00:00

P AILTIMPOLII4A LAW .socIETY. A numerous mecting of the members of the Me tropolitan lam Society Was held at the Globe tavern, in Fleet-street, on Friday eveninz, for the purpose • of taking into consideration the Bill recently intro duced into the House of Commons, entitled, " An Act for the more convenient recovery of small debts . in England and Wales." 'Mr. GRANT having been called to the chair, Mr. 11 ' HHIGitT proceeded to address the un...eting. He said he rose with diffidence, but that diffidence merged into the anxiety which he felt for the com mon interest of the profession. The Bill was not the production of one individual, but emanated from committee of the Lords, by whom it had beets altered and amended to its present shape. In every view he considered it unjust, absurd, impracticable, and impolitic. It was unjust, because it went to deprive certain individuals of their freehold as well as hereditary rights ; he alluded to the Duke of Grafton, who held his office in the Seal Office, by hereditary right, granted under a charter of Charles H. and the clerks of the rules and common papers, who purchased their situations, and who had by law the same right to dispose of them as if thew were their freehold estates. It was impolitic too, I;ecau.a: the writs issued tin sums under 151. constituted at least two-thirds of those which were actually issued; and the loss to the revenue, by the arrangements of the new Bill, would not be less than thirty thousand pounds per annum. It was absurd from a variety of reasons, but principally because it would operate as an encouragement to litigation. There were other points not less open to reprehension—among these were the mode in which Juries were to be sleeted. Although by the oniinary rules of law, a freeholder of 40s. a year was considered sufficient to decide a question in which the title to a whole county might be involved; yet by this Act, it was necessary to decide a debt of 151. that a Juryman should be possessed of a freehold of 51. per annum. The Judge must, under this Act, be a sort of ambulatory being, for his ties would be utterly inadequate to enable him to ride, and would scarce even utliird him the means of procuring good shoes to walk— fur in order to obtain 1501. he must try 1500 causes ! He would give a specimen of his tees ; for every plaint of 40s. his tee was to be 2d.—above 40s. and not exceeding 51. it was to be 4d. and above 51. sixpence ! Fur a judgment he was also to receive the enormous sum of twopence ! (Laughter.) But what appeared still more singular, was, that the bailiff was, in point of pa) a.ent, better off than the Judge, for he was to be allowed a whole shil ling tier executing a capi..s. This, however, was perfectly consistent with the opinions of Black stone, " that execution was the highest department of the law." If the framers of this Bill merely wanted to attain celerity and dispatch in litigation, he could have recommended a Court quite suited to their purpose—he meant the Pied Puudre Court and as this was generally held at fairs and markets the Judges might have gone round with the spew men , and, by way of economy, have been accom modated with half the bed of the baboon, while the criers, and other officers of this Court, in their leisure hours, might assist in taking care of the lions, tygers, and other animals belonging: to the person who had contracted for their reniuVai from place to place. (Laughter.) Mr IVright then proceeded to point out other absurdities in the Act, among which he classed the following fees to be paid to A tturnies For a Plaint and Copy, without notice of the paitieulan. ut the demand .. Fourpeuce. Fur a Pistol and Copy, with notice of the parnrulau of tin: demand .... Sixpence. For a Plea and Copy Sixpence. • Fos a Plea with Sec.otY awl Copy Eight prl,ee, Fur attending the Hi sling of a Goose, Me Shilling. Fur copy °luminous to each Witness, TworcuCC. Fur Set vice of each %conc.& For attending a Motion in Cuing Fur these pitiful sums it would be impossible to obtain the attendance of any respectable Solicitor upon the Courts in question, and thus the object at which thty had been so long aiming, the exclusion of persons of an opposite character from their body,. would be frustrated. (Hear.) Having enumerated some other objectionable parts of the Bill, he con cluded by moving the following Resolution, which was carried unanimously : " That the bill nun in pri.gre,. in the home of commons, entitled, a A Bill tin the more convenient Recovery uf Small I) bni in England and %Antes; is, u, the judgment ol meeting, unjust, absurd, impolitic, and ticuble, run. teary to the in Oluiple. or our I.lNa. road all sound gi,l.at ion at pasted o 10 0 law, w‘ll create much more mischirl that' it is unimakil to prevent." The following Uesolution was aLo carried una nimously . . " 11141 111Ip Bin is :11 variance with the principles of En‘lj,ll ol 1.1.41111 lesivitsivon. liecituve it buti.lituir• the with of a psi . ' lf. r th.d of itiwocs, In assessing latinasev ugaiii:t ab.esit defendant ; ;shoo p.itti , S ; gel:titan), In, be witee,bru tur itientielvvv in their von cauviv— thin, huldseg, out a blronA auslurrisleat to pi 'jury. Becauve, sedktu4 a Juil‘e's resuuner.itton to drpeeitt open the ~umbel of winos. he If i , •s, it .ievisitiev his tote', st that C:1114 , viiinild be .airricil iiver fot:tei I 1 tit tilVestaloted, wid (Iva THE NATIONAL REGIS': -!R io omeial siornldsuccerd,and he thrrehy encouraged to being sail.. auto hi. I. ourt. At the sane• tu n ic that the reinimerat pros Mei tin' the J udge is nut suilicimit to set him above these tempintimps, nor aueh 11.111.111111ke it 11111111 the while of tiny 111.1'N1111 possessed of competent llama to accept the ()like ; because the compensation to the attorney is no ludicrously jowl* guide. that, with lull amployment, he could nut mini it drecat .üb•istenev, and retain los tank in society, And tLe rn•ult must be, either that the practice of lii ne Couits %%mild be confiiied to Attorines of no repute or responsibility (such as it has been the anxious endeavours of the legislature turn scrim. of year, to disc. ui Mgr and exclude), it ho would elude the law L. to the lllTSCrilit'd fors, unddale its penalties; or 111:11 parties heinz du.thled (ruin purchasing legal advice said assistance lit a fair atte, auulti hare to manage their ono came', at great tuaunle, great risk of success, and at lunch unnecessary cxpr.u•c to themselves : and because the hill se. ks to e talrlish one lass for the• rich and another fur the WOUIIIIIISt 1111.111! eas e • a liirh are 11111111 ruu•, and relate to the great bulk of lac 111111 Wllo'l'lll t 11: re is likely to lie most knavery, under the must imperfect and inecluitublt code." CATHOLIC EMANCIPATION. -0.-- Mr. Plunkett's motion upon this subject induces us to take a short review of the different divisions which have taken place upon it during the last ten years. In 1813 the bill for Catholic Emancipation was lost, utter several divisions in its favour, by the ce lebrated opposition of Mr. Abbot, the Speaker. A notion having been carried by that gentleman, that Catholics should nut be allowed to sit in either House of Parliament, by a majority of 251 to 247, Mr. Ponsonby declared the bill with this clause to be nugatory, and gave it up. In 1316 Lord Castlereagh supported the bill brought in tir the relief of the Catholics ; Mr. Peel the Secretary tbr Ireland, opposed it , and the question in the Commons by 172 to 141 ; in the Lords by only 73 to 69. Mr. Grattan motion the ensuing year, in the House of Commons, was negatived by a majority of 24; and that of Lord Donoughmore, in the Upper House, by 142 to 90. On the 3d of May, 1819, the motion for a com mittee was negativcd in the Commons by a majority of two ; the numbers being 243 to 241 : in the Lorde the numbers were 147 to 106. From this abkfract of the several divisions, it ap pears that the fairest prospect of succeeding with the bill was in the year 1813, when, in fact, petitions were most numerous against it but when there were two or three divisions in its favour, and when it was read a first time, and second time, and com mitted• At present, we believe that even those of the ministers who arc most adverse to the measure, namely, Lord Liverpool and the Lord Chancellor, allow that the circumstances of un unpledged Par liament, and an unpledged Sovereign, are good omens. The King also is said to be about to visit Ireland. We know it is not constitutional to speak of the King's wishes respecting a pending bill; the inclinations of his late Majesty upon the subject were, however, well known ; and we should suspect that the intended royal excursion to Ireland will either bo deferred, or the pleasure of it considerably abated, if it should have been learned in the inter vening time that the King is hostile to what is termed Catholic Emancipation. ST. DAVID'S DAY. Thursday last being the 107th anniversary fes tival of the most honourable and loyal society of Ancient Batons was celebrated with more than usual festive pomp and parade. The school was tbunded for the benevolent purpose of clothing educating, and maintaining 127 boys and girls, the children of Welch parents, who have not gained a legal parochial settlement in London, or within ten miles of the Royal Exchange. At half-past eleven o'clock the children were called out to firm into procession; the whole were neatly and cleanly dressed, and health, the 'conse quence of attention and good government, appeared in every thee. The procession proceeded along Guildford-rtreet, and to the parish church of St. George, lianover•square, where the church service was read in the ancient British language, by the Rev. Thomas Alban, A. M. Vicar of Llandrillo, Denbighshire, and Chaplain to the Society. The church was extremely hill, and the collection at the door was considerable. After divine bervice the procession took the same order as beibre, and proceeded down Bond-street and Pall Mull, to St. James's-square, where they halted at the front of the Duke of Norfolk's, and Sir•W. W. Wynn's, giving three huzza's at each ; and thence proceeding to Carlton-paluce, they paid the like testimony of respect. Their next stage was to the Freemasons' Tavern, in Great Queen Street, LIU:0111'V Inn-fields, where, about six o'clock nearly six hundred persons sat down to dinner. His Koyal Highness Prince Leopold took the chair, in which he was supported by Sir Watkin William Wynn and Sir Charles Morgan. Af or the, cloth was removed Aba Alkis &mine was ad mirably sung by Messrs. John Smith, Master Smith, George Smith, and Mr. John Parry. The Royal President then gave " The King, the patron of the institution," with three times three, which was followed by reiterated bursts of applause. Song—" God save the King." The next toast was—" The Duke of Yurk and the rest of the Royal Family." " The Principality of \Vales," and several other standing toasts were given, all of which were drank with enthusiasm. The Royal Chairman stood up, and made a very neat but short speech, in which he stated that that was the first public meeting at which he ever pre. sided in his and not being very fluent in the English language, he hoped they would excuse his nut giving them his sentiments as he felt them, awl as he could wish. The conclusion was received with thunders of applause. The children were then introduced by the Stew. arils; they were led round the room in procession, expressing by their looks and deportment the warm est gratitude to their benefactors. The healths of several of the persons of distinction, the Vice-Presidents. Stewards, &e. were drank with enthusiasm. From the Secretary's account it appears, that 1281 boys, and 250 girls have been entered upon the foundation, and wholly maintained in the house ; of the former 761 have been apprenticed with a foe; I 75 had gone to sea, and 255 gone into service, and 90 remain on the establishment. Of the latter 162 are gone to service, 51 put out apprentices, and ST are on the present establishment. The subscriptions received during the day were very liberal, considerably exceeding one thousand pounds. The King gives 100 guineas annually.-- One hundred guineas were subscribed by his Royal Highness the Chairman. The company continued to a late hour, and the utmost conviviality and good humour prevailed. On Monday eY,taning, at about half-passt five o'clock, a most ftfrioics fire broke out at the shop of Mr. Butler, cliemiatin Gutter-lane, a few doors from Cheapside, the left hand side. The fire, we were informed, was occasioned by an highly inflammable chemical preparation taking fire. The combustible was r.o violent, that in a few minutes the whole of the house wax in flames, and the two adjoining houses belonging to a gentleman named Langston, and that belonging to Messrs. Thompson and Jackson, the engravers, also caught fire, but not before a considerable portion of the furniture had been rescued from the flames: they were, how ever, in a short time totally consumed. The fire threatened incalculable destruction all around, not withstanding the initnediate exertions of a number of fire engines, seconded by most a plentiful supply of water. The flames raged in a direction towards Foster-lane, and did considerable injury to the back part of Bafflers' Hall and several of the adjoining houses. The whole neighbourhood was in the greatest alarm and confusion until about nine o'clock, when the flames were in some measure gut under. The City Police were prompt in their at. tendance, and by their judicious arrangements much depredation, by the thieves who mustered in great numbers, on the property removed for safety was prevented. From the great bustle and confusion going forward, we were unable to collect any cer tain account of the damage done, but we understand that a considerable portion of the property destroyed is insured. Two officers belonging to the Itottingdean Pre ventive Guard, bearded :. French smuggling lugger with contraband spirits on Wednesday night near Brighton. The crew consisting of six Frenchmen and one English sailor, refused to surrender, and stood out to sea. When 20 miles from the coast, the smugglers compelled the officers to get into thu large tub-boat of the lugger, and to return to tho shore. At three o'clock the following mornin. , , about 120 tubs (supposed to have been part of the cargo of the above lugger) were landed opposite Regency Square; 46 of which were seised by tho Brighton officers, and deposited in the store in Black Lion-street. itsconnsitsiiir or LotiuuN.—lt is said that Sir J. Sylwster, in consequence of his age and increas. ing intim:66es not permitting him to discharge the duties of his important situation, without consider. able assistance, had procureA the coaseut of a ser. .joant of well-known legal acquirements, in West. ininster Hall, to act as his deputy, lqat that this arrangement hug: been frustrated, on the ground of its interfering injuriously with the claims of others on the Corporation. !woken! Delotors.—it was ruled last week, in the Court of King's Bench, that the release of I debtor under the Insolvent Act does not disqualify any creditors inserted in his schedule from proceed. ing against him under a tanuroissitiii of bankruptcy, fur recovery of property ho may have concealed or subsequently become entitled to.