The National Register. — London, England, 1813-02-14 00:00:00

I'FII. 14. i,hed it to appear on the Journals th ,t the measure was oprstoi, limine. The Motion was then put and negatived, the previous question being eat rind. Sir JOHN NEWPOnT gave notice, that, on Tuesday next,. he would move for leave to hring in a Bill to exempt flout the tax afFi'cting hack...tors, til; members of colleges and Universities in the United Em pire, ani all the Catholic Clergy of Lifland. The other Ord2rs of the D,iy were then disposed of, and the Howe --Adjourned. TIIUR SDA V, VES. 11. ROMAN CATHOLICS. A Petition wa , presented from the County of Anglesey, against the Catholic Clanns, On the question for bringing it up, Mr. PA KNIAA. raid that when the meeting took place to consider of petitior, a ae nileman made a speech, which was nothing aiore than a recapitulation of arguments that were published in the .4 ati- Acobin Revicw, purporting to come from the Catholics themselves, tun:cr the title of " The third Part of the Statement of the Penal Lawfs."--The two first parts of thii wiark, were acknowledged by the Catholics to he consonant to their avowed principles, but this third foirt was a gross fabticati•ai and forgery. The House would there for? j u d g e what credit was due to the allegations of this, and other Pcti , ams iS a similar kind. Dr. Dew EN AN said, there was evidence ming!' in the two first parts of tile work in question, to sustain the allegations in the petition. Mr. PARNFI,T., Mr. FD, Mr. GRATTAN. and Mr. CAN• INO, reprobated the g_ross forgery alluded to ; it was a total misre r,e citation of their red sentimeuts ; and Mr Canning said, that he knew it bad the effect of making many persons unfavourable to the Catholic claims, who before had been favourable to theta. The Petition 'vas then ordered to lie Oil the table. VICE-CHANCELLOR'S BILL. On the motion for the second reading of the Vice-Chancellor's Bill, Lord CA STL.F.RE n rose, and entered at large into the reasons which rendered the creatiiln of such am office adviseable. If some mode were not devised to render that judicial portion of our Constitution equal to ite labours, the whole of the judicial code of the country must be f:ffveed, and great injary done to the subject, from the impossibility of obtain:lig timely redress in any suit. As a proof of this, he needed state, that there was at present in the House of Lords an arrear of '2BO appeals, which at en mieerage of the rate in . which such causes had beet' decided, could not he determined in less than eleven years. The Noble Lord went into a discussion of the provisions of the Bill, as well as various other modes which had been -tiggested to remedy the evil complained 1. t and after gi% ins a decided preference to that now wider their considm.ratiun, he moved that the Bill be read a second time. Mr. BaKEFS did not think tl c Bill would remove the evil it was ;net nd..d to remedy. The elect of it would be, to have the business of Lord Chancellor executed in the Court of Chancery by a person in feri, r to him in learning and ability, white the business in the house of Lords would be ellowed to go on, or to be in a state of stagnation, ai it best might suit. . Appeals would be multiplied, instead of reduced, for it could not he supposed, that there would he fewer appeals from the Vicc-Chancel!or to the Lord-Chancellor than for the Master of the Bolls. He coefessed he could see no radical objection to the separa tion of tile two offices of Lord Chancellor and Speaker of the House of Lords. earth:Oat ly if that separation were merely temporary, to meet a temporary difficulty. He knew once it was a favoutite object of Mr. rat. Auotle r objection he had to the proposed Bill, was, that it tended to make the individual appointed vice-Chancellor, a deputy and not a Judge. He was to do merely that which he was ordered to du ; and the person put into this degraded situation, like all other drudges, was to do all the work, and to receive but small emolument; and that too from his immediate master. After many other cogent ar guments against this measure, he concluded by moving, as an amend ment. that the Bill be read a second time on that day six months. Mr. Niv coon ATI) thought the most adviseable step would be to take the Bankruptcy business out of Chancery, and extend it to seine other tribunal. He opposed the Bill before the House as nugatory, and in the highest degree unconstitutional. Mr. STEPIIEN supported the Bill with considerable ability. In ad- Yertine to the length of time for which suits in Equity were depending, he stated from the report, that el those now undecided, one hart been protvacred for twenty years, seven fur eleven years, 30 for seven years, tied 77 Lr live years! He denied that there was any thing taticunlith tionak in the measure new proposed for their adoption. Mr. Coe aTra Ay opposed the Bill, and maintained that it would have the elii.ct of aacrifleing time judicial character of the House of Lords, _ thing itucunlitti- considerably hard, as ne was outigeu Lu tan.. .•••-• ~ in payment tbr his labour. He most earnestly requested that the GO.. ined th a t it would vernment would take into c , nsideration a case of such terrible priva.. of the Huuse of tion and difficulty, and send to Ireland as much silver as could he atlcorded. The people of that country were not only sufferers from tl.t THE NATIONAL REGISTER. 101 Mr. Sslti it and Mr. M. TA YLOR also opposed the Bill. Serjeant 131ST spoke in its favour. Mr. CA NNI NG said, all the legal abilities of the country had been employed in the eomposi , ion of an officer, whose attributes were to render him ridienhats even in the eyes of hip own brethren. The new officer proposed to he created, was to be ordained to act according as the Lord Chancellor sh .uld think fit—if that was freedom, what was servitude ?—Was it the free exercise of legal right, to be laid chained hand and foot on the tribunal of judgment. He confessed himself an able to cope with legal men and-Chancery arguments, bat he conceived that the Bill created a magistrate wholly unfit to be introduced into the jurisprudence of the conntry. Sir S. Rost ILY strenuously opposed the Bill, contending, that if it were passed it would effect a complete change in the character of future Lords Chancellor; and that the country would never again see such men as Somers, Camden, Hardwicke, &c. He denied that the business . strictly so called, of o.e Court of Chaiicerv, had increased since . the . year 1750. The cumber of suits had not increased. Undoubtedly causes were now heard at much more considerable length than formerly ; and he lamented that a kind of invitation was held out for hearings and re hearings, equally injurious to the clients of that Court, and to the pub lic at large. To the Bill before the House, offering as it did the grossest indignity to the individual who might he appointed to fill the situation designated in it, be could never consent ; and he was suits that the a eneral sense of the profession was with him. Mr. WETHERAI.t. supported the Bill at considerable length. The SOLICITOR-GENERAL, in a speech of great animation and ability, replied to the various arguments that had been addressed against the Bill, admitting, however, that it might be susceptible of emendation in the Committee. Mr. PONSON3'i opposed the Bill. A division ensued—fur the Amendment, 122 ;—Against it 201— Majority, 79. The Bill was then read a second time, and ordered to be committed on Monday.—Adjourned at three o'clock. FRIL)?.y ' FEE. 12. Several papers we:e presented from the Bank of England, which were ordered to lie on the table. All account of the present state of the national debt was presented, and ordered to lie on the table. The further consideration of tall haftskury Petition was put off till Monday, in consequence ) tf' rhe indiniosition of Sir Godfrey Webster. • Leave was given to bring in a Bill to empower the *Proprietors of the West Middlesex Water-works to raise a further sum of - money to enable them to prosecute their labours. Several Petitions were presented against the Roman Catholic Claim!, the Leather Tax, and *the East India Company's Charter, which were ordered to lie on the table. Mr. IJIL>Y A DaINGTON gave notice, that he would on Monday move for leave to bring in a Bill to anwnd the laws relative to the Local Militia of England and Scotland. SINECURE OFFICES. Mr. B A NK.ZS rose to move for leave to bring in a Bill to abolish Si. nccure Offices and Places in Reversion. Ha stated, that he had made it one of the most prominent features of the Bill that remuneration should he made to those persons who sewed the country, which would testify the liberality of Parliament, and that such remunera• tion should proceed from Parliament immediately. Ile said that he would, in one of the advanced stages of the Bill, enumerate the be nefits which would result from the acquiescence of the House in the measure, and expressed a hope that his sentiments would meet with their approbation. Lord C A STLEREAGH said, that he would not oppose the present motion of his Honourable Friend, but as he looked upon the Bill which was intended to be brought in as containing principles of an unconstitutional tendency, he should take an opportunity of delivering his opinion against it in due time. Leave was given to bring in the Bill. LOCAL TOKENS. The C A NCELLOR of the ExemF.Qtr ER, "ViOUS to his moving that the House should go into a Committee upon the Local Token Bill, said, that he thought it necessary to give the sanction of government to the circulation el Local Tokens until the sth of July, after which time lie supposed, there would be, no necessity for allowing that cur rency. He assured the House that in the measure brought before them, I reland was considered most a ttentively with respect to the state of her currency. Sir JOHN. NEWPORT trusted that the many cr y in g evils which that country had to complain of in regard to the scarcity of silver, would he remedied. In the South of Ireland the state of the peasatir was in considerably hard, as he was obliged to take a kind of paper security in payment for his labour. He most earnestly requested that the Go vernment would take into c , iisideration a case of such terrible priva. tion and difficulty. and send to Ireland as much silver as could he aflcorded. The people of that country were not only sufferers from tl.t.s•-•