The Sun. — London, England, 1829-05-22 00:00:00

referents to the public eafety and individual protec tion, -An inquiry into the manner in which the duties - of the district surveyors were discharged, their powers, and their legal redress as provided by the existing state of the law, and the discovery of a eottiplete change in the mode of constructing houses, convinced them that this subject required a minute investigation ; and in 1824 a report was made to the : Quarter Sessions of Surrey, by a Committee (com posed of Magistrates, many of whom had great knowled ge and experience upon the subject), that the existing law required much alteration, and re e°mmending t h at an application should be made to the Magistracy of Middlesex to co-operate in the inyestigetion and remedy its defects. A Committee " Middlesex Magistrates was accordingly appointed kid the opinions and recommendations of the joint e mmaets were laid before the Secretary of State i h ..',lle Mantle Depart ment . Th at Ri g h t H on. Gent. ba t it p roper to refer the matter, through the ,OYElrnissi oners of Woods and Forests, to a surveyor 2‘ great eminence and expelience, who has given lUch'oe his time and talents to its considera an, and. I have . his authority for sayi ng , that professional men cordially concur in the necessity of a n alteration of the law. It was under such !ailed' opinions thus collected that he proposed to "bmit t° the House the propriety of an amendment of the lave.. If the House should permit the introduc tion Of the Bill, it was his intention to have it cir culated for consideration during the recess, in order cthat it might be taken up early next Session, either ya Committee or the House, as might b e d eeme d pedient.. Having s t a t e d th e c i rcumstances un d er t which the measur e came recommen d e d to t h e H ouse, 7(Mr..P e ll mer) .would at present refrain from j"'riff mo re than to add a general outline of the oh cets. which the Bill intended to embrace, namely, a malPlification of the present Act, and the omission '2f those parts which have become obsolete; provi.• : 101 1i against the present most dangerous alterations ‘nd communications with the flues in party walls ; irovisioes for the exact execution of the duties of strict surveyors, their appointm ents , qua lifi cat i ons , 'pIY enum erat i ons, responsibility, and returns; to the def ects d e f ects i n the present law as to legal redres p s :Nast defaulters, and b etween parties aggrieved; ai_"%ther p rov i s i ons to guard against fire, and for the l:ply of water and the means of escape in case of t calamity; more effectual power over dilapidated ~druitioui buildi ngs, from which many fatal acci- Znts have recently h appened; and the means of do g,- by all proper precautions in the construe aof theatres chapels, and other large buildings, dreadful tho se d accidents, one of which, in a recent ag al esnabl e case, had been followed by a loss of life a d ds of property to a f r i ghtful extent. There was tu d if power to extend . the provisions of the Act ' ar g°...and populous places; and it had been en !avoured to provide for such construction in future ° ti t chiemi es as shall at once assist in prevention of 4141 obviate th e necess i ty o f t h e emp l oyment o f childreniricleaning them. Leave given to bring in a Bill. ei Yu the m ot i on for a Committee of the whole Act tta s e on the augmentation of the salaries of Judges , th Lis DRUMMOND was apprehensive that of the of thi s mot i on m i g h t stan d i n th e way 'ne meditated improvements in the existing laws 84 °tland. It was most desirable that a measure 1)f this tenure should not meet with any impediment from a con temporaneous act of this nature. A re tresentation had b een ma d e to the Legislature on the tesa itY of introducing the trial by jury into other i ?urt s in Scotland besid e t h e J ury C ourt. I n f act, ;bad been reported by th e C omm i ss i oners appo i nte d ZSit and decide on t hi s su bj ect, that it would be tr ernely desirable that the trial by jury should i tut - an integral part of the knee:fiction of Scotland. Project had be e n contemplated, of uniting the latisdicti on of the Admiralty Court in Scotland with : c eucurrent jurisdi ct i on i n t h at country. How these ery desirable objects could be blended, ought to be me LI ~,,coted before the H ausa resolved on the propriety '''easing the salaries of the present Judges. ilb - fhe CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER ts i s t e r veds' that the question before them was one to , is Pdietinet from 'th at to w hi c h the Hon. Member had addressed his observations. It referred to an n,. gment ation of salary on the groun d o f t h e i ncrease 4ctive p r ofessional duty. This he believed could hot . Th ' e nletl. It could not, therefore, interfere tvithbe the proposed alteration in the law of Scotland; for. so far it only apportioned increase of salary in Proportion to the carefully appreciated value of past tteriices. Mr. BROUGHAM was desirous of fuller infor thation on the subject of the constitution and the extent of.the labour of these courts in Scotland. He had possessed himself of some valuable information en the subject of their jurisdiction, and also on that of their activity in the despatch of business; and he should therefore like to have it stated from authentic a ources •what were the days of the week and the *tenth a of the.yearwhen these courts were pleased , 4 . - e xempt themselves by their own order from duty hevery. kind. ; -According to information which he ad reeeived, these Judges, like other more hard vl.orkingindividuals—(a laugh)—forbore alllabour on e . t Monday, and partly so on the Saturday ; on 'hilrlatter ' day it was . very generally the habit of the jud ges to employ themselves for the after-part 0r the d ay in that species of enjoyment which was e et ten °ten to them jointly with less educated and in tellectual persons.—(Laughter.)—They were re . - t kable, too, for the strict observance of public 1,1-erma festivals, insomuch so, that they forebore R et e , 4 4 , a g for three or four weeks about Christmas . . i„ - m'd not mean to make any allusion to the Justi -1 Court of Scotland, which went the circuit. The -constitution of Judges in Scotland was rare, 4Precedeated, and curious. There were Judges b„ single gown ; there were others of a double VII, who tried both civil and criminal causes; but th e re were others who, in one respect, imitated the jolleNtidled bashaw s of Turkey, and enjoyed a triple totletidiction---(A laugh.)—All these matters ought to 'e befor e the Legislature ere it was called on to sli d / I le ee the question of higher salary topudges, 141 : °, it would seem, had so much time on their ho d the i nstances to w hi c h h e a ll u d e d . H e it w " - "" these facts would be laid before the House ere tohl" c alled on to d ec id e t h e proport i on o f sa l ary So _ c h it ought to vote to J u d ges w h ose d ut i es were ii r fer whelmin g .—(H ear .) the ERGUSSON thought it doubtful whether rittilwillesent Judges in Courts in Scotland were tide '. 4 e ,r Paid for their labour. Th e l a bo ur of th e lt;` ln4,4lldges, out of Court, was infi n it e ly grea t er S gr ~ ft at of the English Judges. He therefore with the Ri g h t H on . G ent l eman , t h at i t was P ut t he to do j ust i ce to those l earne d personages. had:"C last f our years the English Puisne Judges Jett receiv ed a salary of' 5,5001. a y e ar, w hil s t the sehua e a of Ses s i on i n S cot l and, w h o requ i re d a larger J udg es to keep up t h e i r ran k t h an t h e E ng l is h hae3 and who had man y more d u ti es t o p er f orm , Juat ; 0 001. a y ear . Th ere was anot h er class of they ea, who d eserve d a hi g h er remunerat i on than tlisto.le,ceived--he meant the Judges of the Con tettje".,t Courts of Scotland, whose jurisdiction ex leqi all over Scotland, who decided on the most try, .ttat questions known to the law of any court- Yea r , Wh ilst they received a salary of only 600/..a . k flub equal to that of a third or fourth clerk Alte le n ° l T ee ' • tiop f --e,SKISSON was surprised that a proposi or ,hato bee brought such important alterations should 4 is een orought forward on the eve of the Session... Sire o f IF e la the universal opinion that it was thed de to a: clos e Majesty's Ministers to bring this Session f r the be st r as early as possible, he dared to say . for an d rel ief teagons. Many measures of amelioration y le h r i„,,s of inquiry , had been course ttliii°7sti.erp" °, 1 . 1. in order as not to prolong thethdeistciumse chosen f "'lament. And yet this was Judicial for considering an aumentation of the whole qeotle establishment of Scotland. The Hon. 111 4 H ouse Mau °Pposite (Mr. Fergusson) had reminded 1 tngh.ah , that four years ago the salaries of the net th e udgeshad been increased, perhaps beyond 'ten e ll " tY . w ould have been if the proposition had But at. the present moment.—(Hear.)— what was to be inferred from the silence of his Majesty's 'Ministers r=?specting the Scotch Judges for these . four years ? Why, that there was no pressing necessity for this augmentation.—(Neer, hear.)—There might be very considerable improve ments in the system of the Scotch Courts. There were 21 Judges ; their circuits were very different from the circuits of England; the Chief Justice did not go to the circuits at all. Then the Court of Exchequer was hardly a Court. l'he salaries of the Judges, however, had been tripled since 1793. A singe gown in 1792 received 7901.; now 2,0001. A system which sent so many appeals to the High Court of Appeal stood in need of some improve ment, arid the worst way to improve it was to in crease the salaries of the establishment.—(Hear.) — No ground for the increase appeared from the dearness of the articles of necessity. The general complaint of the country was, that its present dis tress was occasioned by the cheapness of commodities : this, he thought, was a reason why the measure should be postponed to another session, to be con sidered with reference to the duties of the Judges and the whole establishment. Mr. PEEL observed, that the question merely was, whether his Right Hun. Friend (the Chancel lor of the Exchequer) should be allowed to state his proposition in the Committee. Although the Right Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Huskisson) had proposed to treat the subject dispassionately and impartially, he (Mr. Peel) had never heard a speech in which the question was so completely prejudged. Mr. HUSKISSON—" I referred to the time at which it was brought forward." Mr. PEEL—The Right Hon. Gentleman re ferred to the increase of the salaries of the English Judges, and lamented that the increase should have been more than the absolute necessity of the case required. But if it be so, the Right Hon. Gen tleman was then a Member of his Majesty's Go vernment. Mr. HUSKISSON—" I said, perhaps, more than the present circumstances of the country would have authorised." Mr. PEEL—That may be; that is another question. The proper time for the Right Hon. Gentleman to have objected was, when the subject was before the Government. With respect to the present case, it had been the usual practice to make the salaries of the Scotch Judges bear a certain pro portion to those of the English Judges; and when the increase of the latter was made, it was in the contemplation of his Noble Friend, then at the head of the Government, to increase the salaries of the Scotch Judges, which various causes had conspired to prevent. He had been called upon to advise his Majesty as to two vacancies on the bench. All he asked was, that his Right Hon. Friend might be permitted to state his proposition. Mr. FERGUSSON explained. Mr. HUSKI:! , ,SON explained. He did not la ment the augmentation of the salaries of the English Judges. He merely stated that the year 1825 was somewhat different from the year 1829, and that he did not believe there would have existed in 1829 the same facilities and inducements to bring the measure before Parliament. Sir JOSEPH YORKE was not about to give any grave opinion on the subject; but he must say that the argument of the Right Hon. Gentleman who spoke last, as to the difference between 182.5 and 1829, was not without weight. But he was surprised to hear what had been said about the diffi culty of getting persons to fill these offices. What I was there no Scotch lawyer to be found, in 1829, who would become a Judge without an increase of salary ? His Right Hon. Friend (Mr. Peel) had asked, with all that gravity which so well befitted him, and which he so much admired, " shall we not after increasing the salaries of the English Judges, bring the Scotch Judges square with them, consi lering how much they have to do, and the impossi bility of finding any others to fill their situations ?" He (Sir J. Yorke) was disposed to place consider able confidence in the Right Hon. Gentleman ; he admired his talents, he admired his eloquence, and the undeviating consistency which had marked his conduct; but he was sorry to say,—he wished to use parliamentary language—that after this point he did not believe him.—(A loud laugh.)—As to the one vacaney=or the multiple of one—on the bench, which had not been filled up, he was convinced that if a hundred Scotch Judges were to be de funct to-morrow, there would be abundant oppor tunities of getting others. The Hon. and Learned Gentleman opposite (Mr. Fergusson), who was a Scotch lawyer, and who had been improving him self by contact with the wise men of the east, kad told the House of the heavy duties of the Scotch Judges, and the various matters they had to con sult about, of the prodigious mass of matters re lating to crime and property which came before them ; and he thought it would strengthen their wits to give them a considerable quantity of money.—(A Laugh.) But he (Sir J. Yorke) thought that the poorer a man was the sharper he was, and that he ought not to blow out his jacket with roast beef on a Sunday, but to keep him spare and thin, in order that his brain might be in a clear and healthy con dition; in order that the sensorium might not be overloaded with the sanguineous humour, but that he might be able at all times of the day to give a clear opinion. (A laugh.) He therefore differed from his Right Hon. Friend, and also from the Learned Sage from the East—(alaugh)—and should give his negative to the motion for going into- a Committee. As to the remark of his Right Hon. Friend about the Right Hon. Gentleman near him (Mr. Huskisson) being a member of the Govern ment when the salaries of the English Judges were increased, he (Sir Joseph Yorke) could conceive that that Right Hon. Gentleman might have had his opinion on the subject, and that it was not quite necessary that he should say, " Oh, I agree with you cordially; oh, for Heaven's sake, do just as you like; I agree to every thing." (A laugh.) There fore it was too much to fly out upon the Right Hon. Gentleman and say, " Why, you know you were a member of the Government at the time." (The sharp and snappish tone with which this was uttered created much mirth.) He did say that . this was going on too far; here they had tonight a measure coming forward to reduce the income of the coun. try (he meant that respecting sugar); and if they were now to increase the salaries of Judges, while they were cutting at a clerk here, and cutting at a clerk there, they would be stopping the spigot and letting it run out at the bung-hole. (Loud laughter.) Mr. PEEL observed, that the facetiousness of his Hon. Friend rendered it impossible to take offence at what he said. He had, however, fallen into a mistake in assuming that the object of his Right Hon. Friend's proposition was to bring the Scotch Judges (as he expressed it) square with those of England. This mistake showed how necessary it was that the House should hear what the proposi- tion was. Mr. KENNEDY made a few remarks which we could not hear. Mr. HUME agreed with the Right Hon. Gent. oppOsite (Mr. Huskisson), that, after the Govern ment had posponed almost every plan for the good of the country, divesting themselves almost of all the duty of a Government, on the ground that it was so late in the session, it was most extraordinary that they should, at the present time, come forward with a proposition for adding to the expenditure of the country by increasing the salary of the Scotch Judges. They ought to have attended to the peti tions of the people before considering the salaries of Scotch Judges. Strangers were then ordered to withdraw, but no division took place. . The House hav:ng gone into a Committee, The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said, that he had hoped his proposition would have met with general concurrence; and, though he now rose with somewhat a different impression, yet he could not think that the House would receive it otherwise than favourably. He looked upon his proposition rather as the discharge of a debt that had been long owing, than in any other light. The House had, almost unanimously, in. 1826, agreed to an augmentation of the salaries of the Judges in England ; he said unanimously, because, though twe divisions took place, one of them was upon the pro priety of certain regulations, and the other was upon 4001. or 5001. of augmentation. When he recollected this fact,—when he recollected the fact that Government were then asked why they did not augment the salaries of the Judges in Scotland,—and when he rec,:ilected that Lord Goderich replied, that that subject ought to be, and should be taken into consideration; when he knew, moreover, that the Government intended to augment the salaries of the Scotch Judges—he could not but regard himself rather as discharging a debt incurred by the intima tions of Government than as proposing to augment the public expenses in a time of difficulty. These being the circumstances of the case, he could not admit that the period at which his proposition was brought forward was an argument for additional de lay. . Besides, the- duties the Judges had to perform, and not the particular period, ought to decide a pro position of this nature. The leading ground on which he founded his proposition was, that the present salaries of the Scotch Judges were not of such an amount, with reference to the emolu ments of the profession from which Judges were drawn, as to secure to the public men who were competent to the discharge of individual duties, and who had proved themselves to be so, by rising to eminence as advocates. The salary of the Lords of the Court of Session was no more than 2,0001. a-year. Now he bad been informed by those who were acquainted with the subject, that the more eminent banisters made much more by their profes sion, than the salary of the Lords of the Session; and it was hopeless, therefore, to expect those gen tlemen to accept a seat upon the bench until they had arrived at an age when retirement from the busy occupation of an advocate became desirable to them. Having made these general observations, he would proceed to state the nature of his proposition. There -were thirteen Lords of the Court of Session, inde pendent of the Lord President and the Lord Justice Clerk. The salary of each of these thirteen Judges was 2,0001. a year. Five of these Judges were also Commissioners of the Court of Justiciary, and for this additional duty they received 6001. more. It was his intention to add to the salary of each of the Lords of the Court of Session 5001., so that the sa laries of the Lords of the Court of Session would be 2,5001., and the salaries of the Lords of the Court of Session, who were also of the Court of Justiciary, would be 3,100/. It had been usual to make the salaries of the Judges in Scotland equal in amount to half of the salaries of the Judges in England; but the House would see that he had not carried his augmentation so far. Another addition he proposed, founded on the opinion of that House, was that the higher Judges ought not to be allowed to benefit by the.sale of subordinate places, for which reason they took away from the Chief Justice this kind of patronage, and gave him an addition to his salary in lieu of it. So he proposed to take away from the Lord Justice Clerk patronage of this kind, and to give him an addition of 1,000/. to his salary—making his salary in the whole 5,000/. a year. He proposed also to make the same addition of 1,0001. to the salary of the Lord President, with the view of com bining with his office an office which was now a sinecure—he meant that of Lord Justice General. He did not propose any addition to the salaries of other Judges, because they did not appear to call so urgently as the others for additional remuneration. He also meant to exclude from additional remunera tion those Judges who, as Judges of the Jury Court, received remuneration in that capacity ; and for this reason—because the state of the Jury Court must shortly come under the consideration of Parliament, and that would be the time for proposing augmenta tion, if any appeared necessary. Thus it would be seen that lie had gone below the usual mark in his proposition, and if the increased salaries of the Judges in Scotland—that is, increased as he pro posed to increased them, were compared with the salaries of Judges in England or in Ireland, he thought that his proposition would be found reason able. As to the observation of the Hon. Member for Reigate (Sir J. Yorke), that men's wits were shar pened by their being as poor as possible, he begged to remind him that one of the worst evils of poverty was, that it made men ridiculous in the eyes of others. He put it to the Hon. and Gallant Member if it would be right to place Judges in this situation. He begged to move as a resolution, that it was the opinion of the Committee that the following addi tions should be made to the salaries of the Judges in Scotland,—namely, to the salary of the Lord Pre sident, 1,000/. ; to the salary of the Lord Justice Clerk, 1,0001. ; and to the salary of each of the Lords of the Court of Session, not being Commis sioners of the Jwy Court, 500/. Sir J. YORKE—I cannot permit the Chancellor of the Exchequer to remain unanswered by the Hon. Member for Reigate—(Hear, and a laugh)— whose arguments he had considerably over-stated. I did not say that you ought to starve men in order to produce .their wits. For what I did say I have authority. Allow me to refer to a volume which is not very often quoted in this House,,but which is nevertheless a very high authority—and let me say, with old Hagar, " Give me neither poverty nor riches ; not poverty, lest I should steal; nor riches, lest I should forget my God." Did I ask you to visit the Scotch Judges with any greater poverty than they are under now ? No; I said leave them as they are. When my Noble Relative, who was called for shortness " Prosperity Robinson"— (Loud laughter)—proposed a vast increase in the salaries of the English Judges, I was not at all sur prised ; but I did not suppose that the Right Hon. Gentleman (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) would have caught the mantle of my Noble Rela tive. I thought that he came in with all the ex treme notions of a strict economist, and that he would not let a shilling go out of the Treasury without first looking on either side of it.—(Hear, and laughter.)—Whether the ,Right Hon. Gent. has lost his popularity, and therefore takes up the Scotch Judges. as my Noble Relative took up the English Judges, or whether it is for some other reason, I can't tell. Neither do I know whether. he is right or wrong; but this I do know, namely, that it is my duty to vindicate the Hon. Member for Reigate—(Hear, and laughter)—from misrepresen tation, and to tell the Right Hon. Gentleman that the Hon. Member for Reigate did not recommend the House to starve the Scotch Judges, but that he merely suggested that it might not be wise to fatten them.—( Hear, and a laugh.) Mr. BROUGHAM admitted that it was a very ill saving of money to underpay men holding high offices—for such men should always be independent and respectable, and they could be neither if they were underpaid. There must, however, be limits and a rule to guide them in this as in other matters. No doubt men in the vigour, not in the first, but in the second vigour of life, should, if possible, be placed on the bench—no doubt that such men should be in the possession of a considerable professional income. If men possessing these two qualifications refused a seat on the bench, then they might be sure that Judges were underpaid. But he denied that it, was necessary that the bench should be filled from the first class of lawyers or from the second class of lawyers, dividing them into classes by the extent of their practice. There was a third and a much more numerous class, arid he would venture to say,that in England there would be no difficulty in finding in the third class men of talent, expe rience, arid independence, who would be glad to take a seat on the bench at the ancient salary of 4,0001. a year. So in Scotland he had no doubt that such men . would be found to whom 2,0001. a year would be sufficient. The Right Hon. Gentle man seemed to be impressed with a notion far too high of emoluments of Scotch advocates. He was sorry to say—he should be glad if it were other wise—that many men at the Scotch bar who were very fit to be Judges did not make 3,000/. a year. As to the proportion between the salaries of Judges in England and Scotland, it was quite clear that we had invariably broken through that proportion, and therefore there was an end of that argument. Ile was rather alarmed, however, at this part of the sight Honourable Gentleman's speech. For if, as the English Judge rose, he s‘qta to draw after him the Scotch Judge, why was he not also to draw after him the Irish Judge ? It might be said, that the Irish Judge ought to keep company with his fellow Judge in Eng land, and that when he saw the English Judge reaching, by a rapid stride, to a salary of 5,5001. a I year, he ought not to be stranded, as it were, on 4,0001. year, as before. As to the augmentation of the salaries of the English Judges, he must say that he never heard a proposition with more unmingled disapprobation than he heard that of Lord Gode rich, and he believed that no persons were more astonished at - that proposition than the twelve indi viduals who were most interested in it. (Hear and a laugh.) With respect to the Scotch Judges, he thought that 2,0001. a year would be found suffi cient, but if a seat on the bench were declined on the ground that 2,000/. year was not enough, then there would be a good reason for augmentation.— Enough, however, had been said by the Chancellor of the Exchequer to show that this proposition was premature, for many alterations would probably be made in the Scotch judicial system next Session►. The sinecure Committee reported that the office of Lord Justice-General ought to be abolished; and be believed that, after the termination of the existing interest, that office would be abolished. It could not therefore, be contended that the provision proposed to be made by this Bill was for the purpose of compensation. It was said that it was intended to re-model the office of President of the Court of Session. Why not let the augmentation of the salary await in stead of preceding the increase of the business of that office. He thought that in estimating the • amount of increase of salary by the amount of busi ness performed, the Judge of the Jury Court, who had twice as much work to do as the other Judges, ought to be allowed more than 100/. per annum than the others. The Scotch Judges had in- comparably less work to do than the English Judges, in consequence of the absence of that refinement, which created great litigation► in this country. By the establishment of the Jury Court the business of the Judges had been diminished, while their salary had been increased. The Judge formerly used to be obliged to read large quantities of written evi• deuce and to compare the arguments, and then de cide on the fact at issue. The decision of the Court was now left to the Jury, and therefore the Judge was saved the great labour of reading through these vast minutes: He was of opinion, that a propor tion should be kept up between the labour done and the salary given for that labour, and he thought that it would be better, in the present state of the country, and when it was stated that something was to be done next year with the duties of the Scotch Judges, to postpone the question respecting their salary till it was arranged what amount of business they were to perform.—(Hear.) The LORD- ADVOCATE thought the pro posed augmentation of the salaries riot unreasonable, because it would tend to make the Judges inde pendent. He was of opinion, that when the subject of the practice of the Scotch Courts came under consideration next year, Parliament would be better able to deal with the subject than when connected with a question of salary. The income of the Scotch Judges was certainly inadequate; and barristers were often solicited to become Judges, and many individuals refused for a length of time to take places on the bench. He must say that a great extent of business had come before these Courts for many years past, and, at this moment, he knew that there was in one Court a year's arrear, although it certainly was not a very heavy errear. The time of the sit ting of the Judges was not to be viewed as a matter depending on them; but a much greater portion of their time was occupied than the Hon. and Learned Gentleman had stated. In every case counsel were heard, and if at one time the Judge sat less than at another, it might be attributable to two causes—the one, where the Counsel spoke shortly, which was not usually the case with them—the other, where the Judges themselves did not deem it necessary to speak at any great length. He believed, however, that both divisions did their duty, and he hoped that the House would not withhold its sanction from the very moderate addition to the allowance of the Judges which was now called for. Mr. FERGUSSON argued that, instead of going to the third class of lawyers.to select Judges, it was always much better, and he hoped the practice would ever prevail in England and Scotland, to select them from the very first class. They could not judge of the talent of an individual, clever though he might be, who was unknown in his profession ; and there fore there was some danger of making a mistake by selecting from the third rank. The safe rule was, to look to the higher barrister, and the more general the employ ment, the greater the emolument, the better was the ground for selection. He must say that the Secretary of State, for several years past, since he had the selection of the Judges, had acted in a manner which was exceed ingly creditable to the Right Hon. Gentleman. It was formerly said, that these appointments were political ap pointments; but the Right Hon. Gentleman had se lected persons who were opposed to him in political prin ciples, and whose only recommendations were their great learning and ability. This was proved by the appointment of Lord Gillies, Lord Alloway, and other eminent mea. He conceived that the Commissioners of the Jury Court were harshly treated by this arrangement,—and the conduct ob served towards them would be very ill received in Scot land. They were excluded from any . additional emolu ment. Now, those Judges were appointed for life, and if they 6id sway with that Court to-morrow, sech a step could not he taken without making compensation. Now, if those Judges pleased to say, " We are dissatisfied, be cause no adequate compensation is given to us for this ad ditional duty ; we do not choose to undergo this labour for 1001. a year, and we resign," how could persons be procured to discharge their duties, on the same terms, un less they were wholly incompetent to the task which they affected to undertake ? He did not like these partial ar rangements—doing justice to some, and perhaps injustice to others, on the ground that proceedings were to be taken up at an indefinite time. He thought it would be invidious, ' in making this arrangement, to shut out the Commis ' sioners of the Jury Court. He did not, however, mean, as he was not likely to succeed, to call for a division on this resolution. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER ex plained. Sir G. WARRENDER concurred in the praises which had been bestowed on these learned persons, but he did not concur in the propriety of the time when this propo sition was brought forward, and still less could he concur in the Justice of the grounds stated by the Noble and Learned Lord for introducing it. Because, he confessed, it appeared to him, that if a great change were to take place in these Courts on the recommendation of a com mission especially appointed, it would be much better to wait till the arrangement was concluded, rather than to settle the salaries of the Judges in the first instance.— (Hear, hear.)—The Right Hon. Gentleman opposite had been eulogized for his impartial selection of Judges ; but all the praise did not belong to him, fur Lord Gillies and Lord Alloway, both eminent men, were selected long be fore the Right Hon. Gentleman was in office. When this addition to the salaries of the Judges was called for, he could not but recollect that those salaries were increased four times since 1797 ; and that one of them, in that period, had risen freoi 3,0001. to 4,3001. a-year. Neither could he leave out of his consideration, that, when those salaries were last increased, wheat was 130 s. a quarter, and every thing else dear in proportion.—(Hear, hear. Then he could not overlook the change which had taken place in the currency, which gave the Judges an advance of 20 per cent. on their salaries ; besides which, the re moval of the property tax, and the reduction of the asses sed taxes, gave them a considerable advantage. Under all the circumstances, though he respected those gentlemen, and knew them personally, a sense of public duty com pelled him to oppose the motion. Mr. HUSKISSON contended that the arguments ad duced in support of the motion by the Learned Lord were inapplicable to the case. It appeared that the case of the Scotch Judges had been under consideration for four years, and had been postponed, from time to time, upon two con siderations—the one was, that a revision and a reform in the Scottish Courts were in progress, but it appeared that that revision and reform had not yet been effected, but would probably be completed next year, and in his opinion it would be proper to wait for the settlement of that ques tion before they adopted this proposition. The other rea soe was, that there had lately been various alterations in the adminstration of the country; and, if they did not grant this additional allowance now, they might despair of its eter being granite!. fie, however, did not know whe. they it was supposed that another administration was likely to take place before the next session ; he thought there ryas neter any thig less likely than that which seemed to fill the Learned Lord wi - h so intich apprehension. The pro per mode of proceeding would he, first to consider the state of the administration of justice in Scotland, to exa mine how the Judges performed their functiontand duties; and that having been done, and a due revision having been made, .it would then be time enough to determine what salaries were to be given. Mr. H. DRUMMOND said it was his opinion that in conjunction with the increase of salary some new arrange ments should be made with respect to the duties performed by the Scotch Judges. As there was little hope of the latter object being effected this Session, he would move as an amendment, that the Chairman do report progress.— (Hear, hear.) Mr. PEEL said, that as he perceived it to be the gene ral feeling of the House that the question should be post poned to next Session, he would not press it on the pre sent occasion, though his opinion of the justice of the measure remained unchanged. After a few words from Mr. Hcsta, the CLIANCELLOA of the EXCHEQUER, and Sir C. FOILBE,, The original motion was withdrawn, and the House re sumed. The measure therefore stands over to next Session. ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS BILL. The report on the above Bill was brought up. Sir J. NICHOLL moved that the amendments be read a first time. Mr. HUME moved as an amenime.nt, that they be read a first time this day three three months. The House divided, and the numbers were— Fur the original m0ti0n...33 I Against it 3 Majority 30 Whilst strangers were excluded another division took place, but upon what question we could not ascertain. The numbers were-32 to S. On our re-admission we found Mr. HUME declaring his intention still to oppose the progress (f the Bill. Mr. PEEL then said, that as the Hon. Member was determined to pursue this vexatious course against the decided sense of the House, be must request his Right lion. Friend to postpone the measure to Friday. The further consideration of the report was then post poned to Friday. The other orders of the day being disposed of, the House adjourned at Three o'clock. PARLIAMENTARY PAPER. CUSTOMS DUTIES. PROPOSED ALTERATIONS IN THE DUTIES OF CUSTOMS ON BOOTS, SHOE , , ANn CALASHES. PROPOSED DUTIES-1829. Boots, Shoes, and Calashes, viz Women's Boots and Calashes -- if lined or trimmed with Fur or other Trimming Women's Shoes, with Cork or double soles, quilted Shoes and Clogs if trimmed or lined with Fur or any other Trimming Women's Shoes of Silk, Satm, Jeans, or other Stuff's, Kid, Morocco, or other Leather if trimmed or lined with Fur or any other Trimming Children's Boots, Sh es, and Calashes, not exceed ing seven inches in length, to be charged with two thirds of the above Duties. Children Boots a; ,c 1 Shoes nut exceeding seven inches in length, to be charged.withitwo-thirdsof the above Duties. Duty per Dozen Pairs. X. s. d. 1 10 0 1 18 0 1 6 0 1 9 0 0 1S 0 1 4 0 2 14 0 1 4 0 Men's Boots Men's Shoes NOM—The above alters the Duty from an ad valorem to a rated Duty, as far as is practicable without increasing the Duty. SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE. LIVERPOOL. WEDNESDAY, MAY 20.—High water 36 minutes past twelve o'clock.--Wind East.--Arrived the Luna, W'y_ lie, from New York; lArillinn Brown, Taylor, from New Orleans ; Stapkton, Hunter, from Maranham ; Cyrus, Davidson, from Charleston ; Jonge Nicholas, Peters, from Antwerp; Stag, brysd►le, for Glasgow; Corsair, from Belfast. CLraaEn OurwAnns.—The Margaret Miller, Kenn, for Quebec ; Bet.ey, Miller, for Newfoundland ; Supe rior, —, for New Orleans; Ann, Bird, from Philadel phia; Bransby, Dixon, for Havre-de-Grace; Caledonia, ---, for Elsineur ; Mary and Harriott, for Now York. EAST INDIA. The Chonqua, from the Mauritius, arrived at Havre on the 15th May. Arrival at the Mauritius—The Frances Charlotte, from London, Feb. 23. Sailings from the Mauritius—Countess of Harcourt, for London, Feb. 28 ; Anna Math, Grant, for ditto, March 3. The Marquis of Huntley was to sail for London on the 10th of March. LAW INTELLIGENCE. COURT OF KING'S BENCH, MAY 21. THE KING V. JOHN HYDE. Mr. BROUGHAM prayed the judgment of the Court upon the defendant, a surveyor of taxes at Liverpool, who had been convicted at the last assizes at Lan caster of au indelicate assault on Fanny Fisher, the wife of a sail-maker at Liverpool. Our readers will recollect that such of the facts of the case as were not unfit for publication were de tailed in the report of the trial a few weeks back. On the part of the defendant, an affidavit of his was now put in in mitigation of punishment. Its object was to give a different complexion to the case from that which it seemed to bear at the trial. It stated that the prosecutrix had tendered the first kiss, and that the defendant, "at parting," asked for another, which was given ; that the defendant then told her that he should come again at Christmas; that she, in reply, said she should be glad to see him at any time ; that he then asked whether it should be when her husband was absent or at home; and that she, laughing, said, " When he is at home, to be sure." The defendant also swore that the assault, for which he was sorry, extended no further than to the taking of the kiss, though the prosecutrix at the trial de posed to an offence of a much more aggravated des cription. The affidavit further stated that the de fendant had been a surveyor of taxes for a period of 24 veers, and that by his assiduity in detecting frauds, and making the proper assessments, he had incurred great public obloquy among some of the inhabitants of the town of Liverpool, in which place he had been made the subject of abuse and ridicule, and held up to odium and contempt by the Liverpool Mercury, and another local newspaper. In conclu sion, the affidavit stated that the defendant had a wife and four children wholly dependent on him for support. sine other affidavits were put in on the defend ant's behalf, in one of which it was stated, that in the afternoon of the day on which the assault had been committed, the prosecutrix went to the house of an opposite neighbour and said, " I have had Mr. Hyde with me to-day, and found him a very different man from what I expected. He has been joking with me, and I think him a very civil and pleasant man. He said, if he thought my husband would not be offended, he would have a kiss of his pretty little wife." The other affidavits were principally to the defendant's moral character, and to the faith ful discharge of his duties as a public officer, in which capacity, one of the affidavits affirmed, he had rendered " services important to the state." Amongst the affidavits put in on the part of the defendant was one from his own wife. Mr. ALDER SON doubted whether, legally speaking, he could use it; but, however, as she might be supposed to be a party aggrieved—(A laugh)—he thought he might make use of it in favour of her husband, although not against him. The affidavit stated that she had been married to him for eight years, and , that he had always behaved as a good husband and a father— (A laugh)—also that he had been married to a former wife, with whom he had lived for sixteen years, and had never misconducted himself. Mr. ALDERSON addressed the Cow t in mitiga tion of punishment, and urged strongly that the statement of Mrs. Fisher was not true, and that the defendant was the victim of a strong feeling of pre judice that prevailed against him, on account of his being a tax-gatherer. Mr. BRouGuAlf, in aggravation, contended that this case was even beyond the case of a rape. He would not designate this person's conduct as brutal; he would call it beastly, and if not sufficiently pu nished, it might tend to bring into disgrace a Go vernment who eniploVd tueh a Mart to eolleet ita revenue, and to hurl that Government to destruction. Mr. Justice BAYLEY, in passing sentence, observed that the circumstances of the assault of which the defendant had been convicted vi;as, as appeared by the evidence at the trial, one of a veii aggravated description. The defendant had, in the affidavit which he had to-day put in, admitted his conduct tat be in a great degree improper; and considering the official situation he filled, and the duty he had to perform (and being also' a married man, and the father of a family), the circumstances of the case were of a very aggravated description. There were, however, affidavits in mitigation, which had per produced some degree of doubt in the mind of the Court as to the extent of the misconduct of which the defendant had been guilty; and, considering the expense to which he had been put, first in removing the indictment into this Court, and now in coming up here from Liverpool, the sentence of the Court was, that the defendant do pay a fine to the King of 20/. The defendant immediately paid the fine, and was discharged, • . • INSOLVENT DEBTORS' COURT, MAY £7. James Taylor was opposed by Mr. HEATH, on hcie half of Mr. John Joseph Lawson, printer of tho Times journal, and by Mr. Charles Chapman IA person. The insolvent stated, upon his examination by Mr. HEATH, that he lied written a letter to Mr, Lawson, explaining the circumstances under which he had been induced to bring at action against the Editor of the Times newspaper. The Contents of that letter were true. He had brought the action in consequence of a statement which appeared in the Times reflecting upon his character. He had bcen induced t® do so by Mr. Platts, an attorney, Who told him he would bring the action for him free of . expence, as he had good ground for damages. He (insolvent) went one evening to Mr. Platts' office, in Jewin-crescent, and was told by Mr. Plaits to write a letter to him (Mr. Platts) stating that it was the wish of his (insolvent's) friends to have his - character cleared up ; and he (insolvent) was dis , tinetly told by Mr. P:atts to put the letter into tho post-office at Islington. Platts did not offer :3 , 01:. for insolvent's chance of a verdict ; but he bffered his note for 20/. He said, "We have a good cat', and I will give you 20/. for your chances." vent declined the offer. Plaits told him that if he (insolvent) should fail arid be arrested, he - (Piatts) would get him out of prison under this Act. He therefore advised insolvent to bring the action, and also to get into debt as much as he could, as in casd of failure he would be cleared from all demands to gether under the Act. Mr. HEATH—I believe you adopted Mr. Platts' advice? Insolvent—l did. Mr. Commissioner LAW—The advice was two: fold—to bring the actiors, and get into debt as much as you could. Did you follow it in both resposts Insolvent—l brought the action. Mr. Commissioner LAW—Did you get into debt Insolvent—l did not. Mr. HEATII—Were you defeated in your action against the Times? Insolvent—l was. Mr. HEATH—Mr. Platts, I believe, is an attorney of this Court. The CHIEF COMMISSIONER—Not now, Mr, Heath s Mr. HEATH—I beg pardon; I thought he was an attorney of the Court, but had been suspended. The CHIEF COMMISSIONER—He was suspended generally some considerable time ago, and had not since applied to be restored. I therefore think lie cannot now be called a practitioner of this Court. Mr. HEATII—Then, Sir, in that case I shall not press my opposition any further. The insolvent is a very poor man, with seven children; and I am instructed by Mr. Lawson not to call for any judr meet upon him, as it is clear he was merely the tool of another party. The CHIEF COMMISSIONER—The case of a per son instituting legal proceedings for the purpose of harassing a party would undoubtedly furnish strong grounds of opposition to the insolvent's discharge: o under the 47th section of the Act. However, as the opposing creditor forbears to presi for judgment,_ the Court is saved the necessity of ittitidicating upon that part of the case. Mr. CHAPMAN then brought forward his ground of opposition, which was, that the insolvent had rented a house from him, and left it in the middle of a quarter, owing him 161. for three-quarters' rent o and 41. 16s. 6d. the balance of a note; and although he owed him this money, he carried off all the fix tures, of the value of 201., and pulled the house to pieces. The insolvent denied that lie had carried off the fixtures, but said that they had been seized under a distress for the poor's rate, which, however, be said only amounted to lls. Mr. Chapman not having any direct evidence to contradict the insolvent's statement, _ _ _ Mr. Commissioner LAW said, that the Court had no doubt that the insolvent had treated his landlord very ill, but still no case had been made out by evi. dence to warrant them in remanding him at his suit. The insolvent was then sworn to his schedule, and The CHIEF COMMISSIONER, after again asking. Mr. Heath if he pressed for judgment on the part 0-f Mr. Lawson, and being answered in the negative, told the insolvent he had reason to think himself welt off, after the line of conduct he had pursued, in being declared entitled to his discharge. THE MARKETS. COUNTRY CORN MARKETS DURING THE WEE ti. NN heat. Barley. I Oats. Beaus. rer Quarter Is.to s. s. s. s. to s. s. to s. Blandford 76 40 33 39 Brigg . 65 '72 '26 30 15 20 35 35 Cambridge—. 75 26 IS 30 Chard .--.......... 56 76 32 38 24 30 42 4-9 Huntingdon........ 66 70 26 33 17 21 28 34 Long Sutton--.... 54 74 16 23 33 37 Louth 6B '72 25 31 18 28 :13 40 Lynn 56 '7O 24 30 12 28 33 40 Newark 64 76 28 35 17 30 40 44 Nottingham ........ '72 SO 32 36 20 29 40 IN Peterborough Plymouth .......... 64 '7B 31 37 25 76 30 23 49 Sleafora 70 76 20 33 22 24 50 45 Uppinghain 70 SO 30 36 18 26 :32 46 60 74 '26 16 '25 136 SS LEEDS CORN MARKET.—May IS. There has been a fair supply of Wheat up to this day's mar. ket, but the supply of other kinds of Grain has been small. Fine fresh New Wheat being scarce has been sold on nearly the same terms as last week, but other descriptions of New and Old may be noted Is. per quarter lower. The malting sea,on being nearly over causes the demand for Barley to be very limited, and if sale. have been effected, lower prices have been submitted tn. In Oats, Sheihng, and hard New Beans, no alteration can be noted, but damp New Beans, Old nes, and Pease, may each be noted lower, and the demand very limited. Malt awl Fl ur without any alteration in price. Rapeseed 24 per last tower, and dull sale. Wheat, Norfolk and Suffolk, 601 b. York. and Lincoln. 601 b. ....... Barley, Norfolk and Surfblk Yorkshire and Lineolnsliire --- Grinding 3 Beans Oats, rotatoe —Mealing, Foreign 12d. to 13d....English 12tt to 131 id. per at. Shelling 32s. to 31a. per load Rapeseed, English, 291. to 311. LIVERPOOL CORN EXCHA'NOE.-Mty i 9 The transactions in Wheat this morning, though' not exten sive, were to a fair amount, and an advance of 2d. per bushel was realised on all qualities. Oats were taken freely, both by the trade and on speculation, at Id. :o 2d. per 15 b. above the rates of this day week. Barley wes also 2d. to 3d per 6011 i. dearer. Beans and Pease were each held for an advam e of Is. to '2s. per quarter. Flour was in request, but it was difficult •o obtain any hnprovem.nt in the value. Oatmeal must be noted 6d. to Is, p:r pack higher, and free of sale. WintaT, English-, White, per 701 b. Red -. Scotch, Welch, and Manx - Irish, White 9 9 10 4 Red 8 9 10 2 Foreign 9 0 10 6 OATS, English, Welsh, and Scotch, per 451 b 3 6 3 9 - Irish - Foreign BARLEY, English, Malting, per Imp. quarter 34 0 33 0 -- Scotch and Irish, per 601bs. ..... 4 9 5 3 - Feeding 4 6 4 10 BEANS, English, per Imperial quarter 33 0 42 0 - Irish, &e. .i 35 0 SS 0 - Foreign 16 0 42 0 PEASE, English, per . Imperial quarter 39 0 44 0 - Foreign FLOUR, English, per 28019. 53 0 54 0 -- Irish OATMEAL, English and Irish, per 2401b5. 3l 0 39 0 Binare CORN, per 4401 b. 34 0 55 0 Ilse, per Imperial quarter 'l6 0 40 0 MALT, per Imperial quarter harmer or Glum for the WeeK ending May 18. Wheal Oats. Marley Flour. • Oatmeal. Qrs. Qrs. Qrs. Forkign, Brim llrish, lire. Selcs.f Loads. 1,701 9,45 KO 400 I JAC* - 4,3).