The Sun. — London, England, 1823-06-05 00:00:00

` , el the buSiness connected with matters of bankruptey. The -next was for making the Chancellor of the Pueity of Lancas ter an efficidnt office, with a court of his own ; or, at any rate," for throwing, by some means, into his hands a part of that ac cumulated - business which was now reserved for the Lord , Chancellor. Another plan proposed the.appolntment of Come miseionersto hear Scotch Appeals. A fifth plan went to put• the business of the Court of Chancery into the hands of fottr legal gentlemen, dyer whom the Lord Chancellor . should pre side as an appellant judge; and a sixth had been suggested by an old practitioner well acquainted with the COurt of Chan cery, which wits,'-that one or more of the present Masters of Chancery should, frenttirne to time; be authorized to hear and decide cases in which the parties were content to submit to their jurisdiction. It Watt also proposed that' 'they should hear motions of course, and get through that business which was of 'least importance, but which now occupied no inconsiderable portion of the time of the Court at - . present. This plan pre sented considerable advantages, machinery which was known to the 'as it worked by Court:,, and was therefore pre ferable to any that would - require new machinery, and which on trial ;night be found full of evil . It would more over initiate a number of persone into the business of the • ' Court, '•which they would be more and more qualified to disc pose of in proportion as the suitors,. from conviction of the adequaCy of their judgment, became content to abide by ° their decisions. Out of all these' plans, however, he w o es un able to pronounce - for a preference to be given to any. He thought the House incapable of deciding on this subject else.— And why did he do so? Because the House had, ten years • ago, proceeded to legislate on this matter without enquiry, and adopted a measure which had proved futile, and was now abane Boned and disowned. This, however, was deer, that a great - .evil existed, which called for a remedy. The Bill w - hich passed in 1013 set forth in its preitinble, that in conse quence of the business of the Court having greatly increas ` ed, and being much in arrear„ the, appointment. of another judge became necessary, and then the Bill proceeded to enact that a Vice-Chancellor should be appointed. Such was the state of the Court in 1013, and after the experience • they had had of the measure produced .in that year, while the grieve ance complained of was so obviously great, he could not inite :gine why any one' shoyild object to an inquiry now. - It must ne supposed that sonic of his . of would have reference. to the Learned Person at the head of the Court of Chancery. This was unavoidable; but in what he had to offer, he should not forget his own inferior situation, nor the elevated posi.l -tion of that eminent anti highly gifted . Judge. He should not forget that he himself was at the bottom of that prufes • sion, of which the Noble Lord to whom lie alluded had been for more than a quarter of a century decidedly at the top, and in which his authority was es potent as that of the dove reigns who formed die Holy Alliance ; and there was, he might be allowed to remark, a greater probability of his retaining the power he possessed till the end of his lite, than that, sonic of them would retain theirs. That Noble Lord, venerable for his age, and high in rank, boasted of legal acquisitions cer tainly never surpassed, and in his (Mr. Williams's) opinion, perhaps never equalled, with varied information bearing on every subject, and with experience which was.: unbounded.— Could more be said of him in the shape of panegyric, he should be ready to subscribe to it. But to the great and transcendent qualities which the Noble Lord possessed, another quality might be added, the defrutandi patientitv (as it was called by /Lord Bacon), which leading its possessor to entertain learned doubts, frequently perplexed and neutralized the exertion of those great ahilities which hp possessed, if it, did not abolish and destroy the beneficial effects which should flow from them. The Honourable and Learned Gentleman con tended, that by doubting till such, proofs were produced as might enable a Judge to decide with moral certainty on the merits of a case, a total perversion of the • ground of reason ing took place. He would illustrate this by referring to a ease which had long since gone by. . An ancient Monarch demanded the opinion of the poet Simonides on a problem which he caused to be laid before.. him. Simonides requested a day to consider of it before be gave his answer. The King made no • objection, bat waited with some impatience for the morrow, which was to bring him the Infotmation he so much desired. On the second day, however, instead of giving the answer, the poet requested two days more to censider of the subject. The King reluctantly consented to this; but when the two days had elapsed the poet demanded finite anti when these were gone he claimed eight, and thus proceeding in geometrical proportion he at length exhausted the patience of the King, who, coming to inquire why the oracular response, he so much desired was de nied, received this answer, " The longer time I take to think of it the more I doubt." So he was of opinion that doubts enter tained under certain circumstances might involve the party entertaining them in endless uncertainty, and render him unfit to act in any ettee with decision; anti place -bins in a situation like that of the rustic, who nroposed waiting by the side of the river which he wished to crime till its waters had flowed by. The business of the* Court of 'Chancery had lately been in '' most admired.diserder." file tientlemen there did mot know frequently what was coming on. islOthisig was more common than the business to.. come on, which was not at. all expected. A case frequently obtained, a partial hearing up to that hour when the Noble Lord et theheadof the Conn Went forth., The subject would then be dropped, and ..not taken up again till after a very considerable peripti had elapsed. This caused the 'former hearing to be lost, and it became, necessary to begin again. Such cases were not singular. Every Gentleman con nected with the,Court of Chancery ,knew thenito be of com mon occurrence, and lie would prove them so to a Committee. (Hear, hear !)—An Honourable and Learned Gentleman had cheered him, but he would, prove: what he hail stated, and if the Committee.were granted,iie should wish to call that Hon. and Learned Gentleman as the fineewitnees. Much of the con . fusion now prevailing in the Court of Chancery he tracedeo the -eoneration of • the Vice-Chancellor's Bill. From collision , which this occasioned amongst the learned Gentlemen, engag ed in the Chancery Court, it bad become difficult to procure e their attendance in either Court. The measure to which he Aied alluded, hall induced them to make arrangements which, if the Act against combinations, of journeymen extended to their trade, would, he was inclined to think, have sent some of them to Navigate.. To "sheaf the effect of the Vice-Chan cellor's Bill he would attic, what the business before :tine Court had been. in 11113, and what it was at present. In 1013 there were 141 causes for ,the Court—the, " Exceptions and fur. ,„ ther Directions" were 01, _the " Pleas and Demurrers" 16, the " Re-hearings and appeals" 41.. At the end, of nine years from the passing, of that Bill, in every instance but • one, the arrear of business had been increased ; and in that one, which was the smallest in 1)944 of number, there 'was only one gained. The causes to betried before the Lord Chancellor up to the Hilary Term in 1 8 22 were 161 ; being an incr e ase of 20. • The_ number under the next head, that'of Exceptions and of Further Directions;" amounted in 1022 to 141. These it would be seen had been much more than doubled. The Pleas and 'lDertiurrers were IS. This was one under the number of Pleas :and demurrers which were 'eti be disposed of in 1013. The lte-hearings and Appeals uP to the end of' 1017 had increased from forty-one to sixty and upwards. lie could state, that the Re-hearings and Appeal's at the present time amounted to 35, being within 6 of what they were at the time of the ap pointment of a Viee.Chancellor. He now came to speak of the business disposed of by the Loid Chancellor. Front a Re turn which was , on their table, it appeared that of 161 appeals stated to have bun disposed of, and which it had been assumed had been disposed of by transacting' the business of them, lie found that eighty:area had, been struck out, so that credit aught only to be taken. for severity-four, as it was only on these that the Lord Chancellor had transacted' business.— The Vice-Cliancillor's Bill had .hiade a desperate ,innovation on the Court of • Chancery„ , only to produce double delay and . double distress,. Tergt game no longer appeared on the patter of the Lord Clialieellore•taitilVerit handtd over as ,a matter• of course to the 'Vice:Chancellor- Alike - course was taken with cases of Exceptions and forther Directions," and' the same • was With " Pleingand Deniurfers."- - The 'business of the Lord chancellor, which used to comprehend these beads, " Causes" Exceptioin and further Directiona"—." Pleas and Demur. rers"—" l'etitione"—" Alotions"--find " Appeals," had now, been curtailed, so that it only embraced the last three. The number of causes'actuelly decided , by the Lord Chancellor from 1610 to the end of 1821, wake but 19, being not quite five in • each year. With reapeettninotkiniiani declined hazarding any assertion, as if he suited these to be short, -and to have - taken up little time, lie expected to be nett with the assertion that • they were of great weight, In the last ten years, to Hilary Term 1022, it annearel that the Vice.Chaticellor, to whom. so much of the business of the Lord Chancellor had been. trims: ferred, -heti disposed of 14409 modems, while the number of ' motions disposed of by the Prd Chancellor, 'who_ hid been so much relieved from other' business, wait 5,155. This ap,. peered from:the paper's on-thattable. ,Ile would now proceed to state some instances of, delay, and of the consequences of delay. Each of the cafes 16 which he would refer had - been furnished by„one.'single 'officer, anti they were vouched for by the doeuinents Vihidt'he leeld• in his hand. • Some of them were established by allidivilts' and one by the bill of , costs. He might have ()e'en' stile to go further,. but soli citors who had' cases . . pending were, afraid of fiirnishing in 'formation which it was in `their power to give.--( Hear, hoar !) lie meant innit'distincily 'to state; that in more than one in stance the apprehensitinkof Solicitors had oppoged:his inqui ries. Was this,thOuglirquile,thirtictilOus, when the power of the Noble Lord,tt,thq,head of the Chancery Court was to m& 'tiered, anti whsal any 00,,t40ut h. he did it in the most respect ful manner, lb* tnoli . the part which lie (Mr. Wile :limns) was • wily Was' likely - not to be soon forgotten, though lie gtiVO tins Noblt Lorderedir fig every good quality ? • When he - then in the discharge of 'his duty eels not fear-- • (Hear, heat !)—for he was Vitt d • night follaW, but , when be felt it likely that some notice woul tbe,taken of what .he was doing, was it strange that Solicitors who had causes pendlng. shinfld be afraid• of making diselo-J sures P . This conduct on 'the, part of Solicitors furnished him with an additional reason for confining .his statement to what he had received fram;Dne.single,quarter. first case, to which he would-advert wee that of Brown versus Dd Taste,. A. bill had been tiled for an; accoutit,and a decree made there on by the Master of the'Rolls. This was in 1812, and an Ap peal against the Decree - was made in dui ! same year. It came. before the Lord Chancellor late in 1821. - Other consequences flowed from the delay: The report made by the Master was appealed against to the Vice-Chancellor. This came on to be heard in 1816, he thought. - The • Report- of the Master was probably obtained at an expence not less than pllOl., which was as uselessly expended as if the money - bad been east from the window of that House into the Thames. Exceptions were made to the Report, and on these the Report was set aside by the Vice-Chancellor ; then catrfe the appeal from the Vice- Chancellor to the Lord-Chancellor. From the time of filing the bill, the Solicitor became entitled to term Item of 1/. Is. lid.— To these he was entitled so long as% it remained in Chancery, which was probably as long arc the parties lived; for Iludibras had truly said there was . " While the rocket will hold out - " NO end of the iinnwrtal suit." Every Solicitor engaged in the cause, and there were fre quently many, claimed 10s. Bd. every time the case appeared on the paper. From the time of a partial hearing, on every occasion when the case was brought forward, the Clerk in Court and the Solicitor were entitled,, he believed, to 1/. be. tween them. Six shillings andeight pence went to the Clerk, whose good works in the cause were as unknown to the suitors as good works of another description ought to be generally. In the case which he hail mentioned Term fees were going on in IEII3, 181.4,1815, 1016, 1817, 1818 ) . and 1819. In January, 1819, die case got on :to .the. paper, anti there it remained through that year, through 1620, and to the 22d December, 1821. The amount charged for the attendances during this time amounted to 4201. Nor . was this all the expence incur red, for,the Learned Gentleman engaged in the cause claimed refreshments to sustain them through so long a journey ; but ,the poor 'suitor found nothing to refresh him in the course of hisdreary way, not one bright spot, not a single Oasis cheered his sight as he wandered through the desert. The next case to whichhe shouldinvite the attention of the House was that of Oldham and Cooke. A. bill was filed in 1815 to claim money which had been left. It was answered in 1016, anti it was ad mitted that 1,2001. had been so left. The answer was unsatis factory, and was in consequence excepted to. The House would remark, the only point in.euestion was, whether or not the answer was correct. It had been kept open year after year, and still remained undecided, though 04 attendances had been had on this most intricate and knotty point. He noticed the (case of Whitchurch and 'Oldworthy, to shew that if the proceedings in Equity were unsatisfactory, they were not less so where Law and Equity were combined. In this case a bill was filed in 1811, to restrain the Lord of the Manor 'from cutting down'timber: An injunctionsissued, and a spe cial case was sent to the Court.. of King's Bench. In Mt the answer was received, and the certificate .sent home. — The case remained four years on the Registrar's book with. out getting to the paper at all. In 1820, it got to the Vice- Chancellor, was then sent back to the Lord Chancellor, and there, after many attendances, it now remained, undecided. In the case of Fillingham and Bromley, a Bill had been filed before the Vice-Chancellor, and an appeal made to the Lord Chancellor, who lied expressed his opinion in favour of the defendant, but had declined deciding upon it, and left it to take the ordinary course. In consequence of this it had re. mained through 1819, 1820, 1821, and 1022, without at single step being taken of any sort or kind .to forward it. The case of Powell v. Serjeant and otters he next noticed. This had been delayed in a similar way with much expence to the parties...." In the case of Ware and Hall the parties had been accommo dated, as was usual in Chancery, with a second suit, one not being enough. The Lord,Chancellor had made a dec.eee in the case in 1821; - this decree was objected to, on the ground that it had beed surreptitiously obtained to the exclusion of one of the parties who was entitled to a hearing. The features of this ease he communicated to the House by reading the affidavit of the Solicitor, which complained of the cause having been .re moved from the head of the paper, and of the consequent delay. Upon this subject the deponent had written to the Lord Chan cellor, complaining of the hardships to which his clients were subjected by their cause not remaining at the head of the paper. It was two years and a half since the cause got to the top of the paper; and great injury had been sustained by its removal. The letter went on—" It is painful to my feel ings' to state, that I have it front authority which I cannot doubt, that the infant on whose behalf this suit was instituted twenty years ago, died of a broken heart, in consequence of being kept out of the property." On receiving this letter the affidavit stated the Lord Chancellor to have re-placed the cause at the top of the paper, and to have s requested the attendance of the deponent in his private room to draw up a minute of the decree, no other person attending... The honourable Gentlemen next read an ..official copy of. the bill of costs in this case, remarking, that lie had been stating the case; not Of the , party complaining of the stir reptinous decree but of the party 'hewing cause against it. The bill charged for writing a long letter to • the Lord Chan . iVhich letter had 'been read from the affidavit, 9/. 95.; " for Attendance in Court when ordered by the Lord Chancellor, 13s. '4d.; for attendance when he was spoken to by the Lord Chancellor, the Clerkund the Solicitor, 21. This it should be observed, was 11. for each cause. The same Solicitor in Chan cery could conduct two causes at once; and in some cases, while acting for the plaintiff, 'Could also act for the defendant. The celebrated Dowling, in the novel, complained of the neces sity of that personal identity which precluded him under the law of nature from appearing in, four places at once, where his at. tendance was required. The more fortunate equity Solicitor con. trived to effect that which the Attorney Dowling could not, and succeeded in multiplying his person In the way described. Ile then read several items charged for the second suit, each of which was folloWed by alike charge for the original cause.—, One attendance which was charged for would seem mint cubes. The hens ran thus :—" To attendance on the Lord Chancellor, in his 'private room, when his Lordship begged for further indulgence till to-morrow.—(A laugh.)---After reading the remainder of the Bill, which consisted of numerous repetitions of similar charges, the ,Hon. and Learned Member said the House would permit him to conclude his remarks upon that Bill by saying that the charges for attendance in. eluded in it amounted to 1,0301. and upwards." . As to the fact of a Solicitor obtaining a decree in his favour in his Lordship's private room, without the preience of a'second Solicitor on be half of the other party, he would say nothing. Neither would he Inquire what must have been the feelings of that Learned and Noble Magistrate, the first Magistrate in the Law, and the first man in the land, when he received a letter of such a description from a Solicitor, and afterwards entreated delay, anti became a suitor and an orator in his own Court. lie would say not one word more upon this subject; it was in the knowledge of the House, and he should l eave it to every Gentleman's consideration. . He would now allude 'to other Courts, with • the exception of the ViceeChancellor's, which were to be comddered es the legitimate vents for the accumula don of,business ,in the Court of Chancery. It had been truly observed by a late Noble Maiquis (Lord Londonderry), that the only 'Court which could be considered as a Court of Equity at Westminster, was the Cotirt•of Exchequer. Now, what was the state of business in that Court? The Chief Baron,, and he begged it to be understood that he mentioned this as a miafortune, had for a considerable time been in a state of illness which prevented his attention to business. His: duty it was to sit apart horn the other Judges of the Court, for the purpose of hearing cases in equity. Ile was, therefore, suc ceeded in the'diseliarge of that duty by a learned person, of' whom, hi (Mr. Williams)-teas ready to toy every thingethat was handsonie. But it was known that Baron Graham had arrived at a very advanced period Of life ; lie had been informed that he was eighty-otie years of age; The' next in succession was Baron narrow., Of whom it certainly might be said that hie forte did lay in settling an equity suit. The other was an Honourable and Learned Friend of his, if he might still call him iio, who, every One in the profession would allow, could not be employed in any department Of the Court without advantage he meant Mr. Baron BullOCk..--(Hear, hear that Learned Judge was. fresh in the Court, and could not Well be placed over the heads of his tried seniors. The next Court was that of the Maiitee of the Rolls; and he had been told by practitioners et that, bar; that not one-tburth, some said not one -tenth, of OW, Pumber of cases disposed of in the time of Sir W.`tirant werellow heard. Having men tioned Sir W. Grunt, he would, say that amongst his other trans &Went qualities and properties he had set an example which would be well followed by the other Judges of the land—he re tired with all his Honours fresh and blooming about him, when no mite in the kingdom suspected any declension in his powers, except hiniself.—(Cheers.)—:Upon all these grounds he called upon the House to hear the opinion* of men of sound practice ' and Information delivered before a.Commi use, and then let them legislate if necessary, ' Let thenvnot do its they did before—lee oleoe first, and investigate and complain afterwards. Then, VMS another point upon w,bich he ahould ask the further etten. don of the House, and that was upon the subject of Scotch Appeals. It appeared from the list upon the table, that from WU down to 1023, two hundred and ninety-one- Scotch Ap peals had been heard. Of these one hundred and forty-five had b een ' a ffi rme d, sixty-two reversed, eighty remitted to the Cairn; below for alteration,' and two altered. So that with the exception of one, the number ‘reversed, remitted, and altered, wakequal to that of the decisions. 'This was not the case with the English Appeals, and- he was convinced that a proportion of one-fifth might be referable, not to the constitution of the Courts, but to die manner in which they were filled up. If he was to be opposed by the statement that there were already proieedinge neganin the House of Lords, and that it would be prudent to wait anti' judge of the wisdom of any measures -which might be there adopted., he should say that the same thing was said of the Vice-Chancellor's Bill in 1813, When that measure came to the House the Hon. and Learned Member for Durham. protested against it, and the Right Hon. Secretary for Foreign .Affitirs attacked it with all the weight of his argument,' and with as Much wit and humour as might be supposed enough to explode any measure. The Right Hon. Gentleman pointed out with ,prophetic anticipation what had previously followed from its enactment. And he would take the liberty to say, that the speech to which he alluded shewed what a man of talent could do, which were not of every day's occur rence to his attention. A late Hon. and Learned Friend of his, as well as the present Vice-Chancellor himself, argued strongly against the measure. Yet all these arguments were disregarded, the House legislated, and it legislated that it might legislate again. If they were now again to legislate, let them have the necessary information first, and let it be taken before a Com , naittee. Before, they fell prescribing, let them first see what Was the disease, or whether there was any disease at all.— Whatevettlecision the House might come to, he should feel the satisfaction of having done his duty, and at the same time with having avoided all personality that could be avoided; yet not abstaining from making those statements which had come to his knowledge and possession.—.(Cheers.)—The Hon. and Learned Gentleman concluded by moving, ". That a Select Committee be appointed to inquire into the increase of business in the Court of Chancery, and in the appellant jurisdiction of the House of Lords, and the causes thereof." The ATTORNEY-GENERAL said, that the Hon. and Learned Gentleman had commenced his speech by stating, that 'although he should look, at the changes which had taken niece in the Courts of Equity, he did not mean to attack the character of any of the Learned Judges. Yet it had been seen that the Hon. and Learned Gentleman did rest his case upon an attack On the Noble and Learned Personage at the head of the profeasion. The ground of the motion consisted in an as sumption that it had been admitted in another place that the arrears of business in the Court of Chancery required attention. Now he had heard no such thing as that which the I-lon. and Learned Gentleman had assumed. He had heard indeed that the arrears of Scotch Appeal; to' the House of Lords had so increased, as to require a remedy, and that it was to he made' matter of inquiry lot their Lordships. But that there was any increased arrear of business in that Court he would deny and should be able to convince the . Honourable and Learned Getleman himself that he had been misinformed and mistaken. He admitted that there was an increase of busi ness in the Court, but that resulted from the increased papule don and wealth of the country, and not from any hesitation to decide on the part of the Noble and Learned Lord. At the time the Vice-Chancellor's Court was created, he could chew that there was an accumulation of' arrears of business, which, since that period,, had been relieved. But the case of his Hon. and Learned Frind went to the abolition of the Vice-Chancel lor's Court, and to the removairof the Noble and Learned Lord. This was his case, and therefore it reqUired no inquiry. With regard to the cases which his Hon. and Learned Friend had .brought forward, he knew from what office they were procured, and knew that the information was not in his possession at the time he gave his notice of motion. ' And he must say that some notice ought to have been - given' of the attacks which had been made, and sent forth to the public, against the Judger; whose names hall been Introduced . -Hear, hear 6—They had not been limited to the Court of Chancery, but to the Judges of other Courts at 'Westminster, and amongst the rest one Judge had been attacked for his age—(hear, _ hear !)—and he believed that the age of that respectable a nd Learned Judge had never prevented his attention to business for a day.—( Hear, hear !) He did think that when such attacks were intended some notice ought to be given to the parties, in order that they might meet them with a defence. In his Hono u r a ble and Learned Friend's statement of what business the Lord Chancellor had done, he had entirely left out the hearing of lunatic petitions. In the course of 10 years Lord Mansfield heard four hundred and eighty-four lunatic. petitions ;. and the number heard by_ the present Lord Chancellor, since the institution of the Vice. Chancellor's Court, being the same period of time, was 2,450. .It appeared from the Hon; and Learned Gentleman's state ment, that that Noble and Learned Person only heard a few ilppeals and exceptions.. Every .one acquainted with lunatic petitions, knew that they were not - mere matters of course, but that some of them, as recent experience had shewn, involved points of the greatest nicety, and required the greatest discus sten, Then the lion. and Learned Gentleman had also failed to say a word of the Bankruptcy Petitions. If the House would allow him, he would call their attention to a statement of the number of Bankrupt Petitions decided by the Lord Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor within the last three years. In 1920 1 . • By the Lord Chancellor - 1311 By the Vice-Chancellor . . - - . 366 In 1821—. By the Lord Chancellor - 103 By the .Viee-chancellor • - 440 .1n 1823,, up to Easter Term..., By the Lord Chatittiller • By the Vice-Chancellor .- , 465 And the total number heard by these 'two Judges from 1813 down to the present period, was 5820. Ibis Hon. and Learned cause carried before the Vic e . Friend ,stated, that every Chancellor was heard twice over; but that was not the case with even the Majority of' such causes. With respect to the difference which appeared in the number of Bankrupt 'peti tions heard by the Lord Chancellor and the Vice-Chancellor, there were many causes which went before the former which occupied a long time in hearing; such, for instance, as in the case of Howard and Gibbs. 1 herefore they must not look to the numerical difference as a erittrion of the' exertion made. If appeals were made from the Vice-Chancellor's decisions, the sanie happened with regard to' the Mager of the Rolls, and the number of such appeals accounted for 'the few that were carried to the House of Lords. The Hon. and Learned Gentleman here alluded to an observation which fell frOm Mr. Bmugham, as to the appeals to the House of Lords being made to the same person. His Hon. and Learned Friend did not mean to contend that such. an ;arrang!Ment ' was improper ?—(Hear ! from Mr. Brougham.)--ataU events that was not a Matter within the scope of the present niotion Mr. BROCOIIAM complained of an obseriation being made upon private remarks.—(Cries of Order.) The AT'T'ORNEY-GENERAL said, that it was at least as irregular for Members to make 'such remarks aloud.—(Cheers.) —His Honourable and 'Learned Friend kept up a runnin commentary upon his statement, which necessarily prevented his answering the other statement with any or d er . But as this subject had been glanced at, he would just. say that a case had recently occurred where a decision made by Sir Wm. Grant, and confirmed by the Lord Chancellor, had been sent , back by' the House of Lords. He would now state the quantity of business • done by the Vice-Chancellor since the creation of that Court, No less than 2,832 causes had been heard. Was it to be said that this was no relief to the suitor ? Besides these, there had been heard 1,350 exceptions,' 475 pleas and demurrers, 2,907 petitions, and 10,509 motions. In that period there had been 4,400 cause petitions he a rd bythe Lord Chan cellor, which his Hon, and Learned Friend had not alluded to, besides the lunatic 'petitions, which he had already noticed as having been left out. He was satified the House would not think that the Lord Chancellor bad been idle, when they heard that upon the average of the last 'ten years, he had' annually disposed o f 1 50 b ankruptcy p et i t i ons, 2 5 0 lunatic petitions, 580 motions, 450- cause petitions, and 47 causes and ap peals. It should be borne in mind also that many of those motions decided causes. .He trusted that this statement would satisfy the House that the increased business done since the Institution of She Vice-Chancellor's Court, was such as to afford great: relief to the suitor. The House would be our prised to heir 'of the increaee'riMidnese *bleb had taken place of late years, And Whit Hod: Friend had shoWn that the ar rears_ were nearly double what , they . were at the institution of' the new Court, still his esgemeuts would not be supported because the increased quantity, of business would account for it. In the year 1800 the number of bills filed was 1445; in 1805, 1531 ; in 1810, 1793 ; itt the last year, 2489 ; and in the present year, as far as could betnade out, 1030. With regard to the cases which his Hon. and Learned Friend had brought • forward, the first was that of Brown and De Tastet, in which the complaint was that in the Master's office the expenses amounted to SOO/. But it was not stated that the Master's Report fixed Mr. De Tastet with 03,0001. Butt at all events, how was the account of the Master to be made matter Of "'accusation . against. the Lo r d Ch ancel l or? A not h er case was th a t o f Oldham and Cooke; and his Honourable and Learned Friend not being well acqua i nted with t h e pract i ce o f 'th a t C ourt , seemed to treat an e xcept i on to 'an answer as nothing at all.— • But if he wo u ld t a k e t h e trouble o f spending two or three hours in reading the Master's report on that case, he would find it less trifli ng t h an h e expeetetl. Wi t h regar d to the next case of Fillingham and Bromley, that was said to be a common case of injunctions But those who , heard the case argued knew: that it involved the nicest point's of law. It referred to the right of the Lord of the Manor to cut down timber on the lands held by hit copyhoid tenants. It was only on the paper a fe w months, anti tberefela the delay was the fault of' the parties not bringing it into Court. His Hon. and Lear ned Friend had next produced'the case of' Ware and Hall, and he had read a bill and stated facts which must have made a great impression upon the ,House, and which at the time made a great impression upon hirn.' But he had since found that the bill was taxed and the - charges.not,alloWed. Much stress had been laid upon the repetition of the-charges for the original charges. But every professional Gentleman knew that if a Solicitor at an Assize had 'six' cross causes M the same matter, his attend ance would 'be charged - for'- each of them.' His lion. and Learned Friend had said . that the charge for attendances was upwards of 1,0001. Now, what would be the surprise of the House to learn that the charge was little more than 1004 (Cheers.)—The whole bill for conducting the suit, after it was ' taxed, and the disallowed charges struck off, amounted to 3611. lie then came to the charges against the Noble and Learned Personage who presided in the Court. .And he did think that some intimation ought to have been givenliefore such an attack had been made. It was insinuated, that a decree had been given eureptitiously in private, favourable to one party pre sent, and behind the back of the other. This was the first time that he hid ever heard the honour and integrity of that Noble and Learned Lord called in question.—(Cheers.)—He had never yet heard that be was suspected of acting at the suggestion of any private application.—(Cheering.)—And as for this charge, it was well known that all such cases were afterwards argued publicly. His Hon. and Learned Friend also said that Solicitors were afraid of coming forward with charges while they had suits in Court. But were there no Soli citors who bad had cases decided ? And were there any corn- plaints made in any other quarter except that in which his Hon. and Learned Friend bad acquired his information. He did feel that these things ought to have been examined into before they had been brought forward, and he had no doubt but that his Hon. and Learned Friend would have found them all as correct as his statement about the charge for attendances--(Hear !) The Hon. Gentleman had attacked the Court of Exchequer merely because the Chief Baron had withdrawn himself for a short period in consequence of illness. This was an unmerited attack not only on the Chief Baron, but Baron Wood. Then it was said the Barons Garrow and Hullock were not Equity Lawyers. It was the custom to have two Common and two Equity Lawyers, and certainly there was no irregularity in that respect. The fact was, the Court of Exchequer had been as open as any other Court. Was a temporary illness to be considered sufficient to induce a Judge to retire ? If it was there could be no calculation of the time any Judge could remain on the Bench. The Master of the Rolls had also been ill, but his illness had occasioned no arrear of business. With respect to Scotch Appeals, they were heard as satisfactory . as, could be expected. Scotland never was in a situation in which their Appeals were heard with more advantage to the suitors. From that country Appeals of every description came before the House of I.ortb. That was a misfortune, inasinush as it prevented the attendance of the Lord Chancellor in the Court of Chancery: That sub ject was under' consideration ili-the House, of Lords. i and he had no bouht, a remed y would be applied. The attack oh the Vice-Chancellor's Court was not supported by the facts. The business had increased since the. establishment of that Court;, but the dispatch of business in that Court was almoit pro=. verbial. His Hon.' and Learned Friend had not made out a case for a Committee. No case had been brought forward of delay in the Court of Chancery, and seeing upon the returns that no arrear of causes beyond what might be reasonably ex pected, he objected tp the potion as unnecessary. Mr. M. A. TAYLOR isaitthe: was aware that the hour at - which they debated the ',question was late, but still it was a question worthy the attention of Gentlemen. He was not, howeier, to be deterred by the lateness of the hour from saying there never was s. case more deserving of the con sideration Of the House .than the motion of his Honourable and Learned Friend. With respect to the eminent person who presided in the poUrt of Chancery, there could be but one opinion on the subject of his talents and amiable man ners; but lie was free to state his opinion whether that Learned Judge did exercise the functions of his Court with advantage to the public. Ile moved this very question in 1011. .111 r. Percival opposed it, and it was carried against him. He was told he must not censure agreat and illustrious individual, and he lost the motion by n inety votes. Ile was told that Lord Eldon hinted to the Government that if his question was car ried the Noble and Learned Lord would hold the Seals no longer.—(A laugh.)—He thought, notwithstanding that fact, that the inquiry might be carried on without censuring the Lord Chancellor. In Lord Londonderry's time he lost a motion on the subject by a small. majority. He was told at the same time he must not be surprised; the Lord Chancellor was the head of the Government, -and if he gave up the seals there would be an end of the Administration. He mentioned this to thew the Colossus they had , to 'contend with. No man could deny that delays had occtitred in the Court of Chancery. The came of Brewn a. De Tastet Was put in the paper of the Court of' Chancery in 1012, and it - was not out until 1821. Did any man get out of the Court of Chancery without delay and ex pence ? It was the universal execration of every man who got into that C ourt t h at h e was ru i ne d. W as not t h a t ground for inquiry ? There were causes in that ('Dort had stood t 30 years, which m i g h t h ave b een decided in 20 days. There was no mod e of. getting, o u t of t h a t C our t b u t by d eat h or in fancy. With respect t o th e Vi ce -Ch ance ll or ' s Court, su i tors ( t :o tey u ricoaunld incurre d ttlhdeoGubteleatexKpeneerceer. of the rtto whole difficulty in the Co mm i ttee o f t h e H ouse of Lords was saii went tferonl C he whether ou Sea in that House and get rid of Scotch appeals. 'l'hose ap peas had not inc rease d inure than in 1811. The evil had not ceased, and it was clear the delays in the Court of Chancery required amendment. In Lord Ilardwicke's time as many bills' were filed within a litindred as at present time..—. Inquiry was prosed at that time, and why should i t not take place at the p resent day. . question embraced the interest of one:third of the property of the country. A person who had a property of 20001., at Islington go t. i nto Chancery, anti for his 2,0001. be got no more than 700/. The suitors in that Court were robbed. What could a man get by a lawsuit of fourteen years ? That Court was de structive and useless ; every man in England - looked upon it with horror, as a nuisance. The other day he proposed refe rence in a cause, the party applied to said, " No, I will not agree to reference, and if you do not conse nt to my terms, I'll bang you up for twenty years in the Court of Chancery."__ Here 111 r. Taylor called for the candle to read_ a case.. The circumstance occasioned some mi r th. H e exc l a i me d what is sport to some is death to others. Mr. Taylor read the process of a Chancery suit, in which a person who resisted extortion was kept in a state of suspense for many years. The Hon. Member concluded by voting for the motion. Mr. DENAIAN said this was an important subject, and as many Hon. Members could throw light on it, he should move as an amendment "that further debate be adjourned to this day." The House then divided on the amendment. For the adjournment - 69 Against it _ _ - • - 120 Majority - -—6 l On our re-admission into the Gallery, we found Mr. G. BENNET moving that the debate be adjourned until Friday. The House immediately divided, when there aPre(' For the Motion - - - - Against it__ t . - - - - 133 Majority . . . . - —B4 We understand a motion was then made to adjourn the de bate for six months. On our re-admission we found Mr. M. A. TAYLOR addressing the House on this motion. He complained that the case which had been made out was not answered. The Noble and Learned Lord at the head of the Court of Chancery was to trust his defence to an adjournment of six months. Had he been the most bitter enemy of that Nobleman, he could not think .of a better course to destroy his fame than this.--(Clieers from the Opposition.)—However, all that he wished to the opposers of the case was, that they might beconie suitors of the Court. Mr. T. COURTENAI said, the Lord Chancellor. was de sirous that the subject should haie the fullest discussion.— ( Hear, hear !)—He (Mr. C.) was ready to go on, but he recom mended an adjournment until this day. _ The motion was then withdrawn, and the debste was ad journed until this day.—Adjourned at HALF-PAST ONE. A LIST OF 'rHE -.MINORITY • ON Mks AIWIEROMBY'S MOTION, Respecting the Conduit and Pioceedinks of,the Lord AAvcr eate of Scotland towards - 31 r. W. M. Borthwick• Abereromby,lln.J. Glenoschy, B,amiden J. Ct. Allen, J. 11. Grant, J. P. Rice, T. 'S. Althorp, Viset. :.Grattan, J. Ricardo, D. Barnard, Viscount Griffith,. J. W. Bickford, Wrn. Barrett, S. M. (huge, Sir W. Ridley, Sir .31. W. &nett, .1. Gordon, Lion . R. Roberts, A. W. Bennet, Hon. H. G. Hob4otse, J. C. Robinson, Sir G. Bentmck, Lord W. Mime, J. Russell, Lord J. Bernal, Ral , - Hurst, R. Searlett J. Brougham, Hen ry ll p Hutchinson, lion. Scott, J. Browne, Dom. C. H. Sefton, Earl of Byng, George.. Hotham, Lord Smith, J. Brownlow, C. Lambton, J. G. Smith, Hon. R. Barry, Rt.Hn . . - .1.31. Lennard, T. B. Smith, W. Calcraft, Leycester, Ralph Stanley, Lord Calvert, N. Lushington, S. Stewart, W. (Ty.) Carter, John Maberly, W. L. Stewart, Sir John Cavendish, Ld. G. Wlntosh, Sir J. Sikes D. Cavendish, H. blarj9ribanlts, S. Talbot, R. W. Chamberlayne, W. Martin, J. Taylor, M. A. Chaloner, Robert Milbank, M. Tierney, Rt. Hn.G. Crompton, Sam. Milton, Viscount Titchfield, Marq. Cradoek, S. Monek, J. B. Townshend, Ld. C. Daly, J. Moore, Peter Webbe, E. Davies, T. hlaxwell, J. W. Whitbread, S. C. Denison, W. J. Newport, Sir J. 'White. Colonel Denman, 'rhos. Normanby, Visct. Whitmore, NV. W. Duncspnon, Viset. O'Callaghan, J. Williams, J. Ebrington, Viet. Ord, Wm. Williams, W. Elli ce , Ed. ' Palmer,' C. F. Wood, Alderman . Evans, William Pelham, lion.C.A. Fergusson, Sir 11. C; Pelham, .J. C. TELLERS. Folkestone, Viact. Phillips , (1. sen. Hamilton, Lord A. Forde, M. Poritz; W. S. Kennedy, T. F. The , name of 'the Hon. C.llf. Hutchinson was by mistake omitted in the Minority on Lord A. Hamilton's Motion. Mr. C. F. Palmer voted with Sti J. Mackintosh on the Mo, don relative to the Critninal Law. PARIS PAPERS. TELEGRAPHIC DISPATCH, " PARIS, JUNE 3. " On the 30th of May, which was St. Ferdi nand's day, his Royal Highness reviewed the troops, which produced a great sensation in the inhabitants of Madrid : the Grandees of Spain presented to his Royal Highness an address of adherence and felicitation." / The unofficial part of the Moniteur of Tuesday announces that the Regency has appointed a Mi nistry, and that the army of Mina is pursued without intermission, and is dispersing (se clebande) every day. (From the Constitutionttel.) AUGSBURG, MAY . —We learn from Seres, that from the 18th of April to the 30th, Turkish troops passed every day through that town, march ing upon the Morea. Letters frdm the same town, of the 3d instant, state, that the Greeks of the Island of Thasos had attacked and completely defeated a Turkish di vision proceeding along the coast towards Sa lonica. It is also stated, that at that period the citadel of Larissa had fallen into the hands of the Greeks. Letters from Bucharest state, that 500 houses had been destroyed by a fire which lately broke out there. Almost a ll o f t h em b e l onge d to J ews; h it at Ol i l d 'an s s the T Llo u t rk lk s Bl , lto a hvi S n%'il w t m l .he fire originat e d. instant.,lacrqs was still in the Coron and MOdon. PARIS, JUNE 2.—Besides the official intelli gence from the army, published daily by the Ilioniteur, the political and fanatical Journals also publish private accounts which do not always agree with each other. Thus, for in stance, the Drapeau Blanc scarcely ever has any intelligence except what tends to the supposition that•the Spaniards wish for the ancient regime entire, whilst the Journal des D6bats is nearly as exclusive in insinuating that the Peninsula must have not the Constitution of the Cortes hut a Constitution which will leave to the people, at least in appearance,, the exercise of some rights. The Journal der &bats repeated .yesterday the intelligence published by the Etoile the pre , vious evening, and of which we have given an extract, relative to the unexpected appearance of Mina under the *ails of \rich. " Our troops," it is said, " received' the charges of infantry and cavalry with intrepidity."--It seems to us very extraordinary that there should be charges of infantry, and especially of cavalry, against a place the walls of which are to be scaled. To give credit to such details we request permission to wait for information less strange and more official. For two or three days there has been a talk of the recall of M. Cape d'lstria to St. Petersburgh. The Nuremberg Correipondent contains, under ,the head Hanseatic Towns, the following ar ticle :—" A merchant of Liege, who has arrived at 'frankfort froM Madrid, which capital ho quitted the 17th April, has purchased, at a very moderate price, of" a' commercial house at Frank fort, several' thousand muskets which that house had bought on speculation. These muskets are to, be sent to a Spanish or Portuguese port." _ . • ".FnANKFORT, MAY 20.—The quantities of to aid traordinay expellees of a costly war. money feq(uPteßFilifl.fi'sn:CllC:l;:ile-EIIIISIIP°hi.Nean4I3IIEcaNCIIC.tIE.O)P; P a ris Pyrenees, h y e r r e e e n s c , I , i have ra Treasury, ised and go l ti contribute he reto baen t y o eo the xntdr t e oh x r dinar,- price.. More is drawn from hence than froth all the places in the interior of Germany.- Shice the journey of a Russian courier from Paris, and the private.accounts brought to the English. Legation at Frankfort, extraordinary reports , . have been circulated as to the embarrassments: experienced by the French armies in the interior of Spaliii and particularly by the corps of Mar shal Moncey in Catalonia. These accounts, what ever may be their source, and whether their cor rectness be more or less disputed, far from injur ing our speculators in foreign funds, have, on the contrary, 'served to produce a remarkable rise.— The more the contest becomes difficult and ex pensive, the shorter it is thought'will be its dura tion. This opinion explains the rise in Spanish paper at the same - time with that of the French rentes—a circumstance which at first sight ap pears inexplicable." PARIS, Jura 2.—From the system adopted by the Spanish Generals, has resulted an extreme confidence in our troops, and in movements so haiardous under other circumstances, that they stand in need of justification. We have left to secure our line of operations from the Bidassoa to the Ebro, to keep down IsTivarre,•Guipuscoa,Biscay, and Alava, only two divisions, commanded by the Prince de Hohen lobe, and these two'ilivisions have still to besiege or at least observe St. Sebastian and Pompeian', having 6or 7,000 men in:garrison. The corps of General Molitor, reppeeting. which we have not for tome time had• Any new.details, forms an aI my altogether deiocl44, Ow division of which is . marching upon , the southern frontiers of Cata. lonia, occupies the banks. of the Cinca, menaces the little .fort, Of MOBZOII,an4 also Lerida, before which Harcourt and. Conde were checked, whilst another division .is doubtless at Saragossa, and watching. the debeisches of the kingdom of Va. lencia, which serve for the retreat of Ballasteros. It will be seen that . net only this corps d' arm e e can. receive no succours from that of the Prince de Holientohe, but that his t wo di v i s i ons o f in fantry catmint aid each other. Our march upon M a d r id has been fine and rapid, but directed under the conviction that. there would be no enemies to combat ; for, were it otherwise, in what danger would ba the divi• sion of General Obert, who is marching in a dif ficult country, and exposed on its flanks by the army of Ballasteros ? A single division remains between the Ebro and the Duero; here, however, it is an open country, and our cavalry niay effect much with newly , raised troops, such as are found in great numbers: in the Constitutional army. It will be seen that if the object of the enemy's Generali .Were to divide us, by yielding the ground, they haie completely succeeded ; but if the entry into Madrid, and the proclamation of the Prince Generalissimo ; do not terminate the W.••