The Sun. — London, England, 1839-06-08 00:00:00

• }" _ - E V ENIN; TENTIVIENT OF THE TORIES. (FROM A CORRESPONDENT.) The Tories begin to lose all patience as they id that the hostility of the Radicals to the Whigs results in no friendship to them, and that—often a world of trouble taiken to foment enmity between the two parties—they (the Tories) have not made sixpence by the speculation. They perceive with asonishment that the national hatred of them is immortal, while their party alliances are fleeting ; that the proverb must be reversed in their regard, and they must sav "amiciticv mortales, ininucitta 7 empiternce. " They observe with a surprise, bor dering on incredulity, that the popular feeling shifts to every quarter of the political compass but that tt which they are stationed ; that nothing which tan happen tends in any degree to render them less intolerable to the people ; that popularity may even be lost to their adversaries without being gained to them ; that no one abuses the Whigs so much, but reprobates the Tories more. It is very natural fnr such a party to look up to Sir Robert Peel as to a father ; it i very natural for Sir Robert Peel o look down with the feelings of a 7 father on such a party. The arts by which alone such a party can hope to live (those of cunning and hypo crisy) are the arts for which alone Sir Robert pos sesses any genius. But too much may be trusted to the success of these arts, and too much even to S►r Robert's genius ; for it is by no means clear that the Tories have unqualified reason to rejoice in their leader's skill. Sir Robert Peel, in the debate on Sir Ilesketh Fleetwood's motion of Tuesday last, taunted the Radicals with being easily satisfied with the conduct of the Govern ment ; but we think the Tories, with better reason,' may be taunted with being easily satisfied with Sir Robert Peel. They have pronounced his speech on this occasion " magnificent ;" and one of them is " convinced that the Conservatives of Great Britain will have felt more proud than ever of their distinguished leader after reading it." Now, what are the extraordinary grounds for pride, gratitude, and admiration which they find in this speech ? We Lave read it twice over, and "are in amazement lost," rt at the speech, but at the gratitude for the speech, the pride, &c. We can find nothing whatever to account for these emotions of the mind. We thought we.wust have made some mistake—stum i.led on a Aong column—got into Sibthorp, or something ; so we went to work again, still led on , i)y the expressions in the leaders of the Tory Jour nals about the " magnificence " of the speech, and so forth. All was of no use, and we still remain In a profound puzzle respecting the furor of the Tory critics. They will hardly say the speech was eloquent ! Well, then, was it business-like—was it to the purpose ? If we know any thing of the Tory game we should say decidedly it was not to the purpose. What skill was there, we ask, in unnecessarily provoking the animosity of those whose " sweet voices " give the Tories the only chance they can at any time possess of obtaining a triumph over their opponents ? Is this the way to secure the Decemviri? "So far from making good any claim to Radical aid," says the Spectator of last Sunday, (a Radical paper, and one to which the Tories are usually diligent in paying Court), " the Tories asking it might receive a 1, fit answer in Shylock's retort—' Fair Sirs, you spat on us last Wednesday, read (Tuesday) ; you Ispurned us such a day ; another time you called us I dogs ; and for these courtesies you now expect us to vote,'" &c. Such is exactly the course pursued by Sir Robert Peel. A candidate for office, at the mercy of ten Radicals, he takes occasion, unneces sarily, so to insult them and the whole of their party, that, how they can ever again support hini with their votes we confess ourselves at a loss to conceive. And his tail is grateful I Well, cer tainly, to adopt the words of the Hon. Baronet, " Gentlemen more easily satisfied we cannot well imagine." Why, the scribe in the Morning Post diterves better of his party. The scribe is a real diplomatist, and can dexterously manoeuvre the Radicals to his ends ; not so the Parliamentary leader. The former is ever ready with the well tiMed tribute and the alluring compliment—he is all seduction ; the latter has no honey to spare, r:en for catching flies. There is really no com parison betwen the two men ; the scribe is a finished courtier, but the Pharisee is a blunderer. We have, indeed, several times wondered of late by what means Sir Robert Peel has obtained the reputation, which be enjoys with his party, of being an adroit and cunning leader. What evi d,:nce his grateful supporters recal of these states man-like attributes we do not know, but we cer t linly bear in mind ourselves some remarkable examples of another sort—as we cannot call it ~;mplicity, we may call it a shallow duplicity—a quality combining all the meanness of knavery with none of its genius or success. Nothing, it is tt rue, can be more deplorable than this. A trickster ought unquestionably to be iiticcessful, for to fail in this sort of trade makes a bad bankruptcy indeed ! ' Regarditig, Sir Robert Peel as a professed diplo ntist, we have a right to complain of his awk warliess. •We are admirers of nature in all her works, and like to see every animal fulfil its proper destiny, whatever that may be—to see foxes sly, asses stupid, &c. Sir Robert Peel, it is universally acknowledged, was cut out for a J,-.suit, but he has quite disappointed the promise ileld out by such a character ; and, lastly, whether we have beheld him making his bow at Bucking ' ham Palace, or occupying his place in the House, we have equally found him mismanaging his mat ter—getting into scrapes here, and out of office there, and making all sorts of false moves. And the tail is grateful ! Certainly, " Gentlemen more ..asily satified we cannot well imagine." What could be more blundering and stultifying, than the s:leer against the Canada Bill, lugged into the above debate on the franchise ? " It was the 1 fashion now," said the distinguished leader, " not to legislate at present, but to make promises of le gislating at a future time." Has the distinguished leader already forgotten the debate on the first Ja maica Bill, and his own and his friends' arguments against that Bill ? Has he forgotten that that Bill proposed to " legislate at plesent,” but that he and his tail preferred to " make promises of legislating at a future time ;" and that the :rinciple which they now repudiate seemed so in , controvertible to them a few weeks ago, as to en courage them to unite all their forces to turn out the Ministry upon it ? Then, how ludicrous was Sir Robert's tribute to the Reform Bill ! He is for " accepting it in the same spirit in which it was offered by Lords Grey and Althorp." What does this mean ? The spirit in which the Reform Bill was offered to the party of which Sir Robert Peel is the distinguished leader, was the spirit of a sound drubbing. In this spirit Sir Robert begs to say, for himself and partners, that he will " accept it." As for accepting a drubbing in one spirit or an ether, we don't know how a man is to refuse it, if . Another is resolved to give it him ; but at least it is edifying to us, and must be highl) satisfactory to his party, to know that Sir Robert is prepared to kiss the Reform rod as often as he can't help it; and the more so because we trust from what fell from Lord John Russell on Tuesday night, that iseveral more such rods are in pickle for him. 1,.., The c ountry i s now i nformed, in a manner t h at Icannot be considered vague or obscure," that how -1 cver little the Whigs may be inclined to concede to the Radicals, the Tories are prepared to give less; iaccewhile, on the other h an d, their representat able Baronetif the people, through ives, only resolve to give the Honour • h fir self and . 'rig, e)(distinguished par l e e r a s d , e w r) ill a good thrash , 4, a mc—and " in the same spirit," too' pt" % Certainly, " Gentlemen more easily satisfied the . • 11, 'Cannot well imagine ! i ~, >„ <'.: ~~-~•, . . KIN'S' ) ‘'.l) 2'. ..7tA r --- ' - 7 : ... -- i' - F- 4 - rte `?:l , y -- :` 0 I:e , . .- IMPERIAL PARLIAMEN T. HOUSE OF LORDS, JUNE 7. The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the Woo'sack at Five o'clock. The Bishop of EXETER said that finding no return could be made to the motion of which he had given no tice, he should now more that that notice be discharged, and at the same time move for a return of the Patent of Commission by which the Judge of the Court of Arches held his office. Earl GREY and Lord REDE SD ALE presented peti tions in favour of a penny postage. Lord LORTON presented a petition from East Kerry, against any alteration in the Corn-laws. At the request of the Marquis of SALISBURY, Lord BROUGHAM put off the bringing up of the Report on the Beer Bill Amendment Act till Tuesday next, that the Noble Marquis might have an opportunity of proposing some amendments. SPANISH LEGION. The Marquis cf LONDONDERRY wished to know what steps had been taken to liquidate the claims of those unfortunate officers who had been instigated to enter into the service of the Queen of Spain by her British Majesty's Ministers. They had been deceived and duped, and he could not help thinking that her Majesty's Minis ters ought to insist upon some payment for them. He 'veld in his hand several letters on tho subject, and also a very imposing sort of document issued under the _ Spanish Commission sitting in London for the liquidation of those claims which awarded the sum of 91. 4s. to a certain individual. But although this might be called the bank note of General Alava, it carried no in terest, and there was no time or place specified as to when or where the money was to be paid. He believed there had been claims audited to the amount of 260,0001. ; but what of that, when the claimants could not ob tain a shilling of payment. Of so little value were these bank-notes of General Alava considered to be that the parties entitled to payment under them were selling them for Is. 6d. in the pound. The Noble Viscount op posite had not been able to do much of late, either for this or for any other country, but be certainly ought to exert himself in this matter, otherwise he would hold out very little encouragement to military prowess. He should move for a return of the accounts and the mea sures taken by the Commission with a view to satisfy the claimants. Viscount MELBOURNE had given the Noble Mar quis on a former occasion all the information in his power, and he regretted that it was not satisfactory. The Commission to which the Noble Marquis al luded was appointed one by the Spanish Government and the other by the Committee of Officers. It had no con nection with the Government, nor was it under the control of any department of the State, and therefore it would be impossible to make an order upon them for a copy of their accounts, or of the measures they had taken to ratify these claims. In point of form, the Noble Marquis could not make any such motion to +he House. At the same time he thought he should be able to procure the informa tion the Noble Marquis required, and he should take the earliest opportunity of informing the Noble Marquis of the result. POOR LAWS. The Earl of STANHOPE presented a petition from the parish of St. George the Martyr, Southwark, of which be had given notice on the previous evening, and which he read at length. The prayer of the petition was, that their Lordships might be pleased to place no re liance or dependence on any thing emanating from the Poor-law Commissioners.—( A laugh.) The petition was only signed by the chairman and the deputy chairman, buti had been agreed to at a numerous public meeting of the Inhabitants. Viscount MELBOURNE was entirely ignorant of the facts of the petition, and so he believed were the Poor-law Commissioners. He would suggest, therefore, that they be furnished with a copy of the petition in the first instance. Earl STANHOPE had no objection to the petition being printed. Viscount MELBOURNE was about to object, when Lord BROUGHAM said, I really must interfere. If the Noble Lord has no objection to 500 copies being printed, he must have 500 times less objection to one copy being printed. The Commissioners are put upon their trial upon an unknown charge, which was given very much in detail in the petition, and much will depend upon the accuracy of their details. I really must say that my Noble Friend, who has generally acted fairly— Earl ST ANH 0P E— Always. —( Much laughter. ) Lord BROUGHAM—I will say always, if he does not not make this case an exception.—(A laugh.) Earl STANHOPE had no objection to a copy being sent to the Commissioners, but, as to his making any spe cial communication to dictators, whose power he considered illegal, he would certainly do no such thing.—(Much laughter.) Lord RODEN presented a petition, praying that their Lordships would withdraw all countenance from the Roman Catholic religion, and thereby advance God's honour, pro mote the Protestant faith, and preserve the land from the _ judgments which fall upon apostate nations. Lord REDE SD AL E presented a petition for addi tional endowments to the Church of Scotland. COURT OF CHANCERY. Lord LYNDHURST then rose to bring forward the subject of the Court of Chancery. He had been requested to do so, by gentlemen at the bar, and by solicitors prac tising in the Court—as well as by those who had been de scribed as its " victims," the suitors in the Court. He found it impossible to resist their solicitations, and he was the more induced to bring the subject forward by the pas sage in her Majesty's Most Gracious Speech at the open ing of the Session, in which her Majesty directed the anx ious attention of Parliament to the necessity of providing for the speedy administration of justice. Four months of the Session had since elapsed—and not a'single word bad been said in their Lordships' House, nor any measure in troduced into tho other, respecting the Court of Charcerv. He now wished to recall the attention of her Majesty's Mi nisters to that - passage in her Majesty's Speech—which passage they had now forgotten. He could not, indeed, say that the country was without a Government—but he thought that the country might as well be without a Go vernment as not possess a Ministry with power or energy enough to propose and carry through Parliament those mea sures which the great interests of the country demanded. But not one single measure of any importance had been during the present session introduced into their Lordships' House by the Government, or brought up from the other. —( Hear, hear.) He did not mean on the present occa sion to enter into the general question of the Courts of Equity. He only meant to advert to what he deemed the crying evil of the Court; and endeavour to apply a prac tical remedy to an enormous practical abuse. There were at the present time an arrear of 850 causes standing for hearing-550 before the Lord Chancellor and Vice-Chan cellor, and 300 before the Master of the Rolls. The ave rage time for which they had stood for hearing, was, in the Lord Chancellor's Court, two years. Ile was told that before the Master of the Rolls, it amounted to a year and a half; and that, taking the two together, an average of two years elapsed before a cause came on for hearing. This was a grievance that ought to be remedied. In or der that their Lordships might understand this more fully, he would enter into some more particular explanation. The first hearing was not a final one—there might be various other steps to be taken in consequence. There might be an issue to be tried by a jury ; inquiries to be made before the Master, or accounts to be taken conse quent upon the first hearing, and a year or more might be employed in this manner. The cause then came back to the Master to report ; and if both parties did not agree, exceptions could be taken to the report, and a further de lay take place. Ile had said enough to satisfy their Lord ships that a delay of several years might elapse between the commencecaent and the conclusion of a cause. Again, ell parties interested must beton the record, either as plain tiffs or defendants ; and if any of these parties die, a fresh cause of delay takes place, because it is necessary to revive the suit by a new Bill ; and it often happens, before a cause is finally determined, that three or four of these revivers take place. Now, if it were supposed there were ISO causes, each occupying on an average two years, 7,0001 would he p iid as term fees to the Officers of the Court, and these term fees were also payable to the parties' own solicitor. When any new circumstances arose,anew Bill was necessary to state them, and this frequently rendered mo tions necessary. Lord Hardwicke, on one of these motions being brought before him, refused to hear it, as be knew nothing of the cause, and ordered the cause to be advanced. that the motion and cause might be heard at the same time, but the present state of business would not admit of this, because suitors low in the paper would bring forward fri volous motions, in order to advance their causes. He had rather understated than overstated the case—( Hear, hear) and he would bring forward one example as an instance of the evils. Suppose a family entitled to an annuity under a will—the trustee refuses to act—and an application is made to the Court of Chancery. In the meantime not one farthing of the annuity can be touched, and the family must be left to starve, or to raise money at usurious interest. It was their Lordships' duty to ponder on these things, and to see that justice was speedily administered, not sold, not denied, or not delayed ; for, in the words of the Noble and Learned Lord opposite, a delay of justice was equivalent to a denial of justice. He believed that it would be more advantageous to many parties to have a decision adverse to them at an early stage of a cause than to be subjected to these delays. He begged not to be understood as casting the slightest reflections on the manner in which business was now conducted in the Court of Chancery. He knew that the exertions of his Noble and Learned Friend on the Woolsack, and of his Noble and Learned Friend the Mas. ter of the Rolls, were most meritorious; and the same ob. nervation would apply to the Vice- Chancellor, who devoted his whole time and energies to the business of his Court, aad he believed that they all devoted more time to the administration of justice than the country had any right to demand of their Judges. He was one of those who thought that Judges ought not solely to be confined to the administration of justice; but on the contrary ought to have time for intellectual relaxation, as he thought the confining the attention too much to one subject had a ten dency to contract the ideas. Their Lordships would see that of late years these arrears had increased, he did not ascribe this to any want of energy on the part of the Noble persons who now presided in the Court of Chancery. He found that in Michaelmas term 1819, there was 950 causes; in 1824, 906 ; in 1829, 700; in 1834, when his Noble and Learned Friend opposite held the seals, 491 ; in 1835, 630; in the following years, 746, 773, and 850. He had adverted to 1834, when his Noble and Learned Friend opposite retired from the Woolsack, as the period at which there was the smallest number of causes standing for hearing. He ascribed that in part to the active exertions of his Noble and Learned Friend, also to the extraordinary dispatch of Sir John Leach, the then Master of the Rolls, who heard more causes within a given time than any Judge who ever sat, or perhaps who ever would sit. He ascribed it also to the circumstance that hi 1832 t h e bankruptcy business of the Court of Chancery was removed to another tribunal. But notwithstanding all that, the increase of business had been such as that the arrear of causes now standing for hearing was 850. It had been said that these evils did not exist in the time of Lord Hardwicke. That was an entire mistake. The publications of that time were full cf the same complaints of the Court of Chancery that were complained of in the present day. One of those publica none to which he referred, and which described the griev ances of the Court of Chancery, was what was called t: Animadversions on the Court of Chancery," pub lished in the year 1756. The Court of Chancery however, was at that time in a very different state to that which it was in now. No doubt an additional Judge bad been appointed, and it had been relieved of the bankruptcy business; but, according to a statement made by his Noble and Learned Friend on the Woolsack three years ago, it appeared that the number of causes entered for hearing now exceeded, by three times, the number entered in the days of Lord Hardwicke—the number of petitions ex ceeded them seven times—and the number of motions was about the same proportion. This was a complete answer to any statement that a Chancellor of the vigour and energy of Lord Hardwicke would have got rid of the ar rear. But this was an old grievance. It had ex sed as long as the Court of Chancery itself had existed. When Wolsey gave up the Great Seals, we were told that there were causes which had been pending for twenty years ; and that when Sir Thomas Hoare succeeded him, he de voted himself night and day to get rid of the arrear. By a reference to the celebrated speech of Lord Bacon, the day on which he took his scat in that Court, in the time of James the First, it. was clear that the same evils existed. In the reign of Charles the First the same complaints of the Court of Chancery were made over and over again. At that time it was stated that there was more business in that Court than the Lord Chancellor and the Master of the Rolls could possibly dispose of, and accordingly a Bill was then brought into Parliament for the purpose of ap pointing two additional Judges, to enable them to get rid of it ; but what the history of that Bill was, or why it had been abandoned, he (the Noble and Learned Lord) had not been able distinctly to trace. In Charles IL's time the same complaints were made. Publications showed that the same complaints existed in the time of Lord Cowper, as well as in:the time of Lord Hardwicke, and persons were now living who were able to carry back their recollection for fifty or sixty years, and to remember the complaints then. Why was he (the Noble and Learned Lord)stating all this ? Simply for the purpose of satisfying their Lord ships that there was nothing personal in the subject he was bringing forward—that - by no number of Judges now ap pointed could the business be got rid of, and that their Lordships must apply some distinct remedy for it. What was to be the remedy? It was beyond the physical energy of, it was absolutely impossible for, any three Judges to get rid of the number of causes, which albeit were now in creasing. What would be done in any similar case ;in a case of manual labour, for instance, or in a case of litera ture and science, where a given quantity of work was to be done in a given time. If the hands to do it were too few the number would have to be increased. His opinion was that the Judges ought not to be oppressed by their work. No Judge could decide well and satisfactorily who was constantly teased to decide speedily. He must have ample time to consider, in order to enable him in his de cisions to satisfy the public, to satisfy the profession, and, above all, to satisfy the persons whose interests depended upon correct and just decisions. When he had the ho nour of holding the Great Seals he found it was impossible to keep down the arrear in the then state of the Court. He thought if he could model the Master of the Roll's Court, that that would be attended with benefit. The Master of the Rolls then only sat for a very short time in the after noon in term time, and for three hours in the evening— sometimes not more than twelva hours in the week. He applied to Sir John Leach to give up his evening sittings and to sit as the other Judges did. Sir John Leach immediately consented to it. Benefit was the im mediate result, but still the measure was not adequate to the occasion. He, therefore, (the Noble and Learned Lord) deemed that something farther should be done, but he had no hope of doing any good without a legislative mea sure. Accordingly he brought in a Bill, which was re newed in another session. That Bill went through their Lordships' house with unanimous approbation. It was supported by Lord Tenterden, Lord Eldon, Lord Redes dale, and he believed by all the legal authorities of the House. In the other House of Parliament, he knew not from what motive, whether from party feeling— Lord BROUG HAM—No, no. Lord LYNDHURST—Whatever it proceeded from, it met with the most vigorous and acrimonious opposition. A learned person, once his (the Noble and Learned Lord's) own colleague, Sir C. Wetherell, distinguished himself as the leader to the opposition of that Bill, and applied terms both to the Bill and to the prospective Judge, which to him, seemed to be the most extraordinary. He believed his Noble and Learned Friend opposite took a part in that opposition. They said the intention was to make the Chancellorship a sinecure, and that if a new Judge were appointed, all the business that ought to be done by the Chancellor would devolve upon his Deputy. The opposition was carried on for two days, when the Bill was passed by a great majority, but unfortunately in two days afterwards, a demise of the Crown took place, and the Bill was lost. He (the Noble and Learned Lord) could think of no remedy now for the evil that existed, except having a similar Bill. There must be more Judges. It was a great inconvenience, no doubt, to establish a new Court both to the public and to the bar, but that inconvenience bore no comparison to the intoler able grievance of the present state of things. It was of the utmost importance to the interests of families that causes should not remain for years undecided. When he brought forward his Bill it was objected to on the ground that the Bankruptcy business aught to be separated from the Court of Chancery. He objected to that separation I on two grounds; first, because he thought it would not be sufficient for the purpose, and in the next place, be cause he thought the appellate Jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery was better vested in the Judges of the Court of Chancery than in any others. The experiment was tried very soon after his Noble and Learned Friend oppo site accepted the Great Seals, and the alteration had occasioned no substantial relief to the Court of Chancery. Three Years ago his Noble and Learned Friend on the Wool sack brought forward his measure. He ( Lord L.) then 'Ae r agested what he had always thought to be the best plan, , but he was told that his plan was too narrow, mean, and scanty, and that his Noble and Learned Friend's plan was much more extensive. His Noble and Learned Friend's measure, however, did not meet with the approbation of the House, and therefore it fell to the ground. He (Lord Lyndhurst) had al.va;s been for a progressive reform, if he might be allowed to adopt the expression which the Noble Viscount opposite had used the other night. Of what advantage would it be to facilitate the progress of a cause up to the hearing, unless the hearing of it also were facili tated ? He had accordingly suggested means for facilitating the hearing, and if he had succeeded in that, it was then meant by him to have directed his attention to the reformation, if it required reformation, of the whole of the appellate jurisdiction of this country; but he considered it premature to reform the appellate until the interior jurisdiction was reformed. When it had been suggested that a new judge should be appointed the observation was made that that would only increase the number of appeals with which the Court was already blocked up. He had never thought there was any foundation for that observa tion. Suppose there were 800 causes to be heard, and 50 of the decisions were appealed—by hearing them all 750 would be disposed of, and the 50 that remained ap. pealed would not be in a worse situation than if the whole had remained unheard. At the time when his Noble and Learned Friend (Lord Brougham) opposite beck the Great Seals there was a great arrear of appeals; when he left that Court there were only, he believed, a very few, if any, remaining. His Noble and Learned Friend disposed of 160 appeals in one year. He ( Lord Lyndhurst) knew that that Noble and Learned Lord sat up day and night, and worked most laboriously for accomplishing that of ject which he so effi ciently attained. It had been said also that the Lord Chancellor had no time to devote to the hearing of original causes; hut his Noble and Learned Friend opposite had heard many original causes, because his appeals had been disposed of. It was, however, impossible for his Noble and Learned Friend on the Woolsack to hear original causes, because there were one hundred appeals unde cided; forty had been heard and were waiting for judg ment, and sixty remained to be heard. He had no.s pointed out what appeared to him to be the practical re nedy for the grievance; and when he looked at the Court of Exchequer the want of this remedy appeared to be - the more extraordinary. The Court of Exchequer was a Court of Equity as well as a Court of Common Law. They could decide if the Court of Exchequer had all the machinery belonging to the Court of Chancery—all the offices and everything that was necessary for constituting a proper court. But as far as equity was. concerned that Court was without a Judge. The Lord Chief Baron and Mr. Baron Alderson, when they could be spared from the common law court, which was always at great inconvenience to the com mon law court, sat in equity and administered justice there to the perfect satisfaction of the bar and the suitors. This was at great inconvenience to the common law business of the Court of Exchequer, because that Court had as much business in it as the Court of Queen's Bench, and it was complained that that Court should not have five Judges de voted exclusively to the common law as well as the Court of Common Pleas, which was a Court greatly inferior to the Court of Exchequer, and which had five Judges conti nually occupied there. What was the obnoxious remedy for this evil in the Court of Exchequer? The ap pointment of a permanent Judge undoubtedly.—(Hear.) He thought one great advantage of carrying his proposed measure into effect would be that it would give a permanent Judge to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. That Committee was not a Court of Equity alone, not a Court of Common Law alone, but had to decide upon questions of Spanish law, of two different branches of French law, and of Dutch law—how important then was it to have a permanent president for their -Court who should feel it his duty to make himself properly qualified to ad minister justice to the suitors in that Court ? He would appeal to the Lord President of the Council whether it was not of the utmost importance that this should be the case. Another great advantage of this arrangement would be that the barristers practising in that Judge's Court would follow him, and there would be the advantage of a permanent bar as well as a permanent Judge. He did not intend to meddle with the complicated evils of the Court of Chancery, he should confine himself to one object, he would lay his finger upon one grievance to which he would apply his present remedy, and he trusted it would be successful in proportion to its simplicity. His Noble and Learned Friend on the Woolsack had brought forward his plan for the improvement of the Court of Chancery, which was not opposed by his Noble Friend opposite, who had also a plan of Reform much more extensive. His Noble and Learned Friend who sat below him had also his plan; with this war of giants it was his wish to have nothing to do, he had no wish to come within the arm of it. Having thus proposed a specific remedy for a specific evil he would leave the whole in the hands of her Majesty's Government, because although if be brought it forward in that House it might be successful, judging by the fate of his former Bill, he doubted if it would be successful in the .other House of Parliament, unless he could procure for it a father more able to protect it. He hoped, there fore, his Noble and Learned Friend on the Woolsack would agree to bring in a Bill of this nature, and if he did so he should have his cordial support, because he was anxious to see this evil remedied, on account of the profession to which he belonged, and still more on account.of the suitors who were suffering in consequence of this delay. He should conclude by moving for the returns of which he had given THE SUN, LUND )N, SATURDAY, JUNE 8, 1839. notice.—( The Noble and Learned Lord sat down amidst loud cheering.) Lord BROUGHAM said that in presenting himself hus early to their Lordships to take part in this discussion, he must bear his testimony to the great ability and clear ness of the statement of his Noble and Learned Friend, than whom, as no man could express himself more clearly, so did few men think so clearly on any subject to which they devoted their attention. This was the third or fourth time that this subject bad been brought before the House, and he could not agree with his Noble t'riend in the rea sons which he had given for not bringing forward this measure himself, because he was convinced that any mea sure matured by the advantage of the assistance which he could always command, would have every chance of meeting with the respectful attention and the ultimate concurrence of Parliament.—( Hear, hear.) It was a gr.'at comfort to him that there had been no Royal Message on this subject, because if that had been the case, his Noble and Learned Friend on the Woolsack, acting in conformity with the example of his colleagues elsewhere, would most probably have put off the measure until 1842 ; but that not being the case, he thought there was some chance of its being taken up in a reasonable time.—( A laugh.) It was impossible to say too much on the great importance of this subject, and the case had been by no means overstated. He (Lord Brougham) had formerly brought forward a large measure of Chancery reform, at which time it had appeared to him that the delays in the Court of Chancery were owing to a habit that the Judge presiding then had' got into of not deciding. He was only now stating what he had stated in Lord Eldon's lifetime, and in his presence ; and certain it was, that with all the great qualifications of that most illustrious Judge, possess. ing as he did learning the most profound, the greatest subtlety, and the greatest industry, he had acquired a bad habit of not attending to counsel, but deciding causes on reading the affidavits a long time afterwards. The pro lixity of the Counsel secured the attention of the Judge ; and this again produced prolixity of Counsel by re-action. He had often thought that a Judge of less learning and capacity, who would apply himself to what was said, would be able to get through business as effectually and in much less time. He begged to put his Noble and Learned Friend right on one point : he had assisted in throwing out his Bill in the House of Commons ; it had been dropped in consequence of the demise of the Crown ; in the subse quent Parliament he had been asked if he would continue his opposition to it, and he said he should do so, and the Bill was withdrawn, or rather was not brought forward. Lord L YND HURST— It had passed a second reading by a majority of 49. Lord BROUGHAM—In what sized House ? Lord LYNDH URST— A hundred and twenty. Lord BROUGHAM—That was no great majority in those days, although now it would be reckoned a vast majority.—( Cheers and laughter.) He ( Lord Brougham) shortly after took the Great Seal ; and if he had then proposed the creation of new Judges, it would immediately have been said he had changed his opinion, and demanded that assistance for himself which he had before opposed when he was at the bar. The course he pursued therefore was to act on his own previous opinion, and to try how far, by unremitting industry and attention, he could make up for his other deficiencies. He determined, therefore, to grapple with the great evil, to make head against the arrears, and to keep down the business. If he had found he could not do so he should have had recourse to the measure of his Noble Friend, and have asked for another Judge. He entirely agreed with his Noble Friend that the expense of a new Judge might be saved out of the odds and ends, the more frips of the present Court. Why the term fees alone, amounting to from 6,0001. to 7,0001. per annum, would defray the expenses. Original causes had not been heard for years by the Lord Chancellor, not since 1813. He had found that the number of appeals entered for hearing had amounted to 140. He heard these causes and made it a point never to stop counsel— heard one or two original causes, until at least there were only eight appeals set down for hearing, and he found it absolutely necessary to stop and to sit and hear appeals in that House. That same year be got off the appeals in that House, and got through more causes than had ever before been got through by a single Judge in one year, and within seven or eight of the number that had been got through when Lord Gifford and Lord Eldon were sitting together.— (Cheers.) The diminishing of his labours by the appointment of the Court of Bankruptcy did not apply to that year. He had sat for five or six weeks in Bankruptcy. He thought it necessary to say thus much in contradiction to certain ridiculous statements which had been made out of doors by persons who ought to have been better informed on this subject, and who had, among other absurdities, stated, that h!s Noble and Learned Friend on the Woolsack was the first Lord Chancellor who had heard original causes ; whereas the fact was, that previously to the time of Lord Eldon, the Lord Chancellor did nothing but hear original causes. There never had been an instance of more gross crass, or stupid ignorance than those learned persons had exhibited. Lord LYNDHURST—It was not any one connected with the Court of Chancery ? Lord BROUGHAM—Not with the Court of Chancery in England. That learned person had also said that his (Lord Brougham's) judgments were not worth a straw, and were only useful as landmarks to be avoided, and yet the same learned person had said, in his own hearing, and in the presence of 4,000 persons, on the 25th of May, 1838, that he was the first Judge in equity who had ever shown that it was possible to combine good judgment coupled with great despatch. Now, as he had given no judgments in the interval, it must have been on a re consideration of the subject after reading the volumes of his judgments, that the learned individual had come to his present decision. He took great pains never to waste a half hour, never to go to Courts, or Levees, or attend Cabi net Councils, except when absolutely necessary, and in that way the arrears had been got rid of'. It did not at all follow that the same thing could be done every year, and it had been said that it was owing to that exertion that he had injured his health, but it was no ste}, thing, he had never better health than he bad in 1831, 1832, 1833, and 1834, and it was his hard work in 1835, in the debates on the Municipal Reform Bill that had destroyed his health. But it did not require a person ordinarily to work so hard as he had worked in getting rid of the arrear causes. lie had been getting rid of the arrear and at the same time keeping down the growing crop of new causes, but that arrear having been got rid of, the Chancellor could hear original causes. He was restored to his pristine title of an original Judge, and not an Appellate Judge, and oho third was thereby added to the judicial power of the Court of Equity. He was not pertinaciously adhering to his own opinion, but he wished, before any decision was come to, that their Lordships would hear both sides of the question. Now, his Noble and Learned Friend had alluded to the great number of Bills filed in the time of Lord Hardwicke— ( Lord Lyndhurst—" Causes set down")—that amounted to merely the same thing. In 1816 there were 7,000 to 8,000 filed.-(Lord Lyndhurst—' Che number of bills filed v.as not always a criterion of the number of causes ; in one year they were 30,000.1 He was aware that formerly there were a much a greater number of bills filed, several b,•ing filed to accomplish the same object. But if the number filed in the several years between 1750 and 1836 was looked at, it would be found that they bore some proportion to the causes heard. The average number between 1770 and 1774 was 5,000 ; between 1780 and 1800, 9,000 ; between that period and 1813, 11,000 ; and between 1823 and 1827, they fell off to 10,000. They remaite dat 10,000 during the next five years, and they were a little l ower at t h e present r i me. What he wished to press upon hi s N o bl e an d L earne d Friends before they came to any decision was, that they must not look at the present Courts as anything like what they were in former times. They must not forget that they were now very different , The business had certainly greatly increased, but the judicial power of the Court had also been very much increased. Within the last 20 years the Vice. Chancellor's Court had been created, and was not merely increasing the power of that Court 50 per cent. —it was doing much more ; because the Chancellor's could not be considered a complete Court. As he had to at tend to his political functions in the House of Lords, therefore the Chancellor's Court wee a great deal less than half of the two Courts. He was sure his Noble and Learned 1 4 riend would follow that statement (" Hear, hear," from Lord Lyndhurst)—so that when another com plete court was added it was adding something like 70 per cent. But that was not the whole. His Noble and Learned Friend had made a great reform in the Rolls' Court. For merly in the Rolls they only sat four weeks in the year; at other periods only in the evening, and never on Saturday. Taking the average of three days during term and four in vacation, each week, it amounted to about fourteen hours per week. That was the former judicial power of the Rolls ; but when they sat in the morning, and for six days in the week that time was more than doubled. So that taking the three Courts, the judicial power of the Court of Equity was nearly trebled. He would add another fact—the Recorder's report was with drawn which took up a considerable time; and a further most important charge was that the Chancellor was re lieved from the duties of the Bankruptcy Court, which occupied, him six or seven weeks in the year. That, it would be admitted, was a large increase of power, and some assistance was also given in the Master's office. Taking all these matters into consideration, it would be as well to see if they had not sufficient judicial power already, instead of adding more. It was a fact that the arrear was greater than before, after the Vice-Chancellor's Court was estab lished. He had a great suspicion and a great prej'adice against appointing new judges. It was not the expense— he would set that aside ; it was not the patronage, although th a t was a more p o werful argument ; but he was averse to the system if it were not abs olutel y necessar y . His main objection was that it was a very dangerous and a very bad precedent to create new judges. It was saying neither more nor less, than " if you don't exert yourself strenuously to do your business, you will always get help by an Act of Parliament creating new judges." He (Lord B.) had not been six months on the Woolsack, when he had been asked to create new Judges for one of the Com. mon Law Courts which had fallen into arrear. He had said " No, no, try and get rid of your arrear as we are doing," and the consequence was th at the arrear turned out to be temporary, and it was got r id of. He h oped their Lordships would consider the m atter full y be fore they came to any decision. If the new Judge was to have a power su bj ect to t h e Ch anc ellor, they would overwhelm that Court with t h e num ber of appeals. A g ain, suppose they abolished the Equity jurisdiction of the Court of Ex chequer, and transferred it to the new Judge. Was the Chief Judge in Equity to have an appellate jurisdiction over the Vice_ Chancellor and the Master of the Rolls, there would be a remission of appeals from the one to the other, and th e b us i ness wou ld be considerably increased. The course be had suggested on a former occasion was, to give an election to the party e ither to go by way of appeal to the Chief Judge, and to h a ve his decision final, or, if he chose, t o come to the House of Lords at once, and, as it were, per caltum. If that were the case, the parties would at once go to the Chief Judge, and all cases of importance would come to the House of Lords. If the appeals to their Lordships accumulated, the evil would right itself. Everybody who wanted justice, and not delay, would then go to the Chief Justice instead of to the House of Lords. Another very important subject of consideration was the propriety of separating as much as possible the judicial from fhe 'political functions of the Lord Chancellor, and constructing a better Court of Appellate Jurisdiction. This ought to be done. It was one of the most important rubjecta that could engage the attention of the Legisla ture and the public, and the profession even were not aware of the difficulties with which it was surrounded— but he would be ready to afford any assistance in his power for effecting those improvements. In conclusion, he begged to apologise to their Lordships for troubling them so long—more especially for troubling them so much about himself, but he had felt it necessary to contra diet some of the misstatements which he bad for a long time left unnoticed, knowing that the day must come when they would be satisfactoril) 1 answered..—( Hear, hear.) The LORD CHANCELLOR agreed with his Noble and Learned Friend who had just sat down that it would be most expedient and practicable to establish an appellate jurisdiction very different from that which at present ex isted in the country, and also that it was absolutely neces sary for the well being of the Court of Chancery, and but just to the suitors, that the head of that Court should have his attention exclusively directed to the business that came before it. He felt that so strongly, that in 1836 he had turned his attention to the subject, in the hope of remedy ing the acknowledged evils. The plan he had suggested was, that a permanent Judge should be appointed at the head of the Court of Chancery, and that the Keeper of the Great Seal should preside in that House, and . at the Ju dicial Committee of the Privy Council, at such times as be might not be employed in the House, but a majority of their Lordships threw out that Bill. His Noble and Learned Friend had all but approved of every part of that plan, and nothing would give him greater satisfaction than to carry into effect some of the suggestions his Noble and Learned Friend bad thrown out. He did not wish to keep the Appellate Jurisdiction within that House, but to have a distinct Court established. Having found the appeals reduced, and that he was able to keep them down, he had endeavoured to try how much time was occupied by a Chancellor in hearing original causes; he had heard sixty or seventy causes in the course of last year, and it should be recollected that such was the pressure of business in the Vice-Chancellor's Court that it was with difficulty any cause could be heard there, and therefore all short causes were struck off the list, conse quently they were all hearing causes. When Parliament was not sitting he was able to devote considerable time to the trial of causes ; he had done as much as he possibly could do, yet he had not been able to do anything worth talking of. The arrears in the Vice-Chancellor's Court were so great, that if he was to shut up his Court to-morrow, and refuse to hear any new causes, he would not be able to hear all that were now waiting for ... . . three years. It was impossible justice could be administered to her Majesty's subjects if the Court of Chancery re mained in its present state. Great addition of judicial power was required in that Court. He had hoped that this question would have been discussed free from party ; but it had pleased his Noble and Learned Friend to at tack nominally the Government, but really himself, be cause he had not brought forward some measure. Now his Noble and Learned Friend knew that at the beginning of the session he was endeavouring to ascertain;wh at measure he could bring forward to remedy this evil that would be likely to succeed. He would be willing to accept any thing. In 1836 his measure bad been opposed by some because they thought he asked too much, and by others because they thought he asked too little. If the evil had not become intolerable he should be un• willing to accept this part, lest it should delay the reform of the whole; but he would accept it as so much of the whole plan which must be brought forward to remedy the evils of the Court of Chancery. His Noble Friend had alluded to the state of business under Lord Hardwicke. He found the number of bills filed in the five years, 7rom 1761 to 1765 was 411 ; from 1831 to 1835 it was 1,283. Of petitions, in the former period, the annual average was 379, and in the latter 2,813, while the appeals in the former period amounted to 12 annually, and in the latter to 55. In 1812, the value of property in the Court of Chancery was 28,003,0701. in 6,266 causes, and at the present time it amounted to 40,600,0001. in 10,914 causes. He did not know what effect it might have had upon the health of his Noble and Learned Friend as a Judge sitting in the Court from ten in the morning till twelve at night, but he well knew it produced a most dis astrous effect upon his health as a counsel, who had to be prepared for the causes that would come on next morning, and he did not think a Judge, who had been sitting for twenty hours before, could be equally effective in the discharge of his duty. He thought a Judge should take time to consider of his judgment and refer to the authorities, otherwise his opinion would be little better than a guess ; and it was not because a Judge was a rapid one that his system should be adopted. It was not a wholesome system that did not refer to the authorities. Although this plan, by creating two new Judges would double his labours, yet ho would accept it, and he hoped he would carry his plan further. He also approved of the other part of the plan which prevented a Court of Law sitting as a Court of Equity. It was impossible that any person could be better employed than in getting down the arrear of causes in the Court of Chancery. After that great object was accom plished, there would be no difficulty in finding employment for the Judges. If the arrcar was got rid of he believed the business would be very much increased.—( Hear, hear.) Why in the- Vices Chancery during the three years that Court was in arrear, the average number of causes was only five hundred and four, while for the three years after that arrear had been got rid of, the num ber was 760. Under all the circumstances, he believed the public would derive a very considerable advantage from the proposition of the Noble and Learned Lord, and it should have his cordial support. Lord L ANGD ALE was glad to find that the present discussion had been characterised by a total absence of all party feeling. He concurred with his Noble and Learned Friend that the arrear of causes in the Court of Chancery was a great and public evil. He was glad to find that evil and that inconvenience generally admitted, and that all parties were ready to provide a remedy for it. He feared it would he impossible to provide a perfect remedy, for the inconvenience arising from the political functions which the Constitution attaced to the office of Lord Chan cellor, and which required so large a share of his atten tion in that House. That was a state of things for which he feared there could be no perfect and complete remedy. He doubted exceedingly whether, if a regular equity Judge was appointed for the Court of Exchequer, that the Judge would have sufficient employment. If, on the contrary, there was another Judge appointed for the Court of Chancery to whom all the business of the Equity side of the Exchequer would be transferred, that would be attended with very great advantages. Now, with respect to appeals, it appeared to him that it was quite unnecessary there should be three hearings of a case, or appeals, as therwere termed from one branch of the Court of Chancery to another. He thought it would be quite sufficient to have a direct appeal to the House of Lords, because in their re-hearings new points were frequently brought forward, and the parties were taken by surprize from the real facts of the case being concealed on the first hearing.—( Hear, hear.) Again, in the Common Law Courts, there was a great want of uniformity, which frequently led to much embarrassment, so that when there was an excess of business in one court and a deficiency in another, cases could not be transferred from one to the other. He would be glad to see that remedied in some way. He had said more than he in. tended, but he was very much interested in the subject, and aas glad to find that some steps were about being taken to remedy the evils which were so generally complained cf. Lord LYNDHURST and the LORD CHANCEL LOR said a few words in explanation. Viscount MELVILLE said one great grievance was the interval that frequently elapsed between the hearing of appeals, and the delivery of judgment. He knew the time of the Noble and Learned Lord on the woolsack was pretty well occupied with attending in that house and performing his duties elsewhere, but he trusted the Noble and Learned Lord would direct his attention to this subject. The LORD CHANCELLOR said that Term would end on Wednesday next, a few days after which the Court would not sit, and he should avail himself of that opportunity by turning his attention to the subject, and seeing if he could grapple with souse of the evils. The motion was then agreed to, and their Lordships Adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS, JUNE 7. The SPEAKER took the Chair at the usual hour. Mr. Crafer presented returns from the Treasury. On the motion of Mr. NEELD, the Harrow School Estate Bill was read a second tirne. Mr. BROTH ERTON presented a petition against the Redcar Harbour Bill. The Ainsworth (Somerset) Inclosure Bill was read a third time and passed. On the motion of Sir C. BURRELL, Blunt's E3tate Bill was read a second time. CHELTENHAM IMPROVEMENT BILL. Gen. LYG ON moved the third reading of the Chelten ham Improvement Bill. Mr. BERKELEY, in moving that the Bill be read a third time this day six months, remarked that he would not again go over the arguments which he used on Tuesday last, but would state his objections as briefly as possible. By making the landlords liable to be rated instead of the tenants, more than one half of the 101. constituency would be disfranchised. Another monstrosity was, that the Commissioners could carry on their proceeding with closed doors. They had also the power to raise 4,0001. in rates, and dispose of that amount without being responsible to the rate-payers. He therefore moved that the Bill be read a third time this day six months.— (Hear, hear.) Captain PEC HELL seconded the amendment. Sir C. LEMON requested the House, before coming to a vote on this subject, to consider what they were about, or they might do an act of gross injustice. No objection of the kind now brought forward was raised in Committee, and if the matter was so important to the town of Cheltenham as had been represented, the parties interested would certainly have appeared by Counsel, which they could have done at a small expense.—( Hear.) It would have still been open to the opposers of the Bill, to appear before the Committee by their attornies, or the Honorable Member himself ( Mr. G. Berkeley) could have advocated the cause with great zeal and ability. The Bill had been recommended by a Committee of that House, surely the House would not now at once decide in utter disregard of their Committee's determination, and render fruitless the expense which had been incurred. ,Mr. COURTENAY said he was indifferent as to the fate of this Bill, but he was not indifferent as to the cha racter of that House, and he thought it most atrocious that attempts should have been made in a leading Radical newspaper—(" Oh, oh," and " Hear, hear,")—to excite party feeling in that House upon a question of private busi ness.—( Hear, hear.) From a balance of the statements in favour of, and against, the Bill, he was brought to the conclusion that the Bill ought to pass, especially as 353 had petitioned against the Bill, and 415 for it, and the rate-payers were four to one in its favour.—( Hear.) Colonel SEALE asked whether it was true that voters would be disfranchised by the Bill ? Mr. C. BERKELEY said it was; for more than half the 101. householders would be disfranchised by their land lords being rated instead of themselves,—( Hear.) Mr. GODSON—The Honourable Member has misin formed the House. Every householder who pleases, may be rated.—(Hear, hear, hear.) Mr. CLAY rose amidst great noise and calls for a divi sion. He said, let us throw nut the Bill if the House think ] it just, but not upon misapprehension as to matter of fact. —( Ikar, bear.) I assert that this Bill does not disrran chise a single voter, for every man paying his rate is entitled to vote.—( Loud cries of " Ilear, hear,") The clause as to rating was similar to that contained in all Metropolitan parochial Bills. He wished to know whether there was any body of Commissioners appointed throughout the kingdom to whom a discretion was not left to take a vote with closed doors? He wished to know whether there was any Sessions of the Peace where the Magistrates were not at liberty to exclude the public ? and he wished to know whether there was any town council tinder the Municipal Corpofations Act which had not a similar discretion? — (Hear, hear.) He did not think they were acting wisely !it making a private Bill like the present a party que,tion, and be would not permit his friends near him to go to a di vision under a perfect misrepresentation of the facts. After a few words from Mr. Codring.ton, Mr. Grantley Berkeley, Sir J. J. Guest, and Lord Granville Somerset, strangers were ordered to withdraw, and the House divcdcd. when there appeared : For the third reading 177 Against it .. Majority against the third reading...-9 The Bill is consequently lost. The Liverpool Churches Bill was read a third time and passeo. Sir JOHN HOBH OUSE brought up the Report of the Nottingham St. Mary's Enclosure Bill. On the motion of Captain GORDON the Fraserburgh Harbour Bill was read a third time and passed. The time for bringing up the Report of the Norwich Im provement Bill was enlarged to Monday next. On the motion of Mr. M‘K INNON, the Lords' amend ments to the London and Southampton Railway Bill were agreed to. On the motion of the same HON. MEMBER, the White Lead Company's Bill was read a third time and passed. Mr. D. BRO WNE brought up the Report of the Com mittee on the Ploy Navigation Bill. On the motion of Mr. BROTHERTON, the Lords amendments to the Manchester and Liverpool Extension Railway Bill were agreed to. Sir C. FILME R presented nine petitions from parishes in Kent against national education. Sir E. KNATCHBULL presented twelve petitions , with a similar prayer. Mr. GREENE presented three petitions to the same I effect. Sir E. KNATCHBULL presewed three petitions from fruit growers in Kent, praying for protection agains' the foreign grower. BALLOT. Mr. GROTE gave notice that on Tuesday, the 18th .nst., he should move t leave to bring in a Bill for the purpose of taking the vote's of Parliamentary electors by ballot.—(Cheers.) PRISONS (SCOTLAND) BILL. Mr. FOX NIAULE postponed the Order of the Day for going into Committee on the Scotch Prisons Bill till Wednesday next. NATIONAL EDUCATION. Lord DUNG ANNON was anxious to know whether it was the intention of the Noble Lord to bring forward the question of national education on Friday next, as the Canada question was likely to be brought on on Thursday, and the discussion might be adjourned to another day. Lord J. RUSSELL conceived that the discussion on the Canada question might be concluded on Thursday evening. Should that not be the case, he would then post pone his motion on national education to the Monday fol lowing. JAMAICA. Mr. GODSON had a petition to present from the planters, praying to be heard by Counsel against the 'Go vernment of Jamaica Bill, and wished to ask whether the Hon. Member opposite objected to Counsel being heard. Mr. LABOUC HE RE did not wish to throw any impe diments in the way, but thought the arguments of Mr. Burge would be quite sufficient.—( Hear, hear.) Mr. GODSON would not press the matter, but merely present the petition. Mr. M‘LEAN gave notice that he should to-morrow ask whether Government intended to consider the case of Captain Bloom and the officers who distinguished them selves by cutting out the Caroline. NEW BRIDGE AT ATHLONE. Mr. JOHN O'CONNELL asked whether it was the intention of the Government to propose the erection of a new bridge at Athlone; and if it was, whether they meant to introduce a clause to that effect in the 13111 for the improvement of the navigation of the Shan ,or to make it a separate measure. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHE QUER said it was intended to adopt the same course, as to the Bill of Athlone, as had been adopted last year. FOREIGN LOTTERIES. In answer to Sir E. SUGDEN, The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said it would be the endeavour of the Government to take some measure for putting down Foreign Lotteries in this country METkOPOLITAN IMPROVEMENTS. In answer to Mr. HERRIES, The RIGHT HON. GENTLEMAN also stated that a Bill was in preparation for carrying into effect the recommen dations of the Metropolitan Improvement Committee. Colonel PERCEVAL wished to ask the Noble Lord the Secretary for Ireland if he was aware that on the 4th of May the Magistrates of the county of Sligo, assembled in ac cordance with the summons of the Lord Lieutenant of the county, had agreed, amongst other resolutions, all of which were agreed to unanimously, to the following :—That several of the late murders and assaults recently committed had been committed with sticks loaded with lead or iron, and that the habit of carrying sticks loaded in this destruc tive manner was becoming common in the country. They, therefore, called the attention of the Lord Lieutenant to the necessity of re-enacting the provisions of the 11 Gco. 11., cap. 10, which prohibited the carrying of sticks loaded in this manner, and subjected those persons carrying them to punishment." He wished to be informed if it was the intention of her Majesty's Government to introduce any legislative enactment in conformity with this unanimous recommen dation of a meeting of the Magistrates of Sligo, com posed of men of all parties, an! 'umbering among its members Catholics as well as Prote.,:c...is, _ _ Lord MO RPETH said he had dir:3,ted the attention of the Law Officers of the Crown to this recommendation of the Magistrates of Sligo, and he hoped soon to receive their report, and embody its substance in a Bill. Mr. F. FR ENCH wished to know whether the Chancel lor of the Exchequer had any objection to lay on the table of the House the Survey Report made by Mr. Barry with respect to the line of the Ulster Canal. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER had no objection to the Report being laid on the table of the House. ADJOURNMENT OF THE HOUSE. On the motion of Lord JOHN RUSSELL it was agreed that the House at its rising should adjourn to Monday. PRISONS BILL. Lord JOHN RUSSELL moved the Order of the Day for the further consideration of the Report on the Prisons Bill. Mr. KEMBLE present. .d a petition from Dulwich against the 14th clause of that Bill. Mr. PAKINGTON said it ',had been his intention to have opposed the further consideration of the Report on the Bill, but in consequence of the advice of several friends it was his intention to postpone his opposition to the third reading. Mr. WA KLEY wished to make an addition to the sth clause, to which he thought there could be no objection, as the utility of such a provision must be apparent to every one. The proposal which he made was that the surgeon should keep a journal containing a full description, written in English, of the medicine and diet which might be ordered for any sick prisoner. Mr. AGLIONBY seconded the amendment. Lord JOHN RUSSELL had no objection to the in production of these words, because he thought the pro vision likely to be a very useful one. Sir E. KNATCHBULL very much doubted the ex pediency of the proposed addition. Mr. F. MAULE thought there could be no opposition to the clause. In any case of death in a prison an in quiry was necessary, and it was surely proper that both the coroner and the jury should be able to know what treatment the prisoner had received from day to day. Mr. SANFORD thought there was a journal kept in all well regulated prisons, but it might not be so full as might be wished ; it would be satisfactory to he enabled to refer to such an authentic document. He.would support the proposition of the I-lon. Member for Finsbury. Mr. WARBURTON was of opinion that a register should be kept. Lord DUNGANNON thought it was extremely de sirable that the additional words proposed by the Hon. Member for Finsbury should be inserted. Mr. WAKLE Y had abstained from stating his views fully on the subjectoas it might be thought he being Co roner, had some peculiar interest in it ; but he would state that it was impossible to gain any information from the journals as they were now kept. The amendment was agreed to. Mr. AGLIONBY was of opinion a rule should be laid down by which professional men and friends of prisoners might be admitted to visit them. He merely threw out this suggestion at first for the consideration of the Govern. ment ; but, on the third reading of the Bill he should move a clause to that effect, and would press it to a division. Mr. FOX MAULE agreed it was necessary that some specific rule should be laid down; although he felt no doubt that the Magistrates of England would not refuse admission under peculiar circumstances, it was necessary to establish some rule ; that rule he should be prepared to submit to the House upon the third reading. Lord TEIGNMOUTH said it was not his intention, at the present moment, to oppose the further progress of the. Bill, but he should propose the clause of which he had given notice on the third reading. Lord DUNGANNON thought the Noble Lord oppo site (Russell) ought to give due notice of the time when it was proposed to proceed further with the Bill, in order that a sufficient number of Members might be present to dis cuss it. After a few observations from Mr. BET HELL, Lord JOHN RUSSELL said he would give ample notice of the day when the third reading was to take place. The Bill was then ordered to be engrosse d, and to be read a third time on Monday se'nnight. ECCLESIASTICAL DUTIES AND REVENUES BILL. Lord DUNG A NNONvvished lam tiokne any specific owwhetherth day eN on Lord opposite (Russell) could which this Bill could be discussed. Lord J. RUSSELL sai d that he could not, althou g h he was most anxious that the Bill should be proceeded with. On the motion of Mr. PAKINGTON, the Clerk of the Peace Bill was further considered, and ordered to be read a third time on Monday. The Committee on the Imprisonment for Debt Act Amendment Bill was postponed till Thursday next. Mr. MILES presented a petition against the Jamaica Government Bill. Sir G. GREY presented a petition from some place p t r h i e n t ung o s e f a t o ca a r d r o c p c t t such o m n e o l f s u t r h e e s infi wo uld a n i d n , s u p r r e a y th in e g Scriptures. EVENING IMITION. Mr. ESTCOURT presented a to•tition against the Bill founded on the 4th Report of the • Ecclesiastical Commissioners. • Mr. KK M I3LE presented several petitions ag ainst the Governm , nt scheme o f e d ucat i on f rom p l aces in S urrey." Similar petitions were presented by Lord Morpctit from Dewsbury, Ossett, and Mirfield ; and by Lord Dun gannon from places in Oxford, Sussex, and Durham. The latter Noble Lord also presented a petition from Birmingham, praying for a provision for the Church in Canada. Mr. HODGES presented a petition from the fruit sellers of Maidstone, praying the House to take into con silention the subject of the fruit duties. Col. PERCIVA L presented a petition complaining of the conduct of the Sheriffs in Sligo, in returning juries.-- The petition was ordered to be printed.. Mr. W. WILLIAMS presented a petition from Mr. Samuel Wells, containing important facts relative to the financial affairs of the country, and suggesting improve ments in the management ;hereof.—Ordered to be printed. Mr. P. THOMSON presented a petition from the becrsellers of Manchester and Salford against the proposed alterations in the Beer Bill ; a petition from the mer chants, &c. of Manchester, praying the House to pass some measure for aff,rding facilities for inland bonding, and petition from the Town Council of Manchester to the same effect. Also a petition in favour of an international ex change of b00k. , , &c. Mr. PACK E presented a petition from Protestant Dis;enters of Leicester against the late Government plan of education. Mr. O'CONNELL presented a petition from Mr. O'Malley Irwin, complaining that he was plain tiff in an action in the Court of Queen's Bench, against the Marquis of Normanby, and that he was defendant in an-ither case, which had been set down for the 11th May, but which had, by the Marshal of the Court been changed two days, whereby petitioner was pre vented from making his proper defence. Sir T. FR EMA NTLE presented petitions against the Government plan of education. Mr. R. STE UART presented petitions for a penny postage, and against the Corn-laws. Mr. BAINE S presented petitions for and against the late Government scheme of education. Capt. PE CHE LL presented a petition from Brighton , signed by upwards of 3,000, in favour of a penny postage. Sir J. GRAHAM presented a number of petitions from Carlisle, and various places in Cumberland, all against tba Government scheme of education. The Speaker then (quarter to seven) left the Chair. , At half-past eight the S PEAKER resume d t h e Ch a i r , and Mr. LABO UC HERE moved the Order of the Day for the second reading of the Jamaica Bill, which having been agreed to, on the motion of:the same Right Hon. Gentleman, Mr. Bufics, the Agent for the Jamaica Assembly, ap peared at the bar, and addressed the " House" (consisting , then, of about a dozen Members) in opposition to the Bill. He contended that the effect of the decision of the House upon the last Bill had been to decide that the constitution of Jamaica should be preserved no t i n name only, but in reality; that the Assembly should exist, not in shadow merely, but in substance. The Bill now before them was a fraud upon the House, which had come to that decision, and upon the country, which bad sanctioned the justice of that decision. The effect of the Bill was to make the House of Assembly frame its Will to that of the Council , and thereby give the complete c o n t rott l t o th e Colonial Office. Was that, he would ask, the abandonment of the Bill that had been lately introduced ? The House of As sembly was left in name only, by the provisions of the Bill. The Bill gave to the Governor and Council power to re - , rive all temporary laws—by reviving t a x la ws they would infringe and abolish the 18th Geo. 3d, chap. 12, by whic h this country renounced the right of imposing taxes on the people of the colonies. The Assembly of Jamaica alone had the power to impose taxes. They might think an expiring tax law was no longer necessary, but under th o Bill before the House the Government, by the advice an d consent of the Council, had the power to continue such.l law; this, in fact, repealing the 18th Geo. 3d. That 1 31 h, did as much as the former Bill to annihilate the powers o' the Assembly of Jamaica ; it transferred its powers to the Government and Council; in fact, it degraded it from 1 " functions, and that upon false grounds, for the Assembly had determined to abstain from Legislation only until they were left in the free exercise of their inherent rights' There did not exist any nece ss ity f or t h e mea sure e°'; proposed. There was nothing in the proceedings bcf ° . l. the House which justified it in going to the extrewq which this Bill contemplated. It was distinguishable 1: no respect from the former Bill, either in its tendency subvert the Constitution cf Jamaica, or in its tendency.w subvert the popular branch of the Legislature, and to deri vo ~ it of its exclusive privileges. There was one circumstance which peculiarly distinguished this Bill from the o ther it supposed the Assembly would proceed to Legislation•-•• that thus fctterrd in the exercise of its power, it would 11 19 : ceed to constitute a mock Assembly, the shadow of thl o o 1 which the Constitution intended they should possess. .'n Bill, he believed, was proposed with the view of inducal the Assembly not to resume its functions. He trusted, however, that it would follow the fate of the other, for oe its doing so depended the prosperity of Jamaica. Counsel then withdrew. Mr. LABOUC HERE then moved that the Bill be committed. He meant to propose an amendment, giving plenty of time for the Assembly to re-enact the necessary laws. Sir E. B. SUGDEN gave notice that he would move that the first clause be omitted—he would take the sense of the House upon it. Lord JOHN RUSSELL understood that the Right Hon. Gentleman would not take the sense of the House , upon going into Committee, but would do so on the first clause. Sir E. B. SUGDEN said the Noble Lord had under stood him correctly. The Bill was then ordered to be committed on Monday- Mr. VILLIERS moved to re commit the Waterford Fever Hospital Bill, in order that the Committee might be to insert clauses enabling the Grand Jury of the county of Waterford to present money, and repay the county of the city of Waterford certain sums expended !II relieving the sick of the county of Waterford, in so u hospital. On the motion of Mr. HODGErS, a Select Committee was ordered to be appointed to consider the duties UP ° the Importation of Ripe Fruit. Mr. P. THOMPSON w ou ld n o t o ppose the met. e ,,, but upon the simple ground th a t th e i nqu i r y w ould tend .`', show that, in consequenc e o f th e c h ange made W s year, in the article of apples, n o i n j ur y had bF e t done to the home grower, for in Antrim they were P L i i s double the price they w e re i n th e p rev i ous year. 1 s : 0 thought it was too much to say that i n a b a d a pple yea e ,l o this country the community should b e d e p r ived et opportunity of getting a supply from a b roa d.—(Cheee% ) i If the House were to oppose the introduction o f applee ; „, a duty of five per cent., they would be dePa i r t :p from those wise principles of fre e t ra d e w hi c h he bar' honour of assisting Mr. Canning and Mr. Huileisson troducing.—( Cheers. ) After a few words fiom Sir E. KNATCHBULL , t ,, Mr. WALL ACE said he sho u ld object to the aPP ul ' e , ment of the Committee. Were it n o t for the intro & tion of foreign fruit into this country the poorer classes would not be able to rejoice in an apple-dumpling a t °be Sunday.—( Laughter.) He mea n t t o t a k e th e sense Home on the appointment of this Committee. Mr. HERR IE S thought that a Committee ought to b e appointed. Mr. M. PHILLIPS would not oppose a fair inq uir e ) ; into the subject, and would not imitate the conduct s , Hon. Members opposite, wh o , w h en th e C or n-law St e tion was under discussion, ref u s e d t o a pp o i n t a Cony:cut' of Inquiry. Mr. GODSON and Mr. DARBY supported the PP pointment of the Committee. Mr. HODGES replied. After which the House divided, when the numbers wer e ''' . For the appointment of the Committee 26 Against it l4 Majority _l2 O:, the motion of Mr. GODSON, the name of D. W. Harvey was added to the Select Committee the County Courts Biil. The House adjourned at Twelve o'Clock. COMMUNICATION WITH ENG LAND. (From the Dublin Evening Mail.) The following are the new arrangements for the t rans ' mission of the mails between the metropolises of the two countries, now about to be carried into effect t , The Day Mail from London, on the 20th instant, wil.l reach Liverpool at seven P.m. the same day, and th t City of Dublin Steam Packet Company's mail p ack - is to carry over the mails brought by it, leaving L ive ~' pool for Kingstown as soon after that hour as the mote can be put on board. The Night Mail leaving London on the 20th instant will reach Liverpool at half-past six A.m., on the 21st, and the Government packet on that day is to leave Liverpool for Kingstown at seven A.m., or as soon after that hour as the mails can be put on board. The Morning Packet, which now leaves Holyhead at seven A.M., is to cease on and after the 21st inst. The Evening packet, leaving Holyhead at seven p.S., is to continue as at present. RETURN MAILS. The City .of Dublin Company's mail packet is to leave Kingstown at half-past five P.M., on the 21st inst., or as soon after that hour as the mails can b e pu t on board. The Government packet is to le ave KiIIgStOVVIT half-past eleven, P.M. , on the 21 st inst., or as soon after that hour as the mails can be put on board. The packet for Holyhead is to leave Kingstown a t eight, A.M., on the 19th instant, or as soon after that hour a froms ailscan a b rt e fo p r u d t , aosnatbpoarersde:tt.o r eturn tO Holyhead whenever practi ca bl e , i n t i me f or the In coach a" them thence to H The Irish (inland) mails arc, we understand to b e , henceforth desp a t c h e d f rom the Post-office at nine o at night. sir\EVdewaarrde K requested to state that Mr. Cor nelius O'Brien h as pa i red for three wee k s w i th Li eut .-Gene ral errison. f The last letters from the family of the Du ke Buccleuch s t a t e th a t his Grace still suffers from indist P tion. The whole of the children had first the m easle aninastly the yellow fever, of which malady one of the ° died. tic]] Our town is at present filling very fast , so al so that maelywri of the principal hotels have been al mosto: able to acmodate their guests. This influx of vis ito r s is prubiblylkowing to the return of the fine weather.--- Cheltenhuni Chronicle. A marriage is said to be on the to is beticee9 Sir Thom.inNWhicheote, Bart., of Asvvorby- hall' b el i e :b . ; tershire, and Miss Marianne Beckett, niece to Sir Beckett.