The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1865-03-14 00:00:00

Imperial Varliament.

HOUSE OF LORDS.

Mol4l3lT.—The business of the House was confined to
a disouseion on the Military Hospitals of Node), and
Woolwich.
TOILBDAT.—The aspect of the House was very different
from that which it has generally worn of late. The
Lord, mustered in force, and the Commons were
largely represented at the bar and in the galleries. At
the end of the quarter of an hour devoted as usual to
petitions and private Bills, the Lord Chancellor quitted
the woolsack, and crossing the mystic line which is
drawn between it and the House proper, made a state-
ment which was listened to with anxious silence.
Having learned, he said, what had passed in " another
place," he deemed it due to himself, to the House, to
tho Government of which he was a member, Lad the
office he held, to explain all the circumstances as far as
they related to himself, bearing on Mr. Edmunds'
resignation and pension. In 1843 Mr. Edmunds was
appointed clerk of the patents. His salary was fixed at
£4OO, and he was bound to surrender all fees to the
Exchequer. Nine years later he was made clerk to the
commissioners of patents, with another £6OO a year.
Last year such grave complaints reached the ears of the
cominisaioners as to the conduct of th.ir clerk, that
Mr. Greenwood, Eolicitor to the Treasury, and Mr.
Hiudmaroh, (.O, were directed to inquire into the
matter. In July these gentlemen reported that Mr.
Edmunds had misapplied public moneys to the amount
of £2,681, and suggested his dismissal He was sum•
mooed before the Lord Chancellor and two other equity
judges to answer the eharues against him, but anticipated
the possible result of that inquiry by resigning, of his
own accord, the offices of clerk of patents and clerk to
the patent commiseioners. After consultation with the
Master of the Rolls, the Lord Chancellor accepted the
resignation, but with an intimation that he would take
the opinion of Lord Cranworth and Lord Kingsdown as
to the oouree which it would be his duty to adopt with
reference to two other appointments held by Mr.
Edinunds, as reading clerk and clerk of committees in
the House of Lords. Boon afterwards Mr. Edmunds
replied to the report against him, rend restored £7,872
on account of his defalcations. In a second report,
however, Messrs. Hinduaarch and Greenwood declared
that £9,100 was still due to the Treasury by the late
clerk to the patent commissioners. On the second or
third day of the session Mr. Edmunds received notice
from the Lord Chancellor that he intended to lay
beforb the House of Lords, the report as to his conduct,
and to move for a committee of inquiry. Mr. Edmunds,
through his solicitor, pleaded for time, In order that be
might receive " some communications from abroad,"
and on the day when the Lord Chancellor was about to
bring the subject forward, petitioned for leave to resign
his offices in the House of Lords. That petition was
laid on the table, referred to the Standing Committee
on
.the " office of
.clerk of Parliaments," and

acceded to.- The Lord Chancellor had then rather
awkward personal admission to make. He did not
tell the committee all he knew about Mr. Edmunds,
and he was aware that his neglect to do so might be
" open to observation." But he justified himself
on the ground that the law °fibers of the Crown
had reported that no criminal proceedings would be
taken against Mr. Edmunds ; that if any civil claim
was established against him, his pension would be
liable to meet it ; and that the committee were not
competent to investigate charges which had no reference
to the office of reading clerk. His lordship further
explained that on his recommendation, one of his
relations had been appointed by the Prime Minister to
the office of clerk of patents, and that it was not at
present intended to fill up the clerkship to the patent
oommissioneri. He concluded by moving the appoint-
ment of a committee " to inquire into all the circum-
stances connected with the resignation by Mr. Leonard
Edmunds of his office of reading clerk, &c., and also
into all the circumstances connected with the grant of
a retiring pension to Mr. Edmunds. The Earl of
Derby cionceirred in the propriety of appointing the com-
mittee, but mentioned the report that Mr. Edmunds had
consented to resign rather than wait for dismissal, because
he had received an intimation that if he took the former
course the Chancellor would not oppose the grant of a
pension. This brought the Lord Chancellor again "into
the House," nor was it in his usually calm and
mellifluous accents that he indignantly repudiated
having held out to Mr. Edmund's any such inducement
to resign—The Earl of raplay, of course, expressed him-
self bound to accept thieflenial given on the " personal
honour" of the noble lord, but intimated that he had
positive authority for the statement that he had made.
In the course of some further observations, he also
referred to rumours affecting a person in high station,
as to the terms on which Mr. Edmunds had obtained
and held his place at the Patent-office—A desultory
discussion ensued, in the course of which the Lord
Chancellor more than once interrupted the various
speakers—each time with increased vehemence and
asperity. But eventually, after the Government had,
through Lord Granville, given a pledge that the inquiry
should be full and unrestricted, the motion was agreed
to; the committee being also directed to inquire into
the circumstances under which Mr. Edmunds resigned
his place at the Patent-office.
THURSDAY.—The Lord Chancellor introduced a Bill
to complete the abolition of imprisonment for debt which
was read a first time. The committee was appointed to
inquire into the circumstances in reference to the
resignatien by Mr. 19 iintinde of the various offices he
' held under Government, and also into the dream.
stances connected with the grant uf a retiring penaion
to him. _

Farnay.—The Lord Chancellor moved the second
reading of the Attorneys' and Solicitors' Remuneration
Bill.—Lord St. Leonards opposed the Bill as most mis-
chievous, inasmuch as it would abolish all the regula-
tions of the courts for the protection of clients, and
legalise bargains, of which they had experience in the
Swynfen and Kennedy case. He also objected to the
clause allowing attorneys acting as trustees to charge
their eoste, the result of which would be that the
attorneY wotild be able to instruct himself to tax his
own costs, and, under this Bill, to make a legal bargain
with himself.—The Lord Chancellor said the Bill was in
substance the same as that of last year, when it was
read a second time after a debate. His object was to
&leer the only relic in our institutions of the ancient
absurdity of attempting to regulate the remuneration
of professions and trades. The trustee clause was sus-
ceptible of amendment, bet all the rest of the Bill he
recommended with the greatest confidence.—Lord
Chelinsford Considered the Bill to be most vicious in
principle with respect to oonVeyaileing. He urged the
Scotch system of a scale of remuneration &wording to
the value of the property. On a division, the Bill was
thrown out by a majority of 23 to 21.