The Press.
London, England, 1856-04-05 00:00:00

COUNTY COURT JUDGES.

Mr. ROEBUCK, on Tuesday, moved a resolution
that an address be presented to her Majesty, praying
that directions be given to the Lords of the Treasury
that the salaries hereafter paid zo the County-court
judges should be equal in amount, permanent, and
not less than 1,5001. per annum. The object he had
in view, he said, was to improve the administration
of justice ; and he proceeded to show, first, the way
in which bu-iness had accumulated upon the County
Courts, which had now the greater part of the civil
judicature of the country upon their hands ; and,
secondly, the dependence of the judges of those
courts upon the Government, in being compelled to
come " hat in hand " to the Treasury for an increase
of their salaries from 1,2001. to the maximum of
1,5001. a year. He appealed to facts which he con-
sidered furnished evidence that applications for an
advance of salary were. decided upon, not with re-
ference to the merit of the judges, but to their con-
nections and parliamentary influence. Looking at
the amount and at the quality of the business dis-
posed of by these judges, I,sool.lyear, be contended,
was not too large a salary for them. Where high
qualifications were demanded they should be liberally
paid for; and judges especially should be not only
above suspicion, but exempt from the cares of the
world and the anxieties of .ife.
Lord STANLEY seconded the motion. He insisted
upun the impulicy as well as injustice of allowing the
salaries of these judges to fluctuate at the arbitrary
discretion of the Treasury. So long, also, as a gra-
duated scale in the salaries was persisted in there
would always exist suspicion of partiality and favor-
itism. He appealed to the opinion of Lord Brougham
and to the heads of the leg al profession that one uniform
rate of payment should be fixed; and in order to
establish one uniform rate it was indispensable to
raise those salaries which were below the present
maximum to that amount. _ _

Sir G. GREY said, Parliament bad at first estab-
lished a minimun and a maximum sum, and had
imposed the duty of discrimination upon the Trea-
sury. The Government felt that it was ill-judged
economy to underpay judges ; but, at the same time,
they had not deemed it consistent with their duty to
the public to propose to raise salaries limited by
Parliament and payable out of the Consolidated
Fund; and he asked the house not hastily to pledge

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itself upon this question, but to wait until certain
bills came under its consideration, and until it was
in fuller possession of all the facts. He moved the
previous question.
Mr. WILSON entered very fully into the grounds upon
which the Trea.mry acted in increasing the salaries of
county-court judges. The principle fixed on was the
amount of work devolving on each. In the selec-
tions made there could be no favoritism. The whole
matter was arranged by numbers, and the names of
the claimants were not even known.

Sir J. PAKINOTON suggested to Mr. Roebuck
whether, after the speech of Sir George Grey, it was
necessary to divide the house. The most important
of the two questions to which Mr. Roebuck's speech
was addressed was the expediency of equalising the
salaries of the County-court judges, and he was
glad to hear from Sir George Grey that the Govet n-
ment approved their equalisation. The other ques-
tion related to the amount of the uniform salary, and
if the motion were pressed to a division he should
v ota in favour of the salary proposed by Mr. Roebuck.
After a short explanation by Sir G. GREY, and
some remarks in support of the motion by Sir G.
PEI:HELL and Mr. MAI.INS,
Mr. GLADSTONE said it appeared to him that it
might be a great question whether, on a reconstruc-
tion of the duties of the office of the County-court
judges, with the addition of other functions, there
ought not to be an alteration of their salaries ; but,
with the knowledge that fit men could be sound to
occupy that otfice, and who sought to occupy it, at
even 1,2001. a year, it was a question which, in his
opinion, ought to be kept open for discussion.
Mr. DISRAELI thought there was nothing more
objectionable than that the feelings of the house
relative to the appropriation of the public money
should be left to be collected by such a desultory
debate. In the present state of our finances he did
not think it wise for the house to pledge itself as
to the amount of salary to be paid to public servants.
Mr. ROEBUCK then withdrew his motion.