The Express.
London, England, 1852-11-30 00:00:00

obosebt die tamer regretted nisi twee, end though he
wwa el by no MOM oppose the wood radial' of the bill,
would take relit.= a rep gestiai sore
setter
In which it be hiss tbe till was
worth reconsideration. maim wad parcipal point on
whic°l the hoe. and learned gentleman addressed the house
was on the desirability of 'Maisie( these forma of mass
which the hon. and learned rothaten stated hie inteotimi
so shoiisb. Hr hoped the besmears and foamed g•-
tonal would direct his attention to ibis matter, so r
to law tun a more eatistesteeo footing. Be with
',meet to judgment. Under the repeat system time
was acrid technical judgment for every hem of action in
• c0,0n,0, law, but if they abolished those forms, how was
ow Judas to act? (Hear, hear.) The boo. gentleman
wouctuded by ezpressing his general satisfaction with the
sal
.Su A. COCKBURN, being still • member of dm Cosi-
wed or Commission, wished to say • few words on the
wahret. Ile thought it would be a great pity if the bill
were not read a attend time at once; and if these mottos
of detail were prematurely brought before the home,
ieetead of being left for consideration in committee. (Hear
heir lie quite concurred in what had jest been said b;
the b at. and learned gentleman the member for Kidder.
• r, ly, that the bill was /really in advance of the
I"*.n.ili‘b Common Law Procedure Bill. (Hear, boar.) The
abolition of the forms of action had born noomatoodod by
the ,oramissiuners, but the proposal meeting with the dim•
approral of certain great legal authorities, who hedlneenie
sleeted les: the commissioners should be gear to too
greet length', they had been obliged to withdrew
th, m to save the bill. (Hear, hear.) Ile very
seat regretted this, and be tnoted that the
principle would be intended to England. (Hear, hiter,)
an, commissioners had under consideration at that mos
meat many very important questions that would farm
matter for their report, which would be before the house
More their nest meeting. Amongst them was the toes-
ti,ni of the various instances in which the equitable jun"-
Lewin of the Court of Chancery might be transferred to
the .vutts of common law. Fur instance, there was die-
eotery by the ealimination of the parties to the suit. They
(the conimissiosers) would propose that the common law
everts should have the power, by no expensive procedure
in equity, but by simply bringing up the parties sad pet-
ting them to the torture of cress.ezanniastioe, to enable the
jade* to strike out the pleas. Bo also these who had only
en equitable right, or who had only an equitable defence to
a suit, should bare power to commence, or to plead to an
action at common law. (Lien, bear.) Again, by the pre-
sent rule a common law court, though it could give &mew,
for a breach of a cataract, had no power to order
a specific performance , but he (sir A. Cockburn)
could see no reason in the world why it should not be able
to do both, and the commissioners proposed so to extend wad

mould the order of mandamus as ihat it should effect this
most desirable improynnent. (Hear, hear.) The smounin
lows would Aeolic. propese to do away with all these
technicalities which were nothing more than mere obsolete
forms. They would also suggest for consideration the
question whether juries should still be required to be One-
IBM Ma in their decisions ; and what was even of greater
importance, whether the judge should be left by consent, as'
in the comity courts, to deal with the question of fact, in-
stead or compelling the parties ta every ease to hare yo.
tautw to the more expensive sad less satisfactory decision
of +jury. (Cheen.) Ile (Sir A. Cockburn) felt that one
frown why the County courts had proved so successful was
lb-circumstance thee if in the course of the trial asythlag
should turn up, there being only one judge, he could clew
the books and order the parties to come beeore him again;
whereas, in the superior courts, if anything occured by ear.
prim, the party bad no remedy but to sutler a nonauit and
to act a new trial on the payment of costs. (Hear, hear.)
These matters, which were all under consideration, would
be viewed in a liberal light, and with a desire to
make the prceedure in common law as nearly
perfect as possible. The fault of our present
law was that it was imperfect and bed, stabboro, inflexible
and incapable of application to the waste of the age ; and
yet the legislature, instead of mending it, had only abated
the lawyers. (Cheers.) If the law was inconsistent with
the wants of the times, the first thing to be done was to
male it better ; sod to effect that to which we were tend-
ing, namely, to do away with ail distinctions between law
and equity. (Cheers.) Ile trusted that they had all
started in this great and long-deferred work with • con-
&avenues desire to discharge their duty; and he was proud
to dine that from one end of Westminster Hall to the
ether there was but one common feeling, namely, to lend
their hest aid to this reform. (Cheers.) I' was quite a
mistake to sdppo. that it would be against the interests of
the lawyam • foe the present system, by preventing parties
from uisistag upon their rights, was really as injurious to
ins profession as to any other class of the community.
DI . Cited it DER gave his cordial support to the bill ;
but be was astonished to find that the various improvements
to;which reference bad been made had been introduced
into this bill, whereas they had been omitted from the
English act after the attention of the law offieers of the
cruen had been drawn to them.

The Alit/IL% EY-OEN E HAL, la reply to the observa-
tion of the lion. and learned gentleness who had preceded
him, remarked that they must have forgotten the
circumstances under which the law officers had the charge
of the Eaglish bill committed to them. It was utterly ine-
possible fur them to have acted differently. The hon. and
learned gentlemen opposite seemed to have forgotten the
impatience with which hon, members on that side of the
house had listened to any proposal at all on the part of the
government to introduce new measures. Every such ab
tempt was viewed as an endeavour to prolong the session
unni meanly, sad to disappoint the expectation that they
formed of an early dissolution. (Hear, hear.) The bill
Mlle down at a very late period from the liouse of Lords,
sod it was perfectly impossible to introduce any amend.
meats, unless at the risk of liming the bill for that cession.
lie (the Attorney-General) was, therefore, not a free
@gest in the matter; sad as for the present bill being in
advance of the English act, they must remember that a
dwarf on the shoulders of a giant could see farther than the
giant himself. (Laughter.) The Irish law reformers had
had an opportunity of seeing how far the English had
gone, and of considering how much further the might
go themselves. He (the hon. and learned gentleman should
await with much anxiety for the report of the cosmos •
Law Commissioners, but it would be necessary to consider
rf carefully their suggestions (and more especially one of
them), the nature of which had bees intimated to them by
the bun. and learned gentleman (Sir A. Cockburn). The
house must not rush at once into all the reform which bad
been proposed by ardent reformers, but Inset carefully '
wench their propriety. Ai to the auggesticess of the hon.'
gentlemen who had spoken, they were sadesbOodly ofgreat
value but they were somewhat ill-timed. The question at
present before them was the petaciple et** bill—its details '
had hest be left fur committee; gad be hoped they would
ell come to the sonsidastion of the 11101111111 with a desire to
make it as good and preened • Wl as possible, and sae that/
would furnish tie SW easmgie to Maglish law redeemers
es
the Xaelish bill had set to of Ireland. (Chases.)
Mr: COLLIER thought the hill one of the most 00.111M-
hensure that load ever bees beseght in hi a /mpg; sad
be thought that the hen. end inroad redeem (the
Attorney-Geneva') had lebes ea meseeeee view la sup-
peeing that any refection had ban intended ea the ceeduct
et the law• °Metre. The MIA edvestage of the bill wm
that instead of attempts( to pal& up the present erten;
of technicalities, it bad thieve It entirely aside, and
adopted an altogether new eon Mesh bear.) He did set
think them wee any reticent_ between law and
equity. Equity was la het a nue eniesseenee, whisk bed
grown imp iseinerguenee el die dowse sr W,law. Bat it
was another geneses window lbe We maid at ewe be
fused and mailed issues. Theme wee ma the slighted ob-
jection even to the peneemeet seeenden of the equity
marts; bat what wee eiguiggeebie wee, to have tee dif-
ferent tribute dealing leirllne seldeet natter_ epee dif-
ferent principles; or le bete twe warn whisk had a par-
Mal Paris !Melon in the erne kiwi et i.e. Diligent Nene
might be retaine;te deerwith diligent Wade of
boo on the principle of divides ef WNW. (110 WM
D Sir . !WICKETS reonmeeded a inn tribes
of the County Court ;wiggled'. be berksll, gs ems of the
most obvious nodes of erecting die Melee& MI at asking
law cheap and edlcieaL He bad Mk
Ipertinger_ Inquiries
as to the working of the last extesolosa lad be brad that
It had been followed by the most borstals) easelt•
Mr Will I'ESIDE said a few Wegdo_etelemelve of hie
gratification at the meaner la with& the bill bed been re-
ceived, and the valuable ensiataast he bad bed la drawing
it up from various gentlemen of great legal authority.
He rejoic..d to hear the improvements that had been sug-
gested by Sic Cockbern, mad honed that doe ooasidera-
tion would be given to diem. Tula out w• 2, founded 04
the practice of the County Courts and the Scotch Prow
tire Bill In Ireland there woe notes meek neeinity for
Chancery refers, se by a rapid promo is see there, up-
apearde of 1,540 SLICOW.IIIIheII bad been disposed trim a very
abort time.

Mr. GEORGE objected to theta being one kw for Eng-
land and another for Ireland. As the Common Law Pro-
cedure Contilig•loo WA% about to report shortly, be thought
it absurd to introduce a bill specially for Ireland. He
hoped that. when their suggestiess were matured, they
would be made applicable to both the Irish and Eaglak

Mr. PIIILLIMORE expressed his gratification at the
provisions of the bill before the house. Ile hoped that this
country would not long allow Ireland to have the start of
lair in legal reform. If, was opposed to the sunweemsry
multiplieation of oaths in courts of law, and therefore
doubted the propriety of haring pleas verified in the, way.
helievine the interests of the profession to be concerned to
ti.e improvement of the law, he rejoiced in the efforts now
making fur that purpose.
Mr. NAPIER hoped there wild be no jealousy becatue
Inl and on taking the lead in law reform. (Hear, hear.),.
klr. BC IT pointed out what he conceived to be a prin-
ter's ern r in the copy of the bill,—the omission of a sche-
dule of the repealed acts.
Mr. W promised that this should be supplied,
and the hi I ies• read a second time.
WEST INDIA COLONIES. fie., LOANS ACT
AMENDMENT BILL.
Oa the motion for the second reading of this bill,
Mr. F. PEEL urged the importance of the loans being
applied in • way twmefieist to the colony.
Sir J. PAK INGION said the bill had been brought in
to give etLet to the act of 1848, the late law officers of
the crown being of opinion that that act did not authorise
any retrospective application of the loans. It was mainly
applicable to Jamaica, where, from the distressed state of
the planters, they bad been unable to keep faith with the
Coolies by Binding them back. There had been repeated
Tell29rAtraLlCl;s on the subject the colonial legislators had ,
resolved to raise 100,0001. under the act of 1848, and had
passed two acts for that purpose; those acts were not cuts !
lifteat with the pr011i!.1,1124 of the act of 1.48, and hence
the necessity for this short hill, the demand for labour In
the cola. nx being vary urgent.
no bill Wig thee teed. mead dam