The Express.
London, England, 1853-04-28 00:00:00

NEW MEMBER.

Captain BUNBURT, the newly-elected member for
Carlow, took the oaths and his seat.
The house then divided :
For Sir F. Kelly's clause
Against it
Oa our re-admission to the gallery,
The SOLICITOR-GENERAL was moving a proviso,
to the effect that where any difference of opinion should
exist among trustees or the cestui qui trusts, such commu-
tation shall only take place under the authority of the Court
of Chancery in England, o: the Court of Session in Scot-
land ; the discretion of the court being exercised on sum-
mary application.
Sir F. KELLY said, supposing a person entitled to the
dividends for life, it would be his interest to change into
the proposed Three-and-a-Half per Cent. stock, while it
would be to the Interest of the person entitled to the
reversion that the stock should be commuted irto the
Two-and-a-Half per Cents. These two parties would go
before the court, and be represented by counsel, and it
would be quite impossible that the controversy could take
place without putting the parties to great expense. Be-
sides, by the wording of the clause, it might extend to the
whole Three per Cents.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said, to
prevent any ambiguity as to the extent of the operation,
he proposed that, instead of " any part of the Consolidated
Annuities," the words "proposed by this act" should be
inserted.
Mr. HUME suggested that provision should be made to
enable the parties to go before the judges without expense.
(Laughter.)
Mr. HENLEY observed that that was a novel proposi-
tion, and he did not see how the hon. gentleman could in-
duce the practitioners of the Court of Chancery to act with
out being paid.
Mr. HUME said the parties might themselves go before
a judge at chambers, aad state the case, no counsel being
allowed.
Sir F. KELLY then proposed, to omit the words "agree,
or if any of the parties shall.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said the
effect of that was to put to the house once more the ques-
tion they bad alread decided.
The SOLICITOR-GENERAL said the effect of the
amendment would be that in case one of the parties inte-
rested dissented the trustees would be deprived of the power
of accepting the terms. If they wished to strangle the bill
they could not do better than adopt the amendment.
Mr. WALPOLE remarked that the effect of the clause as
it stood would be that when there was a dispute the court
would hear each of the partieqend direct the costs to come,
not out of the pockets of those it decided agairist but out
of the fund, and the result would bs that the fund would be
diminished and the tenant in remainder would suffer. He
thought, therefore, government would do well to consider
the effect of the clause before they finally decided on it.
Then it should be remembered that this wee a money bill,
and if the Lords made any amendments in it this house
would of course not agree to those amendments, but they
would have to begin again with a fresh bill.
The house then divided :
For the amendment 67
Against it
The chose was then agreed to.
Some other amendments were introduced, one being to
apportion the time over which the Exchequer Bills could
fall in to six years, in order to prevent a large mass of the
securities becoming redeemable at the same time; and an-
other to limit the issue of the Three-and-a-Half per Cent.
Stock to the same emour,t as the Two-and-a-Half per Cent.
Stock,—vis , 30,000,0001.
The bill then passed.
CLONMEL ELECTION.
The SPEAKER. intimated that the petition against the
return for the borough of Clonnsel had been abandoned.

ENCUMBERED WATER (IRELAND).

Mr. WIiITESIDB moved for leave to bring in 'a
bill to
facilitate the sale, partition, and exchange of lands by the
Court of Chancery in Ireland, and the recovery of monies
secured by recognisance in the said court. Ile explained
that his object was to afford additional facilities for the
sale and distribution of the proceeds of encumbered estates.
Under the Encumbered Estates Act it was intended that the
proceeds of the sales should be paid into the Bank of Ireland
in the name of the commissioners and be divided amongst the
parties entitled without delay. But in consequence of the
enormous number of estates with which the court had to
deal and the accumulation of business being en far beyond
what had been capcc-ted, it was found that the machinery
proviaeil was not sufficient to carry out 1: e objects of the
act, and there were at this moment, notwithstanding the
vast amount of business which had been already gone
through, some thousands of estates writing for sale through
the medium of the court, besides which there was an emir-
Tour amount of money located up, and waiting for diatribit-
Ben. Up to the alat of March, thy result of the sales effected I

by the smart in money was 8,667,683 f., of which there had
been paid out to the parties entitled 4,926,1911., leaving un-
distributed and locked spin the Bank to the serious injury
and loss of :the claimants and of the country 1731,4911. So
far therefore the object of Sir J. Romilly's bill had failed,
not for want of (attention on the part of the officers of the
court, for no functionaries could be more attentive,
more energetic, and more zealous in their du-
ties, but frim the defects of the act itself.
One cause of the prom.'" rl ti.vittess in true coat
was a rule which bad been laid down, under which the
attorney who the petition, though he represented
Only the 30th or 40th, and perhaps the least important of
all the encumbrances, obtained the management of the

estate until the final setttlement, and was secured for his
costs ; and the result of this was, that where a sharp prac-
tising attorney happened to represent a creditor upon any
property, he lodged a petition and forced the estate to sale.
paniamentary title which that court gave to the pur-
chaser, and the speedy and cheap adjudication which it was
intended to give to the various parties interested in the
estate, he admitted to be matters of great importance. But
practically the effect of this new jurisdiction was, that
there were two processes by which real property was dealt'
with in Ireland; the long process of the ordinary tribunals,
and the short process of the Encumbered Estates Courts, and
it had come to pass that no proprietor could borrow money
on the security of his estate, or sell his estate at the market-
able value, except by means of that court. This evil had
also arisen, that in consequence of the vast amount of busi
Beinlhat flocked to that court, and the accumulation of
Mew, it bad become a practice when a party desired to
t the sale of en e,tate, or to interpose delay, he
a petition in the Encumbered Estates Court, where
hly it would be years before the ease could be adjudi-
Gated upon, while he remained in receipt of the rents, and
avoided the ordinary proem of the Court of Chancery,
wader which a receiver was appointed to take the
mess for the benefit of the creditors generally. He
in the present bill to adopt the main prin-
Vered of the Encumbered Estates Act, and to
engraft upon it some of the provisions of Sir John
Romilly's bill for facilitatieg the proceedings in Chancery—
the Equity Jurisdiction Bill. He proposed to continue the
short, quick, and cheap process provided by the Encum-
bered Estates Court, and to extend it to the Court of Chan-
cery, combining with it those facilities which the measure
he had referred to gave. Under the act for the sale of en-
cumbered estates, the estate could not he brought into the
court unless the rental was swallowed up to the extent of
one-half by the incumbranees, nor could the owner go into
the court himself to sell, though he might be forced there
by a hostile creditor. He proposed to remove these restrict-
bon., and to enable the owner to file his petition for the
purpose of selling any portion of his estate, in order to save
the rest. The restriction as to the sale of leaseholds under
GO years also he proposed to abolish, and further, that when
an estate was sold under the Court of Chancery, the pur-
chaser should have the benefit of a parliamentary title,
which experience proved, always enhanced the value of the
land in the market. He proposed to carry out the provi.
sinus of this bill by means of the masters in Chancery.
There were five of these functionaries who, under the re-
cent Chancery reforms' would be relieved from the duties
which belonged to the office they held, and whose services
might be advantageously employed in dealing with these
estates—and as they would constitute five separate courts,
they would be enabled to sell five properties while the In-
cumbered Estates Court was selling one. He proposed also
to give the court a summary jurisdiction in the case of recog-
nisances, and to sweep away the cumbrous machinery of scire
facies, demurrers, and all those other tedious proceedings.
He anticipated that the effect of this new law would be to
get rid of the 1,000 estates, and relieve the 4,000,0001. now
locked up in the encumbered estates, because if the bill
passed the parties interested in them would have pewer to
transfer their petitions to the Court of Chancery. He
trusted that no difficulties would be thrown in the way of
the introduction of the bill.
So. J. YOUNG stated on the part of the government,
that there was no objection to the introduction of the bill,
but it was right he should add, that they had themselves a
similar measure under consideration, and therefore he could
hold out no hope that the hon. and learned gentleman's
measure would either be supported or facilitated by them.
Mr. FITZGERALD, u au Irish lawyer, bore his testi-
mony to the usefulness of the Encumbered Estates Court.
If the legislature gave full scope to its machinery, he saw no
reason why land in Ireland should not become just as much
a marketable commodity as goods, manufactures, or agri-
cultural produce. He took exception to the figures which
had been stated by the hon. and learned gentleman, and
announced his intention to oppose any proposal for the ab-
sorption of the functions of the Incumbered Estates Court
by the Court of Chancery. Still there was much good in
this bill, and so far as its practical reforms were consigned.
he would give it hi. hearty support.
Lord BERNARD hoped the government in dealing with
this subject would take into their consideration the fact
that under the present law the proprietors of estates that
were not encumbered were placed in a worse position than
the proprietors of those that were. He suggested that
the proprietors of unencumbered estates should have faci-
lities of disposing of their pronerty with the benefit of a
parliamentary title, and thus obtaining the market value,
which at present, in consequence of the operations of the
nosambered Estates Courts, they could not do.
Mr. NAPIER said the object of this species of legit's-
Oft ought to be to give the public what they really wanted,
momely, facilities of sale and security for title. That end,
lee believed, would be attained by this bill, and he should
have no hesitation in awarding it his support.
Mr. V. SCULLY would offer no opposition to the motion
for bringing in the bill, but must resist any proposal for
vesting the sale of encumbered estates in the Court of
Chancery. Be fore the establishment of tho Encumbered
Estates Court, the Court of Chancery enjoyed jurisdiction
ever encumbered estates, and the
ercised its functions in that respect showed that it was in-
eompetent to the task. The mischief of the present system
was that the jurisdiction of the Encumbered Estates Court
was too much restricted. He had given notice of a bill to
enlarge tbe jurisdiction of that court, which he should bring
under the notice of the house on the 10th of May.
Mr. GEORGE considered that the time had come when
the extraordinary powers of the Encumbered Estate Court
ought to be transferred to the ordinary tribunals of the
lead. He was glad, therefore, to hear that the government
offered no opposition to the introduction of the bill.
The motion was then agreed to, and the bill was subse-
quently brought in and read a first time.
The house adjourned at six Velook.

NEW COMMITTEES.

Yesterday the General Committee 7i Elections, Sir J.
Trollope in the chair, met, and nominated the following
committees :
Bovrosr.—Lord Robert Grosvenor (chairman), Hon.
Charles Hardinge, Mr. Milner, Mr. Williams, and Mr. F.
Pigott.
TOTNEB.—Hon. Mr. Lawelles (chairman), Mr. M. T.
Smith, Captain Rushont, Sir T. Winnington, and Mr.
Whitmore.

HARWICN.—Mr. Headlam (chairman), Lord J. Manners,
Mr. J. Locke, Lord C. Clinton, and Colonel Ferguson.
The committee have also struck the following committee
to try the allegations contained in the Clonmel petition :
Mr. M. Gaskell (chairman), Hon. L. Maule, Mr. J. Nedd,
Mr. J. Walter, and Mr. Sandars.
PAIRS ON MR. HAMILTON*/ MOTION.-Bir E. Fanner
for with Mr. Hutchings against; Mr. Hart:tun for with
Lord R. Grosvenor against; Mr. Ald. Thompson for with
Mr. A. Pellatt against; Hon. S. Knox for with Captain
Laffan against; Mr. Packe for with Colonel Freestun
against.