The Express.
London, England, 1867-03-08 00:00:00

BRITANNIA.

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LONDON, FRIDAY, MAl:cif 8.

hoe Sr. L-:,.N11:1,, has :ccd his Sale
of Laud by !suction Bin, which •ro;;,• down last
4.1 .11, but has done so without removing or
notigAting any of the objet tions to which it was
then shown to he liable. The coarse of modern
experience has decisively condemned that habit of
perpetual intetmeddling with the customs of trade
which is the inveterate propensity of lawyers of
leisure, and has convinced the public that the less
the freedom of hosiness transactions is restricted
th• better it is for the comnltlllity. The
lesson, however. is one winAi some ~1
out senators have yet to learn. In his
desire to reform what he supposes to be the
practice of land auctions Lord Sr. LEoNARDS has
co !need a crusade precisely against that class
of auctioneers whose interests combine with their
character and position to guarantee the commu-
nity against practices inimical to its welfare, and
been induced to attempt the redress of grievances
which have no existence except in his own excited
imagination. His Sale of Land by Auction
Bill is bawd upon the assumption that auc-
tioneers are in the habit of running up
the biddings for estates above the reserve
prices fixed by their clients, the vendors. Why
it should be supposed that they are inclined to do
anything so foolish we are left to conjecture.
A moment's reflection should be sufficient to
satisfy anyone that no auctioneer ill his right mind
would do so suicidal an act. The very fact of his
being paid by a commission altogether contingent
on his success in effecting a sale might be sup-
posed to be quite sufficient to ensure his not going
a fraction beyond the reserved price. He would
be a chivalrous auctioneer indeed who, after he
Lad reached the limit fixed by his client, and thus
secured his commission, should make further bid-
dings on his own responsibility, thus running the
risk of throwing away the fruits of his toil when
they were within his grasp. It is a well-known fact
that if the auctioneer does not earn his commission
by selling under the hammer, he does not once in
ten times obtain it at all. Either the
property is withdrawn from sale or disposed
of privately by his vendor or his solicitor ;
or, as is frequently the case, some previous pri-
v:ste offer is accepted without the auctioneer's in-
tervention, and all the latter obtains is some
trifling fee for drawing up the bills and advertise-
ments.

Of the many estates disposed of by auction in
England in the course of a year about seven-
eighths are sold in London, and the auctioneers
and land agents who have the conduct of these
sales are, as a chum, men of the highest respec-
tability, of long standing in their profession, and
good social position. Probably, if they were con-
sulted, they would be able to point out some in-
conveniences which call for a remedy, though not
exactly in the direction of this Bill. It is
probable, however, that they would think
legal interference likely to breed more evils than
it would cure. The Bill of Lord Sr. LEONARDS
might 1,0 fairly entitled an Act for the Protection
of Land Buyers. But if either party at a sale
requires the protection of the law surely it is the
vendor, who is usually driven by difficulties
or death compelling new arrangements in
families to bring his property to the
hammer, for the purpose of effecting a
speedy sale. In these circumstances the vendor
has every inducement to sell, in order that
the large outlay in the necessary legal and other
expenses of preparing for the sale may not be
thrown away. It is well known, though difficult
to prove, that combinations take place in sale
rooms to depreciate property, far more prejudicial
to vendors than anything which an auctioneer can
devise to injure a purchaser without the injury
recoiling upon himself and his client.
The confficting decisions of the common law
and equity courts with regard to puffers at
auctions ought to be reconciled. The former holds
that a sale is vitisted by the employment of a
puffer, whilst the Court of Chancery holds the
opposite view. Lord ST. LEONARDS, who is an
Equity lawyer, by his Bill perpetuates one of the
greatest evils connected with auctions, and one
that the highly respectable class of men now
engaged in the business have almost entirely dis-
carded. This hi very inconsistent, for not-
withstanding the decisions of the court of
equity it is n-t usual to appoint puffers
at Chancery sales. Every bidding there must be
hoiol po, the auctioneer not even putting up the
pr perty, in order to get over the first difficulty of
starting the bidding'. Every one accustomed to
attend a ictions must have observed how in u.-11 longer
a sale of this kind takes than one c nducted