The Express.
London, England, 1857-06-27 00:00:00

personal estate. Suppose a party was dextrous of establishing
• will; all that would be necessary would be to make • sim-
ple allegation that the toaster was of sound dispueing mind,
and that the instrument had been duly executed in con-
formity with the law. The heir-at-Low end the met of kissed
every other party interested would then be cited to appear in
court. The wit nesse& would then be examined lot ore the judge;
the sentence would be prenounced ; and it would dooti.itively
conclude and settle the validity of the will. At present is will
devieing real estate might become:mot after any tepee of time,
Suppme • manmade • will in the lament month of June by
which be devised his real estate to his sun for hie lite with
remainder to his children. Supposing that in the month of
Mamie he made • wend will by which ho made • different
dispaitioon of hie properly. Suppoe, too, that the son took
the property under the later will, end that :10 or 40 years
afterwards, ho (the eon) also died. In a cam like this his eldest
son might raise a quention es to the validity of the second will,
and claim the property undertho will of June. The result was
that in the present state of the law no contain title could be
given to real property is • great variety of eases where a will
formed one of the links of the chem. Well, that would be
altered by the inotitution of the tribunal which would be rat
up by the bill, for that tribunal would proceed at once to try
the validity of the will ; and having decided that, it would
thee finally conclude all question on that score. The nest
species of twining with which the court would have to deal
woe what woo lolled the contentious Moines., which would
comprise the suits instituted by pertion hostile to any parti-
cular will. It was erepmed that the form of procedure should
be very much simplified. Elaborate pleadings would be
utterly umieceseary. All that would be requieite would be
an allegation of ten words by the plaintiff, end a reepoese of
half-a-doss words on the part of the defendant. Then
' the whole process would be referred to a court of common
kw. The facts would be examined into, and a verdict ar-
rived at, which, if there wee no rule fors new trial, would
be a final decision. The form of procedure in the new court
Me not be judged of by the language of the bill. It was
absolutely necemary to retain the present procedure until a
new one could be established ; but there was no intention to
rpetuate that which was now in use. The present judge
pe of the Prerogative Court, if it should be his plareure, would
ten the judge of the new court in the first instance, but it was
proposed that s mon se the judgeship of the Court of
Admiralty should become vacant, the judge of the Probate
Court should preside over both tribunals; and he (Sir It.
Bethel) trusted that et some future time • measure
would be brought for ward to simplify likewise the procedure
in the Admiralty Court. Amides the, it was proposed that
the judge of the Probate Court Monti be one of the judges
of the Divorce Court, indeed ho was to be the Judge Ordi-
nary of that tribunal. Nola would the jurisdiction of thee
i judge stop there. One of the great womb, of the day wee
somebody who should have authority over the property of
demand persons about whose wills there wee • depute. In
such cases the property was neglected end very groat preju-
dice wee the result; but the present bill would give the
judge power to appoint an ail interim manager of the per-
sonalty, and an ad interim receiver of the real estate.
(Hear, hear.) These were the principal functions which the
new court would have to discharge, and they would make up
its daily occupation. With regard to tho officers of the new
tribunal, It Ina proposed that they should, as far as poesible,
conoiet of the officers of the old courte. As for se was
practicable the officers of the Prerogative Court would be
transferred to the new court, and the diocesan regintrare
would be transferred to the now district registries. The rela-
tions between the metmpoliton registry and those in the
country would demand epecial attention in committee, (Me
question that might arise would be whether the papers should
be sent from the district registries to the London office Wore
they were finally admitted? (Hese hear.) On ninsidera-
lien, however, it had not been considered absolutely neces-
sary that that should be done; and it would manifestly Wl4llll
delay, and likewise some additional expense. Some altera-
tion would be necessary in the matter of caveats, and he
amulet introduce a dame to prevent the possibility
at • will being proved in one court while there was
a caveat against it in another. It was rammed
that all the wafting wille Mould be collected
la one great plane, and that mete* of the wills which in
future would be filed in the diotriet regietries should also be
placed with them. The bill proposed also to mike arrange-
mantel which in a few years would lay the foundation fur a
miry important means of obtaining information as to titles.
It wee proposed that indexes of all grille should be kept in all
the district registrim Fie well as in Edinburgh and in Dublin.
By that means great'facilities would be given for retaining
knowledge of facts, which at present could only be arrived
at by tethous and protracted search. Another objeet of the
bill wee to provide a place of deposit for the wills of persons
in their life.tinie, which it was expected woo ld in many cases
be found a great convenience. In a word, there was remedy
my inconvenience which bad been reported upon by the dif-
ferent commimioners with which the measure did not
attempt, and he hoped it would be found anecesefully, to deal.
He wow came to a more painful subject—the summer in which
he proposed to deal with the permits who held offices that
avails, abolished by the bill. Nevertheless, so long ago se
ISlStesesies hood been given to these parties that the offices
they held were condemned. By the statute of the Gib and
William IV. it was provided that no compensation
should bo given to any Milne of the ecclesiastical mune,
except the judge and registrar of the Metropolitan Court or
Canterbury, in the event of these offices being sholiabed ;
and that warning hed been over and over again reiterated.
The right hon. baronet (Sir J. Graham) had dietineuishod
himself by his efforts to uproot these mischievous modem
lions, and during the time he was in office the enactment to
which he had referred was repealed in the act of the 10th
and 11th of her present Majesty. He preened that those
who were in office anterior to the oth and 7th of
William IV. should receive full compensation. Thom
who had received their appointments after that date
he could not bear to see turned adrift without compensation.
It sea therefore proposed that they should be compensated
on this principle, namely, that they should be regarded as
holding their appoiutments during pleasure, and that on that
footing they Mould 'votive compensation. In the one ems
the twew would be entitled ail if they held a freehold °aloe;
in the other they would be regarded m appointed during
pleasure, and would be dealt with in a very different manner.
There was another elms of very meritorious persona who
would be provided for, and whose situation excited in him •
great deal of sympathy—he meant the managing clerks in
the registry of Canterbury. Thom who had served fifteen
years in that capacity would be compensated under the pro-
visions of the bill; and it would be for the house to say
whether and how far that proposal Mould be extended. He
now came to the proctor.. Tho bill proposed
that they should stilt retain a monopoly of the
common form metes.. The amount of that businees would
be very much increased by the bill, for all the non-conten-
tious busies.' in the country where the property exceeded
1,5001. would pass through their hand,. At present only
one-third of the common form business was transacted in
the Prerogative Court, end the house would thus be able to
form an opinion how far they would be effected by the pro-
posed change. Halides, under the present gystein, where
the real estate was large and the personalty mull, the case
went in great nominee to the courts of common law; but
under the bill all estates exceeding 1,5001, even if partially
made up of reel property, would go through the new court.
Remeutbering, too, how constantly business ran in the wee
channel se that in which it had been accustomed to flow,
ho believed that the position of these gentlemen would
rather be improved then otherwise by the bill. In the
former bile which ho had introduced he proposed to este-
LEA their monopoly, and he provided • measure of corn.
penestion. He proposed that the proctors should receive an
annuity of one half their average gem. But he was unable
to please them by that propmition. and it was chiefly
owing to their reeistanee that the bill was lost. The me-
sent plan, however, was in part what they bed then:melees
; and he could not therefore feel the slightest re-
Inc in reining upon the house the adoption of the bill.
It would be idle fur the house to assume to prophesy a loss to
these persona, and vote away the public money as compel:me-
lion. But it was impossible to recognise the right of pre
ti-
tiouces to compensistion. If there were improvements in the
law, giving greater eimplicity end facility, was the pmeti-
tioner to haven vested right in delay, and evil, and suffering?
(Hear, hear.) What would be thought of the medical man
who claimed a vested right in protracted suffering and dis-
ease ? (Hear, hear.) As the office remained there woo no
ground on which compensation could be claimed. The only
other case of compensation was one already provided for by
parliament—the annuity to Viscount Tenterden secured by
the net of 9 George IV. He had now stated all that
related to the principle of the hill; on matters of
detail hon. members might differ, and these would
be open to amendment. Though the measure was by
no mean, of so large end comprehensive a character as the
former ones, it would be more entitled to general approval ;
it we, more fair and just, and would succeed in remov-
ing the inconveniences that heed been complained of for the
bee thirty yearn. Under there ciecumstanres be hoped the
house would agree to the second reading. (Hone, hear.)
?dr. lIENLEY said ho had had the honour to be a member
of the commission referred to, whose recommendations the
bill carried out. Ile had, therefore, great pleasure in second-
ing the motion for the emend reading. lie had always
thought that there were four points on which alteration was
required. The country had long called out for an arrange-
isent by which a will, when once declared valid, Mould la
held to both as to real and preemie' property. There eases
were not numerous, but the smallness of the number proved
how great was the grievance. In fact, the conten-
tious business was infinitesimally small ; and the
government had done wisely in directing their attention
to the common form business. For what was called the
doctrine of bona notabilia, the country had long called out
for • remedy; and this the bill supplied. Another greet
improvement was the providing of a general index. (Hear,
hear.) Years might elapse before much benefit was derived
from this; but if it could be made applicable to the wills of
40 years post, according to the plan °t hole Trevor. of Somer-
set noose, it would be a great boon to the existing genera-
tion. The system of local jurisdiction, giving the public the
opportunity of dealing with wills at their own doers, ee it
were, was a moot valuable improvement. The bill would
create little disturbance, while it effected much good; end
this was great renommendstion. lie thought the home
and the country were indebted to the Attorney-General for
yielding hie own views, which were in favour of a mere
theoretically perfect measure, to the requirements of
the public. (Hear, hear.) As to the constitution of
tho Court of Probate, it might be • matter of con-
ridesation whether it was wise to load it with
the business of the Court of Admiralty; but that was a mere
question of detail. Another advantage conferred by the bill
was that property would be taken care of during litigation ;
this was a greet boon to the public. He doubted the pro-
priety of the provision for transmitting wills proved before
this time ; there was a greet feeling in the country against
it • and he thought it desirable that these evidences of title.
relating as many of then did to the poor roans cottage,