The Express.
London, England, 1850-03-26 00:00:00

. Lis( J. RUSSELL said that Let ss regerled the peal
grass el Ms bar—it seemed to him as erasion which ought
net to be kat et Ida. the salary of the Chief Justice of the
Queen's How& Lord Dramas. back the rase with the sailer-
elesdieg that IS shoal he 13.0001., sad the (sly reeord of that
aderemed a treasury mints. Some piers after
Les 4 stop& that the prisdple of as/ such
t was eldeetlesable if sot saw )
thought offset by
itrer2""perilamest He (lard J. Ruseell) that
'plait Mbe esersa il so fur It wes set Hula that a
abaft thigh might he revoked or altered ahead be the
eels weaselly le aside what wee the mast of salary te
he gal te the Lard Chief Issas—that if he should die or
elsft the ha legal meaty, the,. shall net he any
ee bpi =
pewee to resist sash sir illtglisgties.l: that se euelsgesey sf *se Ided isalreehi
a sae et Lard Deems% lath. ass monad unease mad
hesese. (Hier, bar.) Is his essetisormasel elfeelles
lan list the es base
earewiely IslittrJ,ltessell=7:. take
the ty of maks, a permanent =isst by law
ea the seldeet. If lie wafted until theud
and V their *aides were long delayed, there wonurristi
Female to Lord Deana and his esti:sten the fell legal
rot:of sharing the lull salary ever aim he took the
WagiHese, the sweessity of seising this opportunity for
ng is the presume amen. He cousulted Lord NAM=
sad the prearst Lied Chancellors
on the subject and they
wen both of epistles that 8,0001. should be the, amount;
ad he gave setae to Lord Campbell that he should imms-
dlMui a bill firing that as the salary. Lord
was, therefore, aware that that would be the
11111111111114111 salary while he hold the Mlles. The only other
tedUllablite proposed by the bill were prospective reductioas
The blew sesames silted whether, if any cans should
he primessoll is duller oases during the suing of the cots-
= to
be obliged to take oaks su ject to such
es the sensate* might hereafter recommend.
U the bee. gratlemtut to mean such reductions
as were mile use of parliament, he thought his proposi•
Wm a fair ewe, soil was mdy to secede to it. With this
implanatio• be hoped the house would go into committee on
the bill.

Mr. MULLINOS thought that the agreement entered into
by Lord Denman on the ems hand and Lord Campbell on the
other, was so fez binding as to prevent any possibility of im-
munologic, from postponing the bill. Relying upon thiOnd
and 3rd Wm. IV., e. 118, he maintained that this bill was
wholly unnecessary, and that the country bad fill protection
lathe present smarmiest. If they passed this bill it would
be an indication to the intended committee that here-
after those salaries being Said could not be touched.
He, on the contrary, hoped that the crown should
retain the power of altering them. He believed that their
salaries were meek higher thaa they ought to be, and might
easily be diminished without injury to the bench. It was not
those who were making the largest incomes at the bar that
made the best judges—bat those who devote more time to
the study of the law in their chambers. If the house did go
into elonunitthe os this bill, he should certainly propose to re-
duce the amount of malarial proposed.
The SOLICITOR ORNERAL said it was not now a
question whether the salaries were too great or too small.
The hoc. gentleman's law was not only not correct, bat ii it
were it would be a great misfortune and necessary to repeal
it by an set of parliament. (Hear, hear.) If a judge
appointed at 10,0021. offended the government, they might,
by the hon. gentleman's law, at oath reduce his salary to
6,0001. A greater calamity could not betel this country than
to make the judges dependent on, or affected by, the opinion
of the Grown. (Hear, beer) The nuns should bp fixed by
set of parliament, and no other sum should be given. The
hon. gentleman apprehended a* inconvenience from Lord
Denman's death, in the absence of such act. Suppose his
will to be silent on the subject, he (the Solicitor-General)
doubted if it would not become the duty of his exeeuton to
call for the payment of the additional 2,0001. a year since
the noble lord took the office. The hon. gentleman's law
was wrong, and it would be • great calamity if it were right.
Mr. HUME agreed with the Solicitor-General that the
bon. gentleman's law was not correct. The quer ion was on
I what prine/ple this bill was to pass. If it were intended
merely to stop the team of Lord Denman or his executors,
there would be no d.fticulty in doing that by getting a re.
oeipt in full for the whole salary, and thus removing the
nee. salty of the measure until the question was fully sifted.
That it ought to be sifted be had no doubt ; he hoped the
noble lord would include in his proposed inquiry all the
judges of the land. The hon. member then read the follow-
ing summary of the number of judges in the United King.
dom, and the amount of AV/solaria taken from the returns
of 1844:

England. Ireland. Illeotland. Total.
I
I 1 1 •
i ' 1 z . I I A .
- -
c - .0 C
Ja
Courta des (4 Superior } 22 123,377 16 63,004 13 42, .OL. 51 229,031
Judie. of Interior)
Courts, Inelndiai
the Bankruptcy
and lnaoleen
tt 123 83,399 10S 53,032 81 34,470 312 172,951
Debtors' Cour,
Stipendiary M.I.
=atm, and ahem)
--,
Total 145 208,976 124 116,066 91 78 970 363 402,032

The judges were the last men whine salaries he should like
to reduce. Still, he believed there was not a Wary in the
country that ought not to be brought before them and re-
tired. It should be remembered that the salaries of
judge*, as well as their retiring pensions, bed been consi-
derably increased in the present century. He hoped that in
this ease it would be understood by Lord Campbell that he
was to receive 8,0001. subject to the opinion of the committee
that was to be appointed.
Mr. V. SMITH bad no doubt that the law of the Solicitor.
General was correct ; bat, being so, what a scene of neglect
did it present not only on the part of the present but pre-
ceding governments. Nothing ought to be more defined or
fixed than the judges' salaries. There should be no bar-
gaining, no bidding 111110•Fli lawyers for a seat that ought to
be pure and immaculate. With regard to Lord Denman, he
thought there maid be no difficulty in his case, its he was
quite lure that noble lord would give a receipt in full if
applied to, or if that would not be sufficient, a short bill
might be pealed to meet that particular ease. (Hear.)
Mr. TURNER, who was moot indistinctly heard, said
he differed trom both the hon. and learned gentlemen. (Mr.
Mulling' and the Solicitor-General.) He thought there was
no discretion in fining the salary of the Chiet Justice, bat
that the act of parliament was imperative, but, on the other
hand, he considered that Lord Denmsn's executors—that
noble lord having consented to an arrangement, and acted
upon it for 16 years—would have no claim for the difference
between the 8,0001. a year he had received, and the 10,0001.
as flied by the set of parliament. Great credit was due to
Lord Denman for refusing to take more than he conscien-
tiously thought a fair remuneration for the duties of the
ries. (Hsu.) And knowing what he did of the
high character of that noble and learned lord,
he was quite sure that if the idea ever emceed
his mind that it was possible his executors might
make a claim for the additional 2,0001. a year, he would
to-morrow Weeder a clause in his will, depriving them of
the power. (Her, bear.) If the noble lord meant to aban-
don the prospective salaries, and tenths the measure to the
settlement of the present Lord Chief Joshes of England's
salary ho had so objection ; but if he proposed now to fix the
later* salary of that office, he mast oppose the further pro-
gress of the bill. (Hear.)
Lord J. RUSSELL said that with regard to that part of
the bill which related to the prospective salaries of the Chief
Justice of the Common Pleas, he had no objection to strike
it out, as that would be aproper subject for the considera-
tion of the committee. (Hear, hear.) But he could not
consent to leave the merry of the Chief Justice of Eng:and
dependent, merely is the understanding which had rived
with Load Deanna for so many years, and most therefore
pries the bias, to go into committee. (Hear.)
Mr. HENLEY could not understand the haste just now
erred to settle a question which had bean allowed to stand
over for eighteee year He admitted there was great force
in what the Solicitor-Gears' had said as to tie enormous
ineenverseme of allowing an appointment to be paid by •
salary of uncertain amount, to be flied at the pkasnre of the
crows. Bat he did nut think the bon. and learned gentle.
men had put a correct esastruetion on the set of William the
Fourth, which, as it appeared to him (Mr. Henley), related
merely to the feed oat of which the salary should be paid,
the amount having bees settled by the act of George the
Fourth.

- -15-ii—Ci. GREY observed that the Mike of Chief Justice of
the Queen's Bench would be in the am position u that of
the Chief Jostles of the Common Pleas and the other
judges. That was that whatever redaction might be de-
aided tapes
tbe ° would only take place In regard to the law*
baker of Mos.

Mr. BRIGHT thought, after what they bad hoard, no
me amid believe that the object of this bill was to prevent
any claim being made by the executors of Lord Denman, or
to save the ahoy of the Chief Justice of the Common Hess,
for that part of the mason the noble lord had abandoned to
be dealt with by thie esemelaso.
Lord J. RUSSELL—Ea the ball was brought is for that
object.
Mr, BRIGHT weuld admit, for the sake of argument,
that that Main did kna some part of the motion foe the
bill ; but ths same matter, the salary of the Lord
Chief Justin of Meg ,mar still to be dealt with by this
measure. It was not mesessery now that he should express
any opinion se to whether the salary proposed was too large
or too snail; but he objected to dating with the subject
at all at ream, because if the noble lord really in-
tended thetkeproposed committee to carry out a fair, impartial,
sad i inquiry into these salmi, s generally, for the
of reducing or lamming them to the proper level,
r:Pord be most unnamable to monde from their consi.
Oration the salary of the Lord Chief Justice. (Hear.)
Mr. B. DBNISON meloreloM the noble lord to say that
after the holidays he woad propose a onnsaitta to consider
the salaries of the nelson generally. (Hear, hear.) That, of
souse, would ludas** salary of Lord Conpbell. (No,
ao.) He andante:led Oat Lord Campbell would continue to
resolve 8,0001. a year, bat that the salary of the office he
held would come under consideration prospectively in the
same way a the others. (Hear.) As Lord Contemn had
taken the oaks upon the undentanding that the salary would
be 8,0001. a year, he should vote for the
Sir B. HALL wad not nadentaad why the Lord Chief
Justice's salary should be made an exception to the other
jud' salary.
Lord J. RUSSELL remarked, that the committee was to
have a prospective operation.
After a few words heft Colonel Stenfonr,
Mr. SPOONER moved by way of amendeneat, that the
house resolve itself into committee on Friday, the 12th of