The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1819-03-31 00:00:00

delay' in the Court of Chancery, awl to Parch the
Journals of the Lords, in order to discover the ex- t
lent of the appellant jurisdiction. lt was darn
decided that some assistinice ought to be afforded,
with ...Iwo to the ditty ca.t on the Lord Chained-
hot hr the milled:gat jurisdiction of the High Court
of Cliancerv. His object was, to inquire whether
the sometime,. then given had or had not been ef-
feeto,l. He ((intended that it hail not. 11, one
instance, that of the appellant jurisdiction of the
now of Lords, the business were conssderably
danioithed—the number of appeals were reduced
from about 300 to 140. But, II to this was the
fact, there were no less than 26 important cause.
wasting for judgment at preset. Now, if any thing
should happen, by the death of the present Chan.
cellor (an event which no Mall would deplore more
than himself), or by his removal from office, isi
contequence of a change of Administration, every
one of those causes, thus standing over for judg.
ment, most he heard, de mono, at an enormous
expense.
With respect to the business of the Court
of Chancery, he could chew that no effectual relief
had beets Allurtled by the measure adopted a few
rears ago. In June, 1811, whets the Committee of
inquiry was moved for and carried in that House,
it appeared from the Report tlwn made, that there
were 114 causes on the paper of the Court of Chin-
cery, the exceptions• demurrers, and oilier matters
of that nature were 59 in number, the appeals were
35, the re-heariugs 6, and the bankrupt petitions
rrmenunK in be heard 203• In the following year
their WA% little or so vartatiou. He would now
slate the amount of business at this moment.
There were sit present on the Chancery paper 289
canoea—heretofore there were only 114. Of race's.
nein soil demurrers there were 10, of pleas 27.
These items were ceet•silly diminished—but the
appraisals(' re-hearings now amounted to 101. Ile
begged leave, in making this statement, distinctly
to uhrorve, that he bad the greatest possible respect
for the three Judges who presided in the different
Courts of Equity. As to the Lord Clnaiscellor. he
Was a Mart whom he hail, for many years,
met in habit* of friesolship, which he trusted
would never be disturbed. With the Vice-
Chancellor he had also been long in habits of
friendly inninecy—and, for forty years. he had
known and respected the Master of the Rolls. The
House would, therefore, give him credit when he
said that he felt fur those individuals a very consi-
derable degree of esteem—but still he would en-
deavour to call the attention of the House and the
public to the present state of the Court of Cli
eery, with reference to the relief afforded to the
suitors. He unfortunately failed is persuading the
House against adopting the office of Vice-Chan.
cellor. The object he had in view at that time,
and which he still wished to street, was one I
lie thought would effectually remove many olnaa.
Iles that now retarded t;se administration of jus-
tice iss the Court of Chancery. His plan was to.
remove all matters connected wills cares of
bankruptcy from the jurisdictions of die grist seal.
The Court of Chancery did not originally poser's
that jurisdiction, and the best and safest way would
be to take it from the Chastener and place it in
other hands, When the Hesse was occupied with
the great question of effecting a thane in the law
relating to bankrupts, he would, previous to their
going into a Committee, move, as all 1116111101101) to
that Committee, that they should take into consi-
deration the propriety of separating the jurisdiction
ever bankrupt petitions from the great seal. The
Bill, which came down from the other Il.mse, n
was easy to prove, had not relieved the suit.as in
the Court of Chancery, except in cases where the
Lord Chancellor had been i a...Japan,'. and unable
to attend. He wished now to throw out. simply as
a notice, that lie meant, at a future period, to sub.
mit to the House the propriety of separating the
office of Chancellor front that of Speaker of the
House of Lords. It was said, and the observation
was generally correct, that, from every Court in
Ragland, there was a substantial appeal—but, he
contended that the suitor in equity hail no substau.
nal appeal. Let any Gentleman nalk into the
House of Lords, and he would see appeals from the
High Court of Chancery,
involving the nicest points
of law, argued before, and decided by, the Lord
Chancellor, and perhaps two lay Lord-. What was
this hut an appeal from the Lord Chancellor's de.
vision, in one Court, to the self-same Lind Chan-
cellor, presulmg in another ? From the jurardic.
thus :4* the Lords of Sessam in Scotland there was
an ,Blest to the Lord Chancellor; there was also
an appeal, in like manner, from the decision of the
Courts in Leland. La these instances, the causes
Caine heal, before the Chancellor, and he was not
guided or bias,eil by any view lie had previously
iken of the subject. The Chancellor laid paid
great attention to the Scotch Law, and his decisions,
in StOtel gave general satisfaction.
Writ of error, from the Courts below, also came
I rest' befine him, and were decided without any re-
f•Jruce to 'odiously formed opinions. But the
motors who appealed from the judgment of the
Court of Chancery had ion the saute advantage.
By the weight which the Chancellor's opinion had,
lie ruled the decision of the House of Lords, and
the appeal to that jurisdiction was, its lint, merely
nominal. This subject was one worthy of very at.
TIOUS consideration, particularly when it was recut.
lected that one-fifth of the property of the country
was manually adjudicated by the Lord Chancellor,
without auy assistance in arrivirig at a just de( ision.
The Lear-owl Geotlemati concluded by moving fur
l'.e accoui,t which lie had specified its the com-
a, :ncemeut of hiss speech.

SoLit:ITUR•GENERAL did not mean to off.
any observations on the various important subjects
which the Learned Gentleman bad noticed, as each
4 f those topics would afford matter fur an ample
and eularged discussion. The House must cer-
tainly feel the justice of the panegyric the Learned
Gentkmati had pronounced on the Lord Chan-
, Ara, than whom no Judge ever enjoyed, more
umpletely. the confidence of the country and of
die suitors who had business in 1111 Court. The
Learned Gentleman was, however, mistaken, when
t e supposed the arrears generally in the Court of
Chant:trey to have increased. That the number of
appeals had increased he could readily believe, be-
come moodier Court of Equity had been establish-
rd, and it was natural to suppose that there mould
be appeals from that Court as there hail previously
been frees the decisions of the Master of the Rolls.
With respect to bankrupt petitions, they were now
tonsiderably fewer than they bad formerly berm

To 1815.16, tbey •mctnule.i 1A16.1;, to
673—:nu) at prei.ent there were only 227—at the
same time that the arrear was not increased, but
wer really decreased. He would not argue how far
it would be proper to separate the bankrupt peti-
tos front the Court of Chattrery. The present wit,
nut, he thought, a fair time to notice the arrear of
appeals before the finuse of Lords, when, from
0.! Chancellor's state of health, he bad not been
able to give judgment in a number of cases, al-
though he had seriosidy intended it. The appeals
had, however, compared with former periods, been
considerably diminished. A greater number of
appeal, had heel, decided in the last three or four
years tlwii hail ever been adjudicated by any Chan-
cellor, us a similar period. Independent of which
a vast number of causes had been disposed of, on
mutton, the parties preferring that summary mode,
in consequence of their reliance on his cornet
judgment.
After a few words from Mr. M. A. TAYLOR, the
motion was agreed to.

JUSTICE.GCNERAL OF SCOTLAND.
Mr. D. GILBERT, alter a frW prelaiory observn-
tinn., moved for and obtained leave to bring ill n
Bill to regulate the office or Lord Juatice-Genetal
ul Scotland.

SCOTCH POOR.
Mr. KENNEDY moved fur leave to bring iu n
Bill to regulate the relief granted to the Poor in
Scotland."
After a few remarks from Mr. Doug, who el-
pre—ed luy appr..liation of the measure, leave was
given.
The AI Duties B II went through a Com-
p itter.—ititort .
The Report of the rreight-Money Distribution
1311 W4P, agreed to.—Third rending to-morrow.
"fie Report of the Innkeepers' Allowance Bill
was rreeired.—Third reading to-morrow.
Adjourned.