The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1824-04-02 00:00:00

LAW CHANGES.

We are informed that Mr. Justice Bayley, the present
senior puisne Judge of the Court of King's Bench, is to
be the new Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas,
on the removal of Lord Gifford to be Master of the Rolls.
On the retirement of Chief Justice Dallas, Lord Gifford
for some time declined to accept the Pleas, and it had, we
believe, been decided upon that Mr. Justice Bayley should
be promoted ; but the day before the final arrangement
Lord Gifford altered his mind, and Mr. Justice Bayley at
that time missed promotion. We are sure that the removal
of the latter distinguished Judge to preside over the Pleas
will be hailed by the profession, on every account.
From information which we are not at liberty to disclose,
we have no doubt that Lord Gifford is actually appointed
Master of the Rolls, and is expected to be sworn in on Sa-
turday : be will take upon himself the duties of that office
immediately afterwards. It has been supposed that there
is no precedent of a Peer filling that office, but that is an
oversight ; there is a precedent for it in the person of Lord
Bruce, of Kinross, a Scots Peer, who came from Scotland
with James I. and filled that office to the time of his death,
which happened on the 14th of January, 1610. And also
of John Lord Culpepper, in the reign of Charles I.; he
was a Peer of the realm.—Sfor.

FUNERAL OF SIR THOMAS PLUMER, THE
MASTER OF TIIF ROLLS.

Yesterday morning, a few minutes after ten, the remains of Sir
Thomas Plumer, late Master of the Rolls, were deposited in the
Rolls' Chapel, in a vault appropriated to that purpose so long ago
as the year 1561, when the body of Richard Allington. Esq. who
marrried a sister of the then Master of the Hulk, was therein in-
terred (on whose coffin that of Sir Thomas Plumer is now laid).
and has been the sepulchre of every person who has since died in
the office of Master of the Rolls, or, having filled it, had ex.
pressed • desire to be buried there. The present funeral was en.
tirely private : none but the members and domestics of the Plumer
family attended it.
The last Master of the Rolls who died in the office was Sir
Thomas Sewell ; he was buried in die year 1784. on the coffin
of Sir Joseph Jekyll. Lady Sewell, widow of Sir T. Sewell, by
her own express desire, was buried there also, on the 26th of Sep.
tember, 1820.
_ _ _

Lord Alvanley, who had been Master of the Rolls (then Sir
Richard Pepper Arden), but who was Chief Justice of the Com-
mon Pleas, a-A a Peer of the Realm when he died, was buried in
this vault also, by his own express desire. This event happened
March 28, 1804.
The vault in which Sir Thomas Plumer was buried is called Mr.
Allington's vault, and is supposed to have been built for the re-!
eeption of his remains. It is situated at the south side of the
Chapel, near the altar, close by that gentleman's monument,
and is about six feet wide and eight feet long. On the north side
of this vault was discovered a strong leaden coffin, with square
shoulders, supposed to contain the remains of Mr. Allington, as
the worktnen, from the extraordinary strength, and consequent
weight of it, conjectured that the arch of the vault must have been
turned after the coffin was lowered into its place. Upon this coffin
was a leaden one, of the usual shape, the cover whereof had fallen
in through decay, and it contained more bones than belonged to
the body it originally contained, which it is apprehended were
collected from the south side of the vault, when opened in the
year 1738, for the reception of the remains of Sir Joseph Jekyll,
lint At the foot of this coffin was an earthen jar (more modern
than either of the coffins before-mentioned), containing two skulls,l
which circumstance corroborated the conjecture, that more persons
had been buried in this vault than there were coffins of them re-
maining, and which must have been the case, because the coffins
were of wood, but entirely decayed. On the south side of this
vault was deposited the coffin containing the remains of Sir Joseph
Jekyll; the wood front the sides and ends being decayed and
fallen away, but the lead remaining perfect, and the wooden cover
still entire, with a brass plate, whereon was legible the following
inscription :—" The Right lion. Sir .loseph Jekyll, Knight,
Master of the Rollo, and one of his Majesty's Most Honourable
Privy Council, died the .... day of - • ."
—(the dotted parts illegible). Upon this coffin was placed that
containing the remains of Lord Alvanley, still very fresh. It is
plain, but remarkably neat, being covered with black cloth, adorned
with gilt ornaments, handles, coronets, and a gilt plate, inscribed.—
" Richard Pepper Arden, Lord Alvanley, lord Chief Justice of
the Court of Common Pleas, one of his Majesty's Right Honour-
able Privy Council : died March the 18th, 1804, aged 19."
In order to make room for the coffin containing the remains of Sir
Thomas Plumer, the leaden one, fallen to decay, on the north side
of the vault, and standing on Mr..thington's coffin, was removed
by the workmen, and placed on the top of that of Lord Alvanley ;
so that the south side of the vault is now fUll. Sir Thomas Wu-
ma's remains, after being lowered into the vault, were placed on
the north side, on the square-shouldered coffin supposed to contain
Mr. Allington's remains.
The office of Master of the Rolls, as well as that of Lord /I iFh
Chancellor of England, was, in clays of yore, often held by an Ec-
clesiastic; the last Priest who held the Rolls was in the reign of
Henry VII., when Doctor Young, who had been Dean of 1 ork,
held that office. He was buried in the Rolls chapel, and has a
handsome monument, of which many engravings have been taken
for private illustrations.
It is somewhat curious to observe, that Lord Alvanley took the
office of Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, and a Peerage,
from the Mastership of the Rolls; and that Lord Gifford took the
Chief Justiceship of the Common Pleas, and a Peerage, and
is expected to take the office of Muter of the Rolls. It is true
that he will rank higher in processions, &c. as Master of the
Rolls than he would do as Chief Justice of the Common Pleas ;
being, as we understand,. stationed between the Chief Justiceof
the King's Bench (who is the Chief Justice of England) and that
of the Common Pleas ; but it is observable that the Court of Ex-
chequer Chamber is an appellant jurisdiction front the Court of
King's Bench, and that the President of the Exchequer Chamber
is the Chief Justice of the Court of ('omnion Pleas. It will, how-
ever, be infinitely more convenient fur Lord Gifford, who has to
attend in the House of Lords so much upon appeals in the morn-
ing, to be at the Rolls, where the sittings are, with a few creep.
lions, not until six in the evening, than at the Common Pleas,
! where the sitting is all day.
Sir Thomas Plumer was made Solicitor-General in place of Sir
Samuel Rotnilly, on the coming in of the Percival administration
—Attorney-General in 1812, on the event of Sir Vicary Gibbs
being made a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas—Vice Chan-
cellor (being the first in that office) in 1813—and Master of the
Rolls in the latter end of 1818, on the resignaton of Sir William
Grant.

It is remarkable, that the three leading Counsel of Mr. Hastings,
on his impeachment, were advanced to very high ranks in their
profession--Mr. Law, Mr. Dallas, and Mr. Plumer. The first
was made Chief Justice of England, and a l'eer of the realm ; the
next, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas; the last, Muter of
the Rolls.

QUESTION TOR THE LAM OITICERS.—(From a Cor-
responilent.)—By what authority does an Assistant Secre-
tary of a public Board intercept and suppress letters ad-
dressed to the Heads of Departments and others, in the
office to which he belongs?

In noticing, yesterday, the petition presented to the
House of Commons against Mr. Plunkett's Burial Bill, we
erroneously stated, that one of the malt men w•ho signed
the petition w•as " Mr. NV iustead of Mr.
M'llonnell.

LONDON CHAMBER OF COMMEACE.
An adjourned Meeting of Merchants, Bankers, Shipowners, and
Traders, was held yesterday, at the City of London Tavern, to take
into coniiderstion the Report of the Committee, recommending the
establishment of a Chamber of Commerce in the City of London.
The meeting was not very numerously attended. At half-past
twelvetheComnottee entered the room. Amongst the eminent mu-
, candle gentlemen present were, W. Manning, Esq. 31. P. John
' Smith, Esq. 31. P , T. Wilson, Eng. M.P., Mr. Alderman [fridges,
; H. Farrand, E•q..M.11'.. and G. Hibbert, Esq.
I (hi the motion of 3lr. I'. WI Laos, W. 31as wino, Esq. was
called to the Chair.

The CHAIRMAN having taken his place, stated, •:' at be attended
the meeting in consequence of an imitation which be had received,
and which he readily obeyod, on account of the great respectability
of the geatieruen from whom it had proceeded. Ifs begged, Los.
ever, that k might not be understood, that by txking the chair he
pledged himself as to the measure in question either one way or the
other. An opportunity. would perhaps occur when he could with
propriety state the opinic ii which after long consideration and some
experience he had fumed on the subject ; but at present he should
abstain from offering any opinion to the meeting. Conaiderirg the
personal feeling manifested towards him, he could nut decline the
honour of presiding over them, and he assured them that he had a
high sense of the compliment they had paid him in selecting him
for such an occasion (Wear, hear.) The Worthy Chairman then
suggested that the resolutions that day to he moved should be read
through, in order that the meeting should be put in possession of
the course intended to be followed.

Mt. J. HALL then read the acne. of resolutions prepared by the
Committee.

Mr. Jon N SniITH said he waa anxious to take an opportunity
thus early of addressing the Chair, M consequence of the part he
had taken in common with the other members of the Committee in
this transaction, and because he sesta SbUIIiCKIA fully to explain the
circumstances in which they were now plated, and to state fairly
and candidly the difficulties which aurroar.ded their undertakirg .
and which had induced them to abandon it for the present. In
order to experts himself clearly, and put the meeting in full posses-
sion of the facts, he would take the liberty of trespassing on their
attention for a short time : he would promise then: that though he
might be tedious he would not be long. He would not depart
from the straight-forward course of stating the facts, except whera
some explanation was obviously necessary. Last summer, then,
it would be recollected that considerable interest was excited in the
City by a proposed alteration of the law respecting merchant, and
factors, and it wax not foreign to the business before the meeting
to remark, that that was a question of the highest importance to
the mercaroile interests of the country. At one of the meetings
that took place on that subject, it wail stated by a gentleman then
*sent, that the establishment of a Chamber of Commerce would
be highly important to the mercantile interests of the City of Lon-
.! in. A Committee was accordingly Conned, and certain resolu-
uorts passed relative to that measure. It became his duty to sub-
mit to his 31ajesty's Government the proceedings that then took
place, and in discharge of that duty, he had written the following
letter to the Lir) of Liverpool:—
" New-street, Spring-gardens, Sept. 23. 1823.
"My Lord—l have the honour to transmit to your Lordship
the Report of a Committee of Merchants and Bankers appointed
to conduct an important application to Parliament, which received
your lordship's sanction and support; and the General Meeting
of Merchants and Bankers, participating fully in the gratitude ex-
pressed by the Committee, directed me as their Chairman to com-
municate to your Lordship the account of their proceedings, as the
most respectful mode of acknowledging their obligation to lour
Lordship. " I have the honour to be, my Lord,
Your Lordship's most obedient humble servant.
" To the Earl of Liverpool." (Signed) JOHN SMITH.
This letter alluded to the particular conduct of Lord Liverpool,
on the important question relating to the law of merchant and
factor, and assured)), he (Mr. Smith) was convinced that his Lord-
ship, on that occasion, had not only done his duty as a public man,
and the chief 31inister of the country, but had performed that duty
with no ordinary degree of zeal and attention. (Hear, hear, hear.)
Within this letter the following resolution was inclosed :
Moved by 11. S. 11. Wollaston, Esq.; seconded by John
Hall, E
" Resolved, That the opinion of this meeting having been
strongly expressed as to the propriety and necessity of the forma-
tion of a Chamber of Commerce in the City of London, the sub-
ject be referred to the f'ommittee appointed by this meeting for
their consideration, with liberty to add to their numbers, and that
whenever they shall be prepared with a report upon the subject, a
public meeting of the merchants, bankers, and others interested in
the trade of the metropolis, be specially convened to consider
the same."

This Icter was dated the 21d of September, a neriod of the year
when, he need not tell the 3lecting, it was difficult to collect a
considerable number of persona in town. The Committee had an
arduous duty to perform, and he was bound to say, that without
the exertions of one or two individuals, especially an lion. Friend
(Mr. J. Hall), whom he had in his eye, they could ro: have
made the report which had given so much satisfaction. It be-
came necessary, in the consideration of this important subject, to
inquire into the nature, history, and principles, not only of Chun.
bees of Commerce in this country, but also, in order to milder
themselves masters of the subject, those existing In most parts of
Europe, and particularly those in Holland arid France. ity the
great real and assiduity of the Committee, the required intonna-
tion was obtained. They met often, and spared no labour in the
prosecution of their object. He could say with great trssth that he
had never acted with any body of men who had earned them-
selves with more ability and effect. But from the nature of the
case, it was impossible to bring their labours to a conclusion until
the commencement of this present year. It might perhaps be
remarked, that they ought to have made an earlier applica-
tion to his Majesty's Government. He could assure the
Meeting, that the Committee had not been negligent as to
that point. The necessity of making application to his Me.
hesty s Government had not eacapid their attention; but it
ad been wisely observed by a Gentleman who belonged to the
Committee, that nothing could be more injurious to the proposed
institution than so to apply in its origin, because it would give the
whole transaction the air of a Government measure. (Hear, hear.)
That objection he scrupled not to say was one which demanded
much consideration. After a short time it was determined to call
together the merchants, bankers, and traders of the city of London,
and present the report of the Committee. The proceedings
of that meeting (on the 111th of March) were fresh in the
recollection of the gentlemen present. lie need not, therefore,
further allude to them. Shortly afterwards a circumstance had
to which he begged particularly to call their attention..
r iradenmute to his knowledge rather by accident than otherwise,
that lard Liverpool had felt it his duty to write letters to several
persons of high consideration in the City, namely—to the Governor
of the Bank of England, to the Chairman of the East India Com.
patsy, to Lord Grenville, as the Chairman of the Levant
Company, and, he believed, to Mr. Thornton, as the head
of the Russia Company. lie might not be accurate as to the
individuals addressed, but there were four letters of the same
purport written by his Lord.hip, criticising, in a tone of great
severity, the proposed institution of a Chamber of Commerce in
the city of London. These letters had occasioned him (IMr. S.)
some surprise, and he would add, great concern. He was not
capable of reciting every word in them; but the sentiment that
pervaded the whole letter was, that the proposed Chamber of Com-
merce was an institution that would be neither convenient nor
useful, and might probably prove highly mischievous, and that it
seemed to include a sort of power which the State itself could
hardly controL This was an objection on which his Lordship laid
stress, as he conceived it to be of high importance. liis
Lordship proceeded to state, that he could not advise the
Crowu to grant a charter to such an institution ; and to shew
his anxiety to give it no countenance whatever, his Lordship
added, that neither lie nor any one of his Majesty's Ministers
would hold any kind of communication with it. lie (Mr. Smith)
repeated, that, on learning the contents of this letter, he felt sur-
prise and concern, because, as he originally communicated on the
subject with Lord Liverpool, it scented a more natural mode of
proceeding, that, if his Lordship wished to make any communica-
tion respecting the institution, he should hare written to some mem-
ber of the Committee. lie (Mr. Smith) certainly had not the ho-
nour of calling the Noble laird his friend, though he knew hint
well and respected him much, but there were individuals in that
Committee who were i:1 the habit of supporting the measures of
his Lordship's administration, and for whom he had great respect
and regard. (Hear, hear, hear.) It was natural to have expected
that the communication should have been made to them, and there-
fore he (Mr. Smith) was apprehensive that his Lordship had re-
ceived some representations not exactly consonant with the teal facts
of the case. •nd laboured under some prejudice against the institu-
tion which might be removed by an explanation of its nature and
objects. In consequence of that feeling, he he had applied to his
Lordship, and with that kind assistance which his Lordship al-
ways cheerfully gave to all who approached him, a conference was
agreed to, and • day fixed to receive a deputation from the Com-
mittee. Unfortunately, when they arrived at Fife House, his
Lordship's indisposition prevented him fecal receiving them.
They then proceeded to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and
had a long conversation with that gentleman. Pe was bound
in fairness to state, that. from the communication they had
had had with Mr. Robinson, he entertained little hope that
they could succeed in persuading his Majesty's Government,
with any modification of their plan, to countenance the pro-
posed measure. The Chancellor of the Exchequer stated, that Go-
vernment had fully considered the situation of the merchants of this
metropolis ; and that as the were near Parliament, anal had every
t•cility of access to the King s3linieters, the institution could be of
no real value or ins ce to them. He had &Imitated, and though
he had not pressed that argument with so much warmth, yet he
had mentioned, that it was extremely probable that the institution
might so operate as to oppress particular interests, and amerquently
prove prejudicial to the commerce of the country. The Right
Honourable Gentleman also entered into an explanation of the
letter of Lord Liverpool; and he (Mr. S.) had since lad a conver-
sation with Mr. Robinson, and he was perfectly and entirely satis-
fied that, though that transaction carried with it an air of cesium
on the Committee, it was his duty to acquit his Majesty's Govern-
ment of any such intention. (Hear, hear, hear.) He believed in
fact that the original resolution which he had transmitted might
not have met his Lordship's eye. Redid not know whether, In this
narrative, be had omitted any thing of importance ; if be had, some
of his Honourable Friends would supply it. In wince of
this conference with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in muse
of a day or two afterwards he had received the following letter
from Lord Liverpool :
" Fife House, March 25, 1821.
" Sir—The Chancellor of the Exchequer having communicated
to me the Report of the Committee presented at a public meeting
of merchants, bankers, and shipowners, on the lath day of March,
on the expediency of establishing a Chaniber of Commerce in the
City of London I think it right to apprise you of my seutiments
as to the intended institution.

'• I do the fullest justic e to the motives of those who have set it