The Sun.
London, England, 1830-03-02 00:00:00

nor fir any sum of the kind, nor was its value 700/. or
3001., but 300/. or 400/., which I bel'eve is a usual price
for such animals as these. That was the first error. In the
next place, it was physically impossible, as I will satisfy the
House if they will do me the honour to attend, that this
transaction of the purchase of the horse could have had any
effect upon the judgment of Lord Charles Somerset, for it
occurred some months after the judgment had been deli-
vered. The judgment was delivered on the 30th of April,
and the sale of the horse took place on the Ist of Septem-
kr. But that was not all : for if the purchase of the lowse
had been made to influence the Judge, his judgment was
all the wrong way, for it was against the man to whom
the horse was sold. Now, after this, suppose I
had had ever so great a reason, in the first instance,
to confide in the sta,eirents in the petition, I ask
whether I was bound to go on with it, after I had thus
discovered its material errors ? lam bound to say, on
behalf of that gentleman whose petition I presented, that I
thought then, and think still, he was ill used ; and I
should be willing to present the petition of him, or of any
other man, under similar circumstances ; but it is one
thing to present a petition, and another to go on and im-
peach the Government mentioned in it. I cross-examined
the gentleman who furnished me with the petition, and
did what I could to assure myself of the truth of the state-
ment in it ; but it was not his own case, and of course he
could only speak to the best of his belief. When I found
I must fail in that cl.atge I resolved not to go further; and
within a wed: afterwards I stated to the House that it was
too late that Session to put a public officer on his trial,
and that the question must therefore be postponed to the
next Session—it was so postponed ; in the next nothing
was done ; but in the Session after I gave the same expla-
nation which I have now given, and which I hope I shall
not he called cn to give again.—(lfear, hear. )—I acquit
the Hon. Member who has brought the matter forward of
any intention of attacking me personally ; but I must put
in on behalf of the profession of the law, not of myself, a
doubt whether a more complete and perfect and satisfac-
tory answer could be given to any charge brought against
one of its members.—(Hear, hear.)
Mr. D. W. HARVEY said that the Hon. and Learned
Member who had just addressed the House had but done

him justice in saying that he had no intention of attacking
any particular body of men. He bad no such intention ;
but he would not abstain from doing his duty under the
dread of falling under the exercise of the powers of any Hon.
Gent., even of the Hon. and Learned Gent. himself.—
(Hear.)—He confessed that he thought that it was impos-
sible for a man to be in such a situation without having his
judgtnent influenced by it in the performance of his duty
in that House ; and it occurred to him the more strongly,
from the peculiar locality of the Hon. Member in that
HouFe—for it happened just about that time that the Hon.
and Learned Gent. took a conspicuous situation on the
other side of the House. After he had expected to have
seen the .Noble Lord impeached, lie was surprised, and his
surprise was not singular, at the course the Hon. and

Learned Member so peremptorily and ❑nexpectedly took;
but it was obvious then, and it appeared now to be the
fact, that he was engaged professionally in the same

matter, arid the result appeared to be that it produced
in his mind an impression the most perfectly different
front that which be had expressed when he read the pe-
tition in that House. He (Mr. Harvey) had never given
any opinion on that case—he entertained none: but he

had no doubt, after the satisfactory statement made by the
Hon. and Learned Gentleman, that he had exercised a
sound judgment on the subject. There was only one cir-
cumstance which was at variance with what the Hon. and
Learned Gentlem to had observed, and that was an ob-
servation which amounted to this—that it was prepos-
terous to suppose that any gentleman in the profession
could be Counsel and Judge in the seane cause at the same
time. Did the Hon. and Learned Gentleman forget that
there were fourteen Courts, or divisions of a Court—for
such were the lists of Commissioners of Bankrupts—sitting
at the same time, and that as ahnost all the persons mini.
posing these Courts were practising barristers, each might
he retained to plead before the Court of which he was a
member. Ile would not say that that was a seemly prac-
tice, but so it was. The Hon. and Learned Gentleman
had asserted that he (AL.. Harvey) was ready to join with
the crowd in raising an outcry against his branch of the
profession, and assaulting the magnitude of their fees. He
really had no wish to do any such thing; but at the same
time he must say, that he felt there was ample room for
amendment in that respect, and that no reform would be
effectual that did nut place that portion of the profession
under controul and regulation. If a solicitor charged
13s. 4d., and the Master struck off 6s. Sd., the party got
the benefit of the disallowance; but if a fee of fifty or one
hundred guineas was marked on the hack of a brief; and
the Master disallowed one half of the sum, or even if the
barrister was not present in Court, he knew no means of
getting back the sum that had been disallowed. That
statement of Lis opinion was certainly not an attempt to
run down a branch of the profession incapable cf defend•
mug itself. He was, however, a reformer ; and being so,
he was desirous that reform should be carried into every
department where it was required.

Mr. BROUGHAM said, that the Hon. Member for
Colchester was mistaken as to his supposed locality in that
House at the time in question. All the transactions took
place in 1825, when he occupied the very saute place in
that House as at the present moment, and the discussions
then began and ended in eight days. It was two years
afterwards that the subject was renewed, and that he gave
the explanations which he had now repeated.—The pe-
tition was laid upon the table.
Mr. O'CONNELL presented a petition from the Inha-
bitants of the Parish of St. Andrew, against the Select
Vestry Act.
Mr. O'CONNELL presented a petition from the Roman
Catholic inhabitants of Naas, in Ireland, against the
Vestry Act.
Mr. O'CONNELL presented a petition from the town
of Drogheda, complaining of distress, and praying that
some Charitable Funds now held by the Corporation of
that town might be appropriated to the relief of the poor
there. The petition stated that a great number of persons
in the town were destitute of food, fuel, and clothing--
that 25/. a week were collected, which only gave five-
farthings per head to each of the poor—that the Corpo-
ration possessed charitable funds to the amount of 20,0001.
a year, and that the same might be advantageously ap-
plied to the relief of the poor.— Laid on the table.
Mr. O'CONNELL presented a petition from the tanners
of Drogheda, against the Excise upon Leather. The lion.
Member then postponed his notice of motion respecting
the Law of Libel, from to-morrow to the 29th April.
DEPUTY SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS.
Mr. C. PERGUSSON moved for certain returns front
the Court of Session, and took that opportunity of ask-
ing the Right Hon. Secretary of State a question, in re-
lation to the late Learned Lord Chief Justice of the Court
of Common Pleas. That Learned Lord had retired, and
had, as ha honeyed, obtained a pension, on the ground
of infirm health. By the 29th of Geo. 111. his Majesty
was empowered to grant to the Judges of the Courts of
Westminster Hall certain annuities, upon their retiring
orn the Bench. That power was limited to cases in
which these Learned Persons had been fifteen years upon
the Bench, with the excepted case of persons who re-
tired f;-,:o permanent infirmity. The question he put
was—wilt:thew 1,!t•It Noble and Learned Lord was about
to be appointed to an.:,ther office—to one of high trust,
great responsibility, and consideraWe labour—he meant
tiria office of Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords.
Mr. I.4F.EJ, raid that the Government had it not in con-
templation to n4,r any special appointment of Deputy
/Speaker. The Chief Baron of the Exchequer, by virtue
of his appointment ;is such, and the Master of the Rolls
in the rime mantrer, would sit in that house in the ab-
sence of the Lord Ch4ncellor,
MALT DUTIES.

Mr. SLANEY presented a petition from 1000 persona,
compii,ing the principal land-owners of three hundreds in
4.11,e e:ounty of Salop, praying for the repeal of the Act
reliding to the Duty on Malt.
Mr. PORT lAti reminded the Chancellor of the Ex-
eliciiier that, early in last Session, he agreed to bring in a
Bill to regulate the Malt Duty. Ile bad not yet pressA
the Right lion. Gr►lt, to per4onn that promise, because
he wished and expected that the delay wpuld itvitice him
to change a Bill to regulate the Malt into a. Bill to repeal
the Malt Duty altogether.
Ur, S. RICE gave notice of his intention to move for
ilev,a; to hring in a Bill to remove certain civil disabilities
still exting,winct Roman Catholics in the Corporation
of Gtiii