The Sun.
London, England, 1830-11-10 00:00:00

that she did not possns a todeo-she should have her laws
in a small boot accessible to every one, The merit of a
code was 'ewer admitted by the nations which had en.
joyed one, end the longer it had been known among any
particular chin the trotrathey were attached to it, The
Bourbons, it was well known, could not have been ree,
stored, but that they consented to retain the Sapient)
Code, and it was one of the chief grieettoces of theilhi-
.
glans that that code bad been abolished in their country.
Yet it was in itself by no means perfect, the simplicity and
brevity which distinguished it were its great recommends-
flop. The evils of our laws were manifest, and thejnibit
which had grown up in this country for the Judas, to
nuke the law by the interpretation which they put °wile:
Statutes was moat mischievous. The Statute of Frauds
was not understood for lfio yearseedill Lord Ellenbo-
rough, in the can of Warner v. Warkers, discovered the
true construction. In making that discovery the Noble
Lord upset all the previous decisions ern the subject,
and the unhappy clients who might have acted under the
advice of their lawyers, founded upon previous decisions,
would have found themselves In the wrong. It was true
that Lord Eldon bad never bowed to Lord Ellenborough's
derision in Warne v. Warlters ; but still it; was admitted
at the preeeat day as a binding authority, Under these
circumstances be recommended a code. Every contin.
gooey most, in some measure, he previded for, and the
only question was, whether it ehould7 be provided fir at
Tint or at last?, I,le declared that lie bad never felt a
comfortable hour in the discherge of the chitin of his
profession, for he always felt sure that under our present
system of laws, justice was only to be got by accident.
After a few observations from Mr. Monett and Mr.
Luna Wat.t.astatYi
Mr. CAMPBELL said that the lion. and Learned
Solicitors General would add to his high character by the
measure which he now proposed. The first part of that
tOssetitre related to the sale of lands under the Statute of
'Peso& To thet he had no objection, but he much
wished that the Honourable and Learned Gentleman
Would allow the subject of wills to remain untouched,
for that was at present under the consideration of the
Commission of which he (Mr. Campbell) had the ho-
nour to be a Member. The few relating to wills was
certainly in a most unsettled and barbarous state, Tinto
*witnesses were now required to authenticate a will,
which was to pass a quarter of an acre of land, if it
happened to be freehold ; while property to the amount
of 20,000/. a year might be disposed of, even without
any signature, if that property happened to be copy-
bold ; and the same was the ease with regard to pro-
perty of any amount in the funds. That, however, was
not all, A change of the tenure by which the late' was
held would defeat a will. There was the came of the late
Lord Erskine, in whose favour a will had .beee made, but_
who lost it because the gentleman who intended to leave
it had, after making the will, suffered a recovery, in °Mir,
as be supposed, to make all sure in, favour of his legatee.
The ace of suffering a recovery. we`e by the °Plat" of
.law, a revocation of the will, and though the:testator hail
intended just the contrary, Lind Erskine loot the estate.
Another evil consisted of the rules of interpretation in
met of wills. If a men left another a horse, the legatee
received the property in full and absolute possession, but
if he left " a field called Elsekacre," to any person, the
legatee would only have an estate for life, because the tea-
tame did not add the words, "his heirs and assigns for
ever." As to the point of *decree possession, he agreed
witlt the Horn Member for Colchester, that twenty years
Of adverse possession ought to give a title, and such was
now proposed, to be the. rule, Ile feared that the law
never could be made as perfect as the lion. Member for
Waterford imagined. Every man could nut be his own
lawyer. Law was a sciertee,, and must be acquired, and
men would no more be their own lawyers than their own
physicians. He feared, too, that even if a coda were in-
troduced, judge-made law could not be avoided. There
was as much judge-made law in France MS in England;
their reports were more numerous than our own, and'
wherever there was law there would arise cases net exactly
- foreseen, and then the Judges must become the law's'in•
terpreters, and to that extent the law-makers.
Mr. HUME was happy to bear so many reformers on
every side of the House; and since the lion. and Learned
Gentleman had thus frankly stated his opinions on the
subject of adverse possessions, perhaps it might be allow-
oble to ask Not whether the preprint as to twenty yearis
adverse 'immersion gitring title was to he applicable to
thatch property? lie asked the question because lie
thought the time.was come when church property ought
to be put on the same footing as other property ?
Mr. CAMPBELL thought that, in cases of church
property, this rule ought to be applicable eo (Sr as it could.
,Tisot at: leest was his private opinion. He had devoted a
great part if the late vacation to framing such a law.
chat law must be framed differently from laws relating to
other property, for church property was held upon so
many and such various tenures. It was his wish that the
church should preserve all its present possessions—(A
laugh)—but that the litigations now daily arising with
reepect to the tithes should be at an end. That would be
beneficial to the church, and, as a hind of the church, he
should recommend it.
The SOLICITOR.GENF,RAL regretted that the quo..
tarn as to church property heti been put to his Hon. and
Learned Friend, as that matter was not yet in a state to '
be presented to the public. As to the other questions now
, under the consideration of the House, there was lost one
upiaion ; but the question was as to the time at which the
bontetion was to take effect ? Ile was opposed to a code. '
~ We had, at present, the finest body of laws in the world,
and it was not necessary for the Hon. Member for Middle-
am to understand them as well ns a lawyer,—(A laugh.)
Law wee, and must be, a science, and it would he the
greatest possible curse when it was not so, and when at'ery
Me could understand it, for at that instant certainty would
hive flown. If to4norrow the plainest law possible were
to be made, in time the interpretation of that law would
. become matter of science. lie maintained that in no
country in the world were there, as in England,
Ha many
means of limitation, with regard to an estate, so as to KC•
cure a life enjoyment to the owner, and a prevision for Isis
(Amity after his death, All thitt was not to be accom-
plished by the simple declaration "it shall be am" The
most fixed words were required for such a purpose-
--(Hear, liesr).....and it was for Hon. Members who cried
" Hear, hear !" to learn these words. Ile repeated, that
if the law was attempted to be reduced to a code, our cer•
tainty in it would be gone, and "certainty," as the law
said, " was the mother of repose " The law bad a pe-
culiar language, which it required time to understand ;
and whet he said it was riot necessary for the Doss. Mew-
bar fur Middlesex to understand it, he meant that the mart
who devoted his attention to other eubjects, must not ex-
pect to be able to understand the law. He did not pre-
tend to rival that lion. Member in a knowledge of finance,
and that Hon. Member could hardly expect to be equal in
his knowledge of the law to those who had studied it all
their lives. He trusted that the measure he was now shout
to introduce would satisfy the treat wishes of the country.
....Leave given.
OFFICERS IN THE ARMY AND NAVY.
Mr. HUME complained that the officers of the army
were too numerous. It might be supposed that the
numbers of the officers were limited by the numbers of
the army. It was no such thing. Two or three years
tigo the Cotrantinder•in•Chief had made a supernumerary
corps of officers, and the consequence of this would he,
that our pension list would be shortly much increased. Ile
wished to know the number of unattaehed.officere from
December, 182% to June, MO, and he moved for a
return to that effect.
Sir 11. HARDINGE had no ohjeotion to the return,
and if the Noble Lord connected with that department
had anticipated any observatione, he would have been
there to have answered them. The uoittiched officer',
were taken from those on half-pay, and the manner in
which that had beers done would, he wail ewe, 'when it
had been explained, meet with the epproliation of the
public.---Returns ordered.
Mr. HUME then moved for retries of Officers pro-
meted since the accession of his•present Majesty, and for
an account of the additioirel -expense thus created. He
knew that it bad been the cottons to make promotions on
the accession of a never King, hat the time had pose by
when we could afford ..to allow such an increase of our
expenditure.
• Sir H. HARDINGE said that whenever the question
fairly came before the House, it would be found that the
promotions referred to did not much increase thin expenNe.
Her did not object to the return,
Mr. HIJME moved for returns of the half-pay of the
regular troops, sod of the half-pay of the militia. It had
been said that the half.pay was retained in this mariner,
as a security for the future services of the officers who re-
Wood it. That, however, was not the case ; for whets
he, on a former occasion, moved for a return of the
officers who were receiving half-pay, and who were acting
as (dergynnli in the country, it was said there were none
who were so acting ; hot some time afterwards it was dim-
covered that about forty of throe persons were receiving
half-pay.—The returns were ordered.
The report relative to the state of the British posses.'
sloes Weed ordered to lee rewind on Thureday next.
SIJSSEX: JURY HILL

Mr. W. BURRELL reeved slut seeinid reading of tt...
Sussex Jury Bill. •
Mr. CAMPBELL rose to oppose tbs Bill, And said he
should take the sense of the 'louse epee it. If carried
into effect, it would produce a roust important 41ttrition