The Sun.
London, England, 1830-04-30 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

Mr. Brougham last night, in a long and elaborate
speech, described the evils of a great branch of our legal
system. He also proposed a remedy. He threw out
many valuable hints, some of them perfectly unobjection-
able; but the very inconsiderable increase of Ministerial
patronage and public expence which his plan would entail
upon the country, will make many pause before they assent
to it. We would also venture to suggest, that while an
appeal is allowed, except under• very special circumstances,
it is hopeless to expect speedy or cheap justice. A very
little dexterity in an attorney can swell a 101. debt to 20/.
and a very little knowledge can discover a legal quibble
for discussion before a superior Court. There should be
no appeal, except there is gross error evident on the face
of the whole proceedings.— Times.
Lord Malmesl►ury presented last night, in the House,of
Lords, a petition from the Distillers of the United King-
dom. The Distillers contend, that, in 1825, an ar-
rangement was made by Government, after the mcst de-
liberate and anxious consideration, on the principle that
the Distillers and Barley-growers of Great Britain and
Ireland, and the West Indians, should be enabled to enter
the market on equal terms. By this arrangement rum
was to pay a duty of Bs. 6d., and corn-spirits a duty of
7s. The West Indians now wish to get rid of the Is. 6d.,
which would, as is contended by the Distillers, give to the
former a complete monopoly. Lord Malmesbury ob-
served, that " if the Distillers were prevented from con-
suming the corn and the malt, a great injury would
accrue to the agricultural interest—an interest which was
already involved in difficulties, and which difficulties
ought not to be increased, and for the protection of which
the Corn Laws bad been established. He knew that the
West Indians might say, that keying their protecting
laws, the landed interest ought not to stand in the way of
the West Indians, but he would tell these gentlemen that
they bad their own protecting and prohibitory laws, which
were more in their favour than the Corn Laws were in fa-
vour of the landed interest." His Lordship took care not
to state the sum which the monopoly in favour of the
landowner adds to the charges of the distiller. In another
column our readers will find abundant information on this
as well as other particulars connected with the question, in
an article, entitled " Observati..ns on a Letter of John
Innes to the Chancellor of the Exchequer," wherein it is
stated that, as Barley is now selling here at 325. a quarter,
while it is selling in Denmark and Holland for 11 s. or 12s.
a quarter, " the Corn Laws impose a tax of at least 18s.,
allowance being made for the expence of importation, on
every quarter of Barley used in the distilleries." Lord
Goderich, on being appealed to by Lord Malmesbury with
respect to the arrangement of 1825, gave a very full ex-
planation on this subject :—.lle considered (he said) that
the owners of the soil in Jamaica were as much British
subjects as the owners of the soil in England, and were
to be treated on a footing of equality. When the duty
was reduced in 1825, he was not prepared to say what
duties would place their interests on the same footing;
and in order to ascertain that he instituted an investi-
gation. The Corn Law Distillers claimed a protec-
tion of 2s. the gallon, and the Jamaica Planters said
they could not allow more than Is., and he thought he
should be acting on a fair principle, if be struck the ba-
lance between them, and gave a protecting duty of la. 6d.
to the English corn distiller." His Lordship then ad-
verted to the extraordinary consumption which had fol-
lowed the reduction of the duty, whereby the falling off in
the revenue had been much less than he anticipated. "The
duty in the year 1828 was only 200,0001. less, instead of
being 600,000/. ; and he was informed that in 1829 the
consumption had increased even more than in 1828 ; so
that the loss to the revenue was still less. He agreed with
the petitioners and the Noble Lord that no circumstances
had occurred since 1825 to justify the change now pro-
posed." During this contention between the Landowners
and West Indians we hear nothing of the public morals.
When the weighty question is determined, which shall go
to the wall, there will be an opening for cant ; but there
is a season for every thing, anti the season for affecting a
regard for the public morals is after private interests have
been duly secured.—Morning Chronicle.
At length a measure has been submitted to Parliament
for the Improvement of the Administration:of Justice in
England, which really looks like improvement in good
earnest. Mr. Brougham last night moved for leave to
bring in a Bill for the Establishment of Local Jurisdic-
tions in certain Districts in England. England, as far as
the administration of justice is concerned, richly deserves
the character given to it by Mr. Brougham, of being one
of " the most barbarous and unenlightened in the world,"
From the very nature of things, the absence of local Courts
is a denial ofjustice ; because the expence inseparable from
trial at a distance, excludes from the 'Tribunals ninety-nine
in a hundred of those who have wrongs which they are
desirous of having redressed. To recover 6/. or 71., a
man must first spend 601, or 70/. ; and after long delay,
when his debtor is solvent, he cannot obtain from that
debtor the whole of what he has expended by about 207.
The whole number of actions in all the Courts for two
years and a half, according to a Return made in 1827, was
93.000, and of this number one• third was for sums not
exceeding 20/. ; two-thirds for sums not exceeding 50/.,
and five-sixths for sums net exceeding 100/. ; and this
as Mr. Brougham observed, " leads to a most important
practical conclusion—that the vast bulk of the litigation of
the country resolves it-elf, as far as actions of debt, and
in the nature of debt, go, into actions where the sum in
dispute is not more than 100/." " What (adds Mr. B.)
is the result but this?—that no man in his senses would
thing of proceeding in an English Court of Justice for such
a sum as 201., 30/.lor I should say, for any sum under 401..
or 50/. ; and a wise man would almost rather put up with
an extortionate claim to that extent, rather than incur the
hazard of resisting it. even though he might have the
plaintiff's stamped receipt in his pocket. If a party suc-
ceeds, he cannot gain ; and if he is defeated, he is sure to
he a great loser." Is it not singular thee& stats,,of
things like this should have existed in a countrr of
which the inhabitants call themselves free-born, up to the
30th year of the 19th century? What a happy knack we
have in allowing ourselves to be amused with fictions !
While the English have been thus excluded from Courts
of Justice, their northern neighbours have had a
Court in each county (and a Scotch county is seldom
larger than an English Hundred,) competent, as Mr.
Brougham observes, "to entertain neatly all ordinary
causes of action—all actions of debt to any amount—ac-
tions of damages in almost any cause of complaint—
actions of defamation, assault, false imprisonment, mali-
cious prosecutions, criminal conversation, trespass, trover,
seduction, and almost all actions of tort." In this Court
22,000 causes are tried every year, and only one in
118 of the causes so tried were carried by appeal to a
superior tribunal. With regard to the expence—for a debt
of 121. where there is no litigation, that is an undefended
cause, the expense is 10s., for 251. the cost is 155., for
501. the cost is little more than 155., and for 1001. the
cost is only 20s. In contented eases the expence is com-
paratively trivial. " With all my prejudices in favour
of English judicial establishments, and the system of