The Sun.
London, England, 1830-06-11 00:00:00

Elders or a District); If the Landholders refuse
or delay to re-build a decayed Church, the Presby-
tery have the power of acting, their judgment being
eveleject to the review of the Supreme Civil Court.
:Mee those who have so deep an interest in the
expenditure have the power of determination in the
first instance, we may be sure that there will be
little of that jobbing of which so many complaints
are heard in England and still more in Ireland.
Some such plays as that in operation in Scotland
was, in effect, suggested by Mr. Spring Rice, who
observed, that " the remedies which it appeared to
him were calculated to correct the existing evil, he
had more than once stated in that Home ; and he
had obtained the concurrence of the Right Hon.
the Secretary of State for the Home Department
in his views. The principal point of the Bill which
he should wish introduced was, in future leases to
throw the payment of the rate on tile Landlords ;
as in the Tithe Composition Act."—Morn. Chron,
At length Ministers begin to be sensible that the
mode of conducting business in the House of Com-
mons is as bad as can well be imagined. When
pressed last night to propose a particular measure
respecting Vestries in Ireland, Sir Robert Peel de-
clared that—
" They could not get at this motnent a fair considera-
tion of any measure they proposed, for Honourable Mem-
bers did not afford them time for the purpose ; they rose
night after night to discuss every question that was in-,
trodaced. . . If twenty other Members took the
same view of their duty as the Hon. Member opposite
(Mr. Hunie), not only the House would not be able to
pass tine Bill, but they would not get any one Bill through
the first reading. Admitting that such discussions were
not unnecessary, that there was not an unnecessary argu-
ment in the Hon. Member's speech, yet he must repeat,
that if twenty other Hon. Members assumed the same
course, they should never get through their business.—
He must say, that when the Hon. Member occupied in
varioss di:cautions four or five hours every night, it was
a little hard in him to become the accuser of Ministers for
not introducing other measures. He 'appealed to the
House whether it was not with the geeatest difficulty that
Ministers NOW got a fair hearing for any Bill they intro-
duced, sad when they did obtain something like a hearing
for it, whether they Isere ever able to do so before one or
two o'clock in the morning. Under these circumstances,
lie melt confess that he felt the greatest reluctance to add
anything to the business of the Session ; and, for his own
part, he was quite unable to undertake any new business
with the least hope of doing it justice. At present he was
often employed seventeen or eighteen hours out of the
twenty-four ; and when it was considered that he was
frequently ten hours in attendance on that House, it must
be admitted that he could hare but little leisure for pro-
perty considerieg any measure with a view to bring it
under their entice."
They rose to discuss every question that was
introduced ! If twenty men were to discuss every
queetion no business could be done ! Then, ate
cording to the Right Hon. Gentleman, the House
of Commons is only not a great nuisance when the
Members cease to do their duty. He has, no doubt,
read (if he have not he ought to read) a sensible
pamphlet published some time ago by Mr. Wickens,
demonstrating, in the most satisfactory manner, that
the al stem of conducting business in the House of
Commons was the very worst conceivable. If Mem-
bers would only be so good as not to discuss ques-
does, then the business could be carried through.
Here we have at once the cause of the farrago of
laws which have been poured forth in such abun-
dance every year on the people of England. The
business proceeded, because every man was allowed
to introduce and carry through any measure he had
a fancy to and the only hope of the country was,'
that some of the worst might stick in the House of
Lords. All sorts of Bills used to be smuggled through,
the House; the house of Commons is not conskie,
tilted for legislation ; it can never be more than an
arena for declamation on a few subjects of general:
interest ; and the sooner it is shown by 10 or 20 men!
really doing their duty, examining And discussing:
every question, that its claims to legislate are a false
pretext, individuals sheltering themselves under im
name,the sooner will a remedy be provided fort he evil:
It ill becomes Sir R. NO to complain of the time
occupied in discussing questions, who approves of
the occupation of days and days with the dirty de-i
tails of domestic squabbles, or intrigues, of which wei
have had some samples this Session. lie contended
the other night against the devolving divorce causes
on a proper tribunal, and who does not know that
these causes alone, if justice is done to them, are
sufficient to occupy the Legislature? Why there
are three at this moment before the House of Lords;
All stets of private Bills, the subjects of which be
long properly to tribunals, are allowed by Sir N
Peel and his colleagues to occupy the time of Par-
liament ; and why ? Because money is made b
them. Why does he not attempt to cleanse the
Augean stable? Before complaining of the discussion
of measures—before insisting ors a discretion being
allowed to every Member to carry through Built;
without examination or discussion, he ought at least
to exclude from Parliament all that can be better
performed elsewhere. If there were a dozen lion.
Members to do their duty, though it were attended
Ns- ith the disabling a dozen of Ministers—to wish
nothing worse to them—the country would thereby
be greatly benefited. Reform would then be-
some a matter, not of choice, but of necessity.—
Morning Chronicle. •
It is now quite clear that the Session of Parlia-
ment will come to an end without any thing effec-
tive being done in furtherance of that important na-
tional object, the improvement of the administration
of justice, which formed so prominent a topic in the
Speech from the Throne. Nothing more is heard of
Mr. Brougham's plan for administering " cheap and
expeditious justice" by the appointment of dis-
trict Judges, empowered to try minor cases of debt,
&c., to decide finally upon claims to the amount of
10/,, and to determine actions from that sum to
100/., with a right of appeal to the Judges of As-
size. To this plan Sir Robert Peel seemed to be
decidedly favourable when it was first propounded
by the Hon. and Learned Member; but it is not
un-
likely that it w'll share the fate of Lord Ahhorp's
Bill, introduced some vests ago, for forming the
County Courts, and giving them competent Judges,
with a power of adjudicating upon those small
claims, the expense of suing for which in the
supetior Courts, generally amounts to three or
four times more than the sum recovered, So
that the suitor is sure to be a loser by the de-
cision in his favour ! The consequence of such
n system is, that many a man prefers abandon-
ing his just claim, rather than incur the expense
of vindicating his right in a Court of Law. Titus
the expenses of law often operate as a denial of
justice. To remedy an evil, the operation of which
is so mischievous to the community at large, Lord
Althorp, if we recollect right, proposed that the old
Istitution of the County Courts should be made
respectable and efficient by the appointment of a
practising Barrister in each of those places of local
jurisdiction, as assessor to the Sheriff, with a salary.
of 5004 per annum. The appointment of the as-
sessor was to be invested, according to the Bill and
the Committee who recommended it, not in the
Crown, but in the Custos Rotulorum of the county.
This latter provision did not meet the approbation
of Government. It was suggested, in the discus-
sion which took place on the Bill in the House of
Commons, that the Crown should have the right of
appointment. On the other side a great deal was
said about the " independence of the Bar," and the
danger of increasing the influence which the Crown
already exercised in Westminster Hall. For our
part, we do not see how the " independence of the
I3ar" was involved in the question. We believe that
"independence" to be one of the fictions of the law
which it is politic in lawyers to talk of, but ridiculous
in the public to believe. It is not likely that the
Nobleman whe sways a county, under the titles of
lord Lieutenant and Custos Rolulorum, would be
actuated by more impartiality of choice and purity
of motive in exercising the power of appointment
than the Crown, by whose special favour he is him-
self appointed, and on whose pleasure his dignity
depends. If Ministers so far forgot their duty to
the public as to make those appointments, not on a
pr.nciple of meritorious choice but corrupt patron.