The Sun.
London, England, 1862-03-19 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF LORDS-YESTERDAY.

The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the woolsack
at five o'clock.
TIIE REVISED CODE.

Lord GAGE presented several petitions against the
Revised Code.
Lord CIIELMSFORD presented petitions from Essex
and other places against the Revised Codo.
The Bishop of ROCHESTER presented petitions from
places in his diocese to the same effect.
Lord REDESDALE presented several petitions from
Wiltshire and Gloucestershire.
The Bishop of CHICHESTER presented petitions
against the revised code,
The Marquis of BATH also presented similar petitions.
Petitions against the revised code were also presented by
Lord Cranworth, Lord Wynford, the Marquis of Nor-
manby, and several other peers.
Lord ST. LEONARDS gave notice that on a future
day he should call the attention of their lordships to the
system of examination proposed under the Revised Code.
Lord OVERSTONE, after presenting petitions, said ho
hoped their lordships would continuo to discuss the provi-
sions of the revised code for the purpose of improving it,
and so arrive at a result which would give general satis •
faction
WRITS OF HABEAS CORPUS IN HER MA-
JESTY'S POSSESSIONS ABROAD.

Tho Duke of NEWCASTLE moved the second reading
of this bill which was the remedy for certain inconvenien-
ces that arose during the proceedings that took place in
connection with the case of the fugitive slave Anderson.
The bill proposed that in any of her Majesty's possessions
where there was a court similar to that of the Court of
Queen's Bench in England, writs of habeas corpus should
not be issued in this country.
After a few words from Lord CHELMSFORD and the
LORD CHANCELLOR, the bill was read a second time.
OFFICERS' COMMISSIONS BILL.
Earl DE GREY and RIPON moved the second reading
of this bill, which was to relieve her Majesty of a great
deal of labour. The measure proposed to relieve
her Majesty from the trouble of affixing the royal
Fly manual to all commissions of offloorp of the
army, militia, and the volunteer force. The labour of sign-
ing these commissions had greatly increased of late ; and
in order to relieve the Crown from the purely formal pro-
ceeding, it proposed that, under certain regulations, all
commissions in future should be signed by the Commander-
in-Chief and the Secretary of State for War.
The Earl of DERBY thought the bill was one that
should be looked at carefully before it passed the house.
He was aware of the unnecessary labour which was now
thrown on the Crown, and therefore he did not offer the
slightest objection to the bill; but he would suggest to the
noble earl that when the Secretary of State for War signed
the commissions, he should state that he did so in pur-
suance of her Majesty's sign manual.
Earl DE GREY said the suggestion of the noble earl
should be attended to. The bill was then read a second
time.

CONSOLIDATED FUND (£18,000,000) BILL.
This bill was read a second time.
THE INSOLVENT COURT.

Lord-CHELMSFORD rose to call the attention of the
house to the case of the clerks and officers of the late
Insolvent Court who had been transferred to the Court of
Bankruptcy under the Act passed in the last session of Par-
liament for amending the law relating to Bankruptcy and
Insolvency in England. He went into, at full length, the
negotiations which had passed between those clerks
and Mr. Roche on the part of the present Lord Chancellor
with respect to their claims for salaries, as also to the steps
taken by Mr. Commissioner Law to vindicate their :sup-
posed rights; he produced a copy of the Bankruptcy Bill
in its original shape, which had been in Mr. Rolt's hands
when the bill was before the House of Commons, and on
which that gentleman had written a note of the reply, which
the present Lord Chanceller, then in the House of Com-
mons, had given to a question of fact by Mr. Malin's, that
the claims of these officials would be attended to. In
consequence of that answer Mr. Malins had been led to
abandon bringing forward the claims further; but yet the
law officer who then promised that their claims would be
guarded now abandoned them to their fate. The noble
lord had secured the opinion of the law officers in his
favour; he had thrown aside altogether the intention
of giving them their full salaries ; he had tried; to
make them receive half their fees ; he had told them
that the House of Commons would refuse them compensa-
tion if they attempted by petition to obtain it ; and then he
invited them afterwards to go by petition to the House of
Commons, and told them that the Government would have
a select committee appointed to inquire whether further
provision should be made. (Hear, hear.) Remember this,
that the Government was to select that committee. Con-
sequently, the Government would have a majority; and,
of course, with the best intentions, the members would feel
that they were bound by the decision of the law officers,
and the consequence would be a report of the committee
against the officers. There was one little incident which
formed the only bright spot in the whole affair, for when
the officers were apprehensive that if they received their
salaries they might prejudice their claim to further emolu-
ments, the noble and learned lord on the woolsack
said the fact of their receiving their salaries would not pre-
judice them. He asked whether it was not evident
to every honest and impartial mind that the officers
had originally an assurance that they should be
secured in the full payment of their salaries
and compensations ; whether the clauses were not framed
with the view of giving them that benefit, and whether they
were not assured over and over again that the clauses were
amply sufficient for the purpose ? Then, he asked, what
was the conclusion from the whole ? Who had committed
this error ? Whose fault was it that the intentions had not
been carried out ? Was it not the fault of the Government,
and were they not bound without delay to introduce a de-
claratory Act to give these officers their rights, which had
been so long withheld from them, and to which they were
justly entitled ? (Hear.)

The LORD CHANCELLOR said that, having regard
to his own position, he did not desire that the noble and
learned lord should have used any different tone or exhi-
bited any different manner from that in which he had con-
ducted this attack. It must be evident to all their lordships
that, if he pitied the clerks much, he hated the Lord Chan-
cellor more. (A laugh.) He brought forward his attack,
not shrinking from charging the Lord Chancellor even with
falsehood—and this is the man with whom he had been for
the last several weeks in daily and confidential intercourse ;
and yet he had not in reference to this malignant assault,
communicated even to the extent which would enable himl
(the Lord Chancellor) to ascertain the facts, and to come'
prepared with the correspondence in reference to this mat
ter. Such was the nature of the attack which they had
heard, and their lordships could well recollect from wheel
had passed in that house on former occasions what was the
feeling that had been rankling and had given rise to this
assault. He would ask what motive ho could have for op-
pressing, or being an obstacle to these poor men being re-
munerated. All that ho could possibly do for them it would
have been a pleasure and a satisfaction to him to do; and
whatever the noble and learned lord might think, it
would have given him satisfaction to have indulged
their utmost expectations. (Hear, hoar.) He spoke
with sincerity and truth—and he cared not whether the
noble and learned gave him credit for it or not—
when he said that when he discovered the real circum-
stances it was a matter to him of most sincere and deep
regret. The noble and learned lord had intimated that he
(the Lerd Chancellor) had sent assurances to the clerks
that their salaries would be fully paid. He did nothing of
the kind. Personal communication he had with none, save
with one gentleman who came to him on the part of the
provisional assignee, who was desirous that his salary
should be increased to the amount of his existing emolu-
ments. He, of course, felt a difficulty in acceding to that,
~ea tn. wetter was brought before the House of Commons.
But it now appeared that, although it was true the clerks
wore paid by salaries, yet they were in the habit of receiv-
ing fees, which were carried to a fund and afterwards
divided among them. He desired to know, if that fact was
known to the noble and learned lords who acted en the
Committee, why they did not correct the expression in the
bill ? They were assured by the then Lord Chancellor
that the words were sufficient. lie had been desirous
of
e securing to these officers a priority of claim upon
um e
voted by Parliament, amounting to G,OOO and odd
phoitsti
'1 it must have been palpable, however, to every
person of ordinary understanding, and
whose mind was in
a state to be free
cious feeling,
that
ftrom anger and the inflammation of mali-
never be satieekee out sum of 19,000 and odd pounds, could
earnute of the moneys voted by Parliament.
The noble and
that
those
lord had so represented the matter
to the house
hadeehowho listened to him must have
thought the return
) been moved for for the purpose of his
(the Lord Chancellor's
and laid on the table of parliament the bill had been pre-
paredttxParliament before the return
was made. (Hear.) The
itP:drversion of the facts of
the case—(" Order")_th© newt Perversion of the facts of
representing ce ohich this noble lord
tbb:ien guilty was in mis-
e what took place in
(Cries of " Order.") He actually eepr "e of Commons.
frame their lore-
ships that he had undertaken to alter the of the bill
upon the report--
Lord CHELMSFO Id)—I beg pardon. I never ia
The LORD CHANCELLOR said ho fortunatselay— sedo.
sent to him the notes of :what took place as recorded in
" Hansard," and with reference to the 36th clause, which
related to the salaries of officers of the Insolvent Debtors,
Court, he was simply reported to have expressed a hope
that the committee would allow the clause to pass in its pre-
sent shape, on the understanding that it should be open to
alteration on the bringing up of the report. That the noble
lord had represented as an engagement on the part of the
Attorney-General to consider the matter, and to bring it
before the house again on the report. (Hear.) In the belief
that the fund available would be sufficient for all purposes,
and being desirous to secure a priority of claim on that
fund to those officers, the words were originally inserted
and retained by him. The next insinuation that
as made was, that the Lord Chancellor, in
directing the case to be laid before the law officers, had
actually taken
bein pains to prevent tho clause in the act
g accurately stated. Did the noble lord not know