The Sun.
London, England, 1853-03-09 00:00:00

HOUSE OF LORDS--(YESTERDAY.)
The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the woolsack
at five o'clock.
The Duke of RICHMOND presented a petition from
the Eastborne Union, Sussex, praying that the copies of
the general orders issued from the Poor Law Board, may
be for the future sent round to the different unions
before they are transmitted to the Secretary of State, by
whose ratification, at present they become law. Also
a petition from the farmers attending different markets
in Sussex, praying for the repeal of the malt tax.
The Earl of EGLINTON presented a petition from
the South Dublin Union, against the dissolution of Kil-
mainham Union.
Lord WHARNCLIFFE presented a petition from
Yorkshire against the Maynooth grant, and also praying
for the inspection of nunneries.
Their lordships then adjourned.
COUNTY COURTS.
Lord BROUGHAM presented a petition from the
merchants and traders of Margate, complaining of the
expense, vexation, and delay occasioned by the present
state of the administration, of the bankruptcy law. The
noble and learned lord said that the petitioners did not
complain of the law itself, but of the great distance which
they were obliged to travel to attend the courts ; and
they prayed that the bill now before their lordships for
vesting a bankruptcy jurisdiction in the county courts
might be passed into law. He had Also a petition,
numerously signed, from the inhabitants of Brighton, to
the same_ effect. It was impossible for him to present
such petitions for extending the jurisdiction of the
county courts without entreating the attention of their
lordships and of her Majesty's Government to the
immense importance of the system of local judicature:
He would only mention one circumstance for the pur-
pose of illustrating the evils of the present system, and
which, indeed, it required no argument to prove.
Of the 1,900 or 2,000 cases tried in the supreme
courts in one year, sent by writs issuing from all
the four courts of Westminster-hall, to be tried at
all the circuits, including the circuits of London and
Middlesex, more than one-half of the number were
cases under 501., which was the extent of the county
courts jurisdiction as the law at present stood, and con-
sequently more than one-half of those cases might be
tried much more expeditiously and infinitely more cheaply
in the county courts. How many cases did the county
courts try between 201. and 501., to say nothing of the
thousands and hundreds of thousands under 201. ?
3e-
tween 201. and 501.—the ground upon which the county
courts might be said to come into competion with the
supreme courts—there were somewhere about 6,000
cases tried in the county courts, as compared with 1,000
cases tried by the supreme courts under 50/. Anything
more monstrous than the state of the law, or rather the
administration of the law, in this respect, he could not
conceive. The whole of the salaries of the judges of the
supreme courts were now paid, and most properly paid,
not by the suitors but by the consolidated fund. He
thought it was the bounden duty of Parliament and the
Government to provide for the expenses of the adminis-
tration of justice at the expense of the country at large.
But in the county courts, where an immense amount of
business was conducted, to the infinite relief of the
suitors, instead of the country paying the expenses, the
poor suitor paid, because he was less capable of paying.
Being much less. able to bear the burden, on that ac-
count the suitor in the county courts was saddled with
the expense of the administration of justice. That was
an anomaly to which he had often had occasion to
call the attention of their lordships, but he hoped and
trusted that he would not much longer have any occa-
sion to press it on the attention of Parliament and the
Government, 174,000/. was extorted, he might say, from
these poor suitors in the county courts, to pay the ex-
penses of those courts ; and besides that sum, they had
to pay about 100,0001. more to the general fee fund, and
there was even a surplus--which was even more mon-
strous and more anomalous still—and that surplus went
into the consolidated fund.

Lord COLCHESTER gave notice that on Monday
next he would move for a return of the number of per-
sons who had passed the examination established for
masters and mates of merchant vessels by the Board of
Trade.