The Sun.
London, England, 1836-06-14 00:00:00

be m~>

LONDON.
TUESDAY EVENING. JUNE 14, 1836.

At the instigation of Lord LYNDHURST, the mea-
sure for reforming the Court of Chancery was thrown
out last night by the Lords, on the second reading.
This is another proof that our hereditary legislators
are ready to play the part either of Destructives or
Obstructives, as it suits their purpose. When a na-
tional object, such as the regeneration of the Irish
Corporations, is to be attained, their Lordships, in
the exercise of that absolute wisdom and irresponsible
power which have descended to them from their ances-
tors, set to work with the besom of destruction, and,
in the twinkling of an eye, the municipal institutions
of Ireland disappear—not a trace remaining to tell the
anxious enquirer where such things were ; and when it
is proposed to reform the abuses—the glaring, acknow-
ledged abuses—in the administration of justice, they
cling to these abuses under the pretence that they are
part and parcel of the Constitution. Miserable, short-
sighted drivellers that they are t. What do they suppose
must be the upshot of such frantic exhibitions ?
The state of the Court of Chancery has long been
a disgrace to a civilised country. Its total inadequacy
to the purposes for which it is intended is allowed by
all parties. Instead of being what such a Court ought
to be—an instrument for the prompt and effectual ad-
. ministration' of justice—it is not unfrequently resorted
to for the mere purpose of giving a litigious and frau-
dulent person an undue advantage over an honest man.
The main cause of this inefficiency, or rather per-
version of the Court of Chancery, is the load of busi-
ness of various kinds with which the Judge who pre-
sides there is oppressed. The LORD CHANCELLOR
is literally overwhelmed with his duties. It is utterly im-
possible for the mind of man—or the body of man as at
present constituted—to fulfil the political and judicial
functions which it falls to his lot to discharge. The
obvious remedy for the evil is the separation of the
one class of duties from the other, and this was the
object of the Bills introduced by the Learned Lord
who at present holds the Great Seal. It was pro-
posed that there should be separate Judges- to
preside over the Court of Chancery and the
appellate jurisdiction in the House of Lords. To
this reasonable proposition no just objection could
be made. Lord LYN'to WU RS T therefore did not
oppose the principle of the measure, but carped
at some of the details in that petty quibbling spirit
which has now become a habit with him. The pith
of his opposition consisted in this, that it was impro-
bable that a man of first-rate legal acquirements would
accept the Chancellorship, shorn of its political bea ms,
as well as of a portion of its more substantial recom-
mendations, the consequence of which would be
that the office would be degraded. To this

the LORD CHANCELLOR replied that such an
argument was at best hypothetical, and that there
was no reason to anticipate the refusal of
the Commons to endow the office with such a salary
as might be necessary to its respectability. The
Learned Lord pressed upon the House the propriety
of going into Committee on the Bill, as the principle
of it was not opposed, when alterations might be made
to suit the views of those who objected to some of the
details. But no. The Tory Ex-chancellor who
holds the majority of the Peers in leading-
strings, would not consent, and made this very
conclusive and characteristic reply to Lord COT-
TENHAM'S proposal :—" The Bill," said he, " would
would then go down to the Commons as his (Lord
LYNDHURST'S) Bill, and its fate might easily be an-
ticipated." What wretched shuffling this is ! What a
pitifully shallow subterfuge ! Did not this bold bad
man see that had the notion which the native meanness
of his own mind alone suggested been correct, it formed
no valid reason whatever for the rejection of the mea-
sure by the " stern-path-of-duty " men in the House
of Lords.

We recommend to the especial attention of our
readers the masterly speech delivered on this occasion
by Lord LANGDALE. It is full of sound and en-
lightened views. From the universally acknowledged
legal attainments and high character of the Learned
Lord, it cannot fail to make a powerful impression
upon the public mind.
We would also draw attention to the testimony
borne to the exertions of Lord BROUGHAM, while
that great man held the office of Lord • Chancellor.
What these exertions must have been, may be
judged from the fact, that Lold LYNDHURST, spite-
ful and envious as he is, could not withhold his
meed of approbation from Lord BROUGHAM'S official
labours. Lord COTTENHAM stated, that "by the un-
paralleled exertions of Lord BROUGHAM he had
greatly reduced that arrear, which, in his (Lord COT-
TENHAM'S) thirty years' experience, had never been
reduced before."

A great deal of valuable time was wasted yesterday
in the House of Commons on a foolish squabble be-
tween Sir FREDERICK 'FRENCH and Mr. RIGBY
WASON. The House wished to reconcile matters
between the Hon. Members, and in order to do so
effectually, a world of speechification was resorted to,
which had the usual result of widening the breach
between the disputants. But the joke of the thing is
this, that both Members were so peculiarly situated
that they could neither give nor receive satisfaction ;
and that the very bitterness of their mutual hostility
only served to give the Sergeant-at-Arms still greater
power over them. How absurd, then, for them, under
such circumstances, to affect a shyness of recon-
ciliation, and stand out on a point of honour, when
every one could see that a reconciliation was inevitable,
as neither were free agents ! Really these sort of
things, managed as they now are, are vastly ridiculous.
One Hon. Member chooses to take offence at the
expressions of another; the affair instantly gets wind;
the SPEAKER interposes the weight of his official
authority ; the Sergeant-at-Arms is put into requisition;
the offenders look becomingly indignant at each
other; and after both have
.uttered a variety of pretty
common places touching their wounded honour, feel-
ings, and so forth, the House undertakes to arrange
the business between them ; and the progress of pub-
lie discussion is suspended for an hour and upwards,
in order that a frivolous and purely personal matter may
be settled, which, had conunon sense been allowed a
voice, would have been settled in five minutes ! 't,Nre
trust we shall have no more of these farcical disputes.
If Hon. Members must indulge in the Milesian luxury
of a " skrimmage," let them do so at their Clubs, not
in Committee-rooms, where they are sure to be cruelly
disappointed of the rational entertainment of shooting
each other through the head.

The French Papers of Sunday, received this morn-
ing, bring the conclusion of the debate in the Chamber
of Deputies on the subject of African Colonization.
The Government obtained a complete triumph, so that
the sums demanded were voted by acclamation.
MM. DUVERGIER and DESJOBERT opposed the re-
tention of any settlement in Africa, as imposing upon
the people of France a burden as grievous as it was
useless ; but their arguments seemed to produce an
effect the very reverse of what they intended.
The Moniteur officially announces the death of the
King of SAXONY, at Pilnitz, on the 6th inst. His
MAJESTY had nearly completed his eighty-first year,
so that his death will occasion no surprise to his
people. He will be succeeded by his nephew, who for
five yers past has participated in the Government of
Saxony. The new Monarch is a man of liberal
principles, and his public conduct has been such as to
make him an object of veneration to his subjects.
The Dukes of ORLEANS and NEMOU'RS are still
at Vienna, where they experience the kindest treat-
ment from every member of the Imperial family. The
King of the FRENCH, touched with the welcome re-
ception given to his sons by the Monarch of Prussia
and Austria, has invited Princes CHARLES, AL-
BERT, and A UGUSTUS of Prussia—the Archdukes
CHARLES and MAXINIILIAN, of Austria—and se-
veral distinguished German Nobles, to participate in
the festivities of Fontainbleau in August. It was re-
ported that the King of PRUSSIA intends to visit the
Royal Family of France about the same time. His
MAJESTY will preserve a strict incognito.
We have accounts from Bayonne of the Bth inst.
The Carlists, notwithstanding their repeated losses in
every action with the British troops, attacked the out-
posts of the Legion again on the morning of the 7th.
After an obstinate and bloody engagement, they were
again repulsed with considerable loss. Early on the
following morning, they renewed their attack on the
British lines with no better success.

MINA has cleared Catalonia of the Carlists, and is
preparing to send a force into Lower Arragon, suffi-
cient to drive CABRERA and his bands out of the