The Sun.
London, England, 1836-08-19 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF LORDS, AUMST 18.
The Consolidated Fund Bill, the Exchequer Bills Bill,
and the Kingstown Harbour Bill, passed through Com-
mittee.
The Grand Jury Pre!;cattnent Bill passed through Com-
mittee,- and was ordered to be read a third time to-morrow.
The Pensions' Duty Bill, and the Coal Trade Bill, were
read a third time.
The Inns and Alehouses Bill was re.:l a third time and
passed:
The Tithes Composition (Ireland) Bill was read a third

time.
The Parochial Assessments Bill was committed, re-
ported, and read a third time and passed.
The Public Works (Ireland) Bill was read a second
time, and ordered to he committed to-marrow.
COMMON LAW COURTS BILL.
Lord LANGDALE rose for the purpose of directing
the attention of their Lordships to 6:: Common Lair
Courts Bill, which had been some little time lying on their
Lordship' table, having been brought up from the Com-
mons and read a first time. The Noble and Learned
Lord commenced with stating the origin of fees paid by
suitors in Courts of Law and Equity ; and, after noticing.
the manner in which abuses had, on that head, crept
in am; continued, he went on to say that parties hold-
ing offices bad dealt with these fees as vested interests.
Offices of this description bad been made the subject of
grants by patent ; they had been made the subject of bar-
gain and sale, and they had also been made the subject
of marriage settlement. For two centuries there had
been a struggle as regarded these fees. Perhaps of all
persons suitors to a Court ought to be most exempted from
such charges ; and if the offices were essential they ought
to be defrayed by the public. He then noticed, in fa-
vourable terms, Sir Robert Peel's Bill, of the Ist of Wil-
liam IV., cap.. 58, which went to abolish a vast number of
fees ; and next quoted a part of a Report of the Law Com-
missioners, from which it appeared that the amount of fees
paid in a period of ten years in the Court of King's Bench
was 36,0'73/. ; in the Court of Common Pleas 14,878/. ;
and in the Court of Exchequer 18,69 a ; making a total of
65,641/., paid ht the shape of fees by the suitors of those
three Courts. New, of this 36,0731. of fees to the King's
Bench, about 17,0001, of it had been paid for sinecures or
services not essential, the payment for the real services
being 8,800/. ; and of the 14,875/. paid in the Common
Pleas, only about 6,800/. had been paid for services really
performed, the rest being for sinecures, or offices not neces-
sary ; and of the 18,6901. paid by fees in the Exchequer
Court, the amount of the real services performed was 8,800/.;
so that out of a total of 69,6411. paid for fees, only 24,400/.
were expended in the payment of real services. The
Noble and Learned Lord then reviewed those clauses
of the Bill which relate to compensation, saying he could
not concur without further inquiry in them.—(Hear.)
The persons at present holding offices were to be permitted
to have, in compensation, annuities to three-fourths the ex-
tent they received in the shape of fees, which annuities
were to be disposable. They were to be paid by the Ex-
chequer out of the Consolidated Fund. Such a measure
as this, he apprehended, could not be passed at that late
period of the Session—( Hear, hear)—and it would be requi-
site to have further information upon the subject. Un-
der these circumstances, therefore, he proposed that it
should be deferred till a future Session ; and, with that
view, he moved that the Bill be read a second time that day
three months.
Lord ELLENBOROUGH said that Mr. Peel's Act
had done every thing which could be done in the shape
of abolishing or diminishing fees. It was impossible that
any measure could expedite that object further than that
Act did. He thought it was a fallacy to suppose that
the expenses of the future could he diminished in the way
that was imagined by some. With resneet to the depart-
ment over which he had the honour of presiding, he never
beard a single complaint against the officers ; but this he
would say, that if any complaint were made to him, they
knew little of him if they supposed that the sun would
set before they were removed. As regarded the compe”sa-
tion which this Bill proposed, he thought it extravagant-
-(Hear)—and if the Bill had been moved through its
future stages, he had prepared a clause, as far as he was
personally concerned, to render it inoperative.
The motion was then agreed to, and the Bill was conse-
quently lost.
VINDICATION .OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS.
Lord LYNDHURST rose to address their Lordships,
amidst considerable bustle in the House. His rising, how-
ever, was the :signal for instantaneous and general silence.
The Noble Lord felt himself called on in honour and duty
to beg the indulgence of their Lordships for a short time,
while'lle attempted to vindicate himself and some of his
Noble Friends who co-operated with him from as foul, and
unfounded, and unjustifiable accusations as ever were
brought against public men before a public tribunal. This
appeal he made to the justice, the honour, and the inde-
pendence of their Lordships, at least that great majority of
their Lordships that would not be quelled into submission
by external menaces, or cajoled into the positive abandon-
ment of old and venerated principles by the syren note of
democratic flattery.--(Cheers.) lie and his Noble Friends
beside him were attacked in a way that neither the usual
courtesies of the House, nor he would say regard for truth
and justice, could warrant.—(Cheers.) These attacks
were first commenced by the Noble Baron (Holland) in his
characteristic strain—a strain not suited to time delicacy,
temper, and judgment of that House. They were re-echoed
by.the organs of the Noble Baron's party, and sent forth
to the country 'with exaggerations and appended false-
hoods. The • Noble Baron opposite charged him and
his Noble Friends with misconduct in the discharge of
their Parliamentary duties ; with having used their in-
fluence as Members of that House in thwarting and im-
peding certain legislative measures intended for the public
weal.—(Hear, hear.) That accusation was as stupid as
it was false. He and his friends were accused of rejecting
or mutilating Bills brought up from the other House of
Parliament. The Noble Baron opposite said, that pursu-
ing the course he and his friends adopted was calculated to
alienate from that House the best wishes, feelings, and ap-
probation of the people. It would excite, he said, the dis-
regard of the whole country—nay, more, the Noble Baron,
in the phrenzy of his zeal, and in the disease of his libe-
ralism, went so far as to say that the conduct of ti:eir Lord-
ships would excite the disgust of the country.—(Hear, and
laughter.) Now, their Lordships were the spectators and
. auditors of what transpired in that House. They were di-
ligent examiners of every thing that transpired in that
Mouse ; they examined every measure, looked at all its ten-
dencies.. and scrutinised the motives, at least the probable
motiye:,—those that appeared from the dealarations of the
;authors of certain Bill, and from the conduct of some No-
ble Lords opposite. Baring done this they consulted their
own judgment ; they looked forward to the general good ;
they considered themselves as raised above the people solely
for their defence, and reflecting on all this, they rejected or
altered the measures sent up to them from the other House
of Parliamer t. Why did they so ? Because they were respon-
sible to time natiou for their actions, and because to the deci-
sion of the nation they should yield, and justly yield, for their
con;oint interests were bound up together ; and he was proud
to say that time intelligence, the patriotism, and the vigour of I
the
nation harmonised with the decisions of their Lordships'.
House.--(Cheers.) For these and other reasons he would
take the liberty of begging the privilege of saying a few
words to fling back time fold and unmerited imputation to
the quarter from which it first was east.—(Cheers.)
Though the contest between hint and time Noble Baron
'night be unerial. still he would venture to meet him foot
to foot. Ile and the
a line of policy pesatsd with him adopted
Wide"; lavilififrceno-t6 from that pursued by the '
Noble Lords oppositel7
no shuffling, no fraiuf, .en,on:(l,mienxnt(eirliitiys ti able.
r Friends
conduct used
right on. Indeed, their
tuhe,tirwas purely defensive, they
only stood for their own, anr,ient and accredited
rights, without atteniptin, to in.,ld
This Constitution.
havin.zeed„d
t.oetithe rights of others.
were not noir to be trodden under foot by suchvights'
avaricious place-
hunters or deinagogiu" be they in office
pension,
e or not.--(Cheetrbse.;
To sue!) base speculators fOr 1l
schen not earned by public or private serA, or power.
Roguish,ices, hc should
ever give Lis moSt'strennous opposition.
ambi-
tious place-hunters. be the plebeian or Noble, be should
ever watch (and this was the principle of his party),osaunl,l
Ile should endeavour to treat them according to their e
" It was not our wont," said be, " to cast our
manila] grapples, and catch rising young men in order .
that we may snaffle, and subdue them to our service.
No, sty Lords, we never descended to those base arti-
tifices. We never held out a place as the wages of pros..
titution-we were no concession-mongers."—(Cheering.)
The Noble, Lord then proceeded to say that the conduct of
the Opposition was parliamentary, correct, and liberal. His
4-t of the House was mild, considerate, temperate, and
judicious ; they looked only to the general good ; they had
90 vile, no selflsh feeling to pander to. There they were,
before the scrutinizing gaze of the British people : aye, of
the civilised
.worrd ;.,and, knowing all this, they shaped their
course so as to meet the approbation of the present and
every coming age-. First, they looked to the independence
and security, the honour d
the glory, of their couritry ;
• and next, they did not disregard the opinions of posterity—
present honour and future
and the
only used as an ac-
companiment to the defencaer"e
liberty—that liberty which liftedan outrhneattenufrriotym of
barbarismßri sh
to civilization, from civilization to freedom and refiasment—
as hid, if not checked by the demagogueoumldfluence of a sedi-
tiosis aspirant to power and honour, still uupilduselsdanuds
tb,e proud position that has marked us as th
gu ardoand
ns of rational liberty through Europe e'the world.
His side of the House had acted, he would again sa
inne..ress, discretion, and forbearance even to the present
withesent
crnmen;. Knowing the false position in which they

stood, and not wishing to distract them, they did not wish 1 '
to upset or disarrange the Councils of the King—they I
7..i,:bed to let affairs take their course, knowing that the
blundering imbecility of the Government Would work its •
own downfall, and rouse the national indignation. His
party used no delusion, they unfurled no deceptive flag,
they went right on in the path of honour and duty. They
called fraudulently for no reports, made on motions for pa-
pers which were not to b.. produced, instituted no inquiries
that were not to be granted, they propounded no laws that
they did net mean to pass, they made no motions that they
knew would never be carried—they did nothing fcr humbug,
or delusion, or dishonesty ; but they did everything in sin-
cerity and for the public good, and when the foul mist of
delusion was pUrged away from the public eye the commu-
nity would see their objects, and appreciate their motives.—
(Gild cheers.) The majority in that House never set
itself in array against the other House of Parliament. They
always wished to harmonise with it. But then their Lord 7
ships ever defended their indisputable privileges of sifting
end correcting any Bill sent up to them from the other
Ilouse. When a Bill was sent up they examined, they
scrutinised it with industry, zeal, and integrity—they ap-
plied to it the whole of their intellectual and moral power.
If the principle of the Bill were bad, if it embodied false
and dangerous principles ; if it were a Bill calculated to
blind the public eye, and deceive the judgment of the peo-
ple ; if it were found to be a measure introduced by weak-
minded or dishonest Ministers either on their own mere mo-
tion, or at the dictation of those who alternately coerced and,
reviled them, still it was the duty of their Lordships to stand
as a barrier and a fort between the agency of two antagonist
principles and powers—the invasion of Monarchy on popular
rights and privileges on the one side, and the usurpa-
tion and tyranny of democracy on the other. To this
calm and reflecting exercise of judgment their Lordships
would ever cling, despite of the whine of the placeman or
the growl of the demagogue.—(Cheers). During the entire
• session their conduct (and he meant his own and those who
co-operated with him) was temperate and forbearing—for-
bearing even to the Government. They never showed any
disposition to harass or impede it—they knew the King
too well to obstruct his wishes or fetter his Ministers, when
they were pursuing a useful course of policy. In entering
on the defence and explanation that he intended to offer to
their Lordships respecting the course he had pursued dur-
ing the session, he should take the liberty of referring to
the speech that his Majesty, of course at the . dictation of
the Noble Viscount and his colleagues, delivered at the
opening of the present session of Parliament, a speech
which was no doubt the index that was to point to the Mi-
nisterial measures about to be introduced. In noticing that
speech, he should of course be compelled to contrast the
brilliant prospects then held out to the eager and admir-
ing view of the nation, with the gloomy and desponding
results that had flowed from those boastful promises.---
I Then brilliant indeed were the anticipations
and the promises ; but look to the execution—how fallen,
how wretched, and how despicable 1 It was lamentable,
yet it was somewhat ludicrous too, to contrast the posi-
tion of the Noble Viscount (Melbourne) at the open-
ing of the session with his present condition. He was, at the
opening of the session, a somebody, a man of name and sta-
tion, armed .with influence and power ; but what was
he now ? Shrunken and fallen, without substantial power ;
distrusted and derided by the nation.—(Loud cheer-
ing.) Contrasting, then, his proud position at the open-
ing of the session, and his ostentatious professions, with his
humble, pitiful condition now, and his wretched failure in
all his projects—contrasting, then, he would repeat, the
past and the present, and looking at his character in these
several points of view, he (Lord Lyndhurst) could not help
applying to him the remark which was applied to a Noble
predecessor of his in office whose general character as a
Statesman and a man were not dissimilar to his own. He, like
the Noble Viscount, mercurial, ostentatious, and sanguine,
took into his rash hands the helm of State, without
knowledge of the present, experience of the past, or fore-
sight into the future, to guide him in his dizzy course
along the eddying current of public affairs. To the Noble
Viscount, then, he would apply the words that were applied
most pertinently to his abler and no less presumptuous pre-
decessor—" His promises were, as be then was, mighty ;
but his performance, as he is now, nothing." - He would re-
fer to the King's Speech, and on that authority he would
convict the Noble Viscount' opposite, and his defender, the
Noble Baron ( Holland), of not only the most egregious mis-
statements, but of an absolute and indefensible ignorance
of history. The most prominent topic that was introduced
to their Lordships in the King's Speech, and for which the
King's Ministers were responsible, was reform in the Court
of Chancery. Public curiosity was excited—the public
mind was thrown into a high state of ferment—every one
said there must be a thorough and sweeping reformation
in the' Court of Chancery. Well, what was tape? Week
after week, and month after mouth, passed away, and no Bill
was introduced to cure the chronic dlsease of the Court of
Chancery. At last a Bill was brought in by the Lord Chan-
cellor, and be had too much respect for the legal knowledge,
the good sense, and the honesty of that high functionary to
suppose it was a Bill concerted by biut—thitt it emanated
from him exclusively. No—he was sure it was one forced
upon him by his toaster, and, more than that, forced upon
those masters by their protectors and creators—a Bill
which went to degrade the Court of Chancery, and dis-
honour the legal profession, Well, that Bill fell still-born
from the hands of its bungling or unlucky accoucheute ?
(Hear, hear.) The Government raised a triumphant shout
on the announcement of this measure ; but what class or
party supported it in its commencement, its provess, or
decline ? Where were the petitions against it ? Whence
did they come ? No where. Was it not strange that in
the multitude of conflicting interests in the political world,
and amidst all the parties complaining of the &lays of
suits of Chancery, there could he found none to complain
of the defeat of the Whig Chancery Reform Bill ? Un-
grateful people. Well, he would allow the people were not
so ungrateful ; for the amended measure, in pure Whig
fashion, made bad things worse, Under the guise of lots
provement, it was establishing cruelty end injustice. To
this knavish sort of projected reform should Ito ever be op-
posed. Let Ministers do things always honestly. And he
should not oppose them. Let there be no shuffling, snit
yelling, and trickery, but let every thing be right on.—
(Cheers.) Well, that Bill was rejected. Whom did its
rejection offend ? No one cried out against the orn)duct of
the Lords—neither Whig ti.or Tory—Conservative ttor
Radical. The Government press tiid not speak out—
even the uustamped press was silent about the measure.
No one said it was a bad act on the part of their Lord-
ships. With all the machinery of agitation prepnred
in the hands of the Government, they could not get
up a single meeting or even petition in favour of this
Bill. That Was cne verdict of acquittal for their Lordshit;;e
The party which he was in the habit of supporting used no
influence to counteract the influence of the Government in
the way of exciting public opinion; yet public opinion was
either so dead to the merits of the Bill, or so tired of the
factitious influence used to crutch up the preseat tottering
Government, that not a voice Wils raised in favour of the
Bill. To show that Ministers were ashamed, if not in
dread of their own Bill, he would state as a positive fact,
that on the discussion of any Ministerial measure there was
as thin art attendance of Noble Lords who usually voted
with Government as there was on that occasion. So much
for that first clap-trap. The Government did of evidently
desire it to pass as a laW of the land—the people, by their i
utter indifference, if not their approval of the decision of
the majority of that House, looked on the whole thing as
a paltry farce. Let that measure, then, rest in peace. He
for one would not disturb its ashes.—(Cheers and laugh-
ter.) He would next, taking the King'e speech as his
text, revert to the Bills for the reform of Ecclesiastical
Courts. That subject was long under the consideration
of Parliament, arid a report was drawn up by a gentle-
man of large experience, who had been deputed by a
Committee of the House of Commons to report (we under-
stood Dr. Lusiiington). That report was received by the
late Government, and transmitted to the present Govern-
ment with a recommendation for its adoption. The. sub-
ject was canvassed in that House, a Committee wet ap-
pointed, and the entire question fully examined in a Coin-
mittee up stairs. A report was accordingly made to the
House, the report was laid on the table, and from that
hour to the present this measure, recommended by an able
and zealous. defender of Government, and adopted by Go-
vernment itself, had lain in slumbering inactivity,(Cheers.)
This expression he used, as it reminded him of an epithet
reported to have been applied by a learned and able sup-
porter of the present Government to that House. A dis-
courteous expression it certainly was ; but, frooi his know-
ledge of the character and high legal discrimination oi: that
learned person, lie was sure he could not have used it. The
Learned Gentleman, in reference to that House, called it a
dormitory. Certainly, so far as the measures wilielethe pre-
m i
to r y.
grit Government nominally professed to carry through fer-
t the
thel That yeas an li
Independencei in's7(i
the
pull good, but which they real!), intended should be
nen ea - - after this the S . C ''
Rill
cushioned weee concerned, it might be eitib4l, 5o far a dor-
mitory,
taaw .
..oitn,
otto as one of the greatest s.l.feS
tvieirlin:nngaanrolewtslhiiiniul :e's
wass than
for
.
the last century looked JudgesL '
of the liberties ttolit British people. Well, what was the
fact with respect
' ? A clause was introduced
in titter subversion thatofttnerds
'reedoirs :144 independence which
ieZ3Ps a clause rendering and exertissd Fj.th the approbelateirocnisoefdaflolr forte
the erldges of the land hadt,--t Eentury,
derreinagsotnbienmg,
eitnnetlia;
nest, and patriotic
44,
subservient to, and dependeoe the Crown.
an honest and reflecting man iri'ti Was there
iii f.,C4;441a nity who
read the history of this country who did i3Oc beaii,ye
that the perfect independence of the Judges was one of
the main buttszs,es of the freedom of the subject ; that
by it justice ran in a p 44,.”
,and freer current, neither
checked by power nor tainted by vesiss;uv, I.refortner times
the term of a judge's office expired with each. new assefaes-
sion. Put on the accession to the throne of George the