The Sun.
London, England, 1841-03-03 00:00:00

IMPE RIA L PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF LORDS, MaAcm 2.
. _

Their Lordsl ips met at Five o'Clock.
The Earl of STKATFORD preseated several petitions
from Donegal against Chu►ch Intrusion in Scotland.
The Marqu:s of NORMANDY laid on the table returns
re!ating to the discipline of gaols in Ireland. Also a re.
turn of the persons nominated to act as Sheriffs of Conn-
tits in Ireland for the year 1841; and a return relating to
tie Vaccine Institution.

The Marcp.ii of DO WNSHIRE presented petitions
from tmottil congregations in connexion pith the Presby-
terian Church tf Ireland against Church Patronage in
Scotland.

The Duke of CLEVELAND rresented a retition
from Sunderland in favour of the Drainage inTowns Bill.
The Marquis of SALISBURY inquired of the Noble
Marquis, the Secret-ry for the Home DePartmet,t, whe-
ther it was the iutention of her Majesty's Ministers
to propose any measure to alter and amend the Turnpike
Acts of England and Wales?

The Marquis of NORMANBY said that he bad given
his lest attention to the sOject. There was at present
a great pressure of business connected ;vial his de-
partment of the Government in the other House, which
prevented him from stating the precise course which might
be taker. But for the satisfaction of the Noble Lord,
he would 'epart fr.m the course usually followed under such
circumstances, and state that a Report would be laid
before the other House, and upon the manner in which
that Report might be received must depend the measure
which would be proposed to Parliament.
CHURCH PATRONAGE (SCOTLAND.)
The Earl of DALHOUSIE, seeing the Noble Earl
(Aberdeen) in his place, would ask, according to the
notice which he gave last night, what the Noble Earl
intended to do this Session with respect to the Bill which
he brought in last year on the subject cf Church patro-
nage in Scotland? The Noble Lord at the bead of the'
Government had said thati.be, not introduce any
measure on the au*at, but 4
stood to vindicate itself. If the measure of his Noble
Friend (the Earl of Aberdeen) bad been carried last year
an end; might have been put to all causes of dissension ;
but since that was withdrawn the &meads of the
ext. erne party had increased. They would have
been satisfied last year, with a mere veto upon the no-
mination, but now they called for an entire abolition of
patronage.
They had declared that no measure falling
short of their demands would have a beneficial result ;
and under those circumstances, he thought, that the
only thing to be done was to leave the law as it stood to
exercise its own• authority, and to vindicate itself upon
the heads of those who violate or evade it. The majority
of the people of Scotland who could form an opinion on the
subject, and the whole body of the Dissenters, were op-
posed. The Noble Lord concluc:el by asking of the Earl
of Aberdeen, whether i. was his intention to bring in this
Semi in any Bill upon this subject similar to that which he
proposed last year.

The Earl of ABERDEEN said he was not sorry to
he..r the question put to him by 1 i 3 Noble Friend, for he
had received inquiries of a similar nature from so many
parts of the country, accompanie I by such strong repre-
sentations, that he was gl id to be able to state the
course it was his intenti on to pursue, and, at
the same time, in a few words, his reasons for
adopting it. Their Lordships were perfectly share
this subject hal lost none of i.e interest or importance,
but he (the Earl of Aberdeen) thought in the course of
the last few months it bad assumed new features. it
might probably appear somewhat crange that he should he-
sitate in renewing a measure which bad met with no formi-
dable opposition in that House, the second reading of which
had been =lied by a large majority, and which bad passed
through Committee, and been reported to the House—a
measure too which had been received by a large body of
the parochial clergy is Scotland with decided approbation,
which they came forward voluntarily to declare. When be
said the parochial clergy be spoke not of unendowed minis-
ters, or of those whose position was equivocal in the
Caurch, and respecting whom it was doubtful a h:ther by
law they formed part of the Church Courts or not. But
of the Established Clergy nearly hclf had came forward
end subse. ibed a declaration in favour of the measure. The
measure had also been received by a majority of the laity of all
rinks with entire acquiescence. But nevertheless he could
not forget that the Government had thought it their duty to
object to the measure. He did not allude to his Noble
Friend, the Noble Viscount at the head of her Majesty's
Government, because be (Lord Melbourne) had ex-
pressed no opinion on the merits of the measure ;
but, on the contrary, had abstained from doing so,
and therefore, if he thought fit, there was nothing to pre-
vent Lim (Lord Melbourne) from making it his own to-
morrow ; but many of his colleagues, and particularly the
Noble and Le trned Lord, who usually presided in that
House, had strongly objected to the Bill as a concession
to unjustifiable pretensions, and a wanton violation of
the rghts of patrons that at the very same time the
Geoe:al Assembly objected to the measure as Eras-
tian and incompatible with the scriptural independ-
lace cf the Church, a; riveting still more strongly
the fetters of patronage, and finally, a; tending
to deth -one- the Redeemer from hie seat Now of
these different &a;ses of objections, far as they were
as the poles asunder, he hoped his measure was
justly liable to neither ; but, if so, he left it to the reason
of any man in his senses to decide which might, with
the most appearance of truth, be urged ; but
different as these objections were, when united
in practical opposition to the measure—they ap-
peared to him to deprive it of all chance of effect-
ing the only good he had hoped from it, that
of restoring peace to the Church ; and when that
opposition was aided practically by the resistacce
of the Government, and of the dominant party in the As-
sembly, it would prevent the beneficial effect which he had
been sanguine enough to anticipate. It was in
consequence of this feeling that he did not press his
measure through the House. He was not aware that
any change had occurred in either of the parties who
objected to his Bill, and therefore the same reason would
prevent him from pressing it upon the House in the pre-
sent Session. But there was an additional reason. He
had t eon told list year that the object of the petitioners
for non-intrusion was the total abolition of patronage ;
and though he did not at the time believe it, he had
some reason to think that this was the real subject at
which the party who had referred to him ;aimed. The
measure he introduced was certainly not calculated
to satisfy them on this point, and therefore for this and
the previous reasons it would be useless to renew it.
He undertt ood her Majesty's Government bad maturely
considered the subject, and that they had come to the
determinst'on to preserve the law as it at present stood.
fie had nothing to quarrel with in that declaration, as
no doubt they had seen nothing which would render a
change in their plans judicious. He lamented the course
taken last year, but no doubt the Noble Viscount
acted is a manner which he thought consistent with his
duty. But to make that declat a.ion efEctual, it must be
honest and sincere. He did not mean to intimate any
doubt of the honesty or sincerity of the Noble Viscount,
but that he must take care that the other Members of his
Government acted and spoke in harmony with him. Unless
he did so the people of Scotland would be misled and deceived.
For instance, the principal law officer there, the Lord Ad-
vocate, was looked upon (he was sure erroneously) as
their principal supporter. In that House they knew how
to estimate the dimensions of a Lord Advocate—( A
laugh)—but in Scotland he was looked upon as a
much more important personage than the Noble
Viscount himself—he was, in fact, the Govern-
ment himself.—( Hear.) He was happy, however,
to find that the Learned Lord had retreated from his po-
sition, and had declined to attend at a public dinner, on
the ground that a public demonstration at that time would
not advance their common objects. These objects were
the destruction of all patronage, and the stigmatising the
judgments of the Supreme Courts in Scotland, and of
that House. Such declarations were very injurious,
and the domirant party in the Assembly of Scot-
land had circulated a report that it was his
intention to bring forward a measure of a much more co-
ercive arid stringent character, al:hougli he deprecate
such as idea. Ile trusted that eventually the law, tempe-
rately, firmly, and steadily administered, would be found
too strong far those reverend agitators.
On the motion of Lord R E DESD ALE, the Commit-
tee on the Copyhold Tenures Bill was postponed till
Friday.
SYRIA.

The Earl of MINTO said, that on the motion for a
vote of thanks in their Lordships' House to the
officers who had served on the coast of Syria,
a clerical error had occurred, which, for the
satisfaction of the officers concerned, he was anxious to
correct. The name of Sir Charles Frederick Smith was
introduced into the vote instead of that of Sir Charles
Felix Smith. He was the more anxious to correct the
error as there was a junior officer of the former name in the
corps. He begged [ewe to move, therefore, that the vote
should be amended, and the name of Sir Charles Felix
Smith substituted for that which had been inserted.
The motion was agreed to.
The House then adjourned, at a Quarter before Six
o'Clock, till Thursday.

ROUSE OF COMMONS, Mincii 2.

The SPEAKER took the Chair at the usual hour.

Sir G. GREY moved the re-appointment of the Private
Business Committee :—Sir G. Grey, Mr. Labouchere,
Sir Robert Peel, Lord Stanley, Mr. Hume, Mr. Loch,
Lord Granville Someriet, Mr. Aglionby, Mr. Greene,
Mr. Bernal, Sir John Yarde Buller, Sir James Graham,
Mr. Frcshfield, Mr. Ellice, and Mr. Estcourt. —Agreed to.
Sir C. STYLE presented a peti ion from a place in
Donegal in favour of the Bill on Irish Registration intro.
duced by Lord Morpetb, and against the Bill introduced
by Lord Stanley.
Mr. A. YATES presented two petitions from places in
Carlow to the same effect.
Major VIVI AN presented a petition from Truro, against
any further grant to the College of Maynooth.
Mr. GRIM SDITCH presented a petition from Mac-
clesfield to the same effect ; and a petition, from the same
place, praying for a restoration of a Protestant Constitution.
Mr. T. PARKER presented five petitions from places
in Lancashire, against the new Poor-law Bill, which the
petitioners stated had led to increased expense. They
prayed that the power of the Commissioners might not be
continued.
Mr. PLU VIPTRE presented a petition from a parish
in Kola, against any further grant to the College of May-

nooth ; also a petition from South Mornington, in favour
of Church Extension.
Sir S. GLYNN presented a petition from the Dean
and Chapter of St. Asaph, against the union of that see
with that of Bangor.
Mr. T. DUNCOMBE presented a petition from the
Chat tiirts of Liverpool, agreed to at a public meeting, pray-
ing for the release of Frost, Williams, and Jones, and also
that her Majesty would take such men to her Councils-as
would make Universal Suffrage a Cabinet Measure.—
( A laugh.)
Sir. R. BATE SON presented petitions from the Pres-
byter es of Letterkenney and Donegal against Church
patronage in Scotland.
Mr. Sergeant JACKSON presented a petition from
Kilkenny in favour of Lord Stanley's Bill fur the Regis-
tration of Voters in Ireland.
Mr. M. PHILIPS presented a petition from the
Chamber of Commerce of Manchester, praying for the
admission of East India produce at the same rate as the
produce of other countries:
Mr. L. HODGES presented a petition, praying that
the House would not consent to any extension of the
powers of the Poor-law Commissioners.
Mr. FIE LDEN presented petitions with a similar
prayer from Breomsgrove bill, and two places near Carlisle.
Sir F. POLLOCK brought in the Double and Treble
Costs Bill, which was read a first time.
Mr. M. J. O'CONNELL presented two petitions from
places in the county of Kerry in favour of the Govern-
ment Registration Bill fur Ireland, and against that of
Lord Stanley.
Mr. TURNER presented three petitions from respect-
able houses in Manchester against the Copyright cf De-
signs Bill.
Mr. FOX MAULE presented several petitions from
Scotland, praying for the total abolition of Church Pa-
tronage.
Captain POLHILL presented petitions from the
county of Bedford, against any further grant to the Cot-
leee of Maynooth, and is favor of the extension of reli-
gious etincatiOrr. - -
Mi. E. nocHE presented a petition from Kaye-, in
the county of Cork, against Lord Stanley's Irish Registra-
tion Bill.
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL presented a petition
from the Lord Provost and Corporation of Edinburgh,
praying for the removal of all restrictions on free trade.
Mr. GRIMSDITCH presented a petition from Man-
chester, against the Copyright of Designs Bill.
REGISTRATION OF VOTERS (IRELAND)
BILL.
Mr. HUME presented a petition from a place in the
county of Tyrone in favour of Lord Morpeth's Bill, and
against Lord Stanley's ; also petitions to the same effect
from places in the counties Fermanagh and Cavan.
CHURCH-RATES.
Mr. E ASTHOPE gave notice that on Wednesday, the
10th of March, he would move for leave to bring in a Bill
for the abolition of Church-rates in England and Wales.
Mr. M•KINNON said it was not his intention to pro-
ceed with the motion of which he had given notice on the
subject cf the health of towns, as the Government bad
taken up the subject.
PARISH CONSTABLES.
On the motion of Sir E. KNATCHBULL the second
reading of the Parish Constables' Bill was postponed till
Tuesday, the 9th of March.
Colonel PERCEVAL moved for leave of absence for
Colonel Henry White till after Easter, on the ground of
urgent private business.
Lord H 0 WICK said they ought to take care that the
motion would not interfere with the public business of the
House. If he mistook not, Colonel White was on the
panel and was liab!e to serve on the Election Committees.
He did not mean to offer any opposition to the motion,
but he thought they ought to inquire into the nature of the
business which prevented an Hon. Member taking his share
in the business of ;hit House.
Sir R. PEEL thought when an Hon. Member moved
for leave of absence, he ought to state what panel be
was on. Now it appea.ed that the Hon. Member was on
No. 5 panel, and was not likely to be called upon for some
time.

Mr. Sergeant JACKSON knew that Colonel White
had very important private business to attend to in Ireland. ,
The motion was then agreed to.
On the motion of Mr. H AWES the Medical Profession
Bill was postponed from Wednesday till Wednesday week.
TEXAS.
In answer to Sir Walter James, Mr. O'CONNELL
sail if the copy of the treaty with Texas was not laid on
the table it would be necessary to postpone the motion of
which he had given notice.
SHERIFF COURTS (SCOTLAND).
Nlr. WALLACE rose to move for a Committee to in-
quire into the nature and extent of the duties still incum-
bent on the holders of the now nearly sinecure office of
Sheriff Pi incipal or chief stipendiary Judge for each county
in Scotland ; and, also, t ) inquire into the nature and
effects of the degrading system under which the above
class of stipendiary Judges nominate and appoint stipen-
diary deputy Judges, which Judges are also paid
out of the Exchequer ; and like all other deputies,
are called upon to perform, and actually do perform,
almost the whole of the highly essential and most
laborious duties thus cast upon the useful close of Judges,
who preside so satisfactorily over the county conrta of
Scotland." The Hon. Gentleman commenced by allud-
ing to the County Courts Bill, brought in by the Under
Secretary fur the Home Department, which he said
would confer inestimable benefit on the large population
of this country, and he (Mr. Wallace) sought to obtain
the same benefit for Scotland. There were eighty Judges
in Scotland, thirty of whom were sinecurists. By the
Act of Jurisdiction, passed in the reign of George
11. it was provided that the Judges should hold itine-
rant Courts at different periods of the year. The Crown
ha I the power to command them to do so ; but such had
been the influence of the legal profession in Edinburgh,
that they had never yet performed this most constitu-
tional duty. He did not know how his Honourable
Friend the Secretary for the Home Department could pro-
pose to introduce his system into England, and refuse to
extend the same benefit to Scotland. In that country
there were two sets of Judges. Those wham he had des-
cribed as sinecurists had very few duties to perform;
and they were in the habit of nominating deputy
Judges to perform the duties of the office. Could
anything be more monstrous, than that a Judge should
have a nominee Judge to perform his duties ?
Ile would tell his Learned Friend the Lord Advocate
that there had been very bad appointments of those
nominee Judges, and yet in spite of that those
nominee Judges were far superior to those tha t ap-
pointed them. He had described the thirty Judges as
sinecurists, and he said their duties were of very little
importance. The Learned Lord opposite was going to
show the House that their chief remaining duty was
of ne importance at all, for he had introduced a Bill, one
of the provisions of which was, that the registration duties
of the Appeal Court should be taken from them, and
given to three persons, to be appointed by the Speaker.
He might be told that the Report of a late Commis-
sion had sanctioned an Act of Parliament for
the improvement of the Sheriffs' Courts, and that
that Commission had given a decided opinion, which
ought to bear strongly against the appointment of the
Committee %Oriels be was then moving. lie meant to
bring a heavy charge against the Commission, inasmuch
as they had not truly abstracted from the Jurisdiction
Act, and they laid the superstructure upon a false, and
he might almost say, a scandalous foundation.
The Hon. Member then read a clause of the Jurisdiction
Ace, and contended that it was demonstrative foam that
that the Judges were to make itinerant Courts.
What did the Law Commissioners say ? he was about to
show that to the Noble Lord, because he was one of the
Law Commissioners. What did they say ? They stated
that the chief benefit of having kcal Judges was expedition
and cheapness in obtaining decisions. lie would advert to
this het rafter, and show that those men who were appointed
were totally devoid of those principles which were there
alluded to. Then, as to the residence of the Sh,lriffs, it
was provided that every Sheriff-depute or substitute should
reside personally in the county for four months in the
year ; he asked where those words were ? Ile
would venture to say that they had been ab-
stracted for the purpose of a superstructure
which, if the Committee he asked for was granted to him,
would be overthrown. If
jlie Committee was granted, he
should endeavour to pick out such Members as would do
justice to all parties. He would now pass on to another
part of the subject, stating only that he had no confidence
in anything that the Report contained. This took
place under the first Commission to inquire into
the Scotch Courts ; and the second Commission,
which was greeted among other things, and to inquire
into the expediency of circuits being performed by u cer-
tain number of non-resident Sheriffs, who should be re-
tained
for the purpose—that 'Commission had left their
duty totally unperformed, because they knew that such a
case would be made as would make it incumbent for the
House to inquire into the subject of the Scotch Courts.
The Right Hon. Lord Advocate well knew that in place
of requiring the Sheriffs to remain in their county, the Act
only required that they should hold eight sham courts
throughout the year. Ile called them sham courts, be-
cause the public were not admitted to them, and in fact
knew little or nothing about them The Act further
required that the Sheriffs should be practising bar-
risters, and, therefore, it set up twenty-eight
Appeal Courts in Edinburgh—Appeal Courts, from
the County Courts in Scotland, which was one of the
most preposterous things that could possibly be
conceived. Another reason why the Learned Lord ought
to be on the Committee was that that House had passed a
Bill, four clauses of which regulated the duties of those
Court, yet these dudes were conducted in a most unsatis-
factory manner, in consequence of the other House having
thrown out those clauses. It was for the honour of the blouse
itself that a Committee should be appointed, in order to tee
whether degradation bad not been inflicted upon that
House by such conduct. It was a fact that these Courts
admitted of two records—that no witnesses were ever ad-
mitted into them—that the Judge never delivered a judg-
ment in open Court—all his proceedings were carried en
in dumb show, and but for the expense they heaped upon
the country all these proceedings would be a sohnn farce.
He had already endeavoured to describe the nature of the
Scotch Judges, of whom there were thirty. He might
probably be told that those Judges were men of high
learning and acquirements—of great professional practice
—men well qualified to act as Judges. But he could tell
the House, from accurate information which he had
.0
ob-
tained on the subject, that out of those thirty Judges,
were old men, eight had retired from business altogether.
nine
eleven of them might fairly be called old women,_
4 %ere in pretty fair prac,ice, and two of them decided most

beneficially. There was an anomaly in the Scotch Courts
which was not in those of any other portion of the United
Kingdom-, some of the Judges were ordered to be in their
Courts continually, while others were not required to be so.
He ( Mr. Wallace) moved in Committee last year to know
how many advocates were at the Scotch Bar. The ques-
tion was answered, and he had then asked what were their
names, and could he have them. The answer was, No. How-
ever, be had Ir arced their names from one of the witnesses
who gave evidence before the Committee, and. he found
that not one of the Sheriffs were within the leading coun'el.
The Bill Lef3re them for Englaud, which gave 25 Judges,
was an excellent one, and the Hon. Baronet was to move
to-night f..r funds to pay those Judges, and if there
were not sufficient funds for that purpose, he (Mr. W.)
would show him where there were plenty of spare Judges
and spsre funds. However, he would not propose for
England what ho thought unfit for Scotland.
He had learned from the Hon. Member for Bandon, who
was on the Committee of last year, and who paid the
closest attention to the subject, that in Ireland
tilere were 34 Judges. What then could be the necessity
fcr 30 in Scotland ? 19 of that number were totally incam-
petet,t to discharge their duties, 9 or 10 did their
duties as barristers, but they did no duties as public Judges.
Itwas a mere farce, it was a positive mockery, a system of
patronage to which the public money oughtnot to be devoted.
In Ireland they had thirty-four Judges receiving an
average of 5001. a-year each, while in Scotland they
had thirty-seven Judges receiving an average of 7001. a-
year each. These Judges had fifty nominees who re-
ceived among them 20,1501. a-) ea,-. Beside', in Scot-
land they had to pay fees on each sentence of transport r-
firm, although the sentence had never been carried into
effect. That he thought was a positive waste of public money.
If the registration fees were taken away from the Scotch
Judges his work would be done. But he knew why
the present Lord-Advocate, like his predecessors,
opposed all reform in the Scotch Judges, and
indeed he did not believe that any Lord Advocate would be
returned to that House if be, stood out boldly for a thoreugh
' reftemation of the .Scotch -Cowls. He hid endeavoured to
show the House that a Committee ought to be appointed,
and 'he should certs'nly divide the House upon it. He
hoped that those Gentlemen who intended to vote
against him would be able to tell their constituents why
they would not have the Scotch Courts improved ; but
he should be surprised if any man got up and said those
Courts were not capable of improvement. He was not
willing that Scotland should be degraded, and the
people plundered for the mere sake of patronage,
a much higher value being set upon it than the thing was
worth, even when a contested election came. He
concluded by moving for the appointment of
" Committea to inquire into the nature and extent of the
duties still incumbent on the holders of the now nearly si-
necure office of Sheriff Principal, or Chief Stipendiary
Judge for each county in Scotland ; and also to in-
qu're into the nature and effects of the degrading system
under which the above class of Stipendiary Judges no-
minate and appoint Stipendiary Deputy Judges,
which Judges arc also paid out of the Exchequer; and,
like all other Deputies, are callei upon to perform, and ac-
tually do perform, almost the whole of the highly essential
and most laborious duties thus cast upon the useful class
of Judges, who preside so satisfactorily over the County
Courts of Scotland."
Mr. GILLON seconded the motion.
The SPEAKER having put the question,

The LORD ADVOCATE arid that the Hon. Gea•
tleman h:d ventured to state, in submitting his motion
without the least particle of evidence, that the system
under which a class of officers, upon whom
he had Le.tovved great praise, but not more than
was due to them, was nominated and appointed, was
in itself a degrading system.—(Hear, hear.) It was
at least satisfactory to him, and he knew it
would be so to the people of Scotland as well as to that
House, to know, that in whatever manner that Ik-
nourable Gentleman night choose to characterise the
system of their appointment, he was obliged to confess
that they were a most useful class of officers, and that
they discharged most onerous duties with honour and
credit to themselves, and satisfaction to all.---( Hear,
hear.) He confessed that, on looking at the terms
cf the motion, with the experience he had had of the man-
ner in which the Hon. Gentleman conducted his motions,
he was not at all surprised at the tone and temper with
which ha had entered into the discussion of this subject,
but he did not think it worth while to reply in that tone
and temper. The Hon. Member had used very strong
language with reference is the Sheriffs themselves,
which he (the Lord Advocate) knew could be rebutted
in Scotland. lale had said that lis Noble Friend
had stated that he was to grant the Committee
of Inquiry if the house should willing
it right ; that might '
be so, but he (the Lord Advocate) thought he had sufficient
fran, the Ltatennents of the Hon. Member himself to condemn
him. He had stated that no pet son who had attacked the
merits of the system of the Sheriffs and Judges in Scotiand
were secure of their seats in that House ; in short, he had
told him (the Lord Advocate) that he could not ene!eise his
own judgment, or speak his oval mind, fur if he
did he knew the system was :n sue's repute in
Scotland that those who attacked it could not
be secure of thei: seat, and yet he had told him
that this was an improper system in Scotland. I
-He thought the 4systeth of the Sheriff.' Courts, which the
Hon. Member did trot at all comprehend, had all
along g van great satisfaction in Scotland. A Commission
had been granted, and witnesses examined both, in the profe:-
t.ion and out of it, and every one was in favour of the system.
The lion. Gentleman had taken advantage cf his position
in that House to accuse a Commission, of which he was
one, of being guilty of misrepresentation for a pur-
pose. He (the Lord-Advocate) would not retaliate.
He could not say he spoke out of the abundance
of his knowledge, nor would he say anything further
that that he spoke out of the abundance of his ignc-
rance. He had heard no grounds made fir the motion
except one, and that was a mere raiser of the lion.
Gentleman ; he said there ought to be inquiry, be-
cause the people in Scotland were in general much
dissatisfied with the system as it worked in Scotland.
Now he would put it to any Scotch Member present whe-
ther that was the fact. He really thought it unnecessary
for him to detain the House by entering into any
details of the Sheriff system in Scotland. lie might,
however, be permitted to say, in every county in Scotland
there was an officer called Sheriff Depute—it was
formerly proposed that he should reside four
months in each year in his county; but a very high
authority at that time strongly objected to that ar-
rangement, as he thought it would be much preferable that
he should always reside in Edinburgh, the head-quartsrs
of the law. There was in every county, however, a local
Judge called the Sheriff Substitute, wile regularly
resided in his county, and administered justice there.
He should be sorry to see the local administration of
justice entrusted, without any control whatever, to
officers having front 3001. to 4001. per annum salary,
and subject tcr all the local influences of
the society in which they moved. These influences were
best counteracted by their acting under the control of
another Judge residing in Edinurgh, and altogether
beyond that influence, while at the same time he
was responsible far the acts of the local officer.
Now, if they allowed the local Magistrates to be sepa-
rated from the great system of law which prevailed in
Scotland, they would create great confusion,
and such a step would operate most in-
juriously against the due administration of justice.
Ho contended that the Hon. Gentleman had entirely
failed to show that the Judges did not perform their duties
in the most satisfactory manner. Though he had called
them sinecurists very high duties were attached to their
office, and their performance of their duties had always
reflected the highest honour upon them.
Mr. HUME said he thought the Learned Lord had
quite misunderstood his Hon. Friend. His Hon. Friend
had shown that there were:3o persons who had scarcely any
duties to perform, and he argued that there was great reason
for improvement in the system. The Learned Lord
said that this system bad existed 160 years, and therefore
it must be a good one. Why, it appeared to
bins ( Mr. H.) that the existence of any Court for one
hundred years was a very strong reason why it should
be considered.—( A laugh.) His Honourable Friend
had not complained of the manner in which jus-
tice was administered by the local and Learned Judges ;
on the contrary, he stated, both last year and the
year before, that they did the business admirably,
but that they were not remunerated as compared with the
principal in Edinburgh. His Hoa. Friend had rc c ommeaded
former occasions—he was now anxious to obtain proof in
support of his views—that the local Judges shculd he
placed on a more respectable footing. The appointments
being in the hands of the Sheriff were more likely to be
political than if left to the nomination of the Sect etary of
State. He (Mr. Hume) thought these Judges would get
through nearly all the business of the counties if they were
adequately paid. Ample means alight be found, if they
curtailed the numbers of those who were next to sine-
curists. He was not sure that one individual in Edin-
burgh could not hear all the appeals from all the counties
in Scotland, and if so a great amount of money paid to
the sinecurists would be saved, and what was more, there
t
would be a uniformity of decision. Ho therefore thougab.
the Learned Lord, knowing he bad a weak casec,,l?oc,l
been anxious to shirk, and he certainly had suteco_a.,.ns
in doing so, the strongest and most important pear
haft !hie
Hon. Friend's argument. He was sorry to t
looked back to every thing which had
Great laughter.)
last hundred years with great distrust. e--(days
than people
lie thought they were wiser
thes
hear, and renewed
Hear,
were a hundred years ago.—( been dosneyfor the
prcgressive he could
laughter.) If knowledge bad
hbeuenndred years should
not understand why decisions
bbee
dboinnde.ingTnhoew therefore had not grappled
athat something better could
a simple Court of Appeal,
tained as Judges of Appeal,j
'Liefairthwedasi.s•o7da
with the point, that instead of thirty Judges being min-
cer, hear)
rambloifitlod dboe—f)(mllled. Sut:fie
one Session
w had
d undegte sm,
might with great propriety be appointed Judges
ly as their salaries had been raised last
censuringo
f* the Lords
He hoped that the Hon. Member would see
Session.
of-- aAndpptletaeyi,
people of Scotland were entitled to have justice
especial
in the most expeditious way, and to have buii-
oitenheemat the lowest possible expense. That House
givenn thates
s the
had decided that sinecures should Cease—wily then, he
would ask, should sinecures be kept up in Scotland?
His Honourable Friend (Mr. Wallace) had, he
thought, made out au excellent case.—(Hear,
hear. )
They were under great obligati ins t')Honourable his
Friend for the perseverance with which he had brough t
that subject under the consideration of the House. Year
after year he endeavoured to benefit the c)untry, by point-