The Sun.
London, England, 1840-06-02 00:00:00

EVENING EDITION.__,

the statement attributed to his Noble and Li-toned Friend.
The averag•, nu,..'oPr of cases, at all events, at the former
eeriod was a arty 400, and at the other period about
1 200, which made the bueiness hardly treble. Ile would
take it that all the branches of hu,iness had increased
threefold. Now, instead of the judicial force being the
time as in the time of Lord Hardwick, they would find
that the machinery for doing that work—the force with
which the weight was to be pulled—had increased very
nearly in the proportion of three to one lie did not un-
derstand the subject well enough to be able to tell why.
with that great increase in the power, the present accumu-
Istion of business had taken place. Since the time of Lord
Iderdwicke there had been an increase of ;50 per cent. in
the power of the Vice-Chancery Court. Taking the
average of the sittlngs of the Lord Chancellor at 5 or
hours per day, that would give 30 hours a-week, which was
rather more than the Lord Chancellor was able to devote to
judicial business, as he had to attend Privy Councils, the Re-
'order's report, and other Ministerial business, Indeed
25 hours was about the average per week, and if they
took the Rolls at 12. that would give 37 for both these
Courts. The whole judicial power in the time of Lord
Hardwicke he would set down at 49, aid the power of
these Courts was now equal to 102, which was an increase
of 2i. He had alreads stated that the Lord Chancellor
had got sonic little relief in the Recorder's report, a v"ef
painful and anxious business, Which generally occupied
seven or eight dap per ye tr. Oa the whole, if he took
the increase 'at three to one, he would, he thought, be
rather under than over stating it. He was anxious
that justice should be done, the suitor relieved, the
Courts helped, and the question was, how that
could he best accomplished. The (potion %a
what amount of assistance they ought to give ? n't
Noble and Learned friend had stated that on an average
of seven years, ending 1834 the number of causes *a:
890 ; exceptions and further directions 369; arid pleas and
demo rers 56, ni,king a total of all matters of business get
down for trial of 1,316. The number disposed of in ths-sc
seven years averaged in each }ear 908 causer ; 404 exceP'
tiens anti further rlirectionS; and 55 pleas and demurrage
the total being 1,370 heard and disposed of, the matters
to be tried amounting only to 1,316. That did not show
any w.set of force, because it appeared that the Court bad
Idisposed of more matters than were set down for trial, and
consequently some of the arrcar was got rid of. It might
be said, and it had been raid, that extraordinary exertions
had been used during that period, but their Lordships
would find that the ave-age !lumber of cases set down for
trial in the next four years was 1.281, and the own-
ber disposed of was 1,285. But there was 83
arrear, anti no doubt it was true that if a case
was brought into Court, it would be tried. It was
said also that it was necessary that the Judges and the,
suitors should have some relief, and he, for Gee, was re");
to admit that necessity. He would observe, however, and
he would beg the attention of his Noble and Learned
Friend ( Lied Lyndhurst) to that part of the subject--he
admitted that there was en arrear, and the firet question t°
be coesidered was, whether that was to be considered a
temporary or a constant arrear ? Was it an smear
arising out of the business of the Court?' from an
increase in the business, or a defect in the judicial power
end machinery of the Court ? or was it temporary, arising
from the accidental circumstance of so many bills having
been filed in one year, namely, 2,600, instead of 2,000 or
2.100, from the great influx of Railway Bills, and which,'
from their very nature, could not last for ever. Let then
Lordships only consider how important that was•
the
was proposed to give a permanent remedy, "
supposition that the arrear would be permanent, an
and the addition to be made to the powers of the Court
were therefore to be permanent. But let their Lordships
reflect that if the arrear was got rid of the Judges would
remain, and he did not think the answer at all a triumphant
one, that even if the arrear was got rid of there would be
always something for them to do, and they would not be
idle. Now with respect to the number of cases for troll'
the end of the judicial year, he found that the causes ready
for trial, including exceptions and further directions, Pletae
and demurrers for the year 1827, were 668; in 1828 w
number was 669; in 18°9 the number was 722 ; t" 1830
.0
the number was 374: in 1831 the number was 229;
1832 145, showing that the arrear had been almost en-
tirely got rid of. In 1833 the number was 203; and the" •
came the great influx to which he had alluded in the course
of 1834, by which in 1835 the number of causes was 630:,
in 1837 it was 782. In order to ascertain whether
that arrear was permanent or temporary. ‘Vbat bettea.r
course could they take, and have to examine whether th,
arrear continued in the same ratio, or whether it had In;
creased or diminished in the last four years. Because
even if it continued at thesatne number it would be a pro`
that the arrears were not increasing. Now he found this
instead of 752. the number of causes to be heard in 1t436"
the ',umber in 1837 was only 647—in 1838, it was 607'
and in :839 it lied increased a little by 693. 0" Of tist
most important considerations with their Lordships wou
be as to the practical nature arid tendency of the prepos.ieta
si
measure, out if they applied a great increase of iltditejes
force for the purpose of getting rid of an arrcar which,
of.
only temporary, that arrear would certainly he dispose°
ee
but afierwares say in a couple of years, or tia.r_
years at the outside—there would be no suffiet',3o
occupation for those new Judges whom they were abootd_r
appoint. Then it was said that the Equity ExcheTat
scold be transferred to the Court of Chancery,
a
after
there would be thereby a further increase of business'
a,
the arrear had been got rid of. That would only inerr
0_
the business of the Court of Chancery one-thirteenth .
one fourteenth; while, on the other hand, it waa Pt°,
posed to increase the judicial power, not by one thirteenth
or one-fourteenth, but by some thing like two-fifths, a pro-
position which, in his opinion, was not of a proportion.
Then it was said that a new source of business would be
opened up fur getting rid of the arrears, as at present it
act, d as a denial of justice. wbi e, if the arrears were got:
rid of, an additienal number of suitors would come into Court.
Instead of 70 or 80 per cent, the increase of the business
in cons, cpieoce of the proposed transfer, would only b° •
&Tut tour or five per cent. There could be no doubt if
the arrear were got rid of there would be a considerable
increase in the business during the first two or three years,.
but after that time he had tie duut:st the causes woulrt
climet
er
back to th, it old proportions, and even,
although
would beuge
-
might he some kilt. permanent increase. yet
e ho would say,
new judges. If there must oe any maces:— sub.
nothing like such as to require the apdointment of two
as far as he had been able to form an opintsm on the. . 0
jut, if it must be so, let there be one additional judge
appointed; ; he would advise their Lordships, at all scents
not to agree to more, and the reason why he ws s so re-
luctant in giving his assent to the appointment es" °I
one was, that he knew there was nothing
more clanger-
ous than to say to a Court, if you get into arrears, you
u .
shall have additional judges appointed to help yo.
He was well aware that if during the time he had the he•
neur to occupy the office which was now so worthily filled
by his Noble and Learned Friend, he had listened to theanxious representations which were made to him by several
of the Judges of the Common-law Courts in Westminster-
ball, he should have given them Additional assistance.
stead of that he had ventured to suggest that the real re-_
medy would be found in increased exertion on the part of.
the existing Judges, and he was convinced that if he • hi"'
yielded to their representatioes and appointed more Jtirlgr
in the Common-law Courts, they would now have had tat
those Courts more Judges thin were wanted. tieethe
.8:
point to which he wished to iirect their Lordships'atte
thin was the manner in which it was peoposed to deal wt
the appellee!. jurisdiction. It had often been aAted *oi.
they had not in this country a great tribunal of al:
peal, which, instead of sitting as at present—it might awl-
peal,
most he called accidentally sitting sometimes far a we eth§
sometimes for a day, and sometimes being shut up for rno:
together—should be a regular Court of Appeal, as avgui
the other Courts of Law, always sitting while there 1,3,5 ,-be
appeal business to do, and where the applicant Nu' re
certain of obtaining an hearing without delay. But thee.
were difficulties attending the constitution of such a egr,..
which became matters of most grave consideration. sang'
posing the Court of Appeal to be so constituted as to be "ts.
ways sitting and sitting concurrently with the other C,'W.
then it would be impossible. that the Judges of the 'riles
of Appeal, could belong to any other, they must be .J 8
of Appeal and Judge's of Appea: only; but if this 'ce al
the case, they would be less able to transact the Wes,.
business; he did not mean to say that it would beDac
eal
nary that every one of the Judges in then Court of Agit
a
t,s ucal dod
Court
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irs h
aoo
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et
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awouldc,4, t
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he
but some of tire Judges of Appeal ought also to beJ glt
of the other Courts, or other difficulties would eeellr•
,;allyr
would not fiuqu ntly happen, but it would oceaaw"
that matt rs of ordinary practice might come befor,e,,,ight
Court of Appeal—nay, that the merits of a cause of
turn on such matter; Of ordinary practice, but the Cenracrt
Appeal wood have little facility in dealing with,m.r.,B-dael
of mere ordinary practice without the assistance
of the other Courts, with whom such points were matters
of every day occurrence. There was another considergtait s
which was even still more material ; it was thise-'tahetice
Judge who only sat occasionally had not sufficient pr--, or
to entitle him to have confia,Thea m his 0,/, jodg!edeo fof