The Sun.
London, England, 1847-12-02 00:00:00

LAW CHARGES AND FEES.

Mr. ROMILLY moved the re-appointment of a
Select Committee, to inquire into and report to the
House on the taxation of suitors in the courts of law
and equity by the collection of fees, and the amount
thereof, and the mode of collection, and the appropria-
tion of fees in the courts of law and equity,
and in all inferior courts, and in the courts of
special and general sessions in England and \Vales,
and in the ecclesiastical courts and courts of admi-
ralty ; and as to the salaries and fees received by the
officers of those courts, and whether any and what
means could be adopted with a view of superintending
and regulating the collection and appropriation
thereof.
The motion having been seconded,
Sir G. GREY said as the motion was simply for
the re-appointment of a Committee agreed to last
session there was no objection to it. He wanted
that opportunity of stating that the Home-office was
t present engaged in collecting information on the
subject of the fees charged in County Courts, with
the view of introducing a measure to regulate and
render uniform the fees to be taken in all the County
Courts throughout the country.

The motion was then agreed to.
POOR-LAW ADMINISTRATION ACT.

Mr. BANKES, in rising to move for leave to
bring in a Bill to amend the Poor-law Adniinistration
Act, by reducing the amount of charge to which the
public are liable under the existing provisions of that
Act, said it would be remembered that last session a
Committee of that House sat for many months upon
this subject, and at the end of the inquiry they re-
ported that the Poor-law Commissioners hay: issued
rules for carrying out the law in a way that
was contrary to the intentions of the Legislature.
The Act to which he referred was passed in June
last, after much discussion ; and as he, and others
with whom he acted, considered that its operation
would prove expensive, they opposed it. It
was, however, carried; but from that time
to the present its provisions had not been
carried into effect ; he therefore called upon
the Government to explain to the House why
they had allowed the Act to fall into abeyance dur-
ing so long a period. The Commissioners, save one,
had resigned their posts ; one was a Member
of the House and the other had been
appointed to a high official situation, and those con-
versant with the law, whom he had consulted on the

subject, agreed that one Commissioner could not
carry on the business of the office to which the
carrying out of the new Bill was to be
entrusted ; for instance, how could one con-
stitute a board ? He wished to see the Bill
carried out with the least possible expense; and,
therefore, he wished to know if the Government in-
tended to carry it out with one Commissioner • or, in
fact, whether they intended to abrogate the Bill alto-
gether? It was proposed that there should be a
President, with a seat in the House of Lords,
one paid secretary in that House, another out of it,
and an unlimited number of sub-inspectors and
clerks, the total cost of whom was as yet unsettled,
for the Government had given them no information
on the point. If they had thought better of the
measure, and wished to save expense, he would
support them. At least the conduct of the Govern-
ment presented no other view to him.—(Hear.) lie
judged them by their acts. He had no desire un-
necessarily to occupy the time of the House, and
thereby to retard the discussion on the affairs of
Ireland, but if he were compelled to do so he should
only imitate the example of the Right Hon. Baronet
the Member for Tamworth, who had mixed up coer-
cion with other matters foreign to the question. Such
conduct might, by causing delay, destroy the effect
of remedial measures ; and if the Bill with respect to
Ireland were put off from week to week he shouid
ft el it his duty to withdraw his support from the
Government in respect to it.
Lord J. RUSSELL thought when the House was
informed of the whole of the facts in relation to the
subject which the Honourable and Learned
Gentleman had introduced, they would see
there was no reason for taking the hasty
step which he had suggested. It had been
arranged that each of the Commissioners should
receive 2,0001. each, making a total of 6,0001.
a year for the three. What they proposed
was, that instead of three heads of that office there
should be but one—namely, a president, with a salary
of 2,000/., and that there should be two secretaries,
with a salary of 1,500/. a year each—making 1,0001.
less than the expenses of the original commission. He
had been in communication with various individuals,
many of whom had expressed great unwillingness to
take upon themselves the onerous duties of the
qffices. The Hon. Gentleman was mistaken when
he said that but one Commissioner had of late trans-
acted the business of the commission. The
Ilon. Member for Hertfordshire resigned when he
became a candidate ; but Mr. Nicholls and Sir
Edmund head had carried on the business since.

The house would see that although two might carry

on the business for a short time by great toil,
and a denial of the usual recreation, that such an ar-
rangement would be detrimental to the public service.
—(Hear, hear.) In a week or ten days the
' entire arrangements would be completed, when he
should be happy to state their nature to the House
With respect to the statement of the Honourable
Member relative to the Bill introduced the other
night by his Right Honourable Friend at
the head of the Home Department respecting
crime in Ireland, he (Lord J. Russell) thought it
vs ould not have been fair on the part of Minis-
ters, or just to the Irish Members, to have
appointed the second reading of that Bill for an
earlier day than Monday next.—(Hear, hear.) He
could assure the Hon. and Learned Gentleman that
her Majesty's Government had no intention whatever
to postpone the measure in any stage, and that
it was their fixed determination to proceed with it on
Monday next.
Mr. DISRAELI did not think her Majesty's Mi-
nisters were the parties who ought to depre-
ciate the labours of Parliamentary Committees. Al-
though the Noble Lord had not virtually approved
of the decision of the Andover Union Committee, he
had acted upon it. After her Majesty's Government
had acted upon the report, he thought it would have
the appearance of vindictiveness to pursue the subject
further.

Mr. F. FRENCH thought that the Irish Members
had a right to complain of the manner in which
places connected ssith the administration of the Irish
Poor-law were filled up.—(Hear, heir.) Almost
every situation was supplied by Scotchmen.
Sir G. GREY would only remind the Hon. Mem-
ber that Mr. Twisleton, who well understood the
subject, was at the head of the Board, and that two
gentlemen who were resident in Ireland, were also
members of the Board.—(Hear, hear.)
Captain PECHELL had no hesitation in asserting
that the course pursued by the Government led the
public to believe that the decision of the Andover
Union was considered by them to be correct.
Mr. BANKES presumed that the Government
would not object to his second motion.

Lord J. RUSSELL was understood to say that
he had no objection to offer to it,
Mr BANKES said that in that case he would not
divide the House upon his first motion, and begged
to withdraw it The Hon. Mamber then moved
for a return of the names of all persons who had
acted as Commissioners of the Poor•law from the Ist
of January last up to the present time ; distinguish-
ing the periods during which such Commissioners had
held such appointment.
LANDED ESTATES IN IRELAND.

Mr. OSBORNE moved for a return of all landed
estates in Ireland under the management of Receivers
of the Courts of Chancery and Equity Exchequer in
Ireland ; stating the names of the receivers,
their profession or occupation, and residence ;
the situation and extent of property under
each receiver, the annual rental, the number
of tenants, the amount expended on each pro-
perty for improvements since the said properties
came under the management of a Receiver of the
Court of Chancery, and the arrears which have been
allowed to accumulate. He did not know whether
the Government had any objection to offer to that
motion.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER
said that he would prefer the Hon. Member's resolu-
tion if it were worded in accordance with the recom-
mendations of the Earl of Devon's Commission.

Mr. OSBORNE said that he had anticipated the
wish of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and would
therefore place in the hands of the Speaker a motion
in accordance with the wishes of the Right Hon.
Baronet.

The CIIANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER
said that he understood that there were some words
in the motion of the Hon. Member which he felt he
must oppose.
Mr. OSBORNE said that he had appended
to the resolution which he had placed in
the hands of the Speaker, the words, " also
return of the amount expended on each pro-
perty for improvements since the said properties
came under the management of a Receiver of the
Court of Chancery, and the arrears which have been
allowed tl accumulate." He considered these words
as the most important part of the resolution, and if the
Government opposed him, he should feel it to be his
duty to divide the House upon the question.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER
thought it was not acting perfectly fair towards
the Glroo.vvieerinnAinit:iL
Government append any words to an unop-
posed motion without giving notice of the same to
TON suggested that the better
course to adopt would be for the Hon. Metnber to
I
withdraw bis motion, in order that he might have an