The Sun.
London, England, 1848-05-13 00:00:00

ROME.

The Milanese journal, the 22 tllarzo, publishes the
following address to his Holiness, signed by the de-
puties of the Itaiian Diet at Rome. It is entitled—
" ADDRESS OF TUE ITALIAN STATES To Ms noLINESS.
" he representatives loudly protest against the inter-
pretation given to the allocation of the Holy Father by
the Consistory of Cardinals. Nationality is the work of
God and not of man. The cause of justice and truth
ought to be proclaimed or defended by him who repre-
sents the incarnation of truth on the earth, and this has
been done by the Holy Father as the leader of a religion
of justice and truth. Thus we and the Italian people,
of whom we are the representatives, are sure of having
you always amongst. us and before us in the paths of jus-
tice, religion, and liberty.
‘" We proclaim it, as envoys of Venice, Lombardy, and
Sicily, secure of the approval of our Governments and
the assent of our fellow-countrymen. Prostrate before
you, blessed Father, we implores our paternal benediction
with great humility. We implore it for the Lombard—
for the Venetian—for the Sicilian—for all Italy."
The following decree of the POI'E, dated May 1, is
published by the Roman papers of the 2d :
"Pius PP. IX. When God, by a wonderful decree,
called us to succeed, undeservedly, so many Supreme
Pontiffs, illustrious for their holiness, their wisdom,
prudence, and other virtues, we recognised at once the
importance, the immense weight, and tne most serious
difficulties of the great charge which God confided to
us ; and having in our mind raised our eyes towards
Him with a feeling we frankly admit of discourage-
ment and oppression, we emplured him to enlighten
us with an extraordinary share of wisdom and grace.
We were not ignorant of the position, difficult
under every respect, in which we found ourselves; it
was, therefore, by a miracle of the Lord, that we did
not., in the first months of our pontificate, give way
under the mere consideration of so many evils
appeared sensibly to undermine our life. The which
proofs of
affection which a people whom we had every reason to
believe attached to their father and Sovereign con-
stantly gave us were insufficient to calm our ap-
prehensiuns ; wherefore we turned with redoubled
energy to implore the assistance of God, by the in-
tercession of his Most Holy Mother, of the Holy
Apostles protectors of Rome, and of the other blessed
inhabitants of heaven. This premised, we examined the
rectitude of our intentions, and then, after consulting
sever al, and sometimes all the cardinals our brethren, we
published all these arrangements relative to the organi-
zation of the state that have successively appeared up to
this day. These were received with the satisfaction
and applause well known to all, and proved an abundant
consolation to our heart. Meantime great events took
place in Italy, and in nearly ail Europe, which, by ex-
citing the minds of men, awakened the design of' form-
ing Italy into a more united and compact nation, so as
to stand on a level with the other principal ones.
This sentiment caused a part of Italy to pant for
emancipation. The populations rushed to arms, and
with arms in their bands, the contending are still en-
gaged in the struggle. A numb r of our subjects did
not hesitate to join them, placing themselves under
military chiefs ; still, though organized, and provided
with commanders, they received instructions to stop
at the confines of the state. And these instructions
were in harmony with the explanations which we
gave to the representatives of foreign nations, and
with the warm exhortations to those soldiers who
presented themselves to us before their departure.
• No one is ignorant of the words pronounced by us

r in the last allocation ; namely, 'that we are opposed
to declaring war, but at the same time we protest our-
selves incapable of repressing the ardour of that part of
our subjects who are gnimated by the same spirit of
nationality with the different parts of Italy. And here
we will not pass under silence the fact that we had not
even in that circumstance forgot the duty of a father and
Sovereign in providing, by the:means we considered best
suited, for the greatest possible security of those sons and
subjects who, against our will, are now exposed to the
hazard of warfare. Our words have excited a commotion
which threatens to break out into open violence ; such
as regardless of the respect', due to persons, heedless
of every constituted right, attempts (oh God, our heart
freezes in recording it) to dye the streets of the capital
of the Catholic World in the blood of venerable persons,
marked as the innocent victims destined to satisfy
the uncurbed will of those who do not reason. And
shall this be the reward a Sovereign Pontiff had
to expect for the numerous proofs he has given
of his love for his people ? Popule meus, quid feel
tibi Do not these ill-advised men see that
besides the enormous excesses with which they would
stain themselves, and the incalculable scandal which
they would present to the whole world, they would only
injure the cause which they mean to defend, filling Rome,
the state, and all Italy with an infinite series of evils? And
in this and similar cases (which God keep far away) could
the spiritual power which God hath given us remain inac-
tive? Let all be aware that we feel the magnitude of ( ur
dignity and the force of our power. Save, 0 Lord, your
Rome, from so many evils! enlighten those who will not
listen to the voice of your Vicar! let wiser counsels pre
vail with all! so that, obedient to those who govern
them, they may live in the exercise of the duties of good
Christians, without which they can neither be good sub-
jects nor good citizens."
A letter from Rome, of the 3d, says—" Count
MAMIAMI DELLE REVERE has been charged to form a
new Ministry. Prince Rosricuosr, General of the
Roman Civic Guard, has given up the post, because the
citizen soldiers refused to escort Cardinal Bernetti to
the Quirinal, in order to place him in safety, accord-
ing to orders which were given them. The com-
mand of the civic guard has been conferred on Mario
Massino, Duke de Rignano."

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. k`
1147.
HOUSE OF LORDS, May 12.
Their Lordships met at Five o'clock.
Earl FITZHARDINGE presented several petitlions
in favour of legalizing the society of Odd Fellows.
Petitions with a similar prayer were presented by Earl
FITZWLLLIAM and Lord STANLEY.

The Earl of GALLOWAY presented a petition from
the Synod of Lothian and Tweeddale against the Diplo-
matic Relations with Rome Bill.
Lord BEAUMONT presented several petitions in
favour of the legalization of the Odd Fellows' Society.
The Earl of EGLINTON presented a petition from
Lanark against the Registration (Scotland) Bill

LAW REFORM.
Lord BROUGHAM, in bringing under the considera-
tion of the House the state of the law, legislative and
judicial, said it was almost 20 years since, in the other
House of Parliament, he brought forward the whole sub.
ject of the civil law of this country, with the exception
of equity and the law of real property ; and then com-
missions were issued. He had now to call attention to
what had been done in consequence of those commis-
sions, and what remained still to be done. He thought
that much encouragement had arisen from what had
then been done, and he was gratified to see so many
of their Lordships now present to listen to so dry
a subject ; it was unconnected with party • it belonged
not to that class of questions which interested everybody;
nevertheless, he hoped for the indulgence of their Lord.
ships whilst he called their attention—first, to the
makers of the law ; secondly, to the way in which it was
made; thirdly, to its fabric ; fourthly, to its promul-
gation ; and fifthly, to the administration of the law.
Be must avow that a great change bad taken place in
the makers of the law. Much of the fear he once eater-
tained as to throwing the franchise open tomankind bad
been taken away by the extraordinary results of the re-
cent elections in France. No doubt much reform was
required in our own House of Commons, as affecting
bribery and corruption, and a more perfect representation
of the people. There was also a great flaw in the
qualification of Members. Bankrupts could not sit in
Parliament; then why should insolvents who were not
traders? Ought not this law of exclusion to apply to
the gambler, the spendthrift, and the horse-jockey ?
Why should we make laws to bind the honest trader
more than the bankrupt ? He thought there should
be an Act to prevent persons who did not pay their
debts in full—who squandered their fortunes on their
mistresses, on the dice-table, and on the race-

course, and cheated their tradesmen—from sitting in Par-
liament. He would now consider how the Legislature, as
at present constituted, performed its duty of law-making.
Statutes were made without reference to former Acts—

nay, parts of statutes were made without reference to
other parts, and they often became such a mass of con-
tradiction that nobody could understand them. The
Noble and Learned Lord pointed out several instances
of legal anomalies arising from the present mode of law-
making. The same canons which were observed in
drawing other legal documents should be regarded in
preparing Acts of Parliament, and no one term should
be used which had not been previously explained.
General references should not be made to previous Acts
of Parliament, but the precise words should be quoted.
It was said that Parliament was magnas inter apes; but,
with all the care that was taken, the inteipretation
clauses in modern Acts were always full of mistakes.
They were sometimes bodily cut out of previous Acts,
without reference to the Act to which they were made to
apply. The absurdities which existed in Acts of
Parliament would scarcely be believed. A distinc-
tion, for instance, was taken between unground and
unpolished glass; but every one knew that if the
glass was unground it must be unpolished. The Act,
however, wont on to provide that the annealling oven
should be made of a rectangular form, with the sides
perpendicular and parallel to each other. Why, if it
was rectangular, it must be perpendicular and parallel;
eafndthye gedtetiteleLegislature imposed a fine of 1001. in case
recommend aof
ioathrdcaot etwoldhich it was mathematically im-
possible anybody
bed o
connected. —( L t g h t
withe do.—(Laughter.) )
Govern-
ment, but not to supersedeh either House ofu l
and as to private Bills, theH
eParliament;s h o
Par-
liament all jurisdiction on taokfefaeazayantrdomreeem
mend that there should be a jury composed of Lords
and Commons (as we understoodee the Noble and Learned
be special,
of a judge
Lord), to find a verdict n
special, and upon
which both Houses of Parliament
as to the facts, such verdict rtoth:
wsheould legislate. He
would now proceed to consider laws were made.
Sir Samuel Romilly's plans fur law reetffortn: were rejected
when he proposed them, but many
been adopted. He had himself complainedrnof since had
of Delegates and the composition of the Privy Council,ourt
and the Bills which he had brought forward on these
subjects had effected very great improvement. These
things gave him great hope. The criminal law, too, had
been much mitigated, and he believed sufficiently so. He
did not think the punishment of death should be taken
away from any of the offences to whick it at present ap-
plied. He approved of that alteration in the law which
bad given to prisoners the benefit of counsel. He con-
sidered that, in the imposition of fines, there was too
much latitude in the administration of our criminal jus-
tice--a latitude which enabled many a rich offender to
escape with what was to him practical impunity. The
next point to which he would advert was the present
anomalies in our legal system, in reference to marriage
and if gitimacy. He could not but think that these ano-
malies require d to be removed, so that the subjects
of the realm might have a clear knowledge whether
they were married or not married, legitimate
or bastards, which could not be the case while the
laws of marriage and of legitimacy remained so entirely
discrepant as they now were, as among the 'various-
courts of law in England and cotiand, and even among
the various courts in England. It was preposterous
that a man who bad married in Scotland might corn. to
England and there throw aside the bonds which he had
It-gally contracted across the border, but which the law
of England enabled him here to disavow as illegal and
invalid, and to treat his wife as a concubine—his chil-
dren as bastards. The law of partnership, again, was
a subject which needed immediate and close revision, in
reference, more especially to the question of bankruptcy.
The law of real property, particularly as to transfers,
called for thorough amendment. There were in England
only about 200,000 landholders in fee, and in Ireland
about 8,000, whereas in France there were 11,000,000 of
such proprietors. He did not advocate the system by
which land in France was thus minutely subaivided, a
system most injurious in very many respects; but
he certainly considered that much good would arise in
this country from giving greater facilities to the transfer
of landed property. Any change in this respect under
an intensely artificial system must, however, be placed
on a most comprehensive basis. Our system of convey-
ancing was of the most complicated nature, and required
for its revision a large and comprehensive grasp. The
great principle to be aimed at was the establishment of
a public registry of title deeds of estates, with the exten-
sion to this country of the Scotch process of a declara-
tory action, by which the ownership of an estate was
ascertained and permanently fixed, without the some-
times interminable, and always expensive suits, which
were necessary for such a purpose in this country. He
would next ask why we should retain that crotchet of
law, so pregnant with litigation. which placed a different
construction upon words in a will and upon words in a
deed, the result of which had been in thousands of cases,
the bequest, not of property, but of a lawsuit. With
respect to the mode of framing conveyances, though much
had been done in the way of simplifying these forms,
• much still remained to be done. He admitted the
difficulty of this task, but he considered the difficulty
quite removable. One very ready means towards this
end would be the adoption of the principle in ferce in
Scotland, of paying the solicitor according to the value
of the property conveyed, and not indefinite costs, ac-
cording to the length of the conveying document. He
next came to a most important subject—the digesting
the whole of our criminal law into one code, so that the
people who were called upon to obey the law might have
some chance of knowing what the law was. Here did
our statute law extend over. no fewer than 40 quarto
volumes, comprising 30,000 pages, whereas Napoleon
put his whole code into a volume of 750 12mo. pages.
It was his intention to conclude his address by placing
on their Lordships' table a Bill for consolidating into
one statute the whole law of crimes and punishments,
separating therefrom the law of procedure for another
measure. He would next say one word as to the ad-
ministration of justice, and that word should be in re-
ference to the local courts of justice. For these be would
suggest the appointment of a professional man of tried
competence, to act as salaried chairman, so as to give
increased efficiency to these tribunals, and to prevent
those offences, which under non-professional direction,
however well intentioned, were sure, from time to time,
to occur, and as often as they occurred, to weaken the
authority
most
anxious to introduce
of the law throughout the tEhnegliocanadlittyk.e
officeH He was
public prosecutor, which, in Scotland, was found to be
attended with such beneficial results to theconeemunialtir.
The institution of such an officer
underswionutoid eoi.whichtu oury
grand juries occasionally guard against those marked
blunders
In reference to colonial
lly
saysimplythat he thought 'them as
ef
which sup-
the question that a system should act well
a rule altogether underpai • he considered it quite out of
s that competent men would leave West-
for 1,2001. a year, equivalent, as a ge-
mPled
nster
.mal to go abroad, perhaps to an un-
cheeraslithyrualeit,int oate'no more than 6001. in this country.
Adverting to the Masters'-office‘ he would say
that he thought his department was susceptible of very
great improvement. He entirely objected to the system
under which matters of fact, about which there was no
dispute, were sent before the Master, and made the sub-
ject of expensive inquiry; and he objected also to the
sending before the Masters matters of law or equity,
which should be decided by the Judge in court.
The delays which resulted from this system were, in.
infinite cases, absolutely ruinous. He knew of one in-
stance of a mortgagee's suit, commenced in 1807, which
in 1847, forty years atter, occupied the Court for eight
days in discussing some new phase of it; and there was
another case he knew of, a case in bankruptcy, which
begun in 1828, was still unsettled, with this feature
about it, that whereas the assets were, in 1828, 3,7004
they had now been reduced by law expenses to 3831.; so
that the creditors, even by the settlement of the matter
at once, if they did get any oyster at all, would find it a
very small fish indeed. In relation to the Court of
Chancery he had one great improvement to suggest..
That Court had at the present moment the administration
of sixty millions of personal property, and of scarcely a
less amount of real property; and for the administration
of this enormous wealth its officers, legal men, were sup-
posed to be endowed also with the qualities of farming,
trading, fishing, mining, managing theatres, and doing
all sorts of non-professional things. What was the con-
sequence of this? Why, that whenever any one saw a
house or an estate going to wreck and ruin, be at once
accounted for the desolation by saying to himself, " Oh,
that place is in chancery I" One remedy which he would
propose for this evil .wasttievapointasent of official
' aseigneee or managars; pr by the Court, and