The Sun.
London, England, 1834-03-17 00:00:00

HEARING OF APPEALS.

Lord ELLENBOROUGH said that before moving
the adjournment of the house, he thought it but right that
he should call to their Lordship's notice what be thought
could hardly have escaped them, the unusual circumstance
of the session hiving arrived at this stage without any ap-
peals having yet been heard. He thought it was neces.ary
that some explanation should be offered to their Lordships
upon that subject. Almost invariably the house had
sat for the hearing of appeals within the first
ten days of the commencement of the session ; forty days
had now elapsed, and no appeals had been heard. But
the number of appeals now standing for hearing, as he
was informed, amounted to 140, which was a larger
number than had been before the house, including
all that were presented during the session, in any
year mince the year 1830. Under these circumstances,
ah iet
thought it rigiu to offer the noble lord on the woolsack
opportunity of explaining under what circumstances it
was that such a very unusual breach of duty was to be
imputed to him.
The LORD • CHANCELLOR coul l assure their
lordships that he was extrtmely obliged to the noble
baron for giviug him that opportunity of,an explanation of
his conduct. What lie had stated was perfectly correct,
that there had been no appeals heard this session, and it
was equally true that the course of the house had been not
to allow so long to elapse without taking up the judicial
business. Perhaps the noble baron did not need his as-
surance to inform him that it was not for any want of
disposition on his part to attend to that part of his
judicial duty, and perhaps he did not mean to say that it
was owing to his being idle during those 40 days that no
appeals had yet been heard, becruse, lie believed, that if the
noble baron would take the trouble of making inquiry in
quarters where there was any knowledge whatever on the
subject, and provided he made inquiry in quitters where
that knowledge existed, there was a disposition to do justice
and lie supposed the noble b Iron had been to both of
those quarters, he would find that during the si hole of
those forty days, with the exception of the Sundays, he
had been employed, he would venture to say for a greater

number of hours on every one of those days—(Hear,
hear, hear)—than any one of his predecessors, who had
ever sat administering justice in the Cou:t of Chancery.
Be that predecetsor who he might, he challenged compa-
rison, and he dem inded inquiry. It was true that he
was not possessed of the faculty during those forty
days of assisting in two places at the same time.—
( Hear, hear.) He had sat in the Court of Chancery
7, sometimes 8 hours a day, never so little as 6, with the
exception, be thought, of 2 days, when he was obliged to
attend his Majesty at Court, not with the exception, how-
ever, of her Majesty's birth-day drawing-room, and he
mentioned this to show that he did not throw away time
when it was not absolutely necessary, when he might
have taken a half holiday, as it was called, on which day
some of his predecessors and others, learned judges had not
their courts open at all, on that day he certainly ha l sat
from ten o'clock till three—and, therefore, not with
the exception of that day, but with the excep-
tion of two other days, one when he was obliged
to attend the recorder's report, and another day
when he was obliged to attend his Majesty, with those
exceptions he bad every one of those forty days, exclusive
of Sundays; seldom sat so liitle as six, generally seven,
and sometimes eight hours a day in the Court of Chan-
cery, and never later than ten o'clock in the Court.
He therefore thought that their Lordships would see that
his conscience would acquit him of any charge upon
that head.—(Hear, heir.) He would not state how
many hours, at night the business of the Court had en-
gaged him—but if the noble baron would move for a return
of the number of causes dispOsed of, and the number then
standing for judgment, lie (Lord B.) would be most
happy to second the motion. He believed it would be
found that the whole of theilicences but one were those
which were heard during the last week. :And if
the noble baron would extend his inquiries to those causes
which were dispatched and heard, it would be found they
amounted to 32 ; then it would be said, " what is that in
comparison to tne 900 heard by the Vice-Chancellor, and
the many hundreds heard and disposed of by the Alast-r
of the Rolls ; but it would also be found
that the thirty-two were as many as his pre-
decessors had heard during a period of ten years.
—in fact, he believed they did not amount to so many—
when he heard of the number he wondered that it was so
large, lie did not expect that they would have been
more than six; that was not because he did not
sit long enough ; that he did not pay proper attention to
the matters there, but because chi hearing of causes was
not the business of the Lord Chancellor. Ever since the
passing of the bill introduced by Lord Eldon establishing
the Vice Chancellor's Court, the Court of Chancery was
made a Court of Appeal from the other two courts,
and the whole of the time of the Court of Chancery
was thus occupied in the hearing of appeals, lunatic
petitions, &c., and not in bearing causes. It might
just as well be said that house did nothing judicially in
its most busy session because it was occupied
in hearing appeals, and only disposed of one or two
peerage cases. Besides he wes deprived of that assistance
that had usually been afforded to his predecessors, for
except the valuable assistance given by the noble baron near
him (Lord Wynford) he had none, when his immedia'e
predecessor bad been assisted for many weeks by other
noble lords, and the noble earl who presided for
so long a time had Lord Gifford sitting for him
fur a whole session.—(Hear, hear, hear.) He trusted
be would he thought to have pursued a proper course, for
he remembered to have beard it in that house, from great
authority, that the just business of the Lord Chancellor
was in the Court of Chancery; that advice was given in
that house. Fordier chancellors had bad assistance of the
Lord Chief Baron for nearly half a stasion, but now
the case was much altered, for from the great talents and
high character of the presen t Lord Chief tlaron, the bu•ine,s
of that Court was not second to the King's Bench, and of
cause it was impossible that he could spare any time to his
duties in that house—the case was now very different in
that court to what it used to be, when, as it was said,
they no sooner sat than they were up again
like partridges in October. Then, again, he was denied
the assistance of the Master of the Rolls, because that
court now, much for the benefit of suitors.
(LZTT SITTING.)