The Sun.
London, England, 1856-02-13 00:00:00

Gre►t Weetera Railway of Ireland ; Prlsenere-Dia.
charge Society.

I
Mr. MALINS gave notice of hie intention to intro-
duc 3 a bill to do away with the present distinction be-
tween special and simple contmet debts.
SALARIES OF COUNTY COURT JUDGES.
Mr. ROEBUCK gave notice that on that day fort.
night he would move for leave to bring in a bill to rep-
late the salaries of county court judges.

SANDHURST COLLEGE.
Colonel NORTH asked what steps bad been taken by
the. Government (in accordance with the promise made
last year) to carry into effect the recommendation of the.
Committee on Sandhurst College for the admission at
10 additional cadets int) the orphan class at that esta
bliehment ! •

Mr. F. PEEL said no steps had been taken to fill up
the proposed cadetships, because it was thought better
to let it stand over for the present.
14REYENTION OF RAILWAY ACCIDENTS.
Mr. SEYMOUR FITZGERALD staked the Vice-
President of the Board of Trade whether it was his in-
tention to propose, during the present session, auy Inma-
n-I.e for the prevention of accidents on railways ; and
also, as it appeared from the proceedings in reference to
the report of the officer appointed, to. inquire into the
condition of the Eastern Counties Railway, that, though
the Board of Trade had the power to direct inquiries into
the condition of any line of railway, it had no power to
compel the repairs that may be absolutely necessary
for the security of the public, whether it was his hates.
tion to introduce any measure for the purpose of inveit-
hag the Board of Trade with the authority neoessary for
the purpose ?
Mr. LOWE said it was the intention of the Presi-
dent of the Board of Trade to introduce his bill of last
session, with reference to railway accidents. The second
part of the question was under discussion.
In answer to a question from Mr. M‘Milsou,
Mr. HORSMAN said it was not his intention to
bring in any measure for facilitating the reclamation of
Irish waste lands ; neither did be intend to bring in
any measure to amend the Irish grand jury system.
Colonel W. PATTEN asked whether the joint con-
mission agreed to in the month of August last by the
Emperor of Morocco and her Majesty's Minister Neal-
potentiary, to arrange a commercial treaty, had yet stet,
and, if not, what was the cause of the delay ?
Lord PALMERSTON said that in consequence of
some delay on the part of the Emperor of Morocco,
which he explained, the treaty alluded to had not yet
been arranged.
REGULATION OF THE NAVY.

Mr. BRADY asked the First Lord of the Admiralty
if he intended altering the regulations in her Majesty's
navy, by which the following officers were at present
not allowed to have the distinguishing mark of gold
lace on the cuffs of their undress coats, thereby reducing
them to a level with the inferior grades of officers, via.:
Inspectors and deputy inspectors of hospitals, staff sur-
geons, surgeons and assistant surgeons, paymasters and
assistant paymasters ?

Sir C. WOOD said the regulation of uniform for Ike
navy was under consideration.

SARDINIA AND THE EAST.

Mr. LA.YARD 'Mod the First Lord of the Treasury
if the report with reference to the exclusion of Sardinia
feom the lats conferences atConstantinople wais true, and
if Sardinia had protested in consequence
Lord PALMERSTON said that the Conferenoes al-
luded to had reference only t 3 the fourth point, that of
the arrangements to be made by the Sultan in favour
of his son-Mussulmen subjects and to the principalities.
Sardinia had not been communicated with on the
subject, it being considered not a question affecting the
peace negotiations, but to be decided on by the Sultan
independently. Sardinia applied to be admitted, bat
the representatives of France and England haying no
instructions on the point, Sardinia therefore was not
present at the conferences.

- MUNICIPAL REFORM BILL (SCOTLAND).
Leave was given to Mr. EWAILT to bring in a bill to
extend the provisions of Scottish Municipal Reform Act
to certain Royal Burghs in Scotland now excluded from
_the benefits of that act.
PUBLIC JUSTICE.

Mr. NA.PIER moved the following resolution :
" That in the opinion of this house, as a measure of ad-
ministrative reform, provision should be made for an
efficient and responsible Department of Public Justice,
with a view to secure the skilful preparation and proper
structure cf Parliamentary bills, and promote the pro-
gressive amendment of the laws of the United Kingdom."
The hon. and learned member said he retie for the purpose of
redeeming a pledge which he gave in the last session with re-
gard.to what must be a matter of great importance to the
people of ,this country, namely, the framing of their laws.
This was not an isolated or departmental question ; the inte•
rests of the whole community were involved ; and it was
surely the duty of that house to adopt the best means of
improving the current legislation of the country. Let the
house observe the magnitude of the evil which they bad to
grapple with. The state of the laws at present was, he said ad-
visedly, disgraceful to a civilised country like this. They had
Seat their common law and customs, scattered over he knew
not how many volumes and traditions, They had three differ-
ent systems of law, to which every session was adding,
for England, Ireland, and Scotland. So far as Scotland
was concerned, he would do her the justice to say
that she gave the Legislature very little trouble. As
regarded Ireland; he must say there was no
part of the United Kingdom which suffered more from the
state of the laws and the state of current legislation. Identity
between legislation for England and that for Ireland was the
eakeption rather than the rule, aid towards midnight the pe-
culiar system ef legislation to which that country was sub-
jected occupied a large portion of the time-of the house. The
number of public statutes applying to England and Ireland,
exclusive of local and private acts, was 18,284. This was in
addition to the common law, which- was common to both
countries. There were 34 volumes of English end 19 vo-
lumes of Irish acts. Before the Union there were 2,263
public statutes peculiar to Ireland, and 1,300 bad been added
since. The system of double legislation which prevailed
i created the greatest inconvenience, and inflicted great evils
upon society. Lord Bacon remarked on the accumulation of
the statutes in his own time, though the number was then only
2,572. He had there a book which showed that in the reign
of her present Majesty there had been more public statutes
passed than existed down to the reign of Elizabeth. Some of tha
statutes which remained unrepealed were absurd and ludic-
rous in the extreme. For example, one statute imposed
a penalty on Irish prelates for bringing any Irishman to Par-
liament ; another imposed a penalty for carrying collie to
Newcastle. (Laughter.) Another prohibited any Irishman
from coming toEngland without a testimonial from the Lord-
Lieutenant ; another forbad any person keeping wore than
2,000 sheep ; another had reference to abstinence from teak
in Lent. These were mere samples of the mass of obsolete sta-
tutes. The statute law commiegion gave a list of 10,047
statutes which Were either repealed or obsolete. A resolution
was passed by that house last sear for sweeping away all this
mass of obsolete legislation. But had that been dens i On the
contrary, the nobis lord at the head of the Government, *eh
asked a question on the subject the other night, sail the task
far exceeded the powers of the present Governmeet—aa an-
swer which did not afford much hope of any attempt at Is.
provement by the Administration, and which therefore jus-
tified the attempt which he himself was now making. 114
sots were passed during the last session. Thus the process
ef accumulation was still going on ; and the weight of law
under which the country had been so long groaning was still
increasing. It was remarkable that while so mazy abortive
attempts at improvement in this respect had been mode in
i this country, the object sought had been acoemplisked is
ether eoun,tries and at other periods. The JustiniauCiede was
perfected in lees than four yeas', and the Code Napoleon in
102 sittings. There was a more modern instanee is the case
of New York. In that state a complete.digest had been made
of the statute book, incorporating so much of the common
law as was inseparable tram the statute-book. The whole was
reduced to three octavo volumes ; and the Judge of the Su-
preme Court of New York, Mr. Parker, said that, on the whole,
the consolidation was highly successful, and popular with the
profession. Lord Bacon made proposals to James the First
for the consolidation of the laws, observing, that he thought
he should best show his gratitude to his Majesty for midsize
him Attorney-General by reducing and re-compiling the
laws of England. It was often said that obsolete statutes dill
ne harm ; but, in opposition to this view, Lord Bacon. re-
marked, that by leaving ou the statute-book acts which were
unsuited to the spirit of the times in which they lived, the
Legislature weakened the authority ef the other laws, and the
living died in the arms of the dead. One important point
was to fix the boundary of legislation, to determine where
legislation should stop, and where reason, education, and re-
ligion should be loft to exercise their influence. In 1787 Her-
grave alluded to the increased costs of the eecumulaCen of
the statutes, and observed that were Bacon and Hale
evils.
alive
they would not bo unconcerned spectators of those.
Since that period the statutes had doubled in number. Is
vus
the year 1816 a 'resolution in favour of classifying the
astandtuotnesewdadsrepooro the
ou jHeostus)reoef
egeeedLords,
ptoosedtheatocsavrnrioeda thein
to. 4,585 statutes had since been added. 'ln 1826
came that work ef Sir Robert Peel, one of the graaasea
monuments of his practical statesmanship and ability
—the consolidation of the criminal code. Sir liehere
Peel availed himself ef the best assistance in the perforewee
ef his task ; he declared that lawyers came to his aid ass the
most generous manner ; and, accordingly, the attempt made
was eminently successful. Great public advantage was at
once derived from the classification of offences late effences
against the person, offences against property, and so on.
That change, though very good as far as it went, affected
only the criminal law. In 1833, Lord Brougham, then Chan-
cellor, appointed a commission. The commission mad, a re-
port in 1835, but nothing was done in consequence. There
had been a great deal of advice on the subject, end •
great deal of pointing out what, ought to be done ; but wkat
Parliament wanted wits that something should be .done.
(Hear.) , In 1843 Lord Brougham addressed letters to the Vii"
hon. baronet the member for Carlisle (Sir J. Graham), who took
a great interest in the subject when be was at the head of the
Home-of ice. In Feb., 1853, the present Lord Chauceller pro-
posed to Parliament an admirable plan for coneelidating
the statute law. He proposed to begin
to proceed afterwards to classification, then to consolkie !!
and lastly he proposed to set up a standard of new legiatti_i_
He (Mr. Napier) thought that if that proposal had
Lie
isi.PIL
perly carried out, the result would have been rie
be f,,,,r ',England
present there was a double system of legislation .. _ ,___
with expurgatioos,
and Ireland, and had the statutes of the toe eeun,.l3: "re:73,
consolidated into one imperial statute cedrore bee
however, that
might have been anticipated. It now apps
bih' Chancellor pro-
i the very first step in the process, in which the preparation
ab bly expected no difficulty in 1853
stated the other
of a bill—
. to take. • The noble lord (Lo
,-- rd ~.I:ezebie. - Ho had now pointed
I night that that step was imPr_lrt-itee, and he thought he had
was one which the Govermwelevntotnw)ere not prepared
' out the state of the existing rathey
ought not to be allowed
shown that it was one in whi h
In po nt of fact, the Statute Law
to remain. (Hear, hear
dsou.:eirded• in doing the work which it
not succeed
He now came to the next branch
1 current legislation. This was of still
, e f the subject,
Cwommumeiosseesaionryhtoad
haery
folotboantre than the state of the statute-book. In
olete statutes, good sense might enable them
without much harm; though it was not, ere-
' 4.° ''trugglethe people of this country that their laws should
li
tuesrcazoiterdoisot
oP
letsble to
i:I. such a
on
condition. (Hear, hear.) He had always been
tntss to do what he could to assist in the legislation of
ol"'" ~ntrv. but he had constantly been baffled in his at-
, trill/As, Seamen after session, and night after night, he saw
il ; this
ensue k--in-"d. of bills introduced. That night he heard that
ei le Old Fishery Bill, which he had considered to be extin-
a, tished last year, was to be introduced again in the present
,e, ;SI• "on He wished some of the financial gentlemen would
urine hate the expense to which this country was put by
exi were
Lba rtivo bills, and doubted not that if such an inquiry
,„-- •-s. 'e it would turn out that the cost was sufficient to pay an
him 14 l PUS motion. (Rear, hear.)
.*P-m-cA. a staff for the furtherance ofthiao,bjeet contemplated by
iN, public, bill ould be