The Sun.
London, England, 1851-03-22 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF LORDS, March 21.
The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat upon the Wool•
sack at Five o'clock.

PETITIONS.

Earl GRANVILLE presented a petition from Cole&ld
in favour of the Copyhold Enfranchisement Bill.
Th© Earl of LANESBOROUGH presented several
petitions against Papal aggression.
The Earl of FALMOU presented a petition from
the shipowners of Brixham complaining of the repeal of
the navigation-laws, and praying for redress.
Lord LYTTELTON presented two petitions from
the clergy of two dioceses in Canada, praying for a
better provision for the Church in the colonies.
The Earl of WINCIIILSEA presented twenty peti-
tions against the Papal aggression.

The Marquis of LANSITOWNE presented two peti.
tions from different bodies of Wesleyan Methodists
against Papal aggression.
Earl FITZWILLIAM presented several petitions
against Papal aggression.
COUNTY COURTS EXTENSION BILL. _ _

Lord BROUGHAM moved the second reading of this
Bill. He proposed, as one of the alterations, that in ease
of a now trial being granted in a county court, the venue
of such new trial should be laid before another county
court judge. It had been suggested that in all
cases the defendant should be called upon to give
notice that he means to defend, and that if
he does not give such notice he shall not
be permitted to defend, but that the cause should be
treated as an undefended cause, giving the defendant
power of applying to the learned judge to be permitted
to defend, if it should appear upon affidavit that
he had in the interim discovered new evidence;
this was a matter worthy of consideration. Ho
proposed to give the county court judges jurisdiction
in tithe cases; several clergymen had urged him to add
this provision to the Bill. It had been held utterly ab-
surd to apply to the Court of Chancery in any matter in
which the amount in dispute was less than 1,0001. ; he
would not exaggerate, but he would propose to give to
the county court judges a Chancery jurisdiction
cases in which the amount to be decided on was under
1001. These were the alterations he proposed ; these
were all the additions he proposed to the contentious
jurisdictions of the county courts. It had been sug-
gested to extend the jurisdiction of these courts
to all cases in which the matter in dispute amounted to
100/.; but he would not propose it, at least for the pre-
sent. He also proposed that parties might by agree-
ment give jurisdiction to the county courts in all cases
and under any conditions. He proposed to leave the ju-
risdiction by agreement absolutely unfettered. In many
districts ancient local county courts were in existence,
possessing very extensive jurisdictions. Now, in these
ancient courts the expenses were much greater
than they were in the county courts. Now, he
proposed that the causes usually carried iato
these ancient local courts should be transferred to the
county courts, giving compensation to the officers of
the ancient court out of the additional fees which would
be received in the county courts. He proposed that
whenever a town council should petition the Queen in
Council to extinguish a local encient court, and to trans-
fer its jurisdiction to a county court, a Judicial Com-
mittee of the Privy Council should have the power
so to do. He proposed that a commission shall issue to in-
quire into all the ancient local courts. This branch of the
subject was so important that he never could believe the
county court system had been brought to anything like per-
fection until this was done. The abuse shown in awarding
compensation was such as to make it absolutely necessary
for Parliament to hold a tight hand, and to keep a watchful
eye upon the system. What would their Lordships think of
2,0001. a year being granted as compensation for an office
that was in itself a sinecure? and of 3,9001. for another office
that was nearly a sinecure ? What would their Lordships
think was the amount of compensation granted to certain
clerks in the Court of Chancery? Some of them receive
6,0001. a year for offices that have been regulated, and might
be also considered as sinecures.—(Hear, hear.) These sums
had been awarded them upon this scale—not on the
average of a great number of years, but on the amount
of the revenue of one year, and during that one year they
had the power of increasing the revenue in anticipationt of
the compensatory consideration they were about
re-
ceive. This compensation, too, was given to them notoorily
for their lives, but for se many years after
ttoheiarn decease.ffie
He would propose that no person
either in the new county courts, in respect to
or in
the olcTcounty
courts, shall have any claim to comp
the
passingcaaroisfinthgis
fArocmt,
the abolition of any office held before the
or in respect to any alterations in the ofi.i
new arrangements. He had the strong
est impressions of the
expediency of these instituti .1 Fra
ons. rice and in Belgium
the good that was done by them it was impossible to con-
' jecture. These tribunals were confined to mercantile men
appointed by the Government of the country. They exer-
cised exclusive jurisdiction in the first instance over all
mercantile cases whatever. The clerk or registrar of those
courts was the only professional man connected with them.
From them an appeal lies to the Court of Appeal, and ulti-
mately to the Court of Cessation. The oldest lawyers were
agreed as to the value of these Chambers of Commerce in
the saving of expenses, ofdelay, and of anxiety to the suitors.
The conduct of these judges has been such as to give the most
uniform satisfaction. He hoped that at no great distance of
time there would be introduced into this country the invalu-
able blessing c f these tribunals of commerce. Ile would
not follow the precedent in the first instance of making them
courts of exclusive jurisdiction. He should begin by making
them voluntary, and by providing that if both parties agreed
they might go into one of these tribunals of commerce and
have their dispute settled—cheaply, speedily,
indisput-
ably settled by these merchant judges.and
.n proposing the
formation of courts of reconcilement, he should observe that
they had been established in France, Denmark, Switzerland,
and Belgium. They had been found most valuable in recon-
ciling parties that appealed to them, particularly those courts
iu which professional men were not
permitted to appear on
behalf of the parties. In towns where the notary or attorney
beset the client, we find that the answer given to the judge
of the court of reconcilement, when he puts the usual ques-
tion, " Have you any proposal to make?' or, " Is there any
possibility of reconciling the parties?" was, by the attorney,
that there was no ground for reconcilement. The conse-
quence was, that there was very little done in the way of
reconciling matters. He proposed to make it a part of his
Bill that no professional party whatever, either barrister or