The Sun.
London, England, 1851-06-14 00:00:00

EVENING) JUNE 14, 1851.
THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY

MARKET INTELLIGENCE.
(From the London New Price Current, June 13.)
WestSu oiknri.di:sTuo,:da SUGAR.—To-day yhe w f
otr homeera ams
ch b
consumption;
et
the demand
rat
afa ob-
tained or
are equal to those of Friday last, and in some
cases 62 above. The purchases to-day were 1,190 hhds,
&e., including at auction 125 hhds 12 tree 95 brls Bar-
badoes,o which realized 403 to 41s for fine yellow, 36s t
36s 6d for low to good, and fair brown 35s to 35s 6dio
REFINED.—To-day home dealers were buyers
become
fair extent of Refined goods, and rates have The
demand firm; low
is to
notbatter goode
trfor
grocery
CrushedlumpsSugar; at 46s
there6d to 495.
is,9s. how-
ever, no reduction in the value.
ti
MAURITIUS.—This afternoon there w
of Mauritius Sugar, but privately about 2,000 noooo p
bags found
asl
buyers at rates equal to last Friday. e
ith
a .EoAodsTdeltnismanr.de..a—ndThreisalaifzteedrnfouountßeremnrgsea;sl
r
at 41s 6d
bags sold, good and fine white Be a t Su„e
auction t i met01,634w
stoof-rbsro6wd,b doa9tse
6ydeltloow3oo3r.d too t goodcoyni3oals
50
oo
c3a7s'illsanredagliozoedd
36s to 363 6d for fair yellow.
was more desire to operate
FOREIGN.—To-day
ing cargoes of Brown .
but there are few
in Foreign Sugar fur etilxhiborierat,atiaoon.l
2108is6offi tr)ore2d2sfoir.ortlooartd-
sainidiegniootdhe3r.eeallto.w
per(ll)fawlinte74l3,- his 1.100 bags realized 40e
laltofrrot the
itvd
tubtao,
i)o tpaid.cb
ro,roi
,1 auctiong.Company. a,OOO Java aro de-
clared
The market has a quiet appearance for all
only 150 hhds West India
whilsts .—rates have a dowdniawahradvetenbedee
weekl2s Gd to 16s for low to fine, only small parcels of
Bengal and Mauritius have been disposed of at 12s,
Cjeunbaaand Porto Rico at 153 to 153 6d per cwt.
COCOA.—The home trade demand has been better for
West ludia by private treaty this week, and rather higher
rates are paid, rod Trinidad selling at 41s to 475, grey
3F75 to 40a and Grenada 35s to 40s. In Foreign opera-
tions are, however, still uponTa small scale ; Bahia and
Para at 26s to 283., and Guayaquil 30s per cwt.
COFFEE.—To-day there was a reluctance on the part
of all parties to do business in Coffee, and rates still
have a downward tendency. At auction 351 bags Na-
tive Ceylon were taken in at 37s to 38s, and of 164 casks
Plantation a part only sold at easier rates; good mid
went at 53s to 54s 6d, mid 49s to 525, other sorts 41s to
48s, good ord pale 383 to 40, triage 34s 6d to 375, and
mid pea berry 57s 6d to 60s per cwt.
TEA.—To-day the public sales of Tea went off with
much dulness, and of 11,500 pkgs passed, the small
quantity of 2,400 sold, nearly all green, for which the
rates taken are H per lb under those previously cur-
rent. Scented Teas wont rather cheaper, as also did the
' small quantity of Congou that sold. The value of good
ord is now 10d to lOid.
Rime—To-day several parcels of East India were sold
privately at full former rates, and 1,365 bags realized
lOs Gd to Its for fine white, and damaged 9s to 9s 6d
per cwt.
SPICES.—FuII rates have been obtained for Nutmegs,
and at auction 40 pkgs were sold; good brown went at 3s
to 3s 4d, mid and good mid 2s 6d to 2s 10d, small
2s Id to 2s sd, and wormy 7d to is 6d per lb. The
value of fine brown is 3s 5d to 3s 102, and of low
to good limed is 6d to 2s 7d. Mace is wanted,
and realize fully last week's rates. Atjauction 7 cases
sold at 2s to 2s Id for good thirds; privately better
sorts are selling at 2s 2d to 2s 7d. The limited business
done in Pepper has been rather under late rates. At
auction 1,929 bags Malabar were disposed of at 31}d
to 3Jd for good shot, whilst 1,282 bags Batavia
and Pinang were taken in at 24cl for good
light. Clean Sumatra can be obtained at 2-,12 to 3d
per lb. White has been purchased with caution at :lid
to 7id. Of African Pod 173 bags at auction were taken
in at 45s for mid, but two cases fine Cayenne sold at is
9cl to is lld per lb. Although rates aro low for Cloves,
dealers still operate with caution, and at auction 120
cases Bourbon and Zanzibar only realized 6d to 6d.
The value of Penang is 9d to is 3d, and Am-
boyna 8d to 812. For Pimento the demand is on the in-
crease, and the parcels sold privately were at rather
higher rates. At auction 263 were disposed of, good
mid went at 4-0 to 4-0, low mid and mid 4-ad to 4id.
Prices have again given way for Ginger suit-
able for home consumption, the supply being
on the increase. At auction 183 pkgs Jamaica
were sold, good went at 95s to 106 s, mid and good mid
70s to 90s, other sorts 62s to 685. Of 340 cases Cochin a
small part only sold at 53s Gd to 55s for mid, and at 60s
to 653 for good, whilst 201 bags African were taken in
at 30s. The value of export East India remains at 15s
to 17e, and with few buyers. Of preserved Ginger 60 es
at auction were again taken in at 9d per lb. Cassia Lig-
nee is held with firmness at 90s to 1003, only small
orders have been executed. Cassia Buds are scarce,
and realize 1054 to 1103. At auction 27 cs Cassia Vera
sold at 36s to 47s per cwt. In Cinnamon there is rather
more trade doing, still rates remain fur Ceylon at is to
3s Gd per lb.
COCHINEAL.—To-day at sale 80 begs Honduras Co-
chineal sold at 2s I Id to 3s 2d for low to ord, with a few
mid silvers; 12 bags good Mexican silvers taken in
at 2s.
SALTPETRE.—To-day at auction 1,110 bgs Calcutta
Saltpetre were offered, a part was withdrawn, and the
remainder sold at stiff rates, mid 13i to 111 per cent
refraction at 25s 6d,47 per cent 255, good 61 at 275.
INDIGO.—Tic quarterly sale has been taxed for the
Bth of July, and at present 9,200 chests are declared.
The stock is 4,000 chests more than last year, deliveries
decreased 4,400, and imports are 1,600 chts larger.
Spanish dull and late rates are with difficulty supported.
At auction 21 eras Guatemala sold at 23 7d to 4s 9d,
and one lot low is 10d. The stock is 2,280 srns.
Sistarrs.—Eas; India Rum is not offered under Is 3d
proof, but there are now few buyers, and larger parcels
are on oiler. Leeward Island has been (perated in
with caution at Is -lid to is 53e1 proof; still holders
are not disposed to piess sales. Of Demerera several
parcels have been sold, but no advance ; prices ruling
at is 102 to 2s 2d for 30 to 40 per cent. over proof.
Fine Jamaica has been in good demand, both for home
consumption and shipping, and the rates paid have been
3s 3cl to 4s 3d for 34 to 38 ever proof. For other sorts
there is a dull market, with sellers of plain and mid qua-
lity 30 to 35 over at 2s 30 to 2s 62;
good mid to good 32 to 36 over at 2s 7d to 3s 22.
'There is nu advance for Brandy. Prices are firm ; and
rule for best braods of the vintage of 1850 4s 4d to
4s 6d, 1849 ditto 4s 72 to 4s 9d, lfi4B ditto 4s lld to
5s 12, 1847 ditto 5s 4d to 5s 62, older sorts 53 101 to
7s, inferior kinds 2s 6d to 33 10d, and Bordeaux 2s 2d
to 2s 82. Geneva is 7d to is 8d fur ord, and fine Is 92
to

OlLS.—This afternoon the quantity of Sperm Oil
offered at public sale was 150 tuns, and chiefly sold;
British at 791 10s to 841 ss, and Heulmatter 891; these
are lower rates.

TALLow.—This afternoon the public sales of New
South Wales Tallow, clnsisting of 660 casks, went at
lower rates; Sheep at 35s 3i to 36s 9d; 0; 33s 91 to
353 6d; 12 casks Bermuda, 31s 9d to 3-Is 3d.

BANK OF ENGLAND.
(From last night's Gazette.)
An Account, pursuant to the Act 7th and Bth of Victoria,cap. 32 for
the Week ending on Saturday, the 7th day of Juno, 1851.
188178 DEPARTMENT.

Notes issued.. X•. 27, 19i,335

X.
Government debt .. 11,015,100
Other securities •• • • 2,944,900
Gold coin and bullion 13,164,960
Silver bullion •• • • • 33,375

THE LONDON GAZETTE, June 13.
FOREIGN-OFFICE, JUNE 12, 1851.
The Queen has been pleased to approve of Mr. Jona-
than Binns Were as Consul-General in Australia and
Van Diemen 's Land for her Majesty the Queen of Portu-
gal and the Algarves.
The Queen has also been pleased to approve of Mr.
Jonathan Binns Were 23 Consul at Melbourne, Port
Philip, for the Free Hanseatic City of Hamburgh.
DOWNING-STREET, JUNE 13.
The Queen has been pleased to appoint Joseph Pope,
Esq., to be her Majesty's Treasurer for Prince Edward

CROWN-OFFICE, JUNE 11.
MEMBERS RETURNED TO SERVE IN THIS PRESENT
PARLIAMENT.
County of Argyll—Sir Archibald Islay Campbell, of
Succoth, Bart., in the room of Duncan M'Neill, Esq.,
who has accepted the office of one of the judges of the
Supreme Court of Scotland.
Combined Counties of Clackmannan and Kinross—
James Johnstone, Esq., of Alva, in the room of Major-
General William Morison, deceased.
OFFICE OF ORDNANCE, JUNE 12.
Royal Regiment of Artillery—Second Captain Ed-
ward Arthur Williams to be Adjutant, rico Burrows,
promoted, Juno 22 ; Second Captain Herbert Winsloo
Patton to be Adjutant, vice Laurence, deceased, Oct. 26.
Commission by her Majesty's Commissioners of Lieu-
tenancy for the City of London.
Regiment of Royal London Militia—Samuel Wilson,
Esq., Alderman, to bo Liroitenant-Colonel, rice Lieu-
tenaut-Colonel William Thompson, M.P., promoted,
June 10.
Commission by the Lord-Lieutenant of the North Rid-
ing- of Yorkshire.
North York Regiment of Militia—John Edward
Adolphus Dolby, Gent., to be Lieutenant, vice Grillet,
deceased.

WHITEHALL, MAY 23.
The Lord Chancellor has appointed Arthur Ransom,
of Sudbury. in the county of Norfolk, Gent., to be e
Master Extraordinary in the High Court of Chancery.

WHITEITALL,JuNa 7.
The Lord Chancellor has appointed George Co►
quhoun, of Woolwich, in the county of Kent, Gent., to
be a Master Extraordinary in the High Court of
Chancery.

WHITEHALL, JUNE 9.
The Lord Chancellor has appointed Thomas Southall),
of Manchester, in the county palantine of Lancaster,
Gent., to be a Master Extraordinary in the High Court
of Chancery.

BANKRUPTS.
Samuel Ratcliff, miller, Suffolk, to surrender June
19 and July 25, at one, at the Court of Bankruptcy.
Whitmore, official assignee, Basinghall-street; Whishaws,
Gray's Inn-square; Robinson, Hadleigh, Suffolk.
Charles Moody, pork butcher, Goswell-road, Clerken-
well, June 19, at half-past one, and July 25, at eleven,
at the Court of Bankruptcy. Cannan, official assignee,
Birchin-lane, Cornhill; Smith, Stenning, and Croft,
Basinghall-street.

John Marten Wood, victualler, Barbican, June 25 and
July 25,. at eleven, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Stans-
feld, official assignee; Hine and Robinson, Charterhouse-
square.
John Walters, licensed victualler, Great Rider-street,
St. James's, June 25 and July 25, at twelve, at the Court
of Bankruptcy. Graham, official assignee; Dimmock and
Burbey, Sutl'olk•lane, Cannon-street.
John Mi!drum, builder, Oakley-terrace, Chelsea,
June 24, at eleven, and July 24, at one, at the Court
of Bankruptcy. Bell, official assignee, Coleman-street-
buildings, Moorgate-street; Turnley, Cornhill.
John Latham, pianoforte manufacturer, Howland-
street, Fitzroy-square, June 21, at eleven, and Aug. 2,
at one, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Pennell, official
assignee, Guildhall-chambers, Basingball-street; Paxon,
Bloomsbury-square.
Thomas Fisher, pianoforte manufacturer, Tottenham -
street, Tottenham-court-road, June 26, at eleven, and
July 15, at two, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Groom,
official assignee, Abchurch-lane; Cox, Pinners'-hall, Old
Broad-street.

William Clipson, builder, Chester, June 20 and July
18, at eleven, at the Liverpool District Court. Bird,
official assignee, Liverpool; Hostage, Chester.
Benjamin Whittaker and John Fullalove, manufac-
turers, Manchester, Juno 30, and July 21, at twelve, at
the Manchester District Court. Fraser, official assignee,
Manchester; Hitchcock, Buckley, and Tidswell, Man-
chester.

PRICE OF SUGAR.
The average price of Brown or Muscovado Sugar, com-
puted from returns made in the week ending June 10,
1851, exclusive of Customs Duties paid or payable thereon
on the importation thereof into Great Britain :
From the British possessions in America 255. 9d. per cwt
From the Mauritius ... 265. 100. ~
From the East Indies ... 198. led. ~
Average price of the three foregoing de-
scriptions of sugar, jointly, computed as
above, and exclusive of duty ... 255. 3d. „
By authority of Parliament,
HENRY BICKNELL, Clerk of the Grocers' Company.
Grocers'-hall, June 13.

House to agree to such a motion. The effect of it would
be to surrender the whole business of the House into the
hands of the Government. He should oppose the Noble
Lord's proposition, because he considered it very unrea-
sonable, as it amounted to a prohibition to private
Members to proceed with the Bills which they might
introduce.
Sir B. HALL took the opportunity of asking Lord
John Russell whether it was the intention of the Govern-
ment to intoduce a Bill that session with respect to the
Metropolita❑ Commission of Sewers?
Lord J. RUSSELL said the Government had been
prevented bringing in the Bill in consequence of the
delay in the progress of the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill.
As to the motion, he observed that the Government
were called upon now more than ever to introduce mea-
sures of legislation, and, besides, it was their duty to
bring forward all questions relating to the supplies of
the year, which now took up a much greater amount of
time than formerly.

After some further discussion, the gallery was cleared,
but the motion was subsequently agreed to without
a division.

CHANCERY REFOR
Lord J. RUSSELL rose to move for leave to bring in
a Bill to improve the administration of justice in the
Court of Chancery and the Judicial Committee of Privy
Council. He said a Bill on this subject was impera-
tively called for by the necessity which existed to
relive the Lord Chancellor of some of the duties at pre-
sent imposed upon him both in the Court of Chancery
and the House of Lords, and after some consideration,
one thing seemed certain, that it was desirable to retein
the Lord Chancellor in his present political func-
tions, and in his position as Speaker of the
House of Lords. A proposal had been made
that two judges, the Master of the Rolls, and a
common law judge should sit in the Court of Chancery,
to take the business when the Lord Chancellor should be
absent, but objections had been made to this scheme by
many persons of great experience in the Court of Chan-
cery. Among others, he had received a letter from the late
lamented Lord Cottenham, whose opinion was that the
measure ought to be directed more to the relief of the
Lord Chancellor himself than the Court of Chancery.
One important principle which had been laid down, and
on which Lord Cottenham himself had drawn up
and introduced a Bill, was to separate the judicial
and political functions of the Lord Chancellor,
to have a Chief Judge in Chancery to sit in the Court of
Chancery, and in place of the Lord Chancellor, and
another to sit in the House of Lords in appeals. The
objection made to that plan was that unless a judge
sitting in appeals in the House of Lords were to sit
at some period or other in the original court, he would not
be able to preserve that ability which ho once might have
possessed, and his decisions would lose that weight
which attached at present to those of the Lord
Chancellor sitting in appeals. Another mode
would be to appoint a Vice-Chancellor to sit
in the place o' the Lord Chancellor when ho was
absent in the cischarge of political functions, but that
was open to the charge that although the name and the
authority of the Lord Chancellor might be attached to
the Vice-Charehellor, yet the decisions in appeals, after
all, would carry with them only the influence of thede-
cision of one stbordinate judge set against another. The
mode which appeared to him (the Noble Lord) to pos-
sess the greatest advantages, and to be least open to ob-
jection was, that during the absence of the Lord Chancellor
from his own court, two judges appointed for that espe-
cial purpose,to be called the Judges of the Appeal Court,
should sit todecide on all cases brought before them.
The only obection which he could foresee to this plan
was the increased expense which would be brought upon
the countre, or on the suitors' fund; but they must
remember that a great object was to be gained.
There could be no doubt that the amount of business
disposed o' in the Court of Chancery was very great
indeed. Ey a return which had been laid before the
House; of Lords, it appeared that from the 2d of
November; 1850, to the 13th May, 1851, the number of
cases disrosed of in all the courts was no less
than 5,270. Now that was an enormous amount of
business, and showed how excessive the labour of those
must have been who had the disposal of it.—(Hear,
hear.) Tao experience of late years had proved that
when all the judges regularly attended their courts,
the business that came before them could be easily got
rid of; bu in case of illness overtaking any one of them,
the whole machinery of the courts was checked, and the
business .inmediately fell into arrear. Again, the Lord
Chancelbr's attention was often called away from
his judnial functions by having to attend to his
political duties. Now, he proposed to provide for those
contingent evils in this way :—Whenever the Lord
Chancelor should be attending the House of Lords one
of the judges of this new Court of Appeal should sit for
hint, ant then the business would not be interrupted.
He proposed besides, that in case of any one of the
other Judges of the Court of Chancery, from
illness or other cause, should be unable to attend his
court, tie Lord Chancellor should have the power of
making such an arrangement as to enable one of the
Judges of the Court of Appeal to sit for him.—(Bear,
hear.) The advantage of this provision was obvious, it
would save the public from the annoyance of losing
an accomplished judge like the late Vice-Chancellor
Wigtera, through temporary illness, because the Lord
Chancellor would bo in a position to supply the place of
any o' the existing judges by appointing one of his own
collea;ues,to sit either for three weeks or throe months, as
the case might be. Another advantage of this arrangement
would be this—lt would give the Lord Chancellor more
time to attend to his political duties, and watch the pro-
gress of thole measures which might treat time to time
be brought forward for amending or improving the
law.—(Bear, hear.) For instance, of late, only iu this
very session the Lord Chancellor had been prevented
by his judicial functions from attending on the Bank-
ruptcy or Comity Courts' Committee in the other House,
and for these reasons he thought it highly desirable that
they should adept the plan he had proposed, name)
of ty,
appoint two
ne judges, who should be called Judges he Court of Appeal, and who should exercise the
functions he hag already specified. With regard to the
tinanciel view cf the subject, he did not think the burden
would be exeeeeingly heavy on the public, because he pro-
posed, as he stated on a former occasion, that in future the
Lord Chancelloeinstead of 14,0001. a year, should receive
10,000/. a year, thereby producing a saving of 4,0001. a
year, and that lie Master of the Rolls should receive
6,000 L a year instead of 7,000/., thereby saving 1,0002 a
ye
a
r
,
ear, hear.) Now, with respect to these
wo
ho new jueges to be appointed under this
Bill,propotd that they should be placed on the
same footing as the Master of the Rolls, namely, that
each judge should receive 6,000/. si year, which
would increase
the expense on the suitors' fund
by the 12,000/. a year, but then against that they must
place the saving of 5,0001., thus reducing the actual
increased expert( to only 7,000/. a year.—(Hear, hear.)
He proposed no: only that the two judges of the court
of appeal shoulc be Privy Councillors, but also that three
judges should hens a quorum, and in that way he thought
it would not be difficult to obtain a sufficient
number of 'Ambers to attend the Committee.
lie did not propose to alter the constitu-
tion of the court, which had worked most
safely, and was looked up to with confidence. All he
proposed was te give greater facility for the transaction
of business. 'the Noble Lord concluded by asking
leave to bring it the Bill.
Mr. ST U.A.P.P asked the Nobe Lord whether at this late
period of the lesion, when there was already such a pres-
sure of public besiness, he thought he could bring forward
a measure of lath enormous importance with any hope
that it would receive a sufficient amount of considera-
tion to put it ato such a shape as would justify the
House in passtig it into law this year? The provisions
and details of the Bill were entirely new
to the Heise, and would require a very
great deal of deliberation. It deserved to
be considered vhether the large accession of business in
the Court of chancery arose from accidental circum-
stances, or from the effects of recent legislation. It
would also hewell to consider whether a great portion
of that business might not be conveniently, advan-
tageously, and properly transacted by the judges
of other tfbutials, who were now complaining
of a want of laciness in their respective courts. He
had taken the liberty of making these observations, as
he thought it vould be impossible, advanced as the ses-
sion now was, ,o pass a really useful and perfect measure.
Mr. BETHELL was grateful for the first instalment of
what had been long demanded, and not more than was
needed—nameli, Chancery reform. Ho praised the wisdom
of those recent acts of Parliament in reference to the Court
of Chancery as veil adapted to promote the administration
e
of justice required by the wants, the intelligence,
and the
wishes wishes of the people of this ccuntry. The Hon. and
Member for Nevark would, no doubt, be happy to learn
that another Bil had been laid, or was to be laid, before the
House, to facili.ate in a still further degree the administra-
tion of justice by relieving the Master's offices of the
pressure whirl at present loaded their functions and
impeded the dte administration of justice. But he hoped
the House weld not agree with the Honourable Member
for Newark that it was too late in the session to com-
mence this reform. No objection could possibly be conceived
in a truer skit of Chancery delay. For his own part
he did not knov what other course the Noble Lord could
have adopted more fitting for the purpose, or more calculated
to result in a scheme in which all parties should agree, than
the one he had announced. It was true that this scheme had
been submitted for general consideration, but he thought
there were man? Members of the House besides the Hon. and
Learned Member for Newark who knew also that it had been
submitted to a,arge body of men well qualified by their ex-
perience to fora an opinion upon it ; and the result was
that the collected opiniocs of these gentlemen having been
submitted to the Noble Lord at the head of the Government,
the Noble Lordhad framed the measure which was about to
be introduced to the consideration of the House. He did
not know that any course could have been adopted more
likely to lead tc a well-considered scheme than' this. They
were now about to have a measure laid before them that
would accomplish a point of great importance. As the Court
of Chancery was at present constituted it was impossible for
the courts of tie first instance in that large tribunal to go
on with their bisiness if they allowed the appellate tribunal
to remain loathe), as was the head of that Court and the head
of the House cf Lords, with the weight of political and ju-
dicial duties. rhe appellate tribunal was undoubtedly a
great obstruction to the whole course of Chancery business;
and not only that, but the whole administration of justice
was materiallyimpeded by the present state of that tribunal,
beeause it was .rapossible for it to dispose of business with
any regularity so long as the Lord Chancellor was taken
away from it to attend in the House of Lords, and in fact to
give a little bit of his time first in one place and then in
another. He would just give the House one example out
of many he was acquainted with of the evils which resulted
from this system. In the year 1847 an important appeal
was brought forward , and the House of Lords were earnestly
entreated to allow the further hearing of it to stand over till
the next session. The Lord Chancellor declined this, saying
that he must Lear the appeal then in order that he might
be able to devote a portion of the long vaca-
tion to the consideration of the case, with a view to its more
easy progress in the ensuing Michaelmas term. That suit
involved half a million of money, and the expense of getting
up the hearing itself involved an outlay of no less than
between 5,0061. and 6,0001. But the session of 1848
rolled away, and also that of 1849. The session of 1850
passed away too, without seeing the close of the case,

and now the lamented death of the late Lord Chan-
cellor had obliged the parties to begin again, and
the time and money spent were absolutely wasted.
This case was extremely hard ; and what did the delay
originate in? Why, because the Lord Chancellor was
engaged in other duties, and sat in other capacities, which
prevented him from going through with this case. His own
brief in this case was as large as one of the " Encveloptedias
Britannica."—(Hear, hear.) He would remind the house that
it was important in appeals not to have them from one
single mind to another. Such a system only caused dis-
satisfaction among the suitors. The appeal to a plurality of
minds was desirable as well as important. Now the measure
of the Noble Lord effected that great object. When an appeal
was brought forward the suitor henceforward would have
the advantage of having his suit submitted to the conside-
ration of two minds. There was another and a more im-
portant point to accomplish. It was a disgrace to observe
the manner in which legal jurisdiction stood, and also the
whole condition of our legislation. The jurisdiction of
courts was parcelled out in an extraordinary and anomalous
manner. A little bit of justice here, and a small stream of
justice there, made small suitors who were in pursuit of
justice at a loss whether to seek it in one province of the law
or another. The greatest duty of some of the courts, and
the largest expen liture of their time, was devoted to settling
the boundaries of jurisdiction and its machinery. There was
not at the head of the law any responsible person to control
the composition of Acts of Parliament. By the present mea-
sure the Lord Chancellor would be enabled to attend to the
duties of his court and of Parliament; the Lord Chancellor
would have abundance of time to discharge those duties
which belonged to him as the head of the law. He hoped
eventually that the evils of the existing system, and of the
mode of legislation, would be abolished. In particular, the
time of judges was mostly taken up in working out the
meaning of words, and of settling the intention of statutes.
Thie, he hoped, would be put an end to. Although the
present session might not be very profitable in respect to
law reform, still he trusted that this first step towards
Chancery reform would lead to others equally needed and de-
manded.
Mr. WALPOLE agreed with his Hon. and Learned Friend
as to the great propriety of considering at a future period the
necessity of some other reform measures, which he had in-
dicated. He considered that the present Bill would give
satisfaction to the House and the country. The result of
the Bill would be that the judges of the Court of Chancery
would have constant sittings, and that thereby the business
of the courts would be kept down, and arrears not accrue.
The next advantage was that a court of appeal would be
made permanent, and thus all causes would be fully re-heard
in a limited period. The third great point would be that the
legal knowledge of the Lord Chancellor would be kept up at
the same time that he was enabled to attend to his duties in
the House of Lords. These were the three great points, and
if the measures were so carried out as to give them due effi-
ciency, he should give the measure his sincere support.
Mr. ELLICE, as one not learned in the law, sincerely
thanked the Noble Lord for taking the initiative in Chancery
reform. He specially thanked the Noble Lord for the pro-
mise of reform in that branch of Chancery in which the
worst abuses prevailed—the Masters in Chancery offices.
He was a victim in one of those courts, and could say that
he saw no hope of relief during his natural life. He had been
told by Mr. Leigh that cases had been hung up for ten or
twenty or thirty years, in which generations of suitors had
passed away while the cases were pending. When he asked
Mr. Leigh whether some remedy for this enormous abuse
could not be provided, Mr. Leigh answered that the eases
which had occupied thirty or more years might easily have
been decided in ten years.—(Hear, hear.) He had been
told that the system in the Master's offices might be assimi-
lated to the practice, in some points, of the proceedings in the
Admiralty courts and the Scottish courts. He said, on be-
half of the public, that the abuses in the system of the Courts
of Chancery were alike disgraceful to the country as they
were to the law itself.
Mr. HORSMAN hoped the question of the judge's salaries
would not be overlooked.
Mr. R. PALDIER would say that the House and the coun
try ought to acknowledge the great candour with which
the Noble Lord had introduced and treated the subject.
The question had not been hastily introduced; it
had been under consideration for at least a year, and the pre •
sent measure had been judiciously conceived. The effect of
the measure would be to make these Chancery courts efficient
and relieve them from those difficulties and interruptions
with which they were now beset. These advantages would
be attained very cheaply. The expense to which suitors
were put by keeping the present courts in a state of ineffi-
ciency was tenfold that which it would be under judicious
alterations. He should give his support to the measure.
Mr. HENLEY said the country had for so long a period
loudly called for reform in the Courts of Chancery, that no
Government could venture to resist the appeal any longer,
more especially after the question had been referred to in
her Majesty's speech. He had no doubt that the measure
of Government would give general satisfaction. With re-
spect to the allusion to a reform in the Master's offices,
though very desirable, he did not see there was any foun-
dation for saying that immediate reform was contemplated.
He was certain that the public were more anxious for a re-
form in the Master's offices than for Chancery reform. He
was glad to hear that Government would probably take up the
subject. What the country now wanted was action. Why
could not suits be wound up in the Court of Chancery as they
were in the Court of Bankruptcy? But once get a suit into the
Master's office, and no human being could predicate how
soon it would get out. He hoped this measure would not
stop other and more important reforms which were equally
necessary.
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL said some mistake ap-
peared to have been made with respect to the present Bill.
This Bill did not differ in principle from the former Bill.
The principle of both Bills was to remedy the evil of a want
of power to assist the Court of Chancery in the appellate
jurisdiction. The first Bill took one judge from the courts of
common law, and one from the Chancery Court. The
defect of such a proceeding was felt at the time. It was
stated that the Court of Chancery was not too strong in
judicial force, and therefore anything that took away the
Master of the Rolls from his court would be an injury to the
suitors of that court, though it might be a benefit to the ap-
pellate court. The present Bill provided additional judicial
force in the court of appeal, without diminishing the Judicial
force in the other courts. The lion. Member for Newark
had referred to the Winding-up Act, and the additional
business it had thrown on the Masters in Chancery offices.
He had a return which showed the amount of business
disposed of in the Court of Chancery in the year 1841 as
compared with the year ISI9. The report proved that the
increase of business which had taken place could not be
referred to new Acts and new business. He would instance
the additional labour which had been thrown on the Lord
Chancellor by stating that Lord Cottenham, with all his
great powers of business, had been able to reduce the arrears
of appeals from 50 or 60 to about 18. But in consequence of
his illness the arrears had reached the number of 280, which
fell to the lot of the present Lord Chancellor, who, were his
powers of business as great as his predecessor's, would re-
quire a year and a half before he could get through them.
It was impossible that such a state of things, as far as re-
garded suitors, could be suffered to continue. When, there-
fore, the Hon. and Learned Gentleman said wait another
year, he would remind him there were widows and orphans
who would be kept in suspense, and would have to sustain
the consequences of the existing state of things - than which
it was difficult to find a greater grievance. As to the
Masters in Chancery Offices and the Bill for the Extension
of the County Courts jurisdiction, the purpose of that Bill
would, no doubt, be beneficial, because it would enable the
Lord Chancellor to refer small suits to the county courts,
and thus the Masters' offices would be relieved. They all
wished to effect a complete and thorough reform in the Court
of Chancery, in order that it might no longer be considered
a blot in the judicial system of the country. One of the
first things to be done was to relieve the Lord Chancellor
from the pressure upon him. At all times the Lord Chan-
cellor must be the head of the court. At present it was im-
possible for any Chancellor to give his mind to reform. The
moment a Lord Chancellor entered upon his office his time
was wholly taken up with attending to his duties in the
Cabinet, in the House of Lords, and in his court, and he had
not a moment to give to the consideration of any reform.
The present step, therefore, would not only be a benefit to
the country, but would give the Court of Chancery an effec •
tive head for carrying into effect the various refbrms that
might be suggested.
Mr. J. STUART said the Acts which he had referred as
having increased the business of Chancery were those which
had been passed within the last 12 years, for regulating
joint-stock companies generally.
Mr. E. ELLICE wished to explain that,ln what he had
said he meant to cast no imputation on the diligence and
care of the present Masters in Chancery.
Sir H. WILLOUGHBY was not inclined to object to any
measure which should increase the judicial power of the Court
of Chancery, but regretted that no intention had been ex-
pressed of introducing measures founded on the reports of
Committees of that House on the subject. It was satisfac-
tory to find all the gentlemen of the long robe in that House
agreed as to the necessity of Chancery reform ; but he could
assure them that the public would hardly be satisfied unless
that reform was immediate.
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL could not agree with the
Hon. Member for Coventry as to the utter inutility of the
measure on the table with reference to the Masters' office,
because he believed the effect of it would be to relieve the
Masters to the extent of nearly all the country business, which
at present formed a considerable portion of the business of
Chancery. There was on the part of the profession ;every
desire to lend their assistance to effect the legal reforms de-
manded by the country. It must, he thought, be a great
satisfaction to the Noble Lord that the Bill had met with the
approbation of all the Members connected with the legal
profession in that House - with, perhaps, the exception of
the Hon. and Learned Member for Newark, who, though he
had suggested delay, had not offered a single objection to the
details of the Bill. He regretted that any Member of the
legal profession should have suggested delay, when all were
agreed as to the necessity of the Bill being passed as soon as
possible.
Mr. STUART said he had never used the word delay. He
had asked for consideration.—(Oh, and laughter.)
Mr. HUME hoped the House would give due consideration
to the Bill without delay.—(Hear.) He believed the present
system of the Court of Chancery was a tax upon the public
to an amount equal to the whole of the national taxation,
and that it was one of the greatest grievances in the country.
The present measure was a step in the right direction, and
every support should be given to the Noble Lord to enable
him to carry it as speedily as possible. He did not see why
the Masters should not dispose of one case before taking up
another. Indeed, he thought it would be better to abolish
the Masters altogether, and increase the number of judges.
He hoped the Masters' offices would not be allowed to remain
in their present state. The appointment of the additional
judges would be true economy; but he thought that some of
the common law judges might be dispensed with, inasmuch
as the county court judges had relieved them of a great por-
tion of their duties.
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL, in explanation, said that
what he meant to say was, that the present number of
Masters would be sufficient if the country business was trans-
ferred.

Mr. EVANS thought that the Bill would be of little use
unless the whole system was reformed.
Mr. MUfLINGS thought that unless a power was given
the county court judges and Masters of taking evidence and
examining the parties in open court, the Bill on the table
would be a failure.
Lord J. RUSSELL was glad to find that the Bill had met
with so general a sanction. With regard to other Chancery
reforms, it was far from being a logical conclusion that no
further reforms would be effected because he had proposed
to introduce one Bill on the subject. The question of the
Masters' offices had always been one of great difficulty, but
if the one Bill be passed, probably further reforms would
follow. He thanked Hon. Members for the manner in which
they had received his proposal.
Leave was then given to introduce both the Bills.
ENNISTYMON UNION.
On the order of the day being read for the House going
into a Committee of Supply,
Sir L. O'BRIEN rose to call the attention of the House to
the petition of the late guardians of the Ennistymon Union,
and to move for the Select Committee to inquire into the
causes assigned for their dismissal, and the administration
of the affairs of the union. He said that he knew the board
had acted in an upright and efficient manner
by
ner up to the
moment of their dismissal. The reason signed
the Cora..

missioners for dissolving them was, that they had refused out-
of-door relief. The general feeling was that the Commis.
sioners had not acted wisely in dissolving the board of
guardians. There had been expended in Clare during the
last six or seven years nearly 1,000,0001. for the relief of the
poor. For the year 1849 the expenditure was 175,0001., on a
valuation of 300,0004 ; and for last year 121,0001, on a
value' ion of 220,000,. It was easy to conceive that the levy-
ing of such an enormous poor-rate was felt severely. A
clergyman who was entitled to a rent charge of 2301., had
to pay out of that 1101. for poor-rates, leaving only 120/. for
the support of himself and his family. The only remedy he
could suggest was a reversal of the policy which had led to
the discharge of the board of guardians. Those guardians
had had very arduous duties to perform. It was found that
if a prospect of relief was held out to the population without
labour, they would avail themselves of it. It had been found
that persons had applied for relief who held farms of forty
acres, and that others had sent a boy with a horse and
cart for their rations. Such abuses could only be checked
by local administration. Certain papers had been produced
on the subject; but he wished to see the correspondence
that had passed between several individuals and the Com-
missioners in Dublin on the subject. In conclusion
be would say, that what he claimed from the House was
a Committee before which all the facts of the case
might be laid. He might state a great deal more than he
had done, but he would refer Hon. Members to the papers
already in their possession; and, if the inquiry he sought for
was granted, the persons who had confided their petition to
him were ready to prove all the facts he had stated. Ho
therefore moved, pursuant to notice, for a Select Committee
to inquire in,o the case of the dismissal of the Ennistymon
board of guardians, and the administration of the affcirs of
that union.
Sir W. SOMERVILLE felt obliged to oppose the motion
for that Committee, because if' he agreed to it, it would be
an admission that the Poor-law Commissioners in Ireland had
improperly discharged those functions confided to them for
the carrying out of the law for the relief of the poor in that
country. The matter which they were then considering
was, whether or not the Commissioners had properly exer-
cised their duty, in availing themselves of those powers
which the statute confided to them, by the dismissal of the
board of guardians of the Ennistymon Union. He was
ready to admit all the difficulties which beset the board of
that union. But it should be remembered that Parliament
had imposed a responsibility upon the Poor-law Commis-
sioners; and the question then was, whether they had rightly
exercised it. The correspondence which had taken place
between the guardians and the Commissioners, and all the
papers connected with the subject, were on the table of the
House. So far back as August, 1843, the guardians of that
union had expressed a wish to put an end to out-door
relief, and at a subsequent period they had said that the re-
lief to be administered in their union ought to be adminis-
tered by paid officers. Indeed, throughout the whole of Ire-
land, the Ennistymon board of guardians was the only one
which had been dissolved, and the only paid one now in ex-
istence. On an occasion of great pressure, but before the
Commissioners bad proceeded to such an exercise of their
power, they had recommended that until in-door relief could
be provided for the poor, out-door ought not to be discon-
tinued. There were about 470 persons in the workhouse
more than its proper number, and the Commissioners had
desired that it should not be permitted to remain in such a
crowded state. Indeed, they had sent many communica-
tions to the guardians, directly, and through their assistant
Mr. Briscoe, but they were all mostly unheeded. On one
occasion, they postponed the consideration of the Commis-
sioners' letter for a fortnight, when the condition of the union
was most distressed and suffering. The Right Hon. Baronet
here went through a series of letters passing between the
parties, to show that the board of guardians were totally
regardless of the recommendations of the Commissioners, and
that it was absolutely necessary for the latter to proceed to
those extremities of which they had given full notice. He
contended that if ever there was a case in which the Poor-
law Commissioners were justified in the exercise of the
power entrusted to them, that was one. If the power was
not a right one to confide to any body, let Parliament take
it away if they pleased—(Hear)—but as long as it existed,
as long as the responsibility was thrown upon the Com-
missioners, they were bound to exercise it when occasion re-
quired.
Colonel DUNNE regretted to differ from his Right lion.
Friend, but he did so then chiefly for the reasons he himself
had advanced. He thought it was very right that House
should pass a censure upon the Commissioners, and he would,
therefore, vote for the motion of his Hon. Friend. Why had
the guardians been obliged to act as they had done, but be-
cause the country had been previously totally exhausted of
its resources by the paid officers of the Government. If the
Irish poor-law was a bad measure, or working badly, that
was a still further reason for shaving such a Committee as
was sought for, with the view of having some improvement
adopted in the administration of the law. A deputation
concerning the Irish poor-law had waited on the Govern-
ment not long since, and all its Members had been unanimous
in condemning the system of out-door relief, and the power
of dismissing guardians vested in the Commissioners. The
Noble Lord, however, at the head of the Government did not
agree with them on these two points, and that furnished
another ground for the. inquiry. The Hon. and Gallant
Member then entered into a defence of the conduct of the
guardians, quoting statements from a correspondence, and
insisted that they had demanded inquiry into the allega-
tions which some of the assistant Commissioners had made,
which they denied, and that such an inquiry had been refused
them. Even if the board of guardians had failed in doing
their duty, the remedy was much worse than the disease. It
was paid guardians who had formerly ruined the district,
and they were likely to do so again. If such a system were
to be acted on, the lands would be left totally uncultivated,
and that was a bad way to meet a famine at any time,
Mr. G. A. HAMILTON did not wish to prolong that
discussion in so thin a House, and when, perhaps, they were
anxious to proceed with other business; but if the Commis-
sioners had made a mistake he thought his Hon. Friend
behind him was quite right in bringing forward hie. motion,
as it was upon a subject of great importance, and one which
the House should very properly take into its consideration.
It should be remembered that the guardians had in reality
made great exertions for the relief of distress in the union ;
for while the valuation of the annual property of tho union
was only 22.6441., the expendi ure there under the poor-law
had amounted during the year to 22,886/. ; so that the an-
nual expenditure for the relief of the poor had been greater
than the annual value of the property which hai been as-
sessed for that purpose. On the whol s however, he would
suggest to his lion. Friend that it would not be advisable to
divide the House on the motion. But he trusted that the
notice which had been taken of the subject would induce the
Commissioners to act more cautiously for the future before
they resorted to so objectionable a proceeding as that which
they had adopted in that instance.
Mr. F. FRENCH said that in his opinion if that was a
question which deserved to be brought under the considera-
tion of the House on an evening like that, to the interrup-
tion of most important public business, it must also be a
question upon which the House ought to be asked to divide.
He maintained that the matter was one of vital importance
to Ireland. They (lid not ask for any condemnation of the
course taken by the Commissioners ; they merely asked for
an inquiry into the circumstances under which the Commis-
sioners had exercised the powers entrusted to them. And
let it be remembered that those powers were of the most
arbitrary and unlimited character. Parliament had passed a
law by which the Commissioners could tax at will the pro-
perty of the country, and manage as they might think tit the
whole poor-law system ; and when a complaint was made
that they had exercised those great powers in an unjust and
improper manner, the House of Commons ought not to refuse
to inquire into that complaint.
Viscount BERNARD said he thought the Commissioners
might have adopted some more moderate coarse before they
had taken the extreme step of dismissing the guardians. It
was no wonder that the ratepayers of the union should feel
extreme dissatisfaction, when they found that the adminis-
tration of their property was handed over to persons by
whom that property had already been grossly mismanaged.
He certainly thought that further inquiry ought to be made
into the matter.
Mr. HUME said he should confess that the Commissioners
had, in his opinion, made a very extraordinary use of their
powers; and it would be unjust on the part of the House
oo f Cfuse ommons, by whom those powers had been granted,
t re an inquiry into the-matter. But in the state of the
House at that moment (there were not more than about 30
Members) it was manifest that the Honourable Baronet
(Sir L. O'Brien) could gain nothing by pressing his motion
to a division. What he would suggest was that the Noble
Lord at the head of the Government should give a pledge
that an inquiry should take place into the subject, and that
the Hon. Baronet should then not press his motion. He
(Mr. Hume) believed that the inquiry might be conducted
more advantageously by two gentlemen rent over to Ireland
from this country than by a Committee of the House, whose
proceedings would necessarily be very dilatory and expen-
sive. He hoped the Noble Lord at the head of the Govern-
ment would have no objection to promise that the matter
should undergo some investigation of that description.
Lord J. RUSSELL said, that after the statement of his
Right Hon. Friend (Sir W. Somerville), he could not under-
take to promise any inquiry into the subject.
Sir L. O'BRIEN' said he feared that there would then be
no use in pressing the motion to a division ; but he wished to
give notice that he would again bring the subject before the
House on the occasion of the discussion of the motion of
which notice had been given for an inquiry into the state of
r the unions in the west of Ireland.
The motion was then negatived without a division.
SUPPLY-- THE KAFIR WAR.
The question .having been put that the Speaker should
leave the chair,
Mr. ADDERLEY said that he had a statement to make
on the subject of the Kafir war; but he should postpone that
statement until after the House should have gone
into Committee, if the Noble Lord at the head of the Go-
vernment should think that that would be the more con-
venient course.
Lord J. RUSSELL said 'he thought that the meonie
€T
regular and convenient course would be that the Hon. '
tleman should defer his statement until after the House
should have resolved itself into a Committee. The
Hon. Gentleman could bring forward no motion on the
question that the Speaker should leave the chair.
The House then resolved into a Committee of Supply; Mr.
BERNAL in the chair.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said, he
anticipated from what bad just fallen from the Ho.
nourable Gentleman opposite (Mr. Adderley) that it
was probable that a discussion would arise upon the
motion he was about to make, but that the discus-
sion would turn principally upon other points than the
mere vote for the expenses of the Kafir war. But
he had only to deal with the financial part of the question,
and to that he should confine the observations he proposed
to address to the Committee. He believed he need not
enter into a history of the recent events in British Rafraria.
The Committee was already aware that a war was raging
between us and the Kafir tribes, and that considerable ex-
pense must be incurred
fare for the purpose of putting an end to
that war. Border war between civilized :men and unci-
vilized tribes had formerly been marked by a spirit of
vindictive cruelty and great barbarity. Such had been
the character of our own wars in North America with
see Indian tribes, and the elieved he might add be
-
Africa. the • Kafirs and Dutch settlers- in Southernala-
The more enlightened spirit of modern times, how-
ever,Africa.
had put an end to that atrocious system of warfare
which had formerly prevailed; but the conseqaence was
that it was necessary to incur a greater expenditure than
formerly in such cases. In the last Kafir war a very con-
sidersble outlay had been rendered inevitable in conse-
quence of the officers in the colony having been compelled
to organize in great haste a body of men to supply the
troops with provisions and 1 ammunition, and in consequence
also of its havin
from a g been necessary to convey the supplies
considerable distance. But fortunately those sources
of expenditure were at present removed. Ve a had obtained
a landing-place at the mouth of the Buffalo River, by which
we were enabled to land stores near the theatre of hostilities.
And again, a complete staff of responsible officers had been
organized since the last war, for superintending the convey-
ance of supplies; so that under that head also a considerable,
saving of expense had taken place. When he had last ad-
dressed the House upon that subject, he had entertained an
apprehension that the probable expense of carrying on the
war would be much greater than he at present thought it
likely to be. The first estimate which had been sent home
by the Commissary-General at the Cape was, that the*expen-
diture would amount to about 400,000/, foe six Worths ; and

he had some time ago proposed to take a vote of 300 0001. for
meeting the exigency. He had then hoped that the war
might have been brought to a speedy termination;
but he was afraid the ground for that hope had
since very much decreased. He was happy, how-
ever, to be able to add that there had .been a considerable
diminution in the expenditure which had been anticipated
for any given period of time. In consequence of the
lesson taught by the last Kafir war stringent instructions
had been sent out by the Treasury in the year 1849 to the
commissariat officers; a much more rigid system of accounts
had been imposed on them, and a number of persons who
had been trained during the last war for dealing with the
commissariat service were able to render valuable assistance
to the Commissary-General. In the former war a large
portion of the outlay had been entrusted to persons over
whom the commissariat officers bad possessed but a very
slight control; and the result had been that a system of
what he feared he should call jobbing had to a very con-
siderable extent taken place. He had been frequently
asked in the House for the accounts of the last Kafir war;
but the fact was that a large portion of them could not be
produced, because they had never been furnished.
accounts of the commissariat officers had been long _
rendered, while the accounts of the local agents had lee'
been audited. A much more rigid system bad since been
adopted, and he was happy to say that the recent accounts
received from the Commissary-General with respect to
expenditure in the colony were of a very satisfectory cha-
racter; while Sir 11. Smith stated that he had never knownt.e.
troops better supplied with every article necessary for
.n their
since
health and comfort. The expenditure in the month of
January had been about 12,600/. ; and judging MX, experience which had been had up to the end of
the expenditure up to the end of July would not bedr:eveLav
than 202,0001. in addition to the 12,600/. which had
spent in January. The total expenditure for six months..
would, therefore, fall far short of the 400 000/. which bad
been
een
the original estimate. On the 15th of April there
hade
"coajl-
-15,0 men in th colony supplied with rations b
15, y th
_os
missoaoriat officers e ;
and there had been about 000.
and other members of the families of persons serving 141 the
1„
army who had been supplied with allowances instead "
ni
tions e so that the total number of persons for whom the )
missariat officers had had to provide had been 30,G1Wio ask
part
_„s
did not think it would, then, be prudent on his
for a less sum than the 300,0031. which he had otiginfias.'
proposed; because nobody could at present state venal "
only Just the precise sum that might be wanted. It was
bad re.
the Commander-in-Chief to state that, although he _
gaited from the commissary that the troops should he.
plied with everything they could reasonably require, n?..•le.
heartily joined in the attempts made to prevent anyeeu_u_sce
cessary expenditure. All the officers engaged in theee_tYrlte
had pursued a similar course, and their efforts had b
tended with complete success. In conclusion he had to pro-
pose- es
to the Committee a vote of 300,000/. towards defraying
the expenses of the Kafir war.
Mr. ADDERLEY said that although the Bightseed
Gentleman the Chancellor of the Exchequer bad expre
the
his satislact on at the reduced cost of the war, and at than
erc fact of its being conducted in a less barbarous mann
similar hostilities at former times, he (Mr. Adderley_) t's,
see very little ground for gratification on either oot. att!le
points. As to the smallness of the vote he should U„incii
that that was a mere part of the expense of a Vialiwour7
promised to be almost interminable. The Right
_ear,
able Gentleman was satisfied with the character of the
and thought that it was far less barbarous than our
wars with tbe Indian tribes in North America, or the witry)
twee* the Dutch and the Kafirs. But he (Mr. Audecie
system did not believe that either of those cases presented a ive.
of warfare more atrocious, more barbarous, or more lafit
lized than that which we were at present carryiogeuricen
Kafraria. He knew of no horrors in our North Ant
wars, or in the wars of the Dutch in South Africa, whichnace
had exceeded the horrors which were at present beiP_go;u.
petrated in that colony. Was the Right Honourable
the
tleman aware that the war was being carried on Y that destruction of the crops of the unfortunate natives, andbeen
they, in their turn, roasted our soldiers when they
them prisoners? If the Right Hon. Gentleman bad
aware of those facts how could he have stated that that
sh be
war was less barbarous than those former wars to which
had referred? He confessed that the speech of the
tee
Honourable Gentleman made him very much doubt as they
course which he ought then to pursue; and he thought, the
would do well to adjourn the further consideration °f the
question for a few days, in order to afford the Right "re
Gentleman an opportunity of laying before them some eo,
specific information upon the subject than that which eSee",
had received from him that evening. What was the rearm
why the Right Honourable Gentleman had proposed in era • vote that particular amount of 300,000/.? If the vote W
2s. 6d., or any other sum, it would be just as reasonable an
exponent of the gigantic expense which must be incurlv-s
the
this Kafir war. The Right Honourable Chancellor °too le
Exchequer seemed to think that the mode in which actors •
expenses were now incurred was much more satis_.r.
than that which prevailed during the late
Let it be remembered that this was the seventh Kafir time
for which this country had had to pay during the short
ty
in which she had possessed that colony. The ,slattri t
of accounts relating to the subject were at Cape 1°"-haad
that moment, and had never left the office to which they 0
Kafir /Tweet,
been sent, and were now in a heap of neglected paPersti,is
Cape Town, and they certainly never would be seen in be
country, and never would be audited on either side ott,ed
Atlantic. No one know the extent to which peculation 170
extended. But the Right Hon. Gentleman hoped thbittfite.;
this occasion the expenses of the war would be much
conducted, though he knew not on what ground. They heed
three points to consider before they could properly PIV,
to a vote: first, why the war had been incurred ; sec°l3,„e,
what chance there was of the expense increasing; 'rat,
thirdly. what chance there was of a recurrence. It had 1;4,
laid down as a maxim by many colonial ministers, and bia
no one more clearly, distinctly, and emphatically than
Lord Grey, that every colony which had representativejt°h
vernment must bear the expense of national defence. "'tie
reference to New Zealand and to other colonies, but Pat ea
cularly to New Zealand, Lord Grey, in a correspondehlieed
with the governor, said that an English colony which
representative government must bear the expense of its
,°,,./e
„a
internal defence. In this case they knew well that Eng%
must pay the whole expense of the Kafir war. No one
puted that. The only question was, whether they bad snit
hope of being able to throw future expenditure °
this kind on the colony. If representative govern"
mint were given to the Cape the wars would cease'
(The Chancellor of the Exchequer made a gesture of h—
dis-
sent.) The Right. Non. Gentleman doubted this, but
maintained that if the colonists knew that the entire bur-
den of the war must fell on them, they would be more
cautious; and the Chancellor of the Exchequer ought to e
the last man to call that in question. At all events thi,l
country would cease to bear the expense. What was called
by some the barbarous system would recur, and the settlers
themselves would, with a strong hand, seek redress for
ag-
gression on their frontiers; .and history proved that this
was far more effectual than the weak efforts of a distant
power. Under the present system these wars afforded the
means of many making their fortunes, and as long as the
system continued it was hopeless to expect them to cess_e•
He had not risen to express his own opinions, but merelye
to give a detailed chronicle of occurrences at the CaPd
during the few months that had led to these things' an
this might give some little clue to the prospects before
them. In the early part of 1850 her Majesty sent out
letters patent to the governor of the Cape, authorising
him, with his legislative council, to frame a representative
constitution. Certain features were laid down, ant,
full latitude was given to the governor and council tv
complete the outline. When the letters patent were re-
ceived, the legislative council had not been assembled for
two years, and it was three years from the present time
since there had been any legislative council at the Cape'a
The governor appealed to a popular election for the purf'n
of filling up the vacancies in the council, and having by ibis
means obtained his council, proceeded to frame a constitution.
How was it that the council broke down in their task 1 The
reason why the elected members resigned was probably
little known. It was supposed by many who had not resa
the papers which had come from the Cape, that it was upon
minor differences, or upon differences relating to the forma'tion of the constitution, that they resigned. It was neither
the one nor the other. The members elected by the people
were ready to take any constitution, and would willingly
have taken that sketched out in the letters patent. It was
not upon a• y difference between the governor
and themselves
that they resigned, but because the governer presented to,
them, after they had begun to enter into the discussion we
the new constitution, a series of bills upon other subjects 01
ordinary legislation, which led them to supposethat they had
been brought into the council in order to be used as an ordi-
nary legislature instead of being only a Constituent As-
sembly. That was the sole cause of their resignation.
No one who had found time to read the documents on the
subject could doubt for a moment that the point at issue
between the governor and the elected members was, that
the latter refused to pass the estimates which had been
incurred during the two previous years, the governor being
afraid to meet a new Parliament without having his past ex-
penditure sanctioned by the Legislative Council. The four
elected members who resigned having met together and
drawn up a constitution according to their own views, which
were in accordance with those of the larger part of the co-
lony, had sent their proposition to this country. They were
the spokesmen of every municipality throughout the colony,
except two, and had been authorised over and over again to
speak on behalf of nine-tenths of the future proposed electoral
body of the colony. Of this no doubt could enter the mind
of any man who would take the trouble to read the papers
which they had brought with them, and printed and circu-
lated in this country. The constitution consisted of 16 articles,
as the one proposed by Sir A. Stockenstrom and Mr. Fair-
bairn, and these two constitutions had been sent over to this
country for consideration. Upon the arrival of the first de-
legate he proceeded to Lord Grey, and from that time for
at Ire
tTveafour
dmi
sopnatthesh
es his
from
mswer
the
Cape.hadb Theseeen hadlayedu lately
ttebe
arrived and had been laid on the table, and they showed that
as soon as Lord Grey heard the statement of facts which be
rheapdttmjuasntd
s.r n d to the 'Committee his first act was to
, Smith on two grounds—first, for ap-
pealing
to popular election; and, uecondly, when those
elected members had resigned for not going on with the
remainder of the council. Sir H. Smith defended himself
on the ground that he bad no other mode of filling uP
the council, which he was commanded to do, and that be
had appealed to the popular will on the distinct statement
of Lord Grey. With respect to the other point, he said he
had consulted the law officers of the colony, who gave a
decided opinion that he could not legally proceed with a
council reduced below its legal number. Upon receiving
this answer, Lord Grey wrote back to say that he could
not personally agree in opinion with the opinion of the
colonial legal officers, and he thought that if he were to
ask the law officers of the Crown in this country, they
would give a different opinion. However, it was too
late, be said, to dispute that point, and that he would
therefore advise her Majesty to send out fresh instructions
by which the governor would be able to carry on the
ordinary affairs of the Government with the remnant of the
Council. Whether her Majesty had power to issue these
fresh instructions, after the letters patent of 1850, was a mat-
ter rather for the law officers of the Crown than for him to
settle. He imagined, however, that there was considerable
doubt on the point; at all events, Lord Grey seemed to be
somewhat diffident about it, for he cautioned Sir 11, Smith,
and said that, whether legal or not, it was not desirable that
he should do more than go on with the ordinary routine of
government, and that he need not proceed to consider the
letters patent, but wait till a better season, when he might
be able to fill up the number of the Legislative Council. He
had given a sketch of the state of things up to the period of
the latest dispatches, and the epitome of the whole instruc-
tions appeared to be this—that if Sir IL Smith could not
find four men in the whole colony to fill up the Legislative
Council, he was to govern the colony without the aid of a
single colonist. This would have been bad enough if Sir
Smith had been at Cape Town, but that was not the whole
extent of the grievance. Sir H. Smith was engaged in
warfare far beyond the frontier altogether, where he filled
two capacities, High Commissioner of Katraria and chief Co-
mmander-in of her Majesty's Forces. how, then,
Go,
ws the Cgoverned at all? By Mr. Montague, the
notovhrnmentng Secretary. Mr. Montague governed, and
i less , and his government was nameless,
secret, and irresponsible. For three years there bad
been no legal appropriation of the revenue. The revenue
mainly arising from permanent taxes had, however, been
raised, bust not to a aafficiaat extent to meet the expenditure.