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

44,t).
be permitted to de d, but that lould-h*
treated as an u efended cause,siving the defendant
p ewer of apply' ei to the learned judge to he permitted
to defend, i it should appear upon affidavit that
he had in the interim discovered new evidence;
this was a matter worthy of consideration. He
At
to give the county court judges jurisdiction
Aa 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 1,000/. ; he
would not exaggerate, but he would propose to give to
the county eosin judges a Chancery jurisdiction infall
cases in which the amount to be decided on was under
1001. These were tine alterations be 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 into
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 ancient 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
eve 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 midst
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 111110 ant
of the revenue of one year, and during that one year they
had the power of increasing the revenue in antieipation of
the compensatory consideration they were about te re-
ceive. This compensation, too, was given to them not only
for their lives, but for se many years after their decease.
He would propose that no person appointed to any office,
either in the new coukty courts, or in any of the old county
courts, shall have any claim to compensation in respect to
the abolition of any office held before the passing of this Act,
or in respect to any alterations in the office arising from
new arrangements. He had the strongest impressions of the
expediency of these institutions. In France 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 exere
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 theme an appeal lies to the Court of Appeal, and ulti-
mately to the Court of Cessation. The oldest lawyers v. ere
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. Ile hoped that at no great distance of
time there would be introduced into this country the invalu-
able blessing of these tribunals of commerce. He would
not follow the precedent in the first instance of making theta
courts of exclusive jurisdiction. He should begin 1,7 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, and indisput-
ably settled by these merchant judges. In 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
in 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
attorney, should be permitted to go before the judges of these
courts of reconcilement as professional advisers. A clause
had been inserted in the Bill to repeal a provision that had
most unfortunately and improperly found its way into the
Act of 1846. He was not aware of such a provision. He
could only account for this by the circumstance of the
Bill having been brought in at a late period of the session.
The provision to which he referred was that which prevented
a barrister appearing in court unless he had been instructed
by an attorney An attempt was lately made in Westminster
Hall to enforce this provision in the case of a barrister ap-
pearing there without being instructed by an attorney. The
application was, however, At once rejected, when it was
declared that a barrister had a right to appear there without
being instructed by an attorney. At the same time, the
judge said that it was certainly contrary to the rule of the
profession, and to professional etiquette, for a barrister to
appear under such circumstances. A Learned Friend of his
(Lord Brougham) had, however, lately enforced that proviso,
that no barrister, according to the rules of his court, should
appear there without being instructed by an attorney. Now
a party would naturally prefer to have an attorney at half
the expense than to have the attorney and the barrister to-
gether. One great objection to a barrister appearing in
court without an attorney was this : from whom was the
barrister to receive instructions from nut his client? He
would often, then, be obliged to examine a number of wit-
nesse., and thus to instruct himself so as to enable him
to discharge the duty he had under taken. lie was, there-
fore, in eflect doing business both as barrister and attorney.
Notwithstanding all the advantages they would confer on
them, the attorneys would still have an advantage over bar-
risters in there courts. It was proposed, in order to do
justice between the two branches of the profession, that the
euurts should be divided; that twelve courts should be held
annually, in which there should be jurisdiction in all cases
under 201, and in which attorneys should be allowed to
practise; but for the higher jurisdiction, in cases between
201. and 501., that courts should be held every alternate
month, at a different day and place, but before the sane
judge, in which the barristers should practice; and by that
means the attorneys would have the inferior, and the barria-
ters the superior courts of jurisdiction. It was, he would ob-
serve, of the greatest importance that there should be a judici-
ous selection of judges presiding in these courts; and in these
cases a most false economy was practised—first., in under-
paying those learned judges ; and, secondly, in grudging com-
pensation to the judges who formerly held the county courts.
By that means the choice of the late Lord Chancellor was
restricted, because the effect of the miserable saving of a
few thousand pounds could net be put in competition with
the importance of selecting able and efficient men to preside
in courts where hundreds of thousands of cases were tried
annually. Certainly if any imperfection existed it was owing
to that false, and, as it might be termed, most extravagant
economy. Another error was the throwing the expense of
the erections of the county courts upon the suitors. If a poor
maa had a case to bring before one of these comity courts he
must contribute out of the costs to a fund for building these
courts. Then with regard to the remuneration to be awarded
to legal men, it was a great mistake to make the fees depend
upon the amount sought to be recoved, because every body
knew that the difficulty attending the recovery of small
sums was often greater than in recovering large amounts.
Instead of tying down the parties to certain sums to be paid
to the counsel, he proposed to give to thejudges of the supe-
rior courts from time to time power to frame tables of costs.
He believed if clients generally knew the peculiar position in
which professional men were placed, it would be better for
them and the profession itself, because a solicitor or attorney
could not receive a single farthing of his costs until his bill
was taxed, and every overcharge was struck off. He had
stated to their Lordships the improvements that suggested
themselves to him. He believed that the amendments sug-
bycatdheNoble
efa
and Leounoti:
sug-
gested would be found to work well, and he now called upon
their Lordships to give the Bill a second reading.
The LORD CHANCELLOR did not understand that his
Noble and Learned Friend wished to invite discussion at the
present moment. Doubtless many of the suggestions of the
Noble and Learned Lord were worthy of consideration. He
bore his testimony to the able and impartial manner in
which the judges of these courts had discharged their im-
portant functions. He certainly thought that the interven-
tion of an attorney between the barrister and the client had
been hitherto found to work well. With regard to the
ftuestion of arbitration, to which his Noble and Learned
riend had referred, he might, with his great acumen and
legal experience, have devised some scheme that would be
found to work well. He for one would wait such a measure
from his Noble and Learned Friend with much anxiety.
With regard to the alterations proposed by his Noble sad
Learned Friend in the measure before their Lordships, he
should reserve the expression of any opinion for the present,
although many of them, he doubted not, would be extremely
useful.
Lord CRANWORTH thought it would be advisable that
Leo
they
their Lordships
codainbidutioilthnothaebomitsmanit
upon the amendments of the Noble and
With reard to th
be found to work well
they had them fully before th
courts of reconcilement
Lord, he doubted
cases of simple debt their services could
in this country. In
qn and in cases of dispuse—it
never be called
ilemwhenetthseurggthesetsed- wo
l°corps' of consulting
by the barrister to
themselves
fee l g
sdhr bieneguas obtained litigants in en
manner. Knowing e
gwireldadbveicleikteb:stt.
he doubted whether such tribunals :would ever become
popular.
After a few words of explanation from Lord
BROUGHAM,
Lord MANGER said the county courts leen, in paws o
fact, already to a great extent courts of reconcilement.
The Bill was then read a second time, and
Their Lordships adjourned.

HOUSE OF COMMONS, Marsh 21.
_

HOUSE TIIE SCENE IN THE LAST NIGHT.
Mr. REYNOLDS at this stage of the proceeding,
moved that the House, at its rising, do adjourn till MOW-
day next, when
Mr. MOORE immediately rose to recall the attention
of the House to the scene that occurred lest night.
Ile said he felt compelled, however painful it might be
to himselt and the House. to call the attention of the
House to the subject for the sake of his own chit.
ructer and position, and in doing so, he assured
the House that if be bad given expressions
to feelings of indignation last evening which
were not called for by the circumstances of the case, it
Was to be attributed to his ignorance of the rules of
that House and the authority of the Speaker, both of
which it was their interest as well as duty to maintain
inviolate.—(Scar, hear.) He could not, however, allow
the slightest misconception to exist as to what were 010
opinions which ho expressed on that occasion. His
opiion was that to speak, not only with irreverence
hut with levity almost amounting to indecency, of
that sacred name which all generations of Chris-
tians called blessed, ought not to be permitted
in any assembly professing to be Christian.—(" Hear,"
from the Irish Members.) If those allusions, instead of
being applied to the mother of God, had been applied to
the mother of princes in this country, such profanation
would have been immediately checked.—(oLear.) He
would not, as the Honourable Member for Ripon.
had said, sully his lips by repeating such a term, which
be considered ought not to be permitted in an iseembry