The Sun.
London, England, 1858-04-16 00:00:00

Ike preentation of the repo, rt., under an impenetrable
veil. He wished he couldP°lift that -veil for a moment,
and see how many harbours ihn this kingdom
hhaadd
tdhee-
mended five millions. (Hear,
ear.
honour elf proposing the reformed system under which the
Trinity-house had wdorked or ve years he had no objec-
lien to inquir9, an . should support that proposition in
special commission.
Prterr.erEeNtllaNsCKl said there was one point in the noble
lord's motion to which he must object. He could not agree
to the transference of the lighthouses to the control of the
Admiralty. hoped the noble lord would acquiesce in
the proposal of the Board of Trade, and accept a royal
senimission.
Lord PALMERSTON said that the house ought to be
obliged to his noble friend for bringing forward a subject
of so much national importance. He agreed in many
points
which had been stated by his noble friend. Since
the committees referred to by his noble friend an import-
ant change had been made in the constitution of the
Trinity.house, and he should therefore strongly recommend
him to accept the proposal made by the right hon. gentle-
man the President of the Board of Trade, namely, that a
commission should issue. He believed, notwithstanding
the improvements which had been made in the arrange-
ments of the Trinity-house, that considerable economy
might yet be effected in that department. In the abstract
there was a great deal of plausibility that the expense of
lighthouses should be borne by the public at large instead
of calling upon the passing shipping to pay it, for the light-
ing of our coast was undoubtedly a duty that belonged to
the nation rather than private individuals. Take the ana-
logy, though it was upon a smaller scale, of lightinga
large town. We did not call upon the travellers o
arht
theish
street to pay the expense of its lighting ; no, the
paid that ; and, reasoning by analogy, the nation oug
to pay the expense of lighting the coast. On the other
hand, however, until the department which was respon-
sible to Parliament should be vested
the arrangements
with full power of
controlling the expense and enforcing
best adapted for the efficiency of
eco-
nomical performance of that service, itwou
to the con-
solidated be prema-
ture to make the transfer from the shipping
'validated fund.
Mr. WHITE thought the house
.ought to have a consis-
tent policy, and that being his opinion he did not quite
share the apprehensions of the right hon. gentleman the
member for Oxford. The right hon.
t
hon. gentleman seemed to
think it would be a great calamity to place some 200,000/.
of patronage at the disposal of the executive ; and yet how
long ago was it since the house arrived at the conclusion
that the vast patronage of India should be handed over to
the executive? No later ago than last session Parliament
ted 1,250,000/. to the King of Denmark for extinguish-
ing the Sound dues. New the light dues on the coast were
far more oppressive and vexatious than the Sound dues,
and if it was proper and judicious to extinguish the dues
in the one ease, it was equally so in the other. Let it also
be remembered that in making the transfer to the conso-
lidated fund they would be benefiting the consumer, and
carrying out the principle of direct taxation, in favour of
which the house hid pronounced years ago.
Mr. A. SMITH observed that the right hon. gentleman
the member for Oxford was mistaken in supposing that the
"United States commissioners bad reported in favour of the
English system of lighting. On the contrary, they reported
that, while the best English light, which was inferior to
that of France, cost 5001. a year, that of France only cost
3001. Moreover, proceeding upon the French system, they
reported the whole of the United States coast could be
lighted for 81,000 i. a year, although the number of lights
far exceeded those of England. At the same time he agreed
with the right hon. gentleman when he said, that this mat-
ter ought not to be placed in the hands of the Government;
bat nevertheless, he should like to see the 'Dimity-house
thoroughly remodelled. He wished to see it made suitable
for looking after not only' the lighthouses, but also many
other matters connected with the mercantile marine. At
present the eighteen brethren were self-elected, whereas
they ought to be selected by the mercantile marine body
from persons amongst themselves, connected with the
shipping interest. The Trinity-house would then Lecome
a useful department.
Mr. L. PHILLIPS protested against the argument, that
because Parliament had agreed to pay 1,230,0001. for the
extinction of the Sound dues, they ought to vote another
three or four millions for extinguishing the light three. If
the house admitted the priuciple ul the hon. member
for Plymouth, that the transfer to the consolidated fund
should bo made for the simple reason that it would benefit
the consumer, they could not stop at light dues ; they
might have railways seeking to be released from lighting
charges on the plea that they would then be able to carry
passengers at a cheaper rate. It was said a short time ago
by a right hon. gentleman who then filled the office of
Chancellor of the Exchequer, that the danger to the public
finance arose from the useful projects of benevolent indi-
viduals, and unless a check was put upon their efforts to
saddle their schemes upon the consolidated fund, the con-
solidated fund would cease to be consolidated. It would
in the words of Hamlet, " Thaw and dissolve itself into a
dew. (A laugh.)
Mr. CO WAN said the North-rn Light Commissioners
bad long given satisfaction to the commercial interest in
Scotland ; but since the commissioners had been placed
under the Board of Trade, their proceedings had not been
so satisfactory. Their plans wer3 set aside for others in-
ferior, and which cost double the amount in carrying out.
Mr. J. EWARF could not agree with the noble lord in
asking that the whole charge should be thrown on the
consolidated fund. The lighting system pressed heaviest
upon the coasting trade, and he would therefore suggest
that the coal dues amounting to 60/. 001. only, should be
transferred from the shipping to the consolidated fund.
(Hear, hear,)
Lord C. PAGET said, after the assurance of the Presi-
dent of the Board of Trade, he would not press his motion.
The motion was accordingly withdrawn.
TRIBUNALS OF COMMERCE.
Mr. AYRTON in moving for a select committee to in-
quire respecting the expediency of establishing tribunals
of commerce, and otherwise improving the mode of pro-
cedure in actions and suits of a commercial nature—said
a large body of commercial men in the city of London
conceived that the present mode of administering justice
in commercial cases was dilatory and unsatisfactory. In
foreign countries these matters had been adjudica'ed by
tribunals of commorce, and he thought it was worthy the
consideration of the house whether the practice of foreign
countries in this respect might not be imitated with advan-
tage. In important commercial cases in London they must
be tried by special juries, and some months must elapse
before a case can be tried. When a judge tries such a
case he reserves certain points and decides others. It was
no affront to judges to say that they were not as good
judges of commercial documents as those who were familiar
with commercial dealings. It was a very serious ques-
tion whether the administration of justice in commercial
eases might not be improved. (Hear, hear.) Persons
generally who litigated preferred having their cases tried
in London instead of the country. But was that satisfac-
tory to those who were compelled to lit as jurors without
any compensation ? He found that where there were
1,248 causes tried in the metropolis, there were 1,110 tried
in the country. He found that in causes for sums above
201. and under 501., out of 4,000 there were 400 tried in
the metropolis ; and in causes for sums above 501. more
than half the number ware tried in London. The hon.
and learned member referred to cases fur the purpose of
showing the increased expense to which a suitor who lived
in the country was put by the trial taking place in London.
Arbitration was generally a compulsory course, I
the beginning of a new suit, when, to be of valuavn.(d w
arbitra-
tionas should be resorted to in the first instance.
had been given to prove that merchants sometmes '
gave Evidence
nepe
accounts for the purpose of closing their books ratherthu
wait the delay of a trial or have a trial at all. Ip Francean
a tribunal such as he contended for had jurisdiction in
all cases such as those to which he was alluding. In Eng-
land, with the exception of Liverpool, there was no such
tribunal, and he saw no reason why other towns should
not have such tribunals as well as Liverpool. The hon.
member concluded by moving for a select committee to
inquire respecting the expediency of establishing tribunals
of commerce, or for otherwise improving the administra-
tion of justice in commercial disputes.
The SOLICITOR-GENERAL admitted the great im-
portsace of the question brought forward by the hon. and
learned gentleman, and desired briefly to state his reasons
for offering no opposition to the motion, and generally his
views of the case, especially with reference to the estab-
lishment in this country of Tribunals of Commerce. The
title was, no doubt, an attractive one, and they probably
might suppose that benefits would be conferred upon the
commercial worl 1 by institutions of the kind ; but they
must not be led away by names however attractive. It
should not be forgotten that they had established in this
country a most successful improvements in their courts. They had iutrodueed county courts, giving them consider-
able jurisdiction. That they were '
successful no man could
for one moment doubt, and that they had established a
speedy and cheap mode of administering justice was equally
indisputable. They had modified the courts of common
law, and made their proceedings as speedyas he thought
could well be done, consistently with
doing justice to the
parties engaged. Latterly they passed an act on the sub-
ject of bills of exchange. All these three different classes of
measures had occupied the attention of the Legislature
with the view of reducing delay in judicial proceedings
art.l he believed that delay had been reduced to the
smallest possible amount ; but if it could be shown that
the period could lea further lessened, he should gladly ren-
der all the assistance in his power to accomplish that ob-
ject. Was the Tribunal of Commerce proposed to be in-
stituted to be a court of appeal, or a court without appeal ?
If it was to be a court without appeal, when, as the hon.
and learned gentleman suggested, causes would be decided
in 24 hours, then in his (the Solicitor-General's) opinion it
would not enjoy the confidence of the pub le or of the
persons involved in the cause under its judicial cognisance,
but if it were to be a court of appeal, where execution
would be suspended, and the case brought to other courts
for final judgment, then why not go to the higher
courts In the first instance ? The hon. and learned gentle-
man had objected to the mode in which mercantile
eases were handled in this country. He was dissatisfied,
that while the facts were left to the jury, the judge should
take the question of law and place his construction upon
the bearing of some document which had been made evi-
dence in the course of the hearing, while the Tribunals of
Commerce, they were told, decided questions of fact and
law. But why should a document, springing out of a com-
Mereial case be treated differently to any document arising
out of, or connected with any other description of case.
Any innovation of that kind on their system of jurispru-
dence must be eminently unsatisfactory; and he felt quite
satisfied that the house would not for one moment enter-
Isin any proposition of the sort. Tribunals of Commerce,
he might be permitted to say, sprang out of a state of
things much less enlightened than that existing at present.
They were institutions of the remote state of the barbarian
sees, and very far inferior to those we enjoyed. He ad-
mitted the justice of the complaint made by the hon. and
learned member, and he admitted it was a most unsatis-
factory state of affairs that when suitors went in' o one
courtle rred theyfrom
were frequently handed over to another trans-
no doubt, seriousew to equity and from equity to law. It was,
but he was hint on -our system of jurisprudence,
happy to state that he intended asking for
leave, that evening, to introduce a bill which would go to
remedy some of the evils and mischiefs of the system. An-
other complaint which the hon. and leaned member made
was, that an unfair amount
to
of work was thrown on the
London jurymen, who had
investigate not only London
but country cases. This happened partly because the courts
were opened a greater number oyfP
were
than a° assize or
ided over by
local courts, partly because the
judges eminent for their skill and the satisfactory:al'n manner
partly from
in which they administered the law,
the skill, intelligence, and competency
jurymen themselves brought to bear on the the
jurymen of their duties. They could not expect greater
speed in the hearing of commercial causes un'eas they had
tidal:dished a greater number of courts in the country.
Were the proposed Tribunals of Commerce to be paid or
unpaid ? Did the hon. and learned gentleman think that
Parliament would sanction the appointment of a new staff
throughout the length and breadth of the country ? For
the proposal was that those tribunals should be established
wherever commerce was carried on. Such an organisation
would entail a serious amon it of expense. If the tribunals
were not paid, how could they expect that persons would
discharge the duties appertaining to the tribunals with