The Sun.
London, England, 1832-08-16 00:00:00

land to see the amnesty carried into effect. Had that am.
nesty been granted, the Government would certainly have
recognised Don Miguel ; and every thing he had heard of
since, in that country, made him anxious that that Prince
should have been so recognised at the time to which he al-
luded : net because he doubted the right of the Princess to
the throne, or because he wished to decide between the
parties ; but because, by acknowledging the Prince who was
de facto King ofPortugal,they would only be acting as other
Governments had been in the habit of acting on similar
occasions, and following the course most likely to be bene-
ficial to the peace, not only of Portugal, but of Europe ;
and had he remained in office, be would most certainly
have done it. Much had been said about the cruelties of
the Prince and the hatred which was borne him by the
people of Portugal; but these accounts were evidently
incorrect, else how could lie, with such a pressure on his
finances, keep up such a large army ? The Government
had been, over and over, pressed to recognise the Princess
as Sovereign, but how could they do that, when the Em-
peror of Brazil declared that he had not the means of
carrying on a war for making good his daughter's claims.
His position now was very different from what it was
then. Indeed, the principal features of the case were
changed. He was not now commanding the troops of his
country, but at the head of bands or adventurers, for the
purpose of dethroning a Monarch who had been elected
by the Cortes, and who was supported by the affections of
his people. He might say a great deal about the question
of neutrality, but as he had no wish to sly any thing which
might cause irritation, he would refrain for the present.
This he would say, that he did not approve of the neutrality
of the Noble Earl. He should not, however, enter on that
now, and he hoped he should never have occasion. The
Noble Earl had denied that the Admiral interfered in
favour of Sartorius, and had completely satisfied him that
neither the Government nor the Admiral had wished to
infringe that neutrality on that point; but, at the same
time, he must say that Sartorius had hoisted British co-
lours, and that could not be done without its effect on the
people of Portugal. In some other parts the Noble Earl
had misunderstood him. With regard to the transports
and steam-boats, he had only to say that all iu the service
of Don Pedro were English; and he would put the case,
that Don Miguel's fleet should capture some of these ves-
sels, he would say that the British Admiral in that case
would be found to interfere and protect British ships.
That, in fact, was the general practice, and certainly would
have been followed on this occasion had the belligerents
been either French or American. The blockade too
not a bona
.fide blockade, as, notwithstanding the ships
under Sartorius, a communication was constantly kept up
between the Admiral outside and the General inside the
harbour, and he believed it had been set at defiance by an
American vessel. At all events, when a blockade was
violated by one party, it was of no avail, according to the
law of nations. He did not wish to detain their Lordships
longer, but the points were too important to be passed over
eithout some reply in explanation.
Earl GREY said the Noble Duke bad misunderstood
him when he supposed that the former Government had
been blamed by him as the cause of the usurpation. All
he had said was that Portugal bad remained in the state
in which it was at the time of the present Ministers coining
into office, and that they had taken part with neither of
the parties ; though they would have been justified in
doing so, inasmuch as Don Miguel had been sent over with
a positive engagement not to usurp the title of his niece.
The British Government no doubt had the right to oppose
his usurpation, but that it would be wise or politic he
would not contend. Respecting the British army being
in Portugal at the time of the usurpation, it was enough
riiie
to say that Don Miguel's conduct during the stay of the
itsh
which
iishteard was
been
army was so indicative of his future intentions, that the
Bri
sentinducedou out to
irtehfilltsiem front the
payment
countrynt of
money rtes
As to the British flog being hoisted in Sartoriu,'s fleet, he
could only repeat that such an act had been don. .ory
once, and if British sailors or soldiers shoo'-t engage in
foreign service they would lose all et-'ere to our protection,
eid should any of these lea -see -ured by Um Miguel they
could have no right to e 'section, according to the law of
nations.
The Bill ti-•- 'nen read a third time, and paused.
COURT OF CHANCERY.
Th, L.ORD CHANCELLOR said that be rose, •
❑ ac-
cc, dance with the pledge he had given their Lordships,
bring in a Bill for the purpose of improsiog theo'tsto
%ration of Justice in the Court of Chancery. It was
%;
his object to pass the Biit in the present session, but to
get it read a first time, and have it printed, in order that
those Noble Lords who took a particular interest in the
question might have ample time and opportunity to con..
rider its provisions. The Bill he was now about pose contained some of the principal
provisions • • of topro.
another
Bill which he had formerly introduc d
eto their notice, net
second was the effecting a very matedtlYt ceangranu regu-
lation of the Registration-ol'fice, by which also a con-
eiderable saving might be made ; and in the third place,
it provided for a change in the Master's.office of a peat
and important nature—a change to which, on former oc-
casions, he had directed the attention of that 'Luse.
With respect to the savings, which were the least important
part of the matter, he believed he might state their amount
in the following way:—The saying in the Report-office
would be about 4,0001. a-year ; the saving in the Re-
gistration-office would be about 14,0001, a-year ; and
in the Mastee's-offiee, by the new arrangement, about
13,000. a- •
I year. So that, upon these three alterations,
lie hoped to be able to eifsct a saving of 31,000/.
he repeated, were of
These savings, however, a year.
less importance than the great improvement which
would be introduced by the changes tiemse
especially itr that most important official branch
of the
e and
its of Chancery, the Master's office. That change,
its nature and effects, lie had before described—he had
stated the grounds on which it Lad become necessary, and
therefore he was relieved at the present moment from de.
taming • • their Lordship with many observations on that
int. One effect would be, to throw out of the Master's

department that obnoxious branch of the system, the pay-
:nent of the Master by fees ; it would also entirely abolish
that worst part of the system, the payment of copy money
—a payment which gave an interest to those who be.
longed to that department needlessly, and indeed most
vexatiously, to increase the expense to the suitors ; and
it would abolish that which was even worse than need-
less and heavy fees—namely, the payment of gratuities,
which had been engrafted on the system for a long series
of years, and which had only not been questioned because
by long practice it had grown inveterate, These improve-
ments would, in his opinion, be found incalculably more
important than the savings themselves; though by those
s,,vings, he believed, more would be effacted for the pub-
lic advantage than could be obtained by any reduction of
salaries in that department. He proposed to pay the
Masters by salaries, instead of by the fees which they
now received. There were other improvements in the
Master's Office becides those which be had now men-
tioned. He should not, however, think it necessary to
go into any statement relative to them at present. He
should postpone dealing with the Six Clerks' Offices
in this Bill. They could be more conveniently dealt
with in another Bill, connected more directly with alte-
rations to which their Lordships and the other House of
Parliament had already gisen their sanction. In addi-
tion to the measure he had already noticed, there was a
most important change which he proposed to make in the
constitution of the Court of Appeal from the decisions of
the Court of Chancery. That Court of Appeal, he pro-
posed, .should consist of time three heads of the Court of
Chancery, with the addition of the Lord Chief Baron of
the Court of Exchequer (which Court should be consoli-
d rated, so far as related to appeals, with the Court of
Chancery), so that there should always be three Equity
Judges sitting as a Court of Appeal, excluding time Judge
from whose opinion the appeal was made. To that Court
he proposed to direct the appeals which were now
brought into the House of Lords. That, however, should
be done, not peremptorily, but by way of election, so that
the suitor might come to Parliament or to the Court of
Appeal. If he carried his case before the Court of Appeal,
tie should not then be al!uwed to come to the high Court
of Parliament, unless there was a diversity of opinion
among the Judges to whom he now proposed to refer the
decision of appeals from the Courts of Equity. To these
provisions he wished to add another, which, if their Lord-
ships did not now possess the power, would give it them,
of having the benefit of the advice and assistance of the
Equity Judges, as they had now the benefit of the advice
and assistance of the Common Law Judges, whose presence
as attendants upon that House their Lordships could com-
mand. He was aware that if the measure stopped here,
though great improvements would have been effeete3, still
that enough would not have been done ; for it was his
fixed opinion, and one by which he was desirous to be un-
derstood that he should abide firmly, in spite of objections
from quarters that were entitled to Hatch respect, and who
were opposed to him on this point, that these great
changes were absolutely necessary in the constitution of the
flight office which ho unworthily bad the honour to hold.
He was convinced that we could not much longer remain
with that great, not to say gross or grievous, but certainly
striking anomaly, that the highest Judge in the couatry—
: a judge who might often he called tom to decide bete', en the
the ri6hts of the Crown it-
subject surd the Crowui *O7 (,A