The Sun.
London, England, 1859-03-04 00:00:00

Majority
MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS BILL.
This bill went through committee pro
_forma.
LAW OF PROPERTY AND TRUSTEES' RELIEF
AMENDMENT ACT. •
This bill was read a second time.
MANOR COURTS, &c. (IRELAND) BILL.
The house went into committee on this bill.
Mr. COX, who had an amendment on the paper, moved
that the chairman do report progress.
The committee divided—
For the motion 6
Against it

Majority B9
Mr. COX said he had taken the division on the ground
that no opposed motion should be taken after 12 o'clock.
He denied that the bill did not relate solely to Ireland, and
he and other English members were determined to oppose it.
It was not known how many of the courts there were to
be abolished or the number of persons to whom compensa-
tion was to be paid. If those two facts were stated in a
schedule to the bill, he would not further oppose it. He
moved as follows—Clause 1, lino 9, leave out from " act" to
" courts," inclusive, in line 12, and insert " no seneschal or
judge shall hereafter be appointed to any manor court in
Ireland, and upon the death of any person at present holding
the office of seneschal or judge of any manor court, or on his
ceasing to hold such office by resignation, removal, or other-
wise, the manor court. of which such person was judge or
seneschal shall be abolished, and no action or suit shall be
commenced or prosecuted therein."
Mr. WHITESIDE said this question was fully discussed
on Wednesday. He urged the necessity of abolishing these
courts, which had been condemned by every judge in Ireland,
as well as by a committee of the house. These courts used
to be held in public-houses, and the suitorswho brought most
drink got the most verdicts. He had not set out a schedule,
because a great many of the judges of these courts would not
receive compensation, which the fact of putting them into a
schedule would have admitted, and the provision that those
which had had real business during a year would receive
compensation would have been abused by the getting up of
business for the purpose of getting into the schedule.
Mr. J. D FITZGERALD thought that the member for
Finsbury was perfectly justified in protecting the public
finances. The way to abolish these courts was not to ap-
point new judges, and then they would fall to the ground of
themselves. (Hear, hear.) Being unable to obtain any in-
formation from the Government as to the number of courts,
ho had made inquiry himself, and found that there were
numerous officers of these courts claiming to be in the re-
ceipt of £5O to £350 a year. The courts were not so wholly
inefficient as Mr. Whiteside represented. The judge of the
Antrim court stated that he had issued 10,000 processes in
one year without having any appeal from his decisions.
Mr. SPAIGHT referred to an instance where a judge of
one of the manor courts could only speak Irish. (Laughter.)
Mr. J. LOCKE wished for further information as to the
amount of compensation likely to be claimed. There were
all the ingredients in the bill of a very gross job indeed.
Mr. Dodson, Mr. P. O'Brien, Mr. Macarthy, Mr. Pease,
and Mr. Kirk, took part in the debate.
The committee then divided :
For Mr. Cox's Amendment l4
Against it
The remaining clauses were agreed to with some verbal
amendments.
The house adjourned at a quarter to 2 o'clock.

SPORTING INTELLPTENCE.