The Sun.
London, England, 1857-07-24 00:00:00

enactments, the law, accord'sg to the statement of his
noble and learned friend, still continued to remain in a
most unsatisfactory position. 0.. e of the main objections
which was urged against it was the amount ot expense
which it entailed, and he was nit prepared to contend
that some mode of obviating to a slight extent that ob-
jection might not upon investioation be discovered. He
had, for instance, ascertained during the present session,
from returns for which he had moved, but which bad not
RR yet been printed, that those officers of the Court of
Bankruptcy who were known as "messengers," and in
whom considerable trust was reposed with reference to
the estate of a bankrupt, ieceived in the shape of emolu-
ments a sum amounting to 1. 600/. or 1,7001. perannum,or
nearly one and a half the annual salary of a county court
judge. Nov, it was in his power to effect a dimi-
nution of the emoluments of those messengers, and he
was in communication with the Lords Justices upon the
subject, but he could not et the same time hold out the
hope that any reduction which might in that respect be
made would tend materially to diminish the expenses
conseqUent upon a preceeding in Bankruptcy Courts, or
in any very appreciable degree lessen the difference be-
tween the sum realised and that which was distributed.
Hia noble and learned friend had also adverted to the
mode in which their duties were discharged by the bank-
ruptcy commissioners in the country towns, but upon
that point ha should observe that his attention had been
called only in one instance to any negligence upon their
part, and that in that case he bad taken steps to remedy
the inconvenience which bad been occasioned. He
might add that he had.never heard any complaints made
of the mole in which the business of their clines was
transacted by the commissioners in London, but he must
also observe that the whole naetropelitan establishment
was, in his opinion, much larger than was necessary
Withi regard to the question of the residence of the com-
missioners, there was no doubt that they ought to reside
at such a distal ce from the scene of their judicial duties
as to enable them at a short notice to be present and
perform their duties ; but even if he had the power it
would not be in accordance with ordinary usage to com-
pel the commissioners in such towns as Manchester,
Liverpool, Leeds, and Birmingham, to reside within
those towns. The whole subject was one which had been
under the consideration of the Government, and be woul I
give his most careful attention to the bid of his noble
and learned friend. He could not be expected at pre-
sent to do more than to give that assurance, but he
trusted that it would not be impossible to devise some
scheme to make the procee flags in bankruptcy less dila-
tory and expensive than they at present were. The object
of the Court of Bankruptcy was to realise the assets, and
to distribute them in the shortest, and simplest, and
fairest manner, and no doubt that object could be at-
tained better than it was at present. His noble and
learned friend had made some observations on the sub-
ject of appeal, in which he could not concur. He, as one
of the lords justices, had had an opportunity of witness-
ing the effect of the appeal which at present existed, and
he should be sorry to see it abolished. He must also in-
form his noble friend that be was mistaken in supposing
that the lords justices bad no power to examine wit-
nemesis, because not only had they such a power but they
frequently exercised it, and he certainly should be sorry
to see the establishment of a system by which the refusal
of a certificate, a calamity so serious to a commercial
man, was made to depend abselutely upon the judgment
of one cnminissioner' without any appeal to a superior
tribunal. He would not further detain their lordship%
but would only repeat that be would give his best atten-
tion to the bill of his noble and learned friend, and en-
deavour to cull from it all that might tend to improve
the unsatisfactory state of the bankrupt law.
Lord BROUGLIA.M, in a few words of explanation,
pointed out the great advantages which bad resulted from
the act of 1831. So unsatisfactory was the state of the
law at that time that the only wonder was that some
change had not been made in it before that period, and
Lord Eldon, than whom no man bad been slower to en-
courage rash alterations in the law, had agreed that
some alteration was not only necessary but in fact im-
possible to be avoided. What were the immediate
effects of the change then made t Why, property to
the event of nearly 3,000,000/. was distributed within
a few months which ought to have been distributed
years before. I, had been admitted by one bank that
it realized 5,000/. or 6,0061. a-year from the money left
in it by assignees in baokrup cy, whereas after the Act
of 1831 such a thing became an impossibility. That
Act, however, althoueh a great improvement upon the
old system, was itself capable of amendment, and it was
with the view of amending it that he asked their lord-
ships to give a first reading to the Bid which he had
the honour of laying on their lordships' table.

Toe Bill way reai a fiat time.
Several Bills were brought up from the House of
Commove, and read a first time.

The House adjourned shortly after half-past 6 o'clock

HOUSE OF COMMONS.-(YESTBRDAY.)

NOTICE OF MOTION.

Mr. WARREN gave notice that early in the nest
session he shoal(' call attention to the present state of
military 13cv, and its administration by naval and military
tribunali.

THE EDINBURGH ANNUITY TAX ABOLITION

BI LL

The LORD ADVOCATE, in reply to a question put
by Mr. E. E,lice, said that looking at the late period of
the session, and at the difference of ropiiii,m which
existed on the subject of this measure, he thought that
t would be impossible to carry it through parliament
this session, and therefore he should propose that the
order of the day sh,uld be read for the purpose of its
being discharged,
The order was read and di.charzed accordingly.
DI VISION OF THE COLONY OF NEW
SOUTH WALES.

Sir J. PA KING roN asked the Secretary of State f.r
the Colonies whether any decision had been come to by
her Majesty's government on the suhj ct of detaching
from the Colony of New S ,tith Wales any portion of
the northern territories thereof, and forming the same
into a separate colony, and if any such decision had been
made where the southern bonndaly of such new colony
was to be drawn; and whether on respect of any portions
of such new colony as were situated between the 26th
and 30,,b digs. of S. lat., petitions from the inhabitant
householders of the territories so situated had been pro.
served to her .lajesty, as required by the statute 13 and
14 Vic., c. 59, s. 34, in order to enable her Majesty to
iociude such terri:eries in the new colony i IVne'ler
any c,mditions had been imposed in order to prevent
co:-ivicti bring sent to such new colony ? pro-
vision had been made as to the form of government of
such new colony 1 And whether any, and if any, what
arrangement had been wade as to the proportions of the
pehlic debt of the existing colony to be borne by such
new colony and New South Wales respectively after the
proposed separation.

kr. L ABOCTi.jHEIRE said that by the act upon which
the institutions of New South Wales were founded, the
legislature of New South Wales had provided for the
possible separation of the colony by giving to the Queen
in council the power to separate the district of noreton
Bay from the rest of the colony, and to draw such boun-
dary line as she might be advised, and he ( \lr. Labou-
chere) having received reitera ed and strong petitions
from the inhabitants of the district of Moreton Bay to
the effect that they desired this separation, thought it
his duty to advice the :;crown to make the separa ion
which the crown was empowered to teaks by the act of
the Ciltinial Legislatere. There arose considerable dif-
ficulty as to where the boundary line between the tWo
colonies should be ; but his opinion was that what ought
to guide the crown is the matter was the desire of
the colonists themselves who lived near the boundary
line as to whether they should be ircluded in the
Moreton Boy r in the New South Wales colony,
and al-o the facts as to the acceptability of the port
of shipment for Moreton Bay. At first be thought
it would be desirable to early the line of separation
lower down than he now advised, but it appeared
to him that the weight of the petitions and memo-
rials from the inhabitants of the district in favour their
being retained as part of the colony of New South
Wales so much overpowered those in favour of their in-
corporation with the Moreton Bay colony, that he had
drawn the line nearer to Moreton Bay than he bad
originally intended, between, he believed, the 25th and
26th degrees of latitude. As to the second question, he
could not say it was the fixed determination of the
government not to send any single convict to Moreton
but there was no desire tc do so, and he should
consider it a gross breach of the ',ledge given to Sydney,
if convicts were introduced into the adjoining colony
from whence they could so easily pans into the colony of
Sydney. As to the question whether there was any
provision as to the form of government for the new
colony, he found that in the act which the legislature of
Sydney had passed it was provided that the constitution
of the new colony should as nearly as possible resemble
that of Sydney, and, therefore, there was no option but
to give to the new colony the ordinary constitution of a
British col ny. To the last question, his answer was
that he had written to the Governor of New South
Wales, ea ling his attention to the subject of the public
debt, and requesting him to bring the matter before the
legislature of New South Wale., by whom a proper
division of the debt ceul I be made.

THE NEW MILITARY HOSPITAL AT
NEFLEY.

Mr. WILCOX asked the First Lord of the Treasury
if any circiiinstauo-s Imo arisen to induce her Majesty's
Government to suspend their intention to huill the new
military hospital at Nutley ; and, if so, whether he had
any objection to state them ?
Air. STAFFORD, before the question was answered,
wished also to ask whether there was any objection to
publish the complete correspondence upon the subject,
for some important correspondence had been withheld ?
Lord PALMERSTON, as to the la-t question, said
that he did not know what the correspondence referred
to was, and therefore he was unab!e to answer the ques-
tion ou that occasion. With respect to the spot selected
for the hospital, the Government were quite satisfied,
and he him-elf was entirely convinced from local know-
ledge that it was very healthy, and tota!ly free from any
abjection on sanitary grounds. He had also received a
letter from a medical gentleman in the neighbourhood,
who stated that g2O years' employment in the
locality he had not known any cases of ague or diseases
of that kind.
FIRE INSURANCE AND MUTUAL COM-
PANIES BILLS.
Mr. COWAN asked whether A was intended to pro-
pose considerable alterations in two bills recently intro-
duced —namely, the Issurance Companies and Mutual
Companies Balls ; and if it was also intended to confer
limited liability upon such companies ; also if new prints
of such bills, with the alterations proposed, would be
delivered to members, and lattice given of the intention
of the Government to proceed with these amended
measures. He also wished to ask another question.
His bon, friend bad been chairman of the committee on
insurance .compania-t which sat four years ago, and on
which he (Mr. Co can) had also served. Among other
things recommended was one that no insurance com-