The Sun.
London, England, 1861-04-23 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON; TUESDAY EVENING; APRIL 23, 1861.

Closing
Price.

Railways.

Paid.

(Business done

67 70
02i 34
16 16i o
5 54 d

ei
75 80
65- 70
65 70
41 5

* 21

1 2.-
175 185
340 350
974 10241
191 191
6} 61
15 17
5 6

4
5 6
21 121
37 39
21 21
46 48
31 41
45 5:
5 6
7} 84
9 95
36 38
4
295 305
2 3
135 145
36 38
11 2%
6 54
4.

171 IE4
74 76
345 455
95 100
110 120
11 21
9 10
11 13
12 13

d
31 31i
I 1
dis.
39 41
8 10
2 2}
23 24
1
* It 13 /13
1
84 9
pr iip
a id
4 6
61
t

all
1
10s.
all
all

IMPS MAL PA BMA ME_N T.

HOUSE 0]? LORDS—YESTERDAY.
The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the woolsack
at five o'clock. _

The Biddenden Road, tlle South Shields Improvement
and Quay, the Berwick, Northam, and Islandside Road,
and the Strathspey Rating bills were read a second time.
The Dublin, Wicklow, and Wexford Railway, and the
South Eastern Railway (Capital) bills were read a third
time and passed.
ADMIRALTY JURISDICTION BILL.
The LORD CHANCELLOR said this bill had come
down from the Commons with an additional clause pro-
viding that the Admiralty Court should have the power
of settling differences between co-owners of ships
without the necessity of going to the Court of Chancery.
He advised their lordships to agree to the clause.

The amendment was agreed to.
WILLS OF PERSONALTY BY BRITISH SUB-
JECTS BILL.
Lord KINGSDOWN moved the second reading of this
bill; which was to remedy the inconvenience entailed upon
British subjects residing abroad by the necessity of making
wills in compliance with the statutes in force in England
without their being in a position to know whether the ne-
cessary forms had been complied with. The noble lord
cited a number of cases to show how absurdly the present
system operated. In the case of an Englishman residing in
Paris, having real and personal estate, wishing to make his
will, he sends for his attorney, or, for greater safety, he
comes over to this country, and having executed the instru-
ment he goes abroad and dies. His will, as far as personal
estate is concerned, is invalid, because his domicile had
been changed before he died. Again, if a person wishing
to travel made his will previous to his leaving England,
and died abroad, his domicile had been changed, and
his will, so far as regarded his personalty,
was of no effect. He hoped their lordships
were familiar with what was meant by the term domicile,
because if they were not he was sorry he could not enlighten
them, notwithstanding he had while he was at the bar taken
part in the argument of many cases which turned upon the
meaning of the term domicile. The noble lord concluded
by moving the second reading of the bill.
Lord WENSLEYDALE expressed his decided opposi-
tion to the bill, but, from the low tone of voice in which
his lordship spoke, it was impossible to ascertain the
grounds upon which ho rested his opposition to the measure.
The LORD CHANCELLOR.said that the question was
one by no means free from difficulty, and he was not con-
tent to support the bill of his noble and learned friend in
all its details. 'lt would be most discourteous, however, to
propose to reject it on its second reading, and the house
should consider that no one was more competent to deal
with such a measure than his noble and learned friend, to
whom the country was already under deep obligations for
the attention he had bestowed on that and other kindred
subjects. (Hear, hear.) His noble and learned friend had
pointed out some great evils which arose out of the existing
law, and for these he had proposed remedies. Of the evils
there could be no doubt. When he was Chief Justice he
was held to be domiciled in England, because he had Eng-
lish duties to perform by virtue of that office. Now that
he was Lord Chancellor of Great Britain, however, nobody
could tell whether he was domiciled on one side of the
Tweed or the other. He was bound to say that he was not
sanguine as to the result of the measure new submitted to
-their lordships. (Hear, hear.)
Lord ST. LEONARDS said he agreed with his noble
and learned friend on the woolsack, that to throw out
this bill on its second reading would be a very bad com-
pliment to his noble and learned friend near him. The
great object of the bill was to permit English people to
live in France, spend their money there, and have all the
benefit of English law and none of its burdens. At pre-
sent if an English person were living in France he could not
dispose of his property according to the law of England;
and if he abandoned his domicile in England and became
domiciled in France, he must abide by the French law, and
could not have,the benefit of English law. If an English-
man, according to the existing international law, made his
will in this country, and had property in the French funds,
the authorities in France would have no difficulty in allow-
ing his executors to take the property as part of the assets
under the English will. In 1858 Sir F. Kelly brought in
a bill which passed the otherhouse, and came up to their
lordships' house, but that bill did not go so far as was pro-
posed by the present measure. For his own part, he did
not see why a man should be enabled to evade English law
by going over to France, and he thought they ought not to
go further than to give him the power of disposing of his
property by a will executed abroad in the same manner as
if he had made that will in England.
Lord CRANWORTH said the maxim of law was that of
common sense and policy—mobilia sequentar personam.
Where you were domiciled your property was disposed of
according to the law of the place—but no country NI ould
have a law so strict that the owner might not point out the
direction in which his property should go. At :present an
Englishman dying abroad would dispose of his property
according to the law of England. There was great appre-
, hension lest in stopping up one hole we might be onenint
others—but as a great practical evil had to be dealt with,
it was desirable that some remedy should be found. Ac-

cording to the first clause of this bill, an inhabit tut livieg
in any of our colonies might make a will according to the
law of Scotland or England, and it would he valid. He
would give no opposition to the second reading.
Lord KING SDO WN having briefly replied,
Lord WENSLEYDALE withdrew his amendment, and
the bill was read a second time.
POST-OFFICE SAVINGS BANKS BILL.
Lord STANLEY of ALDERLEY, in moving the second
reading of this bill, said its object was to afford additional
facilities to the working classes to economise their savings,
and thus render them better workmen and fathers of fami-
lies. It was found that the post-offices afforded admirable
machinery for the purpose, and as Government would be
security for the investments, the officials would, of course,
be under Government control. These banks would not
come into competition with the existing savings banks, as
they would only give 2i per cent. for deposits. He begged
to move the second reading of the bill.
Lord COLCHESTER said he feared the machinery of
the system would not work, inasmuch as there were only
2,500 money -order offices, and it was through these money
order offices that the savings bank system was to be car-
ried out. He hoped the noble lord who had charge of this
bill would explain the machinery of it before they went
into committee upon it.
Lord MON TEAGLE said ho was oil enough to recol-
lect when the old savings bank system was introduced. It
was established in 1817, and the banks were intended for
the benefit of the humble classes of society. The Legisla-
ture had placed checks upon them so as to prevent the
banks from being taken advantage of by persons in a higher
class of society, yet notwithstanding these restrictions the
amount of the deposits exceeded at that moment L 40,000,000.
It was right that their lordships should not shut their eyes
to the political and social consequence of the proposed change
in the system. The salaries of the officials connected with
savings banks amounted to £91,000, and the amount of the
security for the integrity of these persons was £700,000. He
did not think that postmasters in provincial tawns were
persons capable of making the calculations for either the
increment or the deductions of the accounts of the depo-
sitors, any more than they were of solving a quadratic equa-
tion. But he had further objections to the bill. He was on
principle opposed to the system of centralisation attempted
by the measure, and he was likewise opposed to the Go-
vernment being allowed to have the command of so large a
sum of money as £40,000,000, and the time was when a pro-
posal of this kind would have caused a great excitement of
public feeling. He did not intend to move an amendment
to the motion, but next year he should move for a committee
of inquiry into the working of the new banks as compared
with the old ones.
Lord ItEDESDALE said he thought the bill was ex-
tremely defective in one point, namely, that it would be im •
possible for country depositors to obtain from the local post-
masters the account of their deposits, and of the interest
they were entitled to, which every savings bank depositor
could now do. The bill would be troublesome and costly,
he feared, but the experiment was worthy of being tried for
two or three years, though he quite apprehended that it
would eventually be necessary to abandon- it, in conse-
quence of the inextricable confusion it would create.
'the Marquis of CLANRICARDE thought the bill
could not be carric d out except with great cost and labour,
and that in a direction for which the Post-office was not
originally created. He did not believe there had been any
correct estimates made as to What would be the result of
this measure. If any estimates had been made they would
have been submitted to Parliament. The bill had several
weak points in it, which, as they had already been alluded
to, he would not now notice. The bill was one of very
great importance, and he trusted it would be most carefully
considered before receiving their lcrdships' sanction. (Hear.)
Lord STANLEY of ALDERLEY, in reply, stated that
the estimates were so carefully made that while the Go-
vernment would be able to pay larger interest for the money
invested in those new savings banks, there would be a pro-
fit realised after defraying all the working expenses, and
giving such salaries as would be amply sufficient to secure
the services of a superior class of officials.
The bill was then read a second time.
DIVISION OF DIOCESES BILL.

Lord LYTTELTON nominated a select committee on
this bill, which was approved of.
LUNACY REGULATION BILL.
On the motion that this bill be read j third time,
The LORD CHANCELLOR moved the
the
insertion of
words to the effect, that before a new trial was granted
Lord Chancellor should see the lunatic.
The motion was agreed to, and the bill was read a third
time and passed.
Their lordships adjourned at a quarter to nine o'clock.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.—YESTERDAY.
The SPEAKER took the chair at four o'clock.
PRIVATE BUSINESS.
The following bills were read a third time :—Brighton,
Uckfield, and Tunbridge Wells Railway ; Dewsbury, Bat-
ley, and Heekmondw,ke Water ; Elton and Blackburn
Roads; Inverness and Perth Junction Railway; Tiver
ton Roads ; Universal Private Telegraph Company ; and
Oldham and Ripponclen Roads.
Tll9 0114 min WI § were wicicred-Auct Prdercl hr third'