The Sun.
London, England, 1859-04-12 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT

HOUSE OF LORDS—(YESTERDAY).
The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the woolsack
at five o'clock.

SECOND READINGS.
On the motion of Lord REDESDALE the following bills
were read a second time :—Glasgow Public Parks and Gal-
leries of Art, Kingstown Water, and York Improvements
&c

THIRD READINGS.
The following bills were read a third time and passed :
Dundalk and Enniskillen Railway, Dublin and Wicklow
Railway, Glasgow Corporation Water, Leominster and
Kingston Railway, Great Northern Railway, King's
Lynn Waterworks . and Market Improvement, and
Tavistock Market and Streets.
THE INDIAN ARMY.
Earl GRANVILLE gave notice that to-morrow he
should move for a copy of the report of the commission on
the organisation of the Indian army.
The Earl of DERBY said there would be no objection
to the motion.
COMBINATION OF WORKMEN BILL.
This bill was read a first time.
CHANCERY ACCOMMODATION.

Lord. REDESDALE moved that there be laid before
the house a plan of the ground proposed to be appropriated
by the Hon. Society of Lincoln's-inn, to the courts, and
other buildings for the transaction of the business of the
Court of Chancery under the provisions of the Court
of Chancery Accommodation Bill, now before
the house, and also plans and elevations of
the said courts and buildings. The noble lord was
of opinion that no sufficient grounds existed for fixing on
the spot named in the bill. He thought the house ought
not to pass the bill before some further information of a
more definite character was in possession of their lordships.
The noble lord, who spoke in a very indistinct tone, was
understood to say that a much more suitable site might be
obtained at a greatly reduced price in the neighbourhood of
Westminster.
Lord ST. LEONARDS had no objection to the motion
of the noble lord but he was of opinion that the equity
courts of law should not be removed from Lincoln's-inn.
The LORD CHANCELLOR stated that the act of 1852
had greatly improved the practice of the Court of Chancery,
and it was for the purpose of giving full effect to the im-
provements contemplated by that act that he had proposed
the Bill which had been referred to for providing increased
accommodation for the Court of Chancery. With respect
to the motion for plans and elevations of the proposed build-
ings, he must remind their lordships that those plans were
as much the property of the Society of Lincoln's-inn as
any plan for the improvement of a gentleman's estate was
the property of that gentleman. These plans were private
property, and there was no application for public money to
effect the contemplated improvements. He had introduced
the bill, moreover, not as connected with the Government,
but on account of his office as the head of the Court of
Chancery, and of the absolute necessity for greater accom-
modation being given to the Courts. When the two addi-
tional Vice-Chancellors were created the Society of Lin-
coln's-inn, at its own expense, built two courts for their
temporary accommodation, but he believed that those
courts, if they were not very soon pulled down, would fall
of themselves. (A laugh.) the act of 1852 abolished Mas-
ters in Chancery, and a great proportion of the business was
now done by the judges in the Court of Chancery and by
their chief clerks in chambers. Rooms had been taken for
the chief clerks, but they were very inconvenient, and he
believed that the efficiency of that most important public
measure of 1852 had been very considerably impaired, owing
to the want of proper accommodation. It was absolutely
essential, in order to carry out the system provided by that
act, that the chief clerks should have chambers near their
courts, in order that they might have ready and constant
access to them. The Society of Lincoln's-inn proposed to
give a site and to erect proper courts and proper chambers,
provided they were guaranted 4 per cent. on their outlay
and on the loss of the rent which they would incur by pull-
ing down chambers. Under the act of 1952 the Lord
Chancellor had the power of applying a portion of the
Suitors' Fee Fund for the purpose of providing courts and
offices, but he could only apply that fund from year to year,
and the Society of Lincoln's-inn desired to be secured for
their outlay by having a term of years granted, and that
was the only ground which rendered an application to Par-
liament necessary. He should have thought that a measure
of this urgency would have been acceded to immediately,
and so it would, he believed, but for a larger scheme having
been propounded, the object of which was to clear away
about seven acres of buildings between Carey-street and the
Strand, and to bring all the courts of law and equity toge-
ther upon that spot. That might or might not be a very de-
sirable object, but the means suggested for accomplishing
it seemed to be of such a character that it would be his duty
to oppose it; because, as he understood, the Incorporated
Law Society proposed to take £BOO,OOO from the Suitors'
Fee Fund of the Court of Chancery, and to apply it to that
purpose. His noble friend at the head of the Government
hadsconsented to grant a commissionto inquire into the ex-
pediency of concentrating those courts, and into the means
by which it could be effected, and he believed that the result
of the inquiry would be to show that the Suitors' Fee Fund
had to .bear charges to such an amount that there was no
surplus which could be appropriated to this purpose. But
supposing that such a plan should be deemed desirable and
that funds could be found for accomplishing it, how many
years, he asked, must elapse beforeit could possibly be car-
ried out, while the suitors in the Court of Chancery and the
public generally were suffering from the want of the accom-
modation which was so much required ? This limited
scheme which he had introduced would not interfere in the
slightest degree prejudicially with the larger plan, because
the courts to be erected in Lincoln's-inn under his bill
would only be about 200 yards from the site which was
suggested in the new plan.
Lord CAMPBELL was glad to hear that the noble earl
at the head of the Government had granted a commission to
inquire into the expediency of concentrating all the courts,
for the subject was of the last importance to the judges,
jurors, the bar, and the public at large. He hoped that all
further discussion would be postponed until the commission
had made its report. (Hear, hear.)
Lord CRAN WORTH agreed that the working of the
Act of 1852 was much impeded by the present state of the
Courts ; and for that reason he highly approved of the mea-
sure which the Lord Chancellor had laid before Parliament.
But he saw no reasonable objections to the plans being pro-
duced for the information of Parliament and the public.
After a few words from from ST. LEONARDS, the motion
was negatived.