The Sun.
London, England, 1850-04-10 00:00:00

who were pro`essedly alvocates of cconem Ctl prin-
cie'e,s and econeiniel pteetti He regreete Itoay he
Nt;t3 kit in St ate thuegh he et u4ll.a:dly x-
pect touch support, that should not mike him forget hi,
duty, and he would stind fbrward to do his duly 10 that
Reuse, eVCit if he only got the support of one lion.
Mc when He did net wish to throw any ele twit sin the
No, ey of the vote, and would not take up the time of the
I louse with hey hop less. opposition. He had die&
what he coLeeived he otiv,ht to I ate dot c, and he did
not regret what he had deee. He inns, however, afraid
that the Noble Lord, fur whom be entertained a teepee!,
though he disliked his principles, who bed promised a
Committee, would yet hesitate to carry propositions for
11 auctions practically into effect. lie week', however,
atch the Noble Lard as a cat watched it mouse. He
would say no more, except to repeat he did not regret
tl e ccui se he had teneut d.
eeir H. WILLOUGHBY did not think the lion. and
Gallant Gentleman Lad made out a case for the reduc-
tion which he had proposed. He was of opinion that a
most vigilant superintendence ought to be exercised in
the dockyards arid other departments.
The vote was then agreed to, as were also the remain-
ing votes.
The Exchequer bills (9,200,0001.) Bill, as amended,
was considered.
The Brick Duties Bill was read a third time and
passed.
The third reading of the Judgments (Ireland) Bill,
and the Committee on the Stamp Duties Bill, were post
poned till Thursday.
CHARITABLE TRUSTS BILL.
On the motion for the second reading of the Chari-
table Trusts Bill,
Mr. GOULBURN desired to offer a few remarks in
reference to the proposed measure. The Bill did not, in
his opinion, fulfil its title, and it was based on a wrong
principle. He thought that charitable trusts, under
100/. annual value, had as good and as just a right to
faithful administration as those over 100/. per annum;
but the former were proposed to be taken out of the
jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery, and placed within
the control of the Masters in Chancery, or the Count,
Court Judges. If the Darned Solicitor-General, in-
stead of adopting such a principle, gave his attention to
the preparation of such rules of the Court of Chancery
as would enable charities to be administered at a small

expense,c,lusi thought he would Le doing a great public ser-
vice; whereas, it he persevered with the Bill in its pre-
sent shape, the effect would be most unsatisfactory.
He objected to a transfer of the administration of cha-
ritable trusts under 201, to County Court Judges.
There were sixty of those judges, each of whom, in
all probability, would decide points of equity on dif-
fe.rent principles in each case—a serious evil, against
which he thought they ought most carefully to guard.
Would it ba safe to leave in the hands of county

court judges the appointment of trustees of charitable
trusts for education purposes, and to empower them to
decide whether those trusts should be administered for

purely secular, or for religious purposes ? Against this
provision of the Bill he entered his protest, believing that
the best course wouh4 be to leave the administration of
those trusts with the Court of Chancery, and to render
the proceedings of ghat tribunal less expensive.
Mr. TURNER said that the Bill deeply aff'ected the
interests of the poorest classes of the people, and imposed
on the llcuse a most serious and important duty, that of
selecting an honest and faithful tribunal to administer
the charities belonging to those classes. The Bill pro-
posed to deal with all charities under 100/. per annum,
which amounted to 21,000, and involved capital to the
extent of 1,000,000/.—(llear, hear.) It was desirable
and necessary that proper persons should be selected as
trustees, and it was equally necessary that, when ap-
pointed, they should be interfered with as little as pos-
sible, provided that the decisions were bona fide car-
ried our. It was also advisable to provide a speedy
sad ancient remedy against abuses of charitable
trusts, and to take care that no groundless com-
plaints of their appliervion should be encouraged. The
Bill, he considered, was defective iu guarding against
litigation. In mans of charitable trusts between 30/.
and 1001. it gave absolute jurisdiction to masters of the
Court of Chancery without appeal, a proceeding contrary

to the general practice and feeling throughout the coun-
try, and tix more objectionable, inasmuch as the masters
would have the power not only of appointing but of re-

moving the trustees. To thc-juriscii&tion of the county
court judges in matters of trusts under 30t., he had the
strongest possible objection, inasmuch as those judges
wore not lot ally resident, and would derive their know-
leigo of the parties proposed as trustees from their
clerks, who, generally speaking, were solicitors, and
took an active part in local politics. Another objection
he had to referring these matters to the judges of the
county courts was, that iu the administration of those
charities they would be apt to be swayed by political
considerations, and would therefore work the charities
for the benefit of local politics. There was, besides, an-
other grave objection he had to the measure. A power
was given to the Lord Chancellor, should he think
proper, to remit the administration of charities to
those judges above 1001. a year, so that the chari-
ties of Harrow and Eton might, should the Lord
Chancellor deem fit, be consigned to the keep-
ing of those county court judges. He did not deny
but that there was a necessity for legislation on the sub-
ject, but he thought the remedy lay in removing the
existing evils of the Court of Chancery. Let them give
one of the Chancery judges the same powers to adminis-
ter those charities as any of the other judges had at
chambers, and they would find them administered much
better, and as cheap as by the mode proposed by the pre-
sent measure. Another convenient tribunal to which
they could refer their administration, would be the com•
missioners of bankruptcy throughout the country, but,
at all events, he trusted the House would not sanction
the principle of conferring the power to administer them
upon the judges of the county courts.
The SOLICITOR-GENERAL said be quite agreed
_ _

with those who had preceded him, as to the importance
of the measure, as no Letter evidence of its importance
could be named than the fact already stated, that the ag-
gregate value of those under 301. a year amounted to
about 300,0001. per annum, and also from the fact that
in every one of those trusts where a breach of trust
might be committed, no redress could be had in conse-
quence of the expense which would be incurred in ob-
taining it. It was, therefore, highly important that
some steps should be taken to remedy the evil. His
Hon. and Learned Friend had said that the remedy was
a reform of the Court of Chancery, but while he was
not disposed to dispute the proposition, that if the Court
of Chancery was as it should he those trusts could be
properly and efficiently administered by it, still, after
the attempts which had been made to effect a reform of
that court, and after seeing the issue of those attempts,
he thought it must be some time before such reform
could be effected. No doubt but in the end a reform
would be effected, but what was to Lecomo of those trusts
in the meantime? The present measure had been intro-
duced to supply the means of administering those trusts
in the meantime in a cheap form, and while it was ob-
jected to on the ground that there would be a diversity
of opinion among the judges of the various county courts
in their administration, some of those judges directing
their administration one way, some another; yet that.ob-
jection would hold equally good to the constitution of the
county courts as they now existed, and yet he did not hear
a word of complaint from any part of the country against
those courts; on the contrary, there was a demand for
their extension. Besides, there was an appeal from
those judges should they consider that the casejus-
tified an appeal. As to the allegation that the judges of
those courts were taken from the commoa law bar, and
were not acquainted with the administration of such
matters, such was not the case, for he knew six or seven
of them himself who belonged to the Chancery bar. I t
would be as good an objection to those that they were
not acquainted with common law, and consequently wet e
not qualified for judges in the county courts. But he had
never heard such an objection. As to their being actuated
by political bias, they were not, at all events, so apt to be
so as the commissioners cf bankruptcy, to whom his
lion. and Learned Friend proposed to refer these mat-
ters:, who, being resident on the spot, would be more apt
to be swayed by local political considerations. He did
not mean to say that the Bill was perfdc', but as he did
not conceive the principle of the measure was ob-
jected to, which was to provide a cheap mode
for the administration of those trusts be considered
that all the details could be better discussed in Com•
mittee, and would press the second reading.
Mr. ROUNDELL PALMER admitted the necessity
these existed for a measure for the purpose stated, but
be thought it should be confined to that purpose, and
not to affect any matters of a contentious nature, which
had better be left until a general measure was introuced
for the reform of the Court of Chancery in this respect.
In regard to the point of appeal, the present Bill was
open to grave objections, for he would not have it left
to a judge to say whether an appeal should be allowed
against his decision or not. Be did think that to ex-
tend the principle to other courts, would be a novelty in
principle, and likely to work exceedingly ill in practice.
Besides, he thought there was a very great distinction
between these small charities and the questions that
might arise in a county court adjudicating upon 201.
There was one other observation he wished to make. He
believed they had introduced a most excellent principle
in establishing county
.courts. He believed they had
conferred a great, boon in doing so, and he was therefore
anxious that the judges should have all the respect and
consideration possible; but he believed that giving these
cases to the judges in the Bankruptcy Court would be
Lecause they were necessarily more conversant
with equity and law than could be expected from the
county court judges, whose time was too much occu-
pied to enable them to study the abstract questions of
law. For that reason he preferred to give the jurisdic-
tion to another class of judges which already existed.
Mr. AGLIONBY thought the country would not
agree with the eminent gentlemen connected with the
Court of Chancery in their opinion of the fitness of the
Court of Chancery. They had now got courts in which
they had much greater confidence. The worst part of
that court was its masters, who sat in a small room not
open to the public; and he believed that it would be bet-
tsr to give the county court judges jurisdiction in these
small charities under 301. As to appeals, he objected to
them as a great nuisance. It was tar more satisfactory
to refer such casts to a gentleman eminent at the bar
without any appeal. He must entirely approve of the
principle of the Bill.
The Bill was then read a second time, and ordered to
be committed on Monday next.
The House then adjourned at a Quarter to Twelve
o'clock.

Sixteen human skeletons, of apparently full grown
parsons, have lately been discovered in a field belonging to
Mr. William Nigar, of Upton, in the parish of Long Sutton,
by a man employed ,in cutting a ditch. They appeared to
have been buried in nearly a straight line, ranging from
north to south, and they were laid in cavities about three
feet in depth, cut in solid rock, at irregular distances from
each other. It is but a few years since that several human
bones were discovered in a field about two hundred yards
from this spot. There can be no doubt of their being the
remains of some unfortunate warriors, who fell, probably, in
battle centuries ago, but on what occasion history does not
record.—Bath Chronicle.