The Sun.
London, England, 1850-05-28 00:00:00

cellors in the year 1842—not striking at the ro)t of
the existing abuses.

For the last half century, at least, there had burn I
general complaints of the inordinate delays of the
Court. Lord ELDON, although a sound lawyer,
was proverbially slow, and his doubts inflicted the
deepest injury upon the unfortunate suitors (far better
that an erroneous decision should sometimes have been
pronounced than that all justice should be practically
denied) ; the causes in arrear increased to a fearful
extent, so that at length a period of several years—
seldom less than three or four—often elapsed be-
tween the setting down and the hearing of a cause.
And even under the mast favourable circumstances,
where there were no exceptions to the Master's re-
port, or no unnecessary' obstructions interposed
by interested parties, final judgment or the
distribution of a fund in court could not be
reasonably anticipated in less thnn nine or ten years.
At that period the Court of Exchequer exercised
a concurrent equitable jurisdiction in many cases
(cases of infancy and lunacy, however, being the ex
elusive property of Chancery) ; this was found to
produce considerable inconvenience. The practice of
these tribunals: differed in many respects; there was
a variety of conflicting decisions, so that a plaintiff
selected the forensic arena according to the nature of
the judgment which he desired. The Barons of
the Exchequer were also obliged to devote by
far the greater portion of their time to
the common law -business of their court•
Hence the delays at the equity side cf the
Court of Exchequer were almost as tedious
and objectionable as those of Chancery itself.
The Act which abolished the equitable

jurisdiction of the Court of Exchequer, and provided
for the appointment of a Vice-Chancellor of England,
was, therefore, hailed with general delight, and it was
hoped that, through the valuable assistance of Sir
LANCELOT SHADWELL, many of the existing evils
would be removed, and that cases could be heard
shortly after they had been set down for argument.
But the-addition of a single judge, however compe-
tent, was speedily found to be insufficient for that pur-
pose. Appeals from his decision were necessarily allowed
,to.the Lord Chancellor in person, as there had formerly
been from the Rolls ; so that the Vice-Chancellor's
Court barely afforded compensation for the new
business introduced from the Exchequer, or brought
to Chancery in consequence of the abolition of the
equitable department 'of that tribunal. The zeal
and energy of Lord BROUGHAM for a time succeeded
in keeping down any further arrears, but with all the
activity► of the Noble and Learned Lord he could not
get rid of those which had accumulated since the be-
ginning of the century, and even from more remote
dates. After his removal from the woolsack the
appointment of additional equity judges was felt
to be an imperative necessty. AB 11 for that pur-
pose was accordingly framed under the direction of
Lord COTTENIJAM, which was adopted by Lord
LYNDHURST, his successor, and which became the
law of the land shortly after the accession to office of
the PEEL Ministry.
Although this wise and salutary measure removed
a serious grievance, it brought others into more
prominent light. The delays in the Masters' offices
became more conspicuous when causes were referred

with so much greater rapidity than was previously
practicable. Large arrears of business were
got rid of, so far as the Vice-Chancel-
lors were concerned, and sent before the
Masters, and the arrears in that department were
speedily as formidable, and as loudly complained of,
s those before the Court itself. But, as we have
already stated, the Lord Chancellor had no time to
devote to the cleansing of those Augean stable,
which now imperatively demand a large and com-
prehensive measure of reform for their amelioration.
There was also a large accumulation of arrears in
the appeal business, which could only be heard by
the Chancellor himself; for, notwithstanding the
material alleviation of his labours, there was still
too much to be done, when the time which he was
obliged to devote to other matters was taken
into account. An appeal from an experienced and
learned judge, such as the Master of the Rolls, or
any of the Vice• Chancellors, could not be summarily
disposed of. Much consideration was necessary be-
fore a precedent was established which should settle
the law on a vexata guestio. It was not merely the
time occupied in hearing causes is court that was
required, but considerable labour was necessary in
the seclusion of his study, and the "midnight oil

must be largely consumed to do justice to all par

ties. But how was this practicable when four
evenings in the week were given to hearing
dull debates in the House of .Lords, and to his duti€s
as Speaker of that assembly, end two days to hearing
appeal cases, net from the Vice-Chancellors, but from
himself, besides the time necessary for Cabinet
Councils and Ministerial consultations ?

The returns ordered last night, on the motion of
Lord BROUGHAM, will show to what an extent this
evil has reached, and will incontestably prove the ne-
cessity of the change which has been long mooted,
viz., the separation of the political and judicial func-
tions of the Lord High Chancellor of England.

THE BISHOP O] Lormori.,:-.LTne Right Rev. Prelate
was sufficiently well to appear in the House of Lords yester-
day (Monday) evening.
The Earl of Clancarty is so much recovered from
his late attack of sciatica, as to be enabled to take carriage
exercise.

RESIGNATION 01' MR. COMMISSIONER SHEPHERD.
—ln the Court of Bankruptcy yesterday it was announced
that an official communication had been received from the
Lord Chancellor, making known the resignation of Mr.
Commissioner Shepherd, who has been ill for some months,
and unable to attend to the duties of the court. By the
Bankrupt Law Consolidation Act, it is provided that, on the
death or resignation of the Commissioner, no fresh *appoint-
ment is to be made until the number is reduced to four,
which it to be the permanent number. The remaining
Commissioners are—Mr. Commissioner„Evans (senior com-
missioner), Mr. Commissioner Fonblanque, Mr. Commis-
sioner Holroyd, Mr. Commissioner Goulburn, and Mr. Com-
missioner Fane.

FESTIVAL OP THE TRINITY CORPORATION.—Yes-
Lerday, Trinity Monday,. the Elder Brethren of the Hon.
Trinity Company, according to. custom, attended Divine ser-
vice at the old church at Deptford, and visited the alms-
houses. His Grace the Duke of Wellington, Master of the
Corporation, attended by Sir H. Pelly, Deputy Master, and
nearly the whole of the Brethren, left the Trinity-house in
procession shortly before eleven o'clock, and proceeded to
Tower-quay, where they were received by lliajor.Elrington,
the Deputy-Governor of the Tower, and Mr. Lund, the State
Gaoler. A detachment of tha Grenadier Guards, under the
command of Lieutenant-Celouel Fulcher, with their band,
w
were drawn up near the Toersteps, and the warders
formed the body guard. The Master and Brethren were con-
veyed to and from Woolwich in the Trinity-house state
barge, and were accompanied bye number of shallops and
other vessels gaily dressed, and decked with Hags Sic. In
the evening a banquet took. place in the hall of the house of
the Corporation on Tower-hill, at which the Duke of Wel-
lington presided. There were also present Lord John Rus-
sell, Lord Granville, the Marquis Camden, the Marquis of
Douro, Sir F. Beaufort, Sir 11. Petty, Sir B. Douglas, Sir J.
Gordon, Sir B. Martin, Sir T. Fremantle, Sir T. Hill, Admiral
Dundas, the chairman and deputy chairman of the ,East
India Company, Dt. Lushington, Captnin .Milne, &c. The
band of the Coldstream Guards was in attendance.
METROPOLIS INTERMENTS BILL.—A special ge-
neral meeting of the Prytestziet dissenting deputies was yes-
g'taliene&dovernment Interments Bill.
Tavern, in the Poultry,
tforer yes-
terday heldconsideration a t
Mr. John Remington Mills occupied the chair : and, in
his opening address, after commenting ou those features of
the proposed measure which more especially affected the
interests of Nonconformists and the principles of Non-
conformity, gave an account of the steps taken by the com-
mittee to oppose
featsltreaJohn Bill,oan y and
joift, cawhichherrleissul
el t,
ooftroarn,
ainterview
r
g
which a deputation from their body had had with Sir
Georgeentlem Gen nextrey addressed the meeting in condemnation of
the Bill, declaring thernselve's to be in no way opposed to the
a measure fraught,
und as Dissenters to appose
as
they
cause of sanitary reform, and yet conceiving themselves
bbeolieved, with danger to their liberties. 'l'he arguments ad-
duced differed little from those put.forward at previous
e views metropolitan
ofthe boroughs,Dissenters.
meetings. Various resolutions were adopted,recommending
follows :—" That this The principal resolution w
andan
other application
steps t
ino the
furtherance
Interment i%.iem be so
of f ttheh
public papers,
and that such
ad-
vertisedh
by them in the
meet-
ing approves of the
Billr es resolutions taiasossnea ssd oofnt
thee
2 ()t.committeeo f
May,
andtlt a Me-
tropolisnu that ofCsouncll4;
petition be now signed by the deputies." •
iilona, resolutionthat beth eemßbiloldmieady.innoat
pass
sitiinonto
at law,
ltabwe,lln
FALL FROLI A PRECIPICE.—Oa Friday afternoon,
while two youths were walking and amusing themselves in
the valley between Arthur Seat aril Salisbury Crags, near
the Hunters' Bog, they discovered a boy lying at the foot of
the ledge °frock, beneath the petit that is the usual ascent
to the summit of Arthur Seat, and from which he apparently
had fallen. The poor lad, whose bead was severely cut and
profusely bleeding, and who had sustained various other in-
juries, stated that he was going up the bill after the review,
to see the sappers and miners working at the top, but had
fallen over the crags. He conk.' irortelt how long he had
father'shw ea
Ale walk .a:hmayoffeaserreawiAa
nie
i(sr,
severely...
ac
ne
lain, being so much stunned by the fall, and was unable to
ill
.bsetirnege t o; b
at anidn ewd
eh er
eige
raest
taok esna3t, othis
fathei's house in Lot hian.street. and we regret to say that
Aa
Tn
I.3EleßrcAu
AND
bp,. T
cßops.
—The month of May has, until the last few days, which have
been delightfully fine, proved most ungenial. In the early
part of the month there were several nights of severe frost,
while the days were remarkably cold, with bleak easterly
winds. Far and near the wheat has lost its fine colour and
assumed a yellow tinge. The early potato crops are formed,
and in some places look exceedingly well.— nishma„.