The Sun.
London, England, 1850-03-26 00:00:00

CHANCERY REFORM.

Lord BROUGHAM presented a petition from the
Equity Committee of the Metropolitan Law Association,
praying for a reform in the practice of the Court of
Chancery. The Noble and Learned Lord then proceeded
to move the second reading of a Bill he had laid
upon the table of the House, and which was calculated to
carry out to a certain extent the recommendations of the
petitioners, he rue sot the Masters Jurisdictions in Equity
Bill. This Bill only applied to uncontested cases, cases
in which there could be no manner of doubt, but cases
in which under the present practice parties were exposed
to all the expense of a protracted litigation before the
Master, although there might be no mistake whatever.
As a proof of the necessity of this measure he could
relate to their Lordships cases of the greatest hardship
and oppression, occasioned:not by the fault of the Judges,
or of the Masters,lor of the clerks, or of the practitioners
lin the court, but of the law, and of the law
only. Indeed it was wonderful that under
the present state of the law any person
could be found who would accept the dangerous office of
an executor. The Noble and Learned Lord then entered
into a detailed statement of the usual steps taken
in as amicable Chancery suit, every one of
which was attended with enormous expense
and great delay, and which, when they
came on for hearing, did not occupy one minute each.
The Vice Chancellor had disposed of sixty such in en
hour, and yet from 2001. to 3001. had been expended in
each case before it had come on for hearing. But this was
only the vestibule. Well might Vice-Chancellor Shadwell
say, in one of these cases, Let the usual decree go for
the ruin of the estate, according to law." ,There must
be something rotten in the state of things when a
Learned Judge was obliged to use such language in pro-
nouncing his decree. The amount of the costs of these
undisputed cases to which he had referred was between
2001. and 3001.; yet, notwithstanding all this expense
about cases in which there was nothing to dispute, and
nothing to take, the first step had still to be taken, and
that was the Master's advertisement for the creditors.
The parties were yet only in the jaws of the dragon.
Was not that expense enough to wear down any small
property? There were thown in his way impediments
enough to prevent a poor man from getting io time what
perhaps would have kept him alive, and spared much
hardship and misery to many who were now driven to
madness and ruin by the delay in their cases.
" Vestibulum ante ipsum primisque in faucibus Orci,
Luctus et ultrices posuero cuhilia Curse:
Pallentesque habitant Morbi, tristisque Senectus,
Et Metus, et malesuada Fames, et turpis Egestas,
Terribiles visu formte: Letuesque, Laborque:
Tum consanguineus Leti Sopor, et male rnentis
Gaudia
. . . . et Discordia dolmens,
Vipereum crinem vittis innexa cruentis."
He had the means, however, furnished to him of pre-
venting these mischiefs. There was a wise, judicial,
experimental remedy furnished, not by the striking out
of any new ides, not by founding any new court, or es-
tablishing any other jurisdiction, but in the healthy ap-
plication of an Act which had already been found to
work so well, he meant the Winding-up Act. By adopt-
ing the principle and practice laid down in that measure
the expenses of all these cases he -had stated, instead of
amounting to between 2001. and 3001., would not be
more than ss. In addition to the saving of all the costs,
there would also be a large saving in every subsequent
stage of the case. He would then proceed to show their
Lordships, by a few illustrative cases from the Master's
office, how the present spits m worked. In one case the
costs had amounted to 7471., and it was three years and
a half in the office. Another suit, after four years' de-
lay, had increased to the sum of 1,7001. costs ; and if
what be then recommended was adopted the expense of
the case would have been comparatively trifling. Another
hostile suit—that of Digby—had been 15 years pend-
ing, and was still under judgment. He wished now to
allude to the effects of the Winding-up Act, in order
to show the inducement that existed for extending its
provisions to such cases as he had mentioned. No less
a sum than 270,000/. had been paid off under that Act
in six months from the time the order was sent to the
Master's office. In fourteen months debts amounting to
348,0001. out of 522,000/., and affecting no less than 600
parties, had been adjudicated upon. Since Christmas
one-half of the remainder of these debts had been dis-
posed of, and in all probability the other half would be
adjudicated upon before the end of Trinity Term. In
fact, the change produced in the mode of proceeding by
the Winding-up Act had been incalculably beneficial.
Under the old system the adjudication on the enormous
sum of 5(10,0001., to which he had just referred, would
have lasted for the best part of a century. lie might
mention another instance of the effect of the Winding-up
Act. The proceedings commenced on the Bth Jaatiary,
1850. the debt had been already ascertained to be
110,0001., and there was not the least doubt that within
a few months the case would be settled.
That was the case of " Walcot v. Hope," re-
garding which a suit had been instituted so long
as 1840. It was heard before the Chancellor, but it
was found impossible to wind it up, and recourse was
therefore had to a private Act to enable the court to
appoint a receiver, who from some cause had neither the
power to make an order nor to distribute the assets. An
order was made on the Bth of January, 1850, with refer-
ence to this very case, which had been found so imprac-
ticable. The proceedings were conduoted under the
Winding-up Act. The debt of 110,0001. had been as-
certained, and there was no doubt that before the end of
Trinity Term the matter would be settled. He thought
he had made out an irresistible case for the extension of
the provisions of so beneficial an Act as the Winding alp
Act. One part of the present system was most vicious—
he meant the mode in which solicitors were paid. A
man who brought talents, skill, industry to the service
of his employer, and whose education bad been of an
expensive kind, ought to be well paid. At present
solicitors were compolled often to take steps, not only
wholly unnecessary, but often dangerous to their
clients. They were not allowed to charge for that
for which they ought to charge, and they charged for
proceedings that might well be spared. They were not
allowed to charge for their labour in getting up evidence,
and they were not allowed, on taxing costs, to charge
for consultations, though, as respected both these points,
be believed there had been seme alteration. They were
obliged to draw up a long statement of many pages to
the great damage of their clients, instead of a short one.
Counsel had therefore to read a long statement instead
of a short one, and had to be paid in proportion, and
there was, alio, the charge for the engrossing clerk. He
should not wonder if one branch of the profession gained,
not at the expense of another, but at the expense of the
client. Such was the way in which clients were fleeced
by the law. As the law now stood it was the interest of
the solicitor to protract the proceedings, while it was
the interest of the client that they should be shortened,
for the greater the delay the larger the bill. He
thought the best way would be to pay the solicitor a
reasonable sum for doing the work, and not
make it his interest to protract the proceedings.
A great improvement had no doubt been made on
this head two years ago, when the Master, instead
of taxing costs, in certain cases awarded a sum according
to the amount and nature of the business done. That
was the case in the Leases Bill, and he thought the rule
might bo extended. The question of how much should
be done by order and how much by bill would be better
considered after the delay which he proposed. He was
clearly of opinion that it would be necessary to have an
Act of Parliament to make any considerable alteration
in that respect. A more respectable body of men did
not exist than the bulk of solicitors and attorneys, but
how often did the Court see, and how much more did the
Masters see, that the suit went on by the malpractices of
the solicitors, and that but for these malpractices it would
have been shortened long before? At present there was
no power of mulcting the wrong-doer. He should pro-
pose to give a power to the Court, subject, of course, to
the greatest guards against abuse, of throwing the bur-
den of the costs that ought never to have been incurred
on the wrong-doer whose malpractices had created them.
In conclusion, ho had only to state that he should be
t o glad
thist Bill,
o receive
the suggestions
second reading of which he now begged
to move.
from any quarter with respect

Lord LANGDALE would not oppose the second
resding.of the Bill if it was understood that he did not
thereby commit himself to all its details.—("Hear,"from
Lord Brougham). If the principle of the Bill was that
the expense and delay of proceedings in Chancery should
be lessened so far as was consistent with justice being
done to the parties, he should give it a hearty support.
He agreed with the Noble and Learned Lord that the
shortening the delay in the Masters' office was the first
step. He could not agree in all the details of the Bill,
but would reserve stating his objections for a future oc-
casion. With regard to the proceedings under the Wind-
ing-up Act, the Noble and Learned Lord should lave
recollected that there was not so much occasion for con-
sultations in the matters to which it related as in ques-
tions of estate and title before the Court of Chancery.
He believed, however, that some of the provisions of that
Act might very properly be extended. The mode in
which solicitors were paid was the root of the evil. They
were often paid for services of no value, and for many
important services they were not paid at all. Ho was
very glad that the Noble and Learned Lord had called
their Lordships' attention to the subject, and should be
glad to support some plan which would remove the evils
of the present system.
After a few words from Lord BROUGHAM, expres-
sive of his satisfaction at the course taken by his Noble
and Learned Friend, the Bill was read a second time.