The Sun.
London, England, 1850-05-06 00:00:00

ant -311tIte
•

LONDON, MONDAY, MAT 6, 1150.

The principle of the County Courts Extension Bill
baring been approved of by a large majority of inde-
pendent Members of Parliament, and accepted,
although reluctantly, by the Government, will un-
doubtedly pass into a law during the present session.
It is, therefore, exceedingly desirable that a matter of
such ♦ital importance to the great body of the people
should be fully and maturely considered, that the
acknowledged evils of the existing system should, as
far as practicable, be remedied, and its defects and
omissions supplied, so as to provide a complete-code
for the enforcement of civil rights by a cheap and
expeditious procedure. Even limited as the juris-
diction has hitherto been, the establishment of these new
tribunals has exercised an extraordinary influence on
' the state of the nation. The sums at stake, though,
small in individual cases, were in the aggregate of
immense amount, and if we consider the means and
resources of the classes who were chiefly concerned,
either as suitors or defendants, were, possibly, of
greater comparative importance than those which come
before the superior courts for adjudication. The in-
dustrious classes were (as we have already shown)
practically debarred from enforcing their just
rights by a salutary dread of the enormous
and ruinous expenses to which they would be sub-
jected from the very commencement of the proceed-
ings. At every stage heavy fees had to be paid, that
materially swelled the costs, so that the final issue,
which might be determined on grounds totally apart
from the real merits, became a question of life or
death. The delays, too, that might be interposed be-
fore final judgment could be obtained were of the
most vexatious and harassing character. These were
the grievances that required redress, and for which
the County Courts Act was intended to provide ade-
quate remedies.
But a grave mistake was committed in the
very outset. In place of making the Courts
free to every claimant—in place of permitting
every man who conceived himself to be ag-
grieved in any respect to demand his rights
without impediment or obstruction, the most vicious
and objectionable portion of the former system was
retained. Fees were still to be paid to the various
officials, and no step could be taken without the
satisfaction of these demands. It is through the
operation of this system of fees that we
find such pleasing sinecures to have been
created as the Registrarship of the Pre-
rogative Court of Canterbury, to which we alluded
on Thursday last, where an idle gentleman re-
ceives his 12,0001. per annum for doing nothing! I
It is from a similar cause that the country is now
saddled with the payment of 8,8441. 18s. Bd. to the
Earl of ELLENBOROUGH, and 30,0001, per annum to
four of the retired six clerks, with reversions to their
executors or administrators for seven years after the
death of the fortunate holder. It was on the same ac-
count that the " black list" of sinecurists, that reflects
disgrace on every former Administration, came into
existence. The nation would speedily have become
disgusted if these enormous sums were paid directly
from the Exchequer by way of salaries, and per-
mitted to appear prominently in the public accounts.
But almost any jobs could be perpetrated with im-
punity, almost any abuses would be tolerated, so
long as the accounts were levied by fees, and did not
come under the cognizance or control of the Legisla-
ture. The different Governments who, during the
continuance of rotten boroughs, were compelled to
purchase the disinterested support of the so-called re •
presentatives of the people, naturally admired a system
that enabled them to commit acts of the grossest bri-
bery and corruption without discovery, and no
change was introduced that did not create
new fees for the payment of public functionaries,
who should have been paid for the services they
were required to perform from the public purse,
and from no other source whatsoever.
When the County Courts were established this
vicious principle was, as we have already stated, still
retained. The judge was to receive a fee, graduated
in proportion to the amount of the demand, on the
issuing of every summons, "on every hearing, with
or without a jury," and "on every order or judg-
ment, or application for an order." The fees to the
clerk, according to a graduated scale, were much
more numerous, being under no less than twenty-one
different beads. Thus, in a case where the demand
exceeded 101., we find that the clerk was entitled,
among others, to title following fees, if founded on
contract ; if founded on tort they were higher.
For entering every plaint and issuing summons
thereon ••• ... • • ... ••• .£0 3 0

Every subpoena, when required ... 0 1 6
Every hearing trial or nonsuit, without a jury 0 2 0
Adjournment of any cause ... 0 2 0
Entering and giving notice of special defence 0 2 0
Swearing every witness for plaintiff or defend-

ant . . ••• ... ...
Entering and drawing up every judgment and
order, and copy thereof ...
Paying money into Court, and entering same
in books, and notice thereof, or of sum in
full satisfaction having been paid into Court,
each instalment or payment ... •••
Paying money out of Court and taking receipt,
exclusive of stamp ... ... ... 0 1 0
Every search in the books ... ... ... 0 1 0
Issuing every warrant, attachment, or execu-

0 0 6

0 2 6

0 0 8

0 2 6

non.- ... ... es.
Supersedeas of execution, or certificate of pay-
ment, or withdrawal of cause ... 0 1 6
Warrant of commitment for an insult or mil-

0 1 0

demeanour in Court ... ••• •••
Entering and giving notice of jury being re-
quired ... ... ... ••• •• 0 2 0
Issuing summonses for jury ••• ••• 02 0
Swearing jury .„ ... •.• ••• 0 1 6
Every hearing, trial, or nonsuit, with a jury 0 5 0
Taking recognizance, or security for costs 02 6
Inqagunraidrnyttaotifitnogsufficiency of sureties proposed,
bond on
n
Taxing
The
h coatsil iiff.
sb. : removal of plaint, or
new trial, or other occasion ... 0 2 6
The demand:
••• ... ... ..• 0 2 0
eorne
tihneliksueimtoarnnfoerr ejxucs.etiecdei,nagnlyd
heavy.eventually on the perhaps embarrassed defendant, if
he could contrive to liquidate the costs, were very
oppressive, and gave occasion •
conceived, for many well-founded as
might
ed co
fact fully admitted by the Attorney-General.
Committee
G eneearsy
aill oben
Thursday during the dispassion
mmittee on the
various clauses. It is true that the
parties
thediridonot
become absolutely entitled to these fees
for
benefit, for where they appeared to be mere the: a w
ficient a Secretary of State might order lfn-
cer-
tain part only to be paid, the residue to
go to thw general fund of the Court. This pos-
sible application did not, however, render them
less onerous or vexatious to the parties—to the plain-
tiff; by whom they were paid in the first instance,
or to the defendants, on whom they would eventually
fail ; and they constituted a real grievance and
a serious impediment to the beneficial operation of
the law.
The measure nowbefore the House, excellent as it
is in some respects, made no effort to remedy this ad-
mitted evil ; on the contrary, it would, as originally
aggravated framed, have materially the nuisance. The
Attorney-General, however, moved an amendment,
s carried without a 'which after some discussion wa
divi-
sion, to the effect that "the
fees now payable upon
,in
plaints above 101. shall be the fee to be taken
Plaints above 201. The charges above referred to
will therefore be the charges in force under the new
statute,
But Why, Nye ask (with
the Ilon. and Learned i
if it Should finally pass in its present form.