The Sun.
London, England, 1821-03-13 00:00:00

FOR THE .SUN.

SMALL DEBTS.
MR. EDITOR—A bout this period last ‘yeat., or
somewhat earlier, I submitted to the Public,
through the channel of your Paper, the Abstract
of a Bill in Parliament entitled "An Act
for the more convenient recovery of Small
Debts in England and Wales," to_the principle of
which measure Lventured•to signify my appro-
bation.

That Bill was introduced by a distinguished
Law Lord, and emanated from a Report of 'the
Committee of the Upper House, made after long
consideration, and an ample detail of evidence,,
which Report is now before me. A similar mea-
sure in principle is now introduced in the House
of Commons, and a second reading of the Bill' is
appointed for Thursday next. On examining
the several and respective clauses of each Bill
find them perfectly analogous in their object.,'and,
-ain therefore alike friendly to either. The Bill
recently introduced by Lord A I.IIORP is "for
preventing delais and expentesintheproceedis
.County Courts, and for the more easy mid
speedy s•ecorc'ry of Small Debts in England and
Wales ;" and in the preamble to it the reason
stated for its necessity is, that " the proceedings
in County Courts have been found vexatious,
expensive, and dilatory, and it is therefore expe.
client, to enlarge the jurisdiction, and alter tie
mode of proceeding in such County Courti."
That the necessity of some such a measure,
for the more speedy recovery of small debts,
has been long felt, cannot be better exemplified
than by the folloWing Extracts from the Report
of the Committee in the House of Lords alrehdy
adverted to :

smm,r, Dears.--Were not the evidence irrefragable,:nue
could scarcely persuade oneself of the mischieroas rikoor
with which these minor Detits are sometimes pursued.
"'flee Creditor,- acting blindly under the direction of his
Attorney, overwhelms the Debtor with costs, the amount of
which the Creditor cannot subsequently take upon, ,hiruself ;
itraJ he is thence, howsoever he may relent and, repent his
precipitancy, obliged to leave the wretched sufferer in prison.
" Two instances will suffice' as a specimen of a multitude
which could be adduced, and they are stated in evidence.
" The circumstances of these women, which point them out
as of the industrious class; the nature of the articles for
which they became indebted, ot.vipusly absolutely • 'reces-
s:l-ries ; and the trifling anviunt of their respective failures
towards their Creditors ; must indicate how unequitabfy so
sevei ity attached upon them.
" Where are many
.local jurisdictions for the decision of
Small Debts; several of them, no doubt, may work Well."—
The plans have -all been good- in theory ; some have been
useful as:long as the disinterested zeal of the promoters sun-
tinned to controol the proceedings, but their powers have
been perverted when those persons no fonger existed to re-
gulate the applicatiOn."
Others,4lere is reason to fear, may have, front the out-
set, been the projects of interested men, to secure to them-
selves a !iterative practice; and it-is needless to say what
would soon be the operation of a jurisdKtion framed in that
view."

" Perhaps it might not be impracticable by a selection of
tLe best provisions of some of those local Acts, with proper
guards against abuse, to frame a general and useful system
for the in►u►ed:ate determination of minor claims."

Slit re tklt UK' of the present practice are
1144 With evil, and do not answer the purpose which the
Cri ditor means to effect by it ; that the whole of the
scions to be absorbed in Law expences ; and there is
scarcely one Creditor in :n that receives one shilling of
dela above costs :--

mar,. m;,..li!and, aged '5, incapable of gaining a liveli-
hood, and confined for L I. 173. I id.; her debt for linen and
cotton goods, sEVEN sn I ; -Costs, 9). 15s. I rd. ; in ad-
nil ion to which the Prison Fees amounted to IL 155."
."fbe next case is Margaret Ashton, aged 66*, widow, a
cotton we:Aver, and confined for NI. 13s. St!. ; her debt was
for Hour, cheese, and -butter, is. Ad ; Costs, .91., lbs. 11d. ;
Pri, on Fees 21..10i.

The third case, Elizabeth Gosling, a widow, aged 48, a
tzawhrmount!, had two child! en both wider 14 years of age;
her dela lot linen and cotton goods, 11. 10s. 6d., costs,
:11. :is. 3d.; l'ris,nt Fees, IL I ss.—Tntal, 131. Ss. 9r1,"
And it is further stated, that out of 520 Credi-,
tors, who held .as many Debtors' in Prison for
small suers, 458 did not receive •one slatting V
e:ther Debt or Costs. And in the average of 100
cases.of confinement for small sums, mostly under
201., the money paid as a composition for reliev-
ing the Debtor from 'confinement, was leth than
the costs incurred in sueing for the Debt.

•
Front the conclusions drawn in the Report of
the
.Committee in the "louse of LordS, and under.
a convietion of the truth resulting from the evi-
dence; the necessity of some preventive measure
against the expellees and delay which have
hitherto attended the ractice of suing for Small
Debts is manifest ; and the foregoing extracts are
submitted for the purpOie
on which the measure now before Parliament is
considered to rest. of showing the ground

I am, Sir, your's,
cAN DUS.

NlarLb 32, 1821.