Star.
London, England, 1830-05-12 00:00:00

THE ECCLESIASTICAL COMMISSION.

It is understood that the Ecclesiastical Commissioners,
amongst their proposed reforms, will recommend the abo-
lition of all sinecure places in the Prerogative Office,
such as those of clerks of seats, whose sole duty is that
of receiving the fees collected for them from the public by
their deputies.
Such ameliorations are doubtless acceptable,—their
principle is excellent. But if the commissioners content
themselves, as their predecessors did, with such petty re-
forms, they will accomplish but little. The sources of
the public grievances are to be found in the Courts. The
extortion of a few shillings, or even pounds, is a small
evil, compared with the delay of justice, and an ex-
pense which operates, in many cases, to a denial of jus-
tice. Both these evils are, as we have before urged,
mainly attributable to the system and practice of the
Courts. It is, therefore, only by a fearless application
of a radical reform to their very constitution, that essen-
tial relief can be insured to the public.
The absurd reverence for what is useless, and even
mischievous, merely because it wears tke erugo of anti-
quity,—a prejudice which has often obstructed the career
of improvement,—is fortunately upon the wane ; but the
most superstitious adorer of " the wisdom of our ances-
tors," might be conciliated in favour of interfering with
a jurisdiction which is an usurpation upon what is really
venerable—our old Saxon law. Selden (Opera, vol.
p. 1665) has demonstrated, that in respect to testaments,
the most important branch of the business of our eccle-
siastical courts, their intrinsical jurisdiction, is not given
either by the civil law or by the canon law : nay,
he cites canons and decretals which expressly rupudiate
it. " Generally," he adds, " the rest of them make the
civil law only the square of the jurisdiction of the pro-
bates ; and so it is truly affirmed in our books, that the
probate belongs not to the church by the spiritual law,
neither is any such thing given by any late bull er de-
cretal from the Bishop of Rome." It came into use,
as customary, about the reign of Henry 11. and it seems
to have been cunningly acquired through the dexterity of
the Court of Rome, and its augmentota et multiplex
avaritia, as Matthew Paris says, in consequence of the
judicial reforms introduced by William the Norman. In
ancient Saxon times, the ecclesiastical and temporal ju-
risdictions were exercised conjointly by the sheriff and
bishop sitting together, till they were severed by a law
of the Conqueror. The barons were probably easily re-
conciled to the gradual encroachment of the clergy in
this respect, because it did not affect them, their ma-
norial courts possessing an independent jurisdiction in
testamentatory cases, which subsists in some to the pre-
sent day.
It was our intention to have traced an ecclesiastical
suit through all its proceedings, for the sake of showing
their cumbrous, and therefore costly nature ; but even
a meagre outline would extend to an unreadable
length. A reference to any writer on the practice of the
civil courts will sufficiently show, that without a radical
change, delay and expense will continue to harass sui- '
ton, in spite of extrinsic reforms, of expedition-rules,
and regulated tables of fees.

The working agents in these courts are the proctors ;
and it is their cost, as before mentioned, which constitute
the bulk of a suitor's bill. Now it is somewhat extraor-
dinary, that although the fees and emoluments of the
judges and officiating officers of the courts, down to the
apparitor and crier, have been stated to parliament, there
has been no return, as far as we can discover, of proc-
tors' fees, though attempts have been made for that
ob-
ject. In the last session, the House of Commons called
for " a copy of the table of fees which proctors are au-
thorized to charge for business done in the ecclesiastical
courts in Doctors' Commons, and by which the judges,
registrars, or deputy registrars, tax the bills of costs, in-
cluding the table of fees mentioned in the 136th canon."
The return to this order, from the three deputy-registrars,
states that there is no table of fees that they are aware
of, which proctors are allowed to charge for business done
in court, except the tables of 1734 and 1825 (which
they must have known do not give the information
required ;) and that the table of fees, mentioned in the
136th canon, relates not to proctors, but to officers of the
court (are not proctors officers of the court?) and it is now
obsolete and not acted upon !
The following, then, is the anomalous system of these
courts in respect to proctors' costa :—The judge has no
jurisdiction over costs, which are the peculiar province of
the registrar ; the registrar's office is a sinecure, so that
the taxation of a proctor's bill devolves upon the deputy-
registrars, who are themselves proctors ; and to complete
the anomaly, there is no table of fees which proctors are
allowed to charge : consequently, a proctor may charge
just what a fellow-proctor, in the capacity of deputy-re-
gistrar, thinks reasonable ! This is a system open to ob-
jection, not only on the part of the public but of the pro-
fession, for it is easy to conceive thlinjustice to which
it might lead. It is but just to say, that the charac-
ters of the present deputy-registrars are, we believe,
above suspicion.—Morning Paper.

There were no less than 25 charity sermons preached
in 'different churches and chapels of the metropolis on
Sunday morning, on the produce of which, the wetness
of the day, however, was a sad drawback.
Emigrants to the United States should provide them-
selves with gold, as it bears a premium of eight per cent.
above the currency at any port of debarkatiou. They
should not burden themselves with luggage, wearing-
apparel only excepted.
However humble the dwelling, or scanty the store of
the Irish peasant, the houseless and helpless beggar
never in vain solicit,' shelter or relief at his hinds. It
has beau computed that the house of every pow labour.
ing farmer contributes, en the average, every year, no
less than one ton of potatoes, worth at least 30a, to the
satchel of the wandering beggar.

LAW INTELLIGENCE.
VICE CHANCEL COURT, MAY 11.
TYLER V. DRAYTON.

This cause was specially appointed for argument this
morning. The Solicitor-General, Mr. Home, Mr. Agar,
Mr. Pepys, and Mr. Knight, together with many gen-
tlemen behind the bar, were Counsel in it. The papers
were of extreme magnitude, and it is anticipated that the
case will take several days in argument. Some of the
learned counsel had 130 and 150 guineas with their
briefs. The object of the suit was to set aside u sale of
certain estates, and also for the purpose of declaring null
and void the deeds executed for that purpose.
ROLLS COURT, MAY H.