The Sun.
London, England, 1827-06-21 00:00:00

Session, but he feared it would be impossible. Many dif-
ficulties must necessarily attend the enactment of such a
measure; and among others he believed they could never
hope to pass the Bill without the compensation clause,
which, as the Hon. Member was well aware, could not he
satisfactorily settled in the short time that it was probable
would elapse between the present period and the end of
the Session. He did not hesitate to avow that the present
Bill was an improvement on that which he had introduced.
The fact was that lie had been much too scrupulous with
regard to the manner in which the jurisdiction should be
constituted, and upon other minor points. He was glad
that in that respect the Right Hon. Gentleman had not
imitated Eire. He believed, if once the machinery of the
County Courts could be properly put into action, one year
of experience would enable them to suggest more improve-
ments than they could hope to discover by the debates of
many years. There was one omission in the Bill now pro-
posed, but he believed it could be easily remedied : he
meant the want of a clause that would go to render the
practice of the different County Courts uniform. He gave
his support to the Bill, and expressed a hope that it might
he passed at the earliest opportunity in the next Session.
Mr. I-11331E was happy to hear the First Law Officer of
the Crown make admissions which, on a former occasion
he had seemed to disavow. He alluded to that Hon. and
Learned Gentleman's sentiments upon the subject of Im-
prisonment for Debt. In listening with pleasure to the
opinions which that Hon. and Learned Gentleman had
just expressed upon that subject, he could not but recollect
how that Hon. and Learned Gentleman had treated him
when he had proposed the very same measure which the
Right Hon. Member had now introduced to the notice of
the House. When lie had proposed it, the Hon. and
Learned Gentleman had treated it as wild and theoretical ;
but now it came from the Right Hon. Gentleman, it
I was a proposition very fit to be considered. He saw, from
this circumstance, that men and not measures were regard-
ed by the Hon. and Learned Gentleman, since to that which
he had before treated as highly imprcper, and which he had
met very cavalierly, he was now ready to afford his approba-
tion. He was satisfied that the construction which he had
put upon the conduct of the Hon. and Learned Gentleman
was correct ; and he thought that the House must agree
with him when they recollected the last words of the Hon.
and Learned Gentleman, who had said that the mea-
sure was now " in very good hands." These words plainly
shewed him that the Hon. and Learned Gentleman consi-
dered the measure had not formerly been in good hands,
and it also proved to him how much difference might be
found to exist in a measure according to the person from
whom it came. The Hon. Member then went on to say,
with reference to the proposition itself, that lie trusted the
Right Hon. Gentleman would bring in the Bill now, get it
printed, and go into Committee upon it, as the House would
then be better prepared for the discussion at the commence-
ment of the next Session. He wished to extend the ope-
ration of the Bill from debts of 101. to those of 15/. or 201.
He was of opinion that extension of the remedy was ne-
cessary, as, by the present system, a man could hardly ex-
pect to recover 15/., except by incurring an expence of
50/. or 601., to which might be-added the inconvenience
and the loss of time. He thought that the existence
of such a system was a reproach to the House, and not
only to them generally, but to the Law Officers of
the Crown especially. The Honourable and Learned
Gentleman (Sir C. Wetherell) who sat near him had his
sense of that reproach ; for though he had not been long
in office, yet he had been long enough there to have pro-
posed so necessary an alteration in the law. He admit-
ted that the measur was good as far as it went ; but his
complaint was, that it did not go far enough, and that,
when the country called for it, the Bill was to be post-
poned to next Session.
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL referred to what bad
fallen from the Honourable Member for Montrose on the
subject of the Bill which he (Mr. Hume) had introduced
on a former night, and which he (the Attorney-General)
had opposed. The fact was, that that measure and the
present were far as the Poles asunder.—[Mr. Hume said,
across the table, " that is your opinion."]—That certainly
was his (the Attorney-General's) opinion; and if it
were not the opinion of the Honourable Gentleman,
he must, in charity, impute it to the Honourable Gentle-
man's total ignorance of the subject. If he (the Attorney-
General) approved of the Bill now offered, it was not
because it was brought forward by a different individual,
but because the Right Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Peel) knew
more of the laws of the country than the Hon. Gentleman.
Mr. BRIGHT spoke to order, as the Attorney-General
had already delivered his sentiments.

Dr. PHILLIMORE thought that the House would not
refuse the Right Hon. Gentleman an opportunity of re-
pelling as gross a personal attack as had ever been heard.
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL added, that the Hon.
Member for Montrose, after he (the Attorney-General) had
spoken, took the opportunity, first, of misunderstanding
him ; next, of misrepresenting him ; and thirdly, of making
a personal attack upon him. If the Hon. Member for
Bristol interposed at all, he ought rather to have spoken to
order while the Hon. Member for Montrose was making

the attack. He (the Attorney-General) had no personal
animosity towards the Hon. Member for Montrose; but he
must say, that the Hon. Gentleman knew little or nothing
of the laws of England. He might be a good arithmetician;
he might be able, like a Solicitor of whom he had heard,
to calculate the compound interest of a guinea for a century,
on his thumb nail, but be might nevertheless be neither a
Solon nor a Lyeurgus.—(Cheers.)
Mr. WARBURTON supported the Bill, but wished it
to go through the Committee, that it might he as complete
as possible:
Mr. PEEL said, that he bad not brought the Bill for-
ward at an earlier period of the Session, in ccnsequence of
recent public events and of the labour he had undergone in
preparing the five Criminal Laws' Bills. Early next year,
he would proceed with his undertaking.—Leave was given,