The Sun.
London, England, 1816-05-04 00:00:00

IiNIPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

TIOPSE O 1 LORD'S, FRIDAY, MAY S.
A person from the Stamp-Office presented an
Account of the Stamps issued for Country Bank -
tkotes, moved for by , Lord LAUDERDALE find
anothhr tram the Chamberlain of Londiin's Office
presented papers. Laid on the table.
The Earl of ALBEMARLE presented a 'Petition
from the Agriculturists of Norfolk, praying re-
lief. Laid on the table. • •
The Earl of LAUDERDALE moved for • certain
fin 'her Returns on the subject .4f Bank
.Notes in
circulut ion. Ordered.
The Transport Contract Bill was read ft second
lime, and the'Custorns Duties Bill was conunitted.
ANIENDMENT OF THEfr STATUTE BOOK.

STAN Hors. rose. pursuant to notice, to call
the attention of the House to the confused state
-of the statutes, and to propose a remedy for that
inconvenience. The Noble Earl said, there was
1,0 subject on which the'Noble Lords could be
summoned of mote transcendent, importance than
the motion
,he was then to bring htflore them. It
was to' bring under codsideration the Statute
Book, itself, and all the laws therein contained.--
It Noble Baron,. not then in' the House :(Lord
.(;ren% ilk), in 1809, moved that several of the
J tqlges' should prepare and lay before the House
ti li,ll for •redtteing isto one Act all the laws in
force, and imposing the penalty of death for
resistance to the Revenue Laws. The Act of the
of the King accordingly reduced into
• one • Act all the Laws on the subject.--
'lke House, on that occasion, was sensible of
the advantages to he derived from the change„ and
lie called upon thenOin the".present instance to go
furs her,, .and make Abe change general'. Actuated
by the principle sanctioned .by'the Noble Sarno,.
he moved in a former Session of Parliament (and
- moved succesfully) drat-the Judges should be. in-
suucted to compress into one Act all the.taykin
force-for' inflicting the punishment of pillory.-'-
The Judges, in pursuance of that instruction,
byught in a Bill,wbich thee laid on the
)11per was attached to the Bill, in which the
Sedges made .the following observation-rbe
punishment of pillory is Octi only punishable
the solute, but by common law: These are all the-.
casekt bat occurred to its, but We cau by no Menus
take on ourselves to saY,.thaf there may not be
othcra of the same haVe escaped atir
observation." Tisis.' the Noble: Lord considered,
a. fair and horrourabteaditii.psion' Mil the part' of
the Lords Judges, that statutes milibiliave escap.,
ed them. The fact. was, overlooked
two most important statutes., namely; the 2d.of
George.H. and the Sls't george III; By. the
first of those Acts, the crime of perjury was not
only made peeiSliable by pillory, but transporta-
tion fur seven yeasts: The 3lst of .Geo. 11. cap,'
Io,.section 34, made the taking of false oaths, to
obtain seameos,' wages, felony, withoht benefit of
Clergy. In the loterinitance the penalty of death
was the punishment for perjhryi and it their Lord-
ships referred to the 3tidgea liill,they would fitid it
not mean tiitlaroviany Maitre on
tile Judges ; but the.csrcumitande ot-overlooking.
the above statutes was elioitgli Co verve the statute'
book was. confused and incorrect:. It Was in such.
a state,tbat no: lawyer, coettl get at its contents.
Their Lordships were awere that the trial of War-
ren. 1-1 list jags lastedsii years. During 'that "trial
lie was fretoiently resew, and had opportunities.
of askingior information of that excellent -man,-
the Baron of the Kxeriegiter, Lord Chief Justice
The- Learned •Jeilges gave him all the in-
fgrutalon Ise, could require, 'and he was 'enabled
to learn the differenca'of opinion which prevailed
On 'the effect and meaning Of the various
tines. A Leas tied Gentleman, Mr. Selby, bud
published„two.book on the SuliSect of Trusts and
rowers,, lu-Whlch it appeared there were not less
1435 decided cases, differing in law points'
from each
,other. A gentleman, named Vinci*,
published 80 abridgement of the Statutes, some
years since, id 21 folio volumes.. Ar present the
abridgement would be twice that number of Yoe
lames. The law was so vague anti uncertaits as it
stoOd at present, that no man could acquire .a
knowledge of it. " The late Lord Thurlow,"
said Earl Stanhope, " and 1, had a dispute
in this Liouse about, the, sense of certain Sta-
tutes, anal It appeared he was wrung, and I
was right. It was, a feather in my cap to
get the better of such a man as Lord Thurlow,
I went to sit. on the TiVoOlsack, and Lord Thur.
Ivw said, in his peculiar tone of voice, I should
be ashamed if .1, did not know common law as
well as any man, but there is not a man who
knows contents of your d---d Statute Book,"
(A. latigh.)--Mr. Dunning and other great laWyers
had uniformly refuied to answer questions of
law ; they generally said, bring any Statute, and
we will endeavour to expound it. He could ap-
ply, with a view to correct the laws, the words of
:eript
• If the salt bath lost its savour, wherewith shall it be
solted ?"
—741 Dtmuinl and Lord Tbstrloor could not .ac-
quire a knowledge or the-Statutes, who could
it had been called glorious uncertainty by Law.;
yer.s, Worioas,. indeed, to them, but'inglorious
' to their unfortunate clients. 'The more the House
investigated the Subject, the more it would appear
like an Aegean stable. He complained of the
hraseology, and onser'ved, that the Code Napo-
leon, now used snider the Bourbons, .was wiitten
in'plain intelligible language. The House should
look to their Magna Charta, as' an example, of
plain wisdom .of our ancestors. Comparing it
14.101 the modern Statutes, the reader might say,
in the words used hy Hamlet, in the closet scene--
i 6 Look here upon this picture and this t"