The Sun.
London, England, 1842-03-02 00:00:00

rity after A sharp and severe struggle with the other House
of Parliament, and he trusted their Lordship, would not now
consent to lose that authority, either by delegation or by the
contrivances of his Noble and Learned Friend. He (the Lord
Chancellor) would not go now into the details of the measures,
but he really believed that when his Noble and Learned Friend's
Bills came on for consideration, not one of them would be found
deserving their Lordships' countenance and support; as he also
believed that when considered by the legal profession at large,
they would not meet that approbation which his Noble and
Learned Friend, by anticipation, seemed to think they would
receive.

_
Lord COTTEN HAM bad listened with interest to the pro-
positions of his Noble and Learned Friend, and approved of a
great deal of what he said ; no wonder, perhaps, because it was
to a a great extent a repetition of theplan he( Lord C.) proposed
with such ill success in the House in 18,36. He proposed that there
should be a permanent head of the Court of Chancery , but he
thought, that so far from being injurious, it was highly beneficial
that the separate tribunals of the Judicial Committee ef the
Privy Council, and of the House of Lords, should exist ; for
he did not see why or how disputes upon the personal and
landed interests of an individaal should come before one tribunal.
His wish was, that the Lord Chancellor, the head of the House of
Lords, should alternately preside at appeals before their Lord-
ships, and before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.
This plan would supersede the necessity of the proposal of a
Judicial Session of their Lordships. But, while the recent
experiments in the Court ef Chancery were in operation, he
opposed the present Bills. Whilst the experiment made by
Noble Lords was actually in operation, it appeared to him that
it was not wise to enterpose and undo, in the month of Feb-
ruary, what their Lordships had done in the month of Septem-
ber. Not. losing sight of the proposition he ( Lord Cotten-
ham) hadmade in 163'i, he thought it would be still a very great
improvement, and that it would secure a permanent interest
and advantage to the Court of Chancery, and to the suitor ,
and to the public.
Lord BROUGHAM would take that opportunity to express
the opinions he entertained, notwithstanding the very able and
important observations made by his Noble and Learned
Friends. When there was no arrear, he (Lord Brougham)
thought that the Equity Courts would have been sufficient as
they were constitu!ed before the recent charges had been made ;
but at all events he thought that one additional Judge would
have been enough to dispose of the arrear. That arrear had
been got rid of ; the Bill having passed in September, and hav-
ing come into operation in November, only four months had
elapsed, and these four months had amply sufficed to get rid of
the arrear. When the Bill passed, the arrear consisted of 508
causes, that was in Michaelmas Term ; there were upwards of
200 new causes since then, but these 200 new causes could not
be said to be in arrear. Now there were of the entire number
132 causes ready for hearing, and no more ; of these, 32 were
set dawn since the month of February—within the last fort-
night. Those, therefore, were to be taken as new causes ready
for hearing. There were 200 causes entered since Michaelmas
Term, and now it appeared that the whole arrear was disposed
of. He ( Lord Brougham) heartily rejoiced at it, for the sake
of the Court of Chancery, and for the sake of the suitors, much
more than for any temporary triumph he might have over the
learned and experienced practitioners who had been examined
before their Lordships' Committee, and from whom it appear-
ed, that if their Lordships had appointed a dozen Vice-Chan-
cellors, their Lordships could not do too much for the suitors
and the Court of Chancery, and the due despatch of business.
When the obstruction ceased, the arrear of the Rolls' Court
and the Court of Chancery had been cleared off, the consequence
was that there was a very considerable addition to the number
of bills filed—the removal of the obstruction made a gush, or a
rush as it were, into the Court for a short time, but that in-
crease of business was not permanent or lasting. After the arrear
was disposed of, the business had increased very much, then the
usual number of bills were filed, but not more than those filed
in a corresponding time in former periods. With respect to
the measure before their Lordships, he thought that many of
the objections that had been raised to the present system were
inherent in an appeal jurisdiction. With respect to the con-
stitution of the Judicial Committee, he thought his Noble
Friend was mistaken with respect to it. It was not correct to
say that any one presided in that Court. Properly speaking,
the Judges took the causes in rotation. The want of a bar
had been objected to by his Ni.ble Friend, but he was afraid that
no change in the appellate jurisdiction would affect that..
He greatly doubted that there was enough of business to occupy
a distinct court. Looking over several years, the average sit-
tings of the Privy Council were not more than forty days in
the year, and that was certainly sufficient, as there were abso-
lutely no arrears ; and there were but six appeals set down for
hearing, and of these five were from the native Courts of In.
dia. The number of days necessary to dispose of the appeals in
that House, was not so much as his Noble Friend on the Wool-
sack had supposed. It was no more than 70 or 80. Now then,
to the 40 days occupied by the business of the Privy Council
they would give 120 days, which was not enough t.) furnish em-
ployment for a distinct court, and Judges having nothing else to
do. He ( Lord B.) had some slight pretensions to prophetic
visions, and he would not predict that his Noble and Learned
Friend's Bill, having been adopted by the Legislature, would
fail ; but he feared he must predict that, particularly after the
observation of his Noble and Learned Friend on the woolsack,
he (Lord Brougham) very much apprehended that the measure
would never advance to the grace of an experiment.
( Laughter.) Far different from the fate of the Bill of his
other Noble and Learned Friend near him, which so far justi.
fled the fears he (Lord Brougham) formerly predicted, that
though working well in some instances, it really defeated its
own objects by excessive success. Upon the whole, before
finally making up his mind, he should wish to have an oppor •
tunity of examining his Noble and Learned Friend's plan in
detail. As at present advised, lie conceived that the evils
complained of were not of a practical nature. Some of them,
however, were perfectly inseparable from any system.
Lord CAMPBELL said he had given public notice of his
intention to bring forward this subject, and he had therefore
thought it unnecessary, before he stated his plan, to
trouble their Lordships by entering into details.—.
( Hear, hear.) When this subject was deliberately con.
sidered, if their Lordships came to the conclusion that
that there ought to be in this country, as in other civilised
countries where law was a science, only a single tribunal of
appeal—if their Lordships should be of opinion (and he was
happy his Noble and Learned Friend [Lord Brougham] kept
his mind open on the subject ; and he trusted that that Noble
Lord would not fulfil the prophecy he had thrown out, of defeat-
ing the measure now introduced—he who had considered juris-
prudence in all its bearings)—if they should be of opinion that
that anomaly should no longtr exist in this couotry—if in their
i decision they should make_ any selection between the Judicial
Committee of the Privy Council and the House of.
Lords, he trusted that the preference would be
given to the tribunal that he now addressed.—( Hear. )
He begged to tell their Lordships that it was not new to
him to propose measures for the amendment of the law;
those measures had now become the law of the land, and be
I hoped the time was not far distant when there would be but one
j Court of Appeal.
The Bills were then laid on the table, and ordered to be
printed.
, The Duke of BUCCLEUCH laid certain papers on the table
j by command of her Majesty.
The House then adjourned.