Star.
London, England, 1823-06-06 00:00:00

r ems, such as theatrical estahliAiments—(A laugh).
And he would also remark to his brethren of The
Bar,, if they found fault with the delay which ex-
isted, that they sometimes contributed to it by the ex-
treme length of their arguments. When all these
things were considered, he thought he had a right to
say that the arrear of business was not great in pro-
portion to that which was done. It was said that the
Noble and Learned Lord took large time to consider
before he gave decisions ; and from that he would
not shrink. He held it necessary to public justice
that large time should be taken : and the manner in
which his decisions were given would make them the'
foundation of a system of Equity Lsw, by which
the property of the People of England would here-
after be secured. He knew that every lawyer would
agree with him when he said that the judgments of
Lu-LI Eldon-would go down to posterity as a guide
to future Judges, and a direction to future Counsel.
—The whole argument of the Honourable and
Learned Gentleman, whatever his motion was, was
directed against the slowness of the Lord Chancellor.
The only object to which inquiry could lead must
consequently be the removal of Lord Eldon. He
would ask the House if they could entertain the idea
fora moment of going into such an inquiry in the
month of June? Panegyric upon that Noble and
Learned Lord would be from him presumptuous;
but he would say, that he had held his great station
for a number of years with great service to the Pub-
lic, that his learning was universally acknowledged,
and that his integrity was unimpeached. Yet it was
now attacked for the first time, and if the House went
to the Conimittee, it would be for the tsial of the Lord
Chancellor. For his`own part he sh6uld object to an
inquiry, which he believed in his conscience could

lead to no good. Before he sat down, he would read
to the !louse what he believed ought to be the an-
swer of every honest man to the only charge which
could be made against the character of Lord Eldon.
During the reign of Louis XIV. there was a Chan-
cellor of France, against whom the only charge was
dilatoriness in decisions. One day his son told him
of these rumours, and he made kim the following an-
swer My child, when you have read what I have
read, seen what I have seen, and heard what I have
heard, you will feel that upon any subject of which
you know much, there is mach that you do not know.
Yon will then be sensible of the mischievous and

ruinous consequences of the smallest error committed
from want of reflection"—(Hear, hear).
Mr. ABEItCROMBY said that he was about to
state not his own opinion, but that which, he was con-
vinced, was the opinion of the great majority of the
country as to the character of Lord Eldon. He was
admitted to be a man with most extraordinary acute-
ness of understanding, and to possess the most sound
and correct judgment. But his best friends would
allow, apart from debate, that there was an unfortu-
nate hail mity of mind which intercepted the opera-
tion of tkose qualities to the detriment of his future
fame, and tl the great loss and inconvenience of the
Public. Tae Hon. and Learned Gentleman then
contended Oat the present was a new era in the state
of the Lourt of Chancery, which called fur the at-
tention of that House. The House of Lords were,
about to restore the Lord Chancellor to his own Court,
and then it would be necessary for that House to re-
consider the principle and operation of the Vice-
Chancellor's Bill, and to remove it if desirable. The
people of England had a right to the decision of the
Lord Chancellor, and now they could not obtain it
without first travelling through the trouble, delay,
and expense of an inferior Court. He called on his
Hon. and Learned Friends opposite to.shew him the
time when an appeal was entered, when it was put
.upon the Lord Chancellor's paper, when it was heard,
and then when judgment was given. These were
matters of dates, and upon this he would be content
to rest the question—(Hear, hear). When these dates
were produced he would take as a standard the quan-
tity of business dispatched by Sir W.Grant. Upon
these grounds he thought inquiry was necessary, and
the I louse would not do its duty if it refused to inquire.
Mr. WETHERELL said, that though unconnected
with Lord Eldon, and not feeling the slightest per-
sonal interest in the present question, he could not
agree to going into a Committee on the data urged
by his Hon. and Learned Friend. He had voted for
the Vice-Chancellor's Bill, and would do so again,
from a conviction of the utility of the office. He was
not prepared to admit that appeals from the Rolls or
Vice• Chancellor's Court could not be heard by the
Lord Chancellor in less than two years; but even if
the delay were as great as that, he would contend,
that such a delay would not warrant the overturning
of the whole mechanism of our Coarts of Equity.—
The Honourable Member had certainly disclaimed
everything like personal imputation upon the Lord
Chancellor; he had said that he spoke de re, and not
de persona; but if he condemned the thing which ex-
isted, did he not of necessity condemn the author
that thing ? The Hon. Gentleman said, that he derived
all his information, that was, his facts, from one office.
He (Mr. Wetherell) had been concerned in more than
one of the cases which the Hon. Member had cited.
He knew the (ffcina from which the statements of
the Hon. Gentleman had been supplied ; and he would
say, that there were some of those cases cited, which,
if they were meant to be connected with the personal
conduct of the Lord Chancellor, were foul and slan-,
derous falsehoods.. In the case of " Beer and Har-
wood," it was alleged that the Lord Chancellor had,
directly or indirectly, given out a collusive and sun.'
reptitious decree. He (Mr. Wetherell) denied thai
charge, let it be brought forward in what manner it
might. He would say to the man, whoever he was,
that originated such a calumny, mentiyis impudextis-
time —(Laughter). He did not see how, because
Baron Garrow was ill, and Baron Graham was old,
and that there were delays in the Court of Exchequer,
the Court of Chancery was to be vaccinated, if be
might use the expression, by the delays in the former
Court; or that they were therefore to go into an in-
quiry into the Court of Chancery on that account.
He could mention a singular fact ; and that was, that
there never had been but one of the present Lord
Chancellor's decrees in Chancery reversed by appeal
to the House of Lords daring a period of twenty-two
years. He had often heard that an appeal from Lord
Eldon in Chancery, to Lord Eldon in the House of
jaords, was an appeal from Czsar to Czsar ; but there
was Lord Redesdale, and others, to check him. He
preferred dull truth and accuracy in judgment, to
brilliant and expeditious error. The Gentlemen op-
posite seemed to think that expedition was everything,