Star.
London, England, 1813-02-09 00:00:00

CHANCICRY SUITS.

Mr. WETHERALL, after some prefatory obser-
vations, moved for an account of all the orders made
by the Lord Chancellor, from the 25th of April to
the 25th of December last, on Bankrupt Petitions,
and others. And on motions in which Gentlemen
within the Bar were engaged on either side, distin-
guishing the motions of course.
Mr. ABERCROMBIE would not oppose the
motion of his Honourable and Learned Friend, but
as a Bill was now pending to give assistance to the
Lord Chancellor, he could not help thinking that it
was much more important to know the quality than
the quantity Of business transacted in Chancery in
any given period. As one of the printipal objects
of the pending Bill was, be:ides, to prevent the accu-
mulation of appeals in The House of Lords? it might
be, perhaps, more to.the purpose, to have an account
of the causes which had not been finally decided in
Chancery, than of the business done in that Court.
He alio wished his Honourable and Learned Friend
to qualify further his motion, by distinguishing those
petitions which required attendance. At the same
time, he was ready to allow, that there was no Court
in which, considering the nature of the business,
greater dispatch was used, or more economy of time
observed, than in Chancery. Having said thus much,
he hoped the observations he had made then, as well
as on former occasions, would not be attributed to
invidious motives.

Mr. WETHERAX.I. could not adopt the quali-
fications sitzgeiited by his Honourable and Learned
Friend. On the eve of discussion of the pending
Bill, it was natural for each party to move for the
documents which were to support their respective
opinion ; but certainly he could not blame his Hon.
and Learned Friend for not having anticipated him
in the motion be had just made, as he knew him to
be so good an advocate to call for papers subversive
of the cause he had embraced.—(Hear, bear.)
Mr. ABERCROMBIE disclaimed the title of ad-
vccate in that House, and, however he might act in
that capacity in other places, he should consider
himself as unworthy of his seat, were he to be actu
ated by the feelings of an advocate in discussing
national questions.—( Hear, hear.)
Sir SAMUEL ROMILLY observed, that several
petitions were also matters of course, and orders
were made on such petitions without the Lord Chan-
cellor once looking at them. In that case the opinion
formed on the number of orders would be extremely
fallacious, and he wondered his Hon. and Learncd
Friend had not also made mat distinction.
Mr. M'ETHERALL explained the way in which
he had used the wind advocate," and conceived
there was not the most remote degree of probability
that he should hive any intention, directly or indi-
rectly, of offending his Hon. and Learned Friend, Or
any Member of that House, the very firs- Lim.- he hid
tie honour of addressing them—(t! ar) Ac to the
observations of the last arned Speaice. .c h d fti ob-
jection to .modify his motion according to his bugges-
tion : indeed, he should have wished for Cie most d:-
tailed and most explicit return, had he nok been
aware that it was almost impossible.
Sir SAMUEL ROMILLY then moved, as an
amendment, to add the words, " distinguishing also
orders on petitons of course ;" and the motion, so
amended, was adopted.