Star.
London, England, 1825-06-08 00:00:00

from having causes placed in the parer postcon d froml
day to day to the grtar af the patties. Diys,
weeks, he might say years. Were tbus.wastvd, and he
wishe.l; so ntie -Tioncitit ble nikkiitii have
those pa per's, /of 'a Oita in r etitij laid I> eke'
that the name; on them might be, co ared,—(ffe
The system in this Watgrit into' di otidite SHilifile did
not deserve. Neithat could Ire avoid complaining of
the manner in whkh the ceerm's'i'nf Was composed,
nor of the delay now required before the Report would be laid on
the table. If the House *idled to ad girth sincerity, it would
accede to the nuatioh.nwhid bad his catiliit
. Sir M. W. RIDLEY said; the Cdfitt of Chancery
wr.s not the only Court of Justice where delays of justice
occurred. In the Exchequer Court he hid gained
301. or 401. a year, after a discussion of 12 yeari, at au
expense of 70001. or 8000l.—(Hens). He contended,
that the evil was to be found in the system alone, and
that the people placed .entire trust and confidence in the
judgment of Lord Eldon. Against the testimony of
Mr. Miller, whose work had bees quoted tonight, he
would oppose the sentiments of a publication, whiclf
was of a higher authority—he meant the Edinburgh
Review.--(Thi Hen. Mern(ier here read a' paisagefroml
the Review, in which Lord Eldon was represented as.
posiessing a sagacious and penetrating mind.)
Mr. JAMES (unlit (-rift of “QUestion") said;- te
,was not surprised at the invitience of the House; file
as they had been long in Chancery, they must bete*.
sarily feel some anxiety to get out of it. If, as an lion'
MeMber had stated, the recovery of 10/ cost at: the.
rate of 71.185. 6d., the Court of chatic:rt was a' Court
of Robbery and not of Equity. Ile was thoroughly
convinced that there Would be no Worm in that Court
till the House itself was refortned. .

Mr. BROUGHAM rose and, as soon as order was
restored, proceeded as folloiis :—I feel, Sir, in commbn,
with all the Gentlemen of the Bar,- who speak on this
subject, a great difficulty, for there is not an individuals
of more amiable habits, nor a Judge of more courteous
demeanour. or of greater civility to everybody about.
him than Lord Eldon; he exceeds in these kindly Ow.
lities-all the Judges whom I have known on the benchi
or ever had an opportunity of seeing. I have a repur
nance to stay a' harsh ward of Mat' who never says i
harsh word to any man at the bar, nor to any ore, id
the character of a Judge. In speaking of Lord Eldon,
not as a politician, but as aJudge, I do feel a repugnandd
to touch his conduet,• and the same repagninee viasfelt
by Sir Samuel Romilly, who I have heard detrare in
this House, that be never did, and never could speak
of the Lord Chancellor, in hi: judicial capacity,.
but with. respect. This is, Sir, I brlit:ve the feeling
of every-member of the profession to Lord Eldon as
.a Judge. But when `I speak of Lord Eldon as a pd-
litician, I shall have no objection to speak' hats*. of
him ; for, as a politician. there is no man who speaks
more harshly than Lord Eldon, and sayi-ftwer courteous
things. With respect to the observations of my*Hon.
Friend (Sir M. Ridley), in defence of the jodicial cha-
racter of the LOrd Chancellor, founded, on ati akiieleip
the Edinburgh E'eview, I cannot avoid reniarkiog, that
my Honourable Friend displayer( a digreeof acuteffess
which would have done credit to The deep learning (for
that was the.phrase) Of the Li'rtf*thaineellor ' •
He just read to the House on :half, of ,the character,
nay, not onehllf, but .one tenth part skd, the tithe
the lambs wool which that article contained, and 1.14
other nine parts he omitted. My own recollection of diet
arecle—ilA laugh) has been.assistecltiy,aPend near men
who has read the article later than me, and I find that
all the rest contains not only a severe, but:an iinaparing.,
although not an unjust, scrutiny 'of his demeriti;
I remember Mr. Butler, a most able men, and profound
scholar, for whom I entertain the highest personal re
gard, quotes an opinion of Sir Samuel Itomillyk in
which represented that great man to have .taid,4hat
of all ail Judges he bad ever knoWn,there Was not one
more able and ingenious. than Lord Eldon—mlre dis-
tinguished for his courtesy hi the Court Aver which he
presides, and for the powerful resources of his own
mind : but I remember very well, that whenever I
beard Sir Samuel Romilly give this character; he inva-
riably added, " but fiato a peculiar &instruction of
mind he is one of the worst Judges I ever knew"—(A
lturg4).—Now, Sir, with respect to the present motion,
if ever there' was one which stood upon grounds per-
fectly irrefragable, it is that of: my Hbn. Friend:
We have it all but supported by the Right Hon. Gene
tlentan (Mr. Pee), 'scarcely resisted by
.my, lion. add
Learned Friend (Mr. Courtenar). and ardently sup-
ported br mylicn.and Learned /fiend (De.Lushington).
It has beau said, 44 Put off the motion- till the next Sea-
skin.' But what was this more. than *rying, " Wait
for sit or seven, or eight months, until you hive such
a nun of evidence, that Hotourabba Members: can
read and inwardly digest—wait until after• Easter—the
calamities- of Ireland, the renewal of the' Insurrection
Act, all the wrongs of that country shill be discussed
and left uniedressed in the early part of the Session ;
foreign affairs shall also be disposed, oft..7the boister-
ouatorreut of the early, part of the Session shall have
passed away, and then this measure may sit in on
, the quiet back waters r but I can tell this House
that the consequence will lie, we shall be told then,
as we are told now, 0 Oil, it it to, late"—(Hear, hear).
The question, therefore, is not whether you shall hear
the evidence now, but whether the abases. of Chancery
shall be. inquired into next Session, or in the Session
after? for unless the evidence is received now, I despair
of seeing anything done within that period—( Meer).
My. Learnrd Friend (Dr. Lushingtonj tellsos that this
Commission has been fairly and impartially constituted.
With respect to himself, I fully admit it,; but whin. I
look at the other component ports of the Commission—
when I recollect the infirmities othwmanniouve—when
I remeMber that-there is inch a thing as gratitude for
past favours, and hos for the future-and when I
reflect how easily' all those causes may op-rate upon a
man's Mind, and• tinkly** to Mosel?, .1 regard the
d isc h argeof such- a !liar at in the highest degree difficult.
The Commission barbeen bereaved', f the assistance of
my Han. aedLearited Friend (Mr. Wilhami), who was
carefully ercluded; because he. *as most cOmpetent- to
inquire ;,of the valuable aid-of my Hon. friend (Mt. NE
4t. TaYlo),"('ittalgAjkiiigeltifiristetintliiitelies). Sir,
I will mulige to say tb,:ce t, no man in this liouse
better qualified kw• melt an- office than. m= H inoarable'
Friend—(ifirodeekrigiii).—Sie; shade lßte to stv those
men'who sneer wherit deliver my consCieati..lq opinion;
:AS to the abilities of my How. and. Fiend ; I.
do see, Sac, some Motoldess sastm the:.way who haver joat
Tenacity enough to count' ten Dior their haws—Oink
fuirghing).—t seepersoos of that dtscription who pre.
.sous: to sneer-.-meta wha :act to'sacteu, wh•!:,t
.at
he same time they must hacnnsciees that they at +lamer
• so pi u dertro s *heir sire? aid
Sir SA=4 lionliay,- a prior lawyer tetuibure, a art
.out acted' capacity corppatga with 'those G.ntt

opposite, considered that he could not:better employ his
,valatibie time, than by' nteetirl ehy HOnottrable and*
Lean* E!iesiskandcottaulting- with hie* *Ay after days
supporting hire,in pubtic ariliiiraltiote, itify Hon.
!and Leeined Friend* ttislil#iften) hat beittiwej
lomat credit Oft staying :IWO, When;
'ewer Witneitti Witte 'unlined; and only cursing dean
whenever a charge was made, boldly to meet it. A
charge, indeed ! what likelihood was there of it was
truly, very bold in that Noble and Learned Personage
to on "hose occasions: nothing Makes a
ilia% mote bOld than absolute safety, and the ctinsCious-
nein thererif.(tleers). The Noble and Le.rned
lord lays it down as a rule, that he would abstain
horn attendance during the examination cf witnesses.
" I will not," says he, " overawe by my presence an
enemy, encourage* a friend ; bat I shall take care
that such men shall set on that Commission that it
;Matteis not one straw Whether I am there or nat.
:You shall not be overawed by me, Oh. no. I shal not
'seven attend two day,s out of four. I shall only come
gown to meet the charges against me ;but I'll take
!if& good care who you are; I'll watch your'proceedo
rings ; 766 shati't know when I'm co•ring ; but I'll steal
upon you like a thief in the night''—(great laughter)'
'But let us see how this pure commission is constituted.
,At the bead stand's the Lord ChaniellOr himself. Next
'stands his old,, tried, right-hand..friend*.(Loid Redes-
.cfale), a man Who, mounted the laddei of political pre-
feirnent at the Same time With himself, but always
;stell'lsehind him. Thus, when Lord Redesdale
!came Chancellor in Ireland, Lord Eidun took the Seale'
Div E upland. " Him, therefore," says the Noble Lorff,
I deeni a fft'ind proper person to stand next to me
ihis-Corronission. Next shall come the Vice.ChaM•
celfce., an Officer of my ovrneourt." And who does
'the House suppose stands next? A Noble and Learned
lord who hat been just raised to the Peerage, and most
:assutsdly a person more qualified for the impartial
*discharge of such an office can hardly be imagined.—
To the. Lord Chancellor he owes all his fortunes; from
being a practising barrister at Exeter Sessions, he comes
up to London. and in thi ee 'weeks after he is made
Solicitor-General. He obtained all his reputation upon
tick and credit —(A Jaugh); and since that he has shewn'
nothing whatever to justify. in the mind of any man,
those expectations on which his elevation was founded
.an ascent upwards, I will venture to say, exceeded by
'none :except by those who go up in balloons—(Roars of
laughter). That Noble Lord has, however, tasted, not
the Royal, but the Cbancellarian bounty ; first, he was
,promoted to
.the Chief Justiceship of the Comings)
Pleas,,being the youngest Judge, except *Lord king,-
that ever held the office ; next, by a kind of unintelli-
.gjhle legerdemain, he was suddenly transfornied into a
NLIAer of the.RollHA laugh), the moil lucrative anal,
:least troublesome'of the law appointments; and, that
the latent lurking zeal for his adeancement miabi
be fully gratified, 'be is subsequently made a Peer
'of the Realm' • a Vice-Chancellor, and. Deputy
'Speaker in the House of Lords, and head journey-
man to' the Lord Chancellor (Great laughing)
We may, therefote„ easily conjecture with-What security
that Nobles Lard would be dispOsed to scrutinize di,:
conduct of the Lord Chancellor. He must, no doubt,
entertain the sentiment which Walpole calls gratitude,
and a lively sense of favoirs yet to come ; and indeed
he. has been mentioncd to enjoy to such an extent the
;special favour of the Noble Lord who at. present holds
the Seals, that it is thought he will inherit a legacy,
the most valuable indeed which any legatee can enjoy,
'fat it it.whisperel that he moths to demise him the
Great Seib-(A laugh)—for the term of his natural life,
for that is how the condition on which the office, is
itecepted; . Lord Eldon. has held it for 25 years, he now
means to ,bequeath it to Lord Giffutd—(Cheers). What
signifies it whether he-is in attendanceThet e?' Lord Gi!.
ford is at his post ; Lord Redesdale is not wanting; the
Solicitor-General is sure to attend ; Mr. Cox, the Master,
and others whousay beMastersinChancery,will not fail in
their attendance, for we find that CommisSioners do not
go out of the road orpreferment; and though they may
for a while linger' in the Salley of the. Shadow of En-
quiry, they will inevitably enjoy the delights of a happy
resurrection, and the Noble Lird, the great dispenser
of official bounties; will be their staff and comforter,
still to bear them up against whatever public obloquy
they have to encounter—(Greet applause and laughter).
Lot me, gays the Lord Chancellor, name my Judges.—
This Lord reminds me of a circumstance which once
occurred at a Country Assize. Thee was a case called
on at Westmoreland, it was the case of " Thompson v.
Jackson." In calling over the Jury, the name of John
Thompson was cried out." Are you any relation`to the
plaintiff?" said the Judge. 14 Why, please your Worship,"
says the man, " I is the plaintiff"—(A laugh).—So in
the present case, the inquiry affects the conduct of the
Lord Chancellor ; and when the name of John Lord
Eldon is coiled over amongst the Commissioners,
should he be asked whether he is any relation' to the
Lord Chantell-a. ? his answer must be, " Why, lis the
Chancellor." The poor.man had actually sworn wel-
and truly to try the issue before him, so help him Goo; '
but that would not 'satisfy the Judge. Here, however,
the Lord Chancellor is not upon his oath, and he is sue-
rounded by Men more wicked than himself—(A laugh)
—and this is what my_ Learned Friend (Dr. Lushing-
ton) calls a scrupulous inquiry. The two points to
which I understand the inquiry is limited are. the
extent of the jurisdiction and the practice of the
Court. I very well remember the time when a man
must lay his account to be charged with disaffec-
tion and ail kinds- of Jacobinism, if he dared even
to insinuate that the law was. deeetive, and our
system of equity susceptible of improvement. He
WAS immediately met with—" 0:0 for Goo's sake,
don't talk' about systems, they are the corner-stones of
our national prosperity, the sheet-anchor of our hopes,
the ground-work, the pillar, the bulwark of our Laws,
Religion, and Constitution. Defend all our systems,
by ail means defend them, whether it be our Parlia-
mentary system with our rotten boroughs—(Ueeers),
our Ecclesiastical system with exorbitant tithes, or our.
Judicial system with, Special Juries and translatiors of,
Judges." I have known men who were prosecuted—
.aye, and to conviction too, for having attacked the
system; and yet no man proclaims to us more loudly
thma the Right Her. Gentleman (Mt. Peel) that the
system is detective foam top to bottorn—(ifear,hear).—
I nod it hard to accoant for this now, upon any other
Around: than that it ants a purpose to abuse the system
mid screen the mat ; and consequently we hear,
night
,aftoenight, the system blackened much beyond its de-
,soreings. I wish m 7 Hon. and Learned Friend op-
posite Coo: te.taa ) would answer me this qoestion
If he were even to make a sign it would com-
,tbiciate-r-asatn°ly,, whether they meant to inquire ioto
tin protest° of I. e system or ot the man, and eake to
ibek'aid the v 'dors of: the- old practitioners? If my

..~

'• •

~,

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Hon. and Learned Fiend will,not tell me that such is

'lltatre been favoured withoi Oitogeaplr ic. Niel of poricAi
'the evidener,in which' I find art/pow of thi 441: ',How
!king cars Amen sit in theCottrt of c &wary?" The answer,
is, si No man can sit in the Court ofCbehee!isix howl'
and keep his mind stretched all the. time 7 „Now,.the
inference from this obeiousli is, -thatpittmg from len
to four the Chancellor emu's' not get throngh the busi-,
ness unless a miracle was wrought in.his favour. Alt is
it not strange. that witb.all. the learnins,both:cf 924- : ..
cery and Doctors Commons, which thatt Coornislion
contains, that this question should havebeen. allowesa t:s
stand still ? Why 'a boy,
.with his % it:on.for the hot
day, would have pushed the question further. He would
naturally have said, .4 WO have the major ptopesiti4o,
but not the minor," and he would have asked, "Dretti:Q.
Lord Chancellor, and the other Stinky:Jolt!. sit t;dc
hours every day with their minds stretched 411 thew hi lef".
'For without the second question, the, first leads tb no
conclusion. The great questi-n which the Commis-
sioners have to decide is„ Whether the fault or the.de.
lays in the Court of Chancery lies in the :Man or in
the Court? It is impassible that they.can determine
that question unless they have examined cause papers.
I ask if they have had those cause papers, sheeing %tow,
many.fies lave been paid in ccinsevence.of ths.delaye,
which have taken place day afterday, when jiidgMent
has been deferred, although that judgment has been
ripe? No. I will lay-my life that not one of thOse.,
papers has been found within the fOur corners of the
room in which the Commissioners have seventy times.
assembled. foam convinced thit. if ihey were to meet
seventy times seventy times, they *Geld not cA,II lor.
such papers.
~ It is for Patliament, then, to supertutendi
the proceeciiiigs of the Commission—it is for P?rliartent
to supply the deficiencies of that Commitsio:i Unless
this be done, the whole of the proceeding will be a
mockery of justice, even more shameful and disracettii
than that which I have always hitherto considered' .
at the grossest ever . palmed on the world; After
naming a Commission it the disCretion of the per-.
sea whoie conduct was to be enquired initsa Com-
mission composed of Masters of Chancery, a Selicitora
• General, favonritei of hiiown—after placinthimielf at •
the head of the bodyafter constituldlig himself the
. Foreman of the Jury—it will be too much 4 we permit
a ginning deficiency of evidence in an inquiry so vitally
intere.ting to the country. "fo the motion ( f my Hon.
Friend, the Member for Westminste-, no answer what.:
ever ligii" been made. _That motion has my liearty.sup-
port. If it be acceded to, it will coriect all the evil of
which we•complain ; if it be frustrated by a Ministerial majority;
it will be frbstrated at a moment* when I ash sore . *bole people'
rrC .of Roglaare-In its fivour—(Hear, bear): •
.
' Dr. LUSHINGTON, in eofdanatitstir could not ittlm.t
:that the Lord Chancellor had exercised,: any itifinenCe •
'whatev:r during the inquiry. He put it Co his brother
I •
'Commissioners, whether the Lord.Chaocellor had been
present at the examination of 'more than thret or four
witnesses, put of Abe whole number examined? They
hadfollowed tip the inquiry according to the plan Ar-
ranged by the Committee. The proper time. for in-
quiry into the conduct of the 'Lord Cbaticellor wuukl
be when the jurisd.ction of the Court was examined.—
In case they had gone further in the" examination than
the rules of evidence allowed, they could not have diss
charged their duty fairly. •
Mr. TINDAL wished to say a few wends on' the
question. Wheher the Report ought to be laid or. the
table, would depend on what had b en the course of
proceeding in the Committee. From the beginning of
the Commission, they had
.directed their attention to
two points: Ist, They inquired into: delay ; and, 2dll,
The expense in a snit, from its commencementliti C.4liii...
cery, to the termination. If they could prevent lelay
and expense, a great object would bt answered. In the
examination of witnesses, they had 'proceeded fairly, .
and to the best of their ability, be:ng-desimus of aii- •
plying a remedy for expense and delay. They had '
acne on gradually, and he would pledge hiroself that MI individial
, enersioas toot Not be wanting to get the Report ready to.bepee-
seoesd to his Moiesty before the next Session. •
Mr. Secretary CANNING said, he would occepy the
House only a few moments; but he was desirous -of
shortly stating the grounds on which his vote in oppo.
'aition to the Honourable Hiroiset'a motion was founded.
Throughout the whole of the very able nod very en•er-
tatining speech of the Honourable and Learned Gentle-
man, there prevailed one error. It was of such a na-
ture that, when exposed, the whole fabric 4 the Ms.
nouiable and Learned Gentleman's argument must fall
to the ground. The Honourable ind Learned Gen-
tleman seemed to think that the -. Commission was
instituted by the House, and that it was considered
by the country as a criminal inquiry: No such thing.
He (Mr. Canning) was sure that no man in-that House
voted for the appointment of the Cinumission with that
view, and he was sure that no man in thecountyy linked
it it in that view; and he was.< quilly sure that it was
not considered in that view by the. Members of the
Commission themselves. The Honaurabltrand Learned
Gentleman had talkeZ of its haying been in former
times the usage of the Home and of the country,
cautiously to avoid all • inquiry into
~ systems, and to
look for errors in men alone, and of its being the usage
Its the present times to avoid all inquiry respec-ing men,
and to search for errors in syltems only. He (Mr.
Canning) uas quite convinced that there was no desire
in any qua ter, ot in the House at large, to shield an y
man if guilty of improper conduct. .but whit he and
the Houle and the country understood to be the duty, of
this Commission was, nut to pronounce- on the guilt or
innocence of individuals, but to put the House in posses.
sion of the result of their inquiries, in order that the
House might determine whether it was the' sysleatit:
self, or the administration of it which was faulty.—
Tire Hon. and Learned Gentleman assumed, that it was
taken for granted, that the fault must be in the -maw,
and recommended the Most severe and unsparing sent.,
tiny by the Commission into the Administration of the
Court. It vs.'s-plain, from what had been stated by the
Members of the Commis:ion themselves, that the flein.
. And Learnet: Gentleman had miss arrived this point.
If theCommissione.s thought they were to consider that
the fault most lie in the administration of the system;
would not 14re
aadnodp
ymust,heemmichbeitserbafoldf: been explained
teexrpovlaiidinedanbayba. the
did him tooter While that Hon.ead Learned Gentlemaa
greatwilhoincistne:ddniddtilnLebeicmtaoh:lenerseds honour, aid with a candour whicif
remained a Member of the Comaitsion, it was Worn&
ble that any one could think the conduct of the Commis,.
sin° justly liable to imputation. lithe fault ot the adipip
oistration, mild not of the system, h d been the object (If
the labours oldie Commission, then the speech of t'e
Hon. and 'Learned Member for Winchelsea would
have been in its proper .plate. The dissection of the
Cosnmission by the Honourable and Learned Gentle-
man, would, indeed, have been a powertul one, if le

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