Star.
London, England, 1827-05-23 00:00:00

Friend would recollect th t he had al-A as pro,,,,,t_d
upon this, his objection to having any suhtrici ion fiom
the power of the Lord Ch racellor made, or to :illy rni,,
Gelation of the Court of Chancery. He had professed t is
opinions when he had not a seat in the !L at Lure, 1%
e ;,0;r
yams the Vice Chancellor was cleared; and in then
speaking upon the subject; he felt that it would be
vagary for him to mention the name of the di,.
tinguished individual who had lately filed the office of
Lord Chancellor ; he would not, however, dwell
upon it, noe.say more than the occasion absolutely rr.
gulled. Of that Noble Lord, as a lawyer and a Judge,
ieerybody must speak inll terms odfiitthine4vaei,hed iii bet
highest re-
spect.-(Hear, hear)
opacities, by qualities ot the first or-ler, and it these
was anything which, in the latter, could be imputed ts
ins as i faultit was that excessive and coostitetion4
caution, which in him amounted tie indecision:4w deli!.
It was, undoubtedly, well intendei, and not mho,
quently produced considerable b -nest to patricidal
suitors; bt:atnadmon
broughtal oen thatil public generally,
individual generally, it created
much reproach. He did not say this with a view to
Walt with the Noble Lord upon that account, but
hikasmieded that. if a Judge be placed in a particular
allitsatios. and if the excess of a laudable quality on that
Amid happen to produce discontent, it does not
WI fross that, drat- there should be any subtraction
Ade from the powers of the office which he filled, or
that any alteration in the Constitution should be brought
about. It was said at the tiin, when a Vice Chancel.
br was first appointed, that it a Gentleman of ordinary
•t4etits and application were promoted to the office, that
,he would be able to dispatch the greater pottion of tie
business of the Court ot Chancery, and that the area
in that Court would speedily fall away. Sir John
Etach, the second Vice-Chancellor, made the truth of
;this (though not agreed, to by the House at the timt)ob-
rvious by hi oolrn example. He was, therefore, he thought
fully joatifiej in saying, that if there always would be
'efficient Judges, such as they had then, thJe wduld not
be the least necessity for subtracting horn the power of
• I the lewd Chancellor, nor would the people ever have
:- cause

_ for complaining of delay. He was not one of
.those rho thought that bankruptcy cases should be, if
necessity, under the jurisdiction of the Chancellor. He
'had not that superstitious reverence for those who filkd
that great office. which would induce hint to assert :hat
there wets not ,numbers of men who could not do the
business as well; but he thought that, before the Hone
decided upon the expediency of separating the juri-dir•
tion in matters of bankruptcy front the Court of Chaa•
cery, it ought to be first established that a necessity—a
positive necessity—for such proceeding did mist; and
in proof that it did not, he would, if the House %valid
,give him leave, drily and shortly state 'to them what the
business of the Court of Chancery actually wa.. He
;would take the last year, state the total number d
.causes, and point out what number of causes the Vice.
Chancellor took ; but before he proceeded to. do tbis,
he would, for the benefit of those Honourable Member
of the House who were not acquainted with the prao
tice of the. Court of Chancery, enumerate ti e
classes of causes which usually came before that Coin.
'Else first class consisted of those causes in which a P
was filed and an answer put in. These causes
frequently find their way back again before the .
under the name of causes for further directions;"
DM class consisted of exceptions to answers; then

petitions, then motions, and, lastly, content t
which occupied so short 'a space of time as scarcely
be worth mentioning. With respect to petitiers,
wished to observe to the House, that no murrourlinl
been made about them until within the last two yeas
During the four last terms, SOO causes of the first do
had been brought into Court, 76 for further direr(
tlo exceptions to aoswers, 45 pleas and demu•ters.
these, in the first class, Sir J. Leach (the Ma ter of the
Rolls) disposed of 258, of 9S for further dirt ct
77 exceptions to answers; how many in the
class, he might have disposed of be had not tI
fortune to know. Taking a period of four years, ft:
ascertained that the average number of Equity
disposed of last year, amounted in the aggregate
of the first class, 174 for further directions, 47 escep:itrs
to answers, 15 pleas and demurrers. Ot these, boor
many did the House suppose that one Judge was cap•
ble of discharging ? Toe Vice Chancellor, berme
his illness (taking as lie before stated, four yeei,
and obtaining the average in one, by dividing the ir
number of causes by 4), discharged 450 of the tint el.
212 of the second and third ; and 79 pleas and d.
@sorters. By deducting, therefore, the average
of causes disposed of by the Vice-Chancellor in one
year, from the average number of causes disrlitd
of by all the Judges last year, the House would teal
that it followed, that only a hundred and thirty '
the first class, nine cf the second class, and '
of the third. would be left to be t isposei of by
Chancellor and the other Judge. He could not %
wort he believed, could any body doubt, that the
number of causes thus left to be disposed of by Or t,
Judges. could be easily discharged by one of intel.i
sad activity, its not much more than a single Term:
the House should bear in mind, that the Viet-Char
was only a subsidiary Judge, one only appointed to taked
ea the over flowing of the Court of Connect y. He
to
now come to the jurisdtctton in bankrupt caw,
which his Right lion. Friend bad more particulag
directed his mo ion; and, in trder that tis
to
ble
should be as little disadvatuageous as posi
side of the question which his Hon. Friend •
he would take the last four years, during which
bad been a greater number of
sosl
petitions in matters
bankruptcy, than during any four receing. The
average number of these petitions, the consideration
•
which his Hon. Friend wished to sever fess the Ceu:
Chancery
the four years previous to the Vice Chancellor's
was 590 ia each year of the four; and tsii;:;
(for in consequence of it an arrest had been create:
they would find that theVrce Chancellor had discbargn
upon an average 453 in each of these yea's, "1"_ih
being deducted from 590, the average amount a
those in the last four years, only left 143 to be
disposed of by the Chancellor and the Master of the
Rolls. And he would again ask the House, tak;ng
all the causes that would be thus left, the 13(1 of one on,
the nine of another,and the 143 bankrupt pe:itionl W2l
there more left than could be discharged by one act,:
and intelligent Judge in a single Term ? It they µus!`'
look to the progress of the Court of Chancery, sine: IN
Vice Chancellor's illness, when he found that an aria'
had accumulated of the causes of four Terms, -
entire year, they would see that lie bad begun aith
e,tc
ducing that atrear, in the proportion of a Term
year, and this he had done, up to the present pea %
and he could himself say, that he believed, and the''
were were Hon. and Learned Friends of his in '
House, who could positively inform the House,

e
o:tbeisttidcoatioeezyttraoa.ualittlibbieyoueinStsehrmmhui jet,
it truth
ib.°mbore
number
uoi
ail i
enfio
rrii '
or
ldnliAe:il:,
tefaorteth.teietitri2golb; -he
i Itwh aiyes would
wiuld nl:et Lid'
ores the power of ' PI
eople ever bane CI
was not one of TI
:es shoold be, ( f o•
Chancellor. He Cl
r those who filkd dc
him to asseit :hat an
:ould not d„ tie len
• 11l
ting the jinhnic. la
e Court of Chia. 11
Al a necessity—a ha
ig did mist ; and wi
be
to them what the fog
eded to. do this, ap
d with the pray ay
crate tt e r•nioss 'bra
aefore that Coin, Lo
es in which a 811 be
se causes itot so. ala
before the Coon, We
T directions (the of
wets; then Caine Lo
, content emus, for
roe as scarcely to tha
to petitiors, Fe an,
no murmur hal Ch
he last two years the
s of the first alas Co
further directions, dm
d demu•rers. Of pre
the Ma ter of the no
ther dirt ctions,af Ch
ny in the to Hi
had not the gkil Sir
hour years, Ise bad mi
'of Epity cases the
i aggregate toseo tha
ons, 47 mei:onto t It]
. Of these, hoer coi
Judge was caps. to
:hancellor, before ,'tics
aced, four years, 01
dividing the tcral cot
oof the first class, ' . ash
79 pleas and cl.• cos
a average number •mi
Chancellor in one lie
causes disputed he
-louse would fiat Le;
•ed and thirty ot an
I class, and sone gas
isposeei of by vie axe
s could not dab!, wilt
be, that the stole wip
oseJ of by the two bee
one of intehigeto tell
single Term; and be;
le Vico•Charcellor Wei
appointed to take be
110
till
man
nnoktr
more
ur ypp .
ta
rHt
caliec su
io: It
I. 1;
4a.t
hat 1,i4 statetnett „,,,,w
Is passible to the • ill—en
Friend advocated, to
zing which there ha,
ons M matters cf hie
IleofliaPorardc.nlect°lrac land: Idileajidlnr.er'etri gsdecTe.hot:sna"lll:rT:lgrditee:°:;ff; . c4ill
hese yea's, wlnet He
:rage amount of an,
• left 143 to be sio
he Master cf the ow
he House, taking wa
the 130 of one son, 11(
•upt pc:aloft-, 0 co:
geJ by one actor wh
as ?It they wad tht
hancery, sine: tha L.
Ind that an Wee thi
our Terms, ores eel
ad begun •Lith re It
n of a Term el fee
se present pent. ro,
elieved, and the jo;
ids of his in tLe in
i the House, 11.4 114