Star.
London, England, 1821-05-31 00:00:00

FEES IN IRISH COURTS OF JUSTICE.

Lord DONOUGHMORE had been compelled to
trouble the House on this occasion, as no other No-
ble Lord seemed inclined to address the House on
the subject. The Bill had passed the other House
without any discussion, and was likely to have done
so in that House also. He had presented a Petition
against the Bill from the Attornies and Solicitors of
Dublin, and also from two individuals of the names
of Babington and Finn, complaining of the injury
they would sustain should the Bill pass into a law.
The Bill made a great alteration in the law, and
should have received grave and much discussion, as
it was a measure of Government. The Commis-
sioners were no doubt highly respectable men, but
he could not believe it was intended that they should
alter the whole of the law of the land. He should
move, that the opinion of the Judges on the Reports
of the Commissioners be laid on the table. It was a
Bill for taking away fees altogether, and substituting
fixed salaries in their room. No alteration had taken
place in the Court of Chancery, and he was confi-
dent the case would be the same in the Courts of
Law. He objected to doing away the old system of
fees to Officers who did their duty ; and if extortion
should be practised there was a power to punish it
in the hands of the Judges. He called on the Noble
Secretary of State for the Home Department to ex-
plain why he had allowed persons to remain in their
situations whose misconduct had made the present
Bill necessary? An estimate on the subject of the
compensations should be laid before Parliament, and
not remain in the breast of the Commissioners. The
amount of the salaries to those who did their duty
was £15,000, and to those who did not was £45,000.
The Irish Judges had objected to the principle of the
Bill, and all that was wanted was the same mode of
administering justice as in this country. It was not
a mere Irish question, but affecting the empire at
large. He should move for copies of all communi-
cations between the Right Hon. C. Grant, and the
Judges of Law and Equity in the Courts of Ireland,
relative to the Report of the Commissioners.

Lord SIDMOUTH said, that the Noble Lord,
though he knew there was no objection to his motion,
had addressed the House on points that were not
before them. The object of the measure was to fix
a salary in lieu of fees, enormous in their amount and
indefinite in their nature. Had there been any Re-
port before the House, he thought the principle of
the Bill could not be objected to. He believed the
Repot would be laid on the table on Friday, but
even if not, he should then move the second reading
of the Bill.

The Earl of LIMERICK thanked the Ministers
of the Crown for their constant attention to the affairs
of Ireland. Many documents on the subject had
been on the table of the House, and he had himself
moved for the production and the printing of five
Reports. The Noble Lord cited the case of in-
dividuals whose misconduct had been the cause of
the present measure.

The Marquis of LANSDOWN hoped- the attend-
ance on the second reading of the Bill would be dif-
ferent from what it was at present. He thought
that from the Report on the table it appeared there
was an indispensable necessity for such a measure,
and hoped it would pass in the present Session. It
would be unpardonable in the Legislature not to
extend that protection to suitors which they could
have from no other quarter.

At the suggestion of Lord SIDNIOIMI, the motion
was altered to include the correspondence between
the Irish Government (instead of the Secretai y for
Ireland) and the Judges, relative to the Reports.—
The second reading was then fixed for Friday, to
which day the House.adjourned.