Star.
London, England, 1811-03-08 00:00:00

:Centienre ii would abstain from making allusions to' was that of children claiming Loa... - ...„ ._ _
those ptpceedings, because this House his: no distinct titled to a marriage settlement. In another,__ Woe
„knowledge of them.) i that of suitors claiming a beneficial interest in !roses.
Mr. M. A. TAYLOR. then declared, that though ;It had happened that before the decision of the snit
4 Committee for investigating the state of appeals the leases-
had expired, consequently the party inte.
had in another piece been appointed, yet he should' Bested was deprived of his right. In other cases.of
not be deterred froth offering to the House his opi. tenantry for life, the tenant had died before the deci.
nions as to the, line of duty which ought to be piir- sion of the Court. These then were some of the cases
sued. When it was made known to the House that of hardship. Would it then be too much to ask for re-
great abuses do exist, not from the conduct of the dress? In addition to these grievances, he would state,
Judges, for that he was happy to say was far above from the list of cases in arrears, two cases of appeal,
'suspicion, but from the delays of justice,.oceasioned lone an English Writ of Error ; the other, of a Scotch
by the vast number of suitors which came before the Writ of Error. In the latter case, though the
Court, it surely then would not he denied,, that in ap- !Lords of Session had made a decree in favour of the
pealing to the justice of this. House to render to the , party, in 1805, yet he was served with a Writ of
objects of the realm what they had the. right ,of Error, and the business came before the House Of
Maiming, healid no more than en act of duty. What Lords, and remains as yet undecided. The Respon-
e desired the House was, to appoint. 4 Corrunittee .sent, an Ensign ie the Army, was in consequence;
1
4o inquire into the state of appeals, by searching the by being kept out of his right, reduced,to great dis..
ds' Journals ; meaning to follow.that ;notion try .tress, and but for the kindness of some friends, who
I.or
y another which might be attendedovith odvantageo( knew his claim to be founded in justice, and procured
Aim effects to the ;majors, he trusted. it ,would not be I for him an Ensigncy, he ,must have been literally
"Imputed to him that he came forward arrogantly istiirving. The other case wasthat of two Ladies iif
pith idle plans of innovation. All he desired for the.lthe names of Bacon and Wren. entitled to propertA, -
subject was justice, and as my-Lord Coke very con- but of whiclea persoa named Clayton claimed tin*
stitutinnally had said—o Let the suitors in Court he fourths. This case was heard in a Court of Law in
heard fully without denial, and have justice speedily 1801, and they got a ?adieu in their favour. elapa
Ivrithout delay." That was what he now asked. To um. however, put in his writ of error, and brooghe
shew that some alteration in the mode of administer- the subject before the Hcnese of Lords. There ft h 4
ing justice in the Courts of Equity was pow requisite, continued ever since. The unfortunate Ladies are at
he need only state the information which he had re- a very advanced period of life, and by this conduct
ceived. This information, which might not be strictly 'of Clayton debarred the enjoyment of.their r ght clot
correct, but which, however, would be gathered from only for, the present, but
.perhaps eventually. The
the Register's book in the Court of Chancery, that Houseiait was sure would do' sornaing to remedy
suits had been so long before tb.at-Court that many the evil, something to expedite the business, because
persons interested therein had died before,theatermi- iif they did not, they would by their refusal be doing
nation of them ; more than 'half of the property, the , whit,my Lord Coke reprobates, 0 denying of jtero
object of litigation, was consumed in carrying on the ltice." The Honourable Gentleman did not mean to •
suit, and the survivors having no right to the property limpute to any one person in the Codias of Equity any
when the case was at length heard. When, there- dereliction of doty :on the contrary, from the high,-
fore, such grievances were proved to exist, it becaMe estio the lowest they most conscientiously discharged
the duty of the Legislature to supply the remedy, and their duty, ~The ;Lord Chancellor, with the most
he called upon the House now so to do. The pub- scrujaulons retention to' the interests of the public, te-
lic contributed enough for doing what,actually wee lee. tedifie most respectable men
,to fill the offices.—
not done. The exorbitant sums paid for fees on ' Bat„thoughthe hesdaofthet Court were the most up-
trials, evidently sheered that at least the public were right and-conscientious)ucige that ever sat there, let
entitled to have justice. It might be said. tbak the 'est 'fat possible that:Solicitors might not be the most
second Lord at the head of the Court employed- the active. It was therefore the duty of the Legislature
whole of his time in giving his attention, to the, cases to supply the deficiency, and appoint one or two more
before him. Why, so he did, but was it possible for Judges to dispeee of the business. He trusted that it
any man, however eminent his abilities or sedulous could, not be said, that in moving far a Committee
his attention—however anxious to dispose of the husi- lie was running a race with the House of Lords. No
ness of his Court, when it had increased so much, such thing; All he wished was, that the House woidal
could he do what a Judge had done fifty years be- by the appointment of 4 • Couvoitfee ascertain what
fore, when the number of the cases were, nothing in number of appeal were really before the Lords,
comparison with the present aifne; ,In former times, which they tnigholearn by inspecting the Journals of
in cases of bankruptcy only, namely, in 1731, j'tst that House—that being done, he would next desire
before Lord Talbot was made Lord High Chancel- that the Committee shoold-oscertaiikethat number of
Iles, the commissions sued pia inahat year, amounted Causes had been disposed of its the Court of Chan-
to 160 ; they, notwithstanding the prosperity of eery in the last five years. This was the object which
the country (about which so much had been %win- he had in view, and.it was not an answer to him to
ted by Gentlemen opposite), in 1809 amounted to say that it had beenimade in another place 14 days
1100 ; and in the .present year as he was informed, ago. He did assure the House, that he never had a
to upwards of two thousand four hundred: ( Hear.) 'Chancery suit, nor would be have one. He would
riacsides this accumulation, there were those of wills, I.rather put up with the loss of 2 or reSOOO than run
settlements, and a variety of other cases, came under i the risk of a decisioto—The Honourable Gentleman
the cog inizance,of the Court, to an amouht four or l thenonoved—
five times greater than in Lord Hardwick's time.— " That a Committee be appointed to in:peoett. the Journal. it
Was it possible, then, for one Judge to get through of Lord ~ ntois ar
d portthern uetnnumber
his Apopeat mls... now be-
suth an immensity of business ? With every respect ,
tfhe fithoantseti
The hest motion which the HonourableGentleman
fcr Lord Eldon, whom he had known for many had to make, he observed, was to ascertain the num-
years, it was in his opinion impossible, however desi. her of motions and questions decided and heard in the
rous he might be of doing his duty to the public, to Court of Chancery during the last five years, and the
get through it. In moving for the Committee, he arrears of business in that Court.
assured the House he meant nothing invidious to the On the question being put—
Noble Lord. He asked merely .for justice for the The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER
public. How were they to get redress ? In former was disposed to give the Honourable Gentleman the
Mmes, in strict couforynity with the letter of the Con- fullest credit for the principle on which he had acted,
stitution, our ancestors had wisely provided for that in bringing the subject under the consideration of the
redress by appointing what was termed is a Com- House ; but he did not see that even if the motion
mittee of Courts of Justice." It was established in were acceded to, the object which he had in vie*
order that the subject might have recourse to it for would be obtained, and therefore he did not conceive
redress. But even this Committee was a thing un- there was any ground for entertaining it. At the
known to the Legislature now. The oldest Officers same time, while he admitted that the Honourable
of the House had not the least recollection of the Gentleman had used great candour in his speech, he
sitting of such a Committee, therefore that mode of could not deny that great grievances do exist—that
obtaining redress was now entirely done away. In There was a deficiency in the power of administering
cases of Appeal, in the highest Court in the king. justice in various points, and consequently that it
dom, tardy was the progress of justice there, for the became the duty of the Legislature to see that defici-
reatrons before stated. He was informed that at this ency supplied. But When he stated thus much, he
time there were .300 Appeals waiting for hearing in must also observe, that this increase in the business
;he order and course in which they are set down.— of the Courts arose principally from the opulence of
The,neother of causes heard in one year were not the The House would keep in mind the
more than thirteen ;of course, unless some provision country.
particular points of jurisdiction to which the Honour-
were made by the Legislature for the disposing of able Gentleman had directed their attention in the
them, 20 years would not be sufficient time for hear- first instance, namely, the number of appeals unde-
ing them. Did not this circumstance call for a re- laided in the other House. That being the first
medy for the evil ? It might. be said, what hopes of the grievances complained of, the subject had
could he (Mr. T.) entertain of obtaining redress for I been taken- up by that House, and more correctly
the subject, when men of splendid talents and great Iso than by this House. It would therefore, in its
abilities could not avert the evil complained of ? . To ' opinion, be advisable at least to wait and see whit
this he would reply, that his duty told him something course that House would pursue on the subject.—
must be done ; and when he recollected the promise I With respect to arrears of cases in the Court of Chan-
made to him in May, since which, a period of eight leery, when it was recollected, that in the House c(
months had passed, and things remained in the same i Lords, the Noble Lord who'presided, alio sat in the
state, he could not but feel that it was necessary this ICourt of Chancery, the best course to pursue would
House should at least appoint a Committee of In- be to ascertain, in the first instance, in what way-the
quiry. The great fatigue which the Lord Ch;ncel- teases of Appellants might be accelerated, so as to ad-
lot had undergone, both in the House of Lords and iminister strict justice • and then to ascertain whether
the Court of Chancery, was such, that only one cause facilities "
i greater might not be afforded, in order to
had been heard, and that was not decided. With the I expedite the business ih the other Court. When the
assistance of the Master of the Rolls, the list of causes
Hon. Gentleman talked of providing some remedy
was se great, that more than one hundred were in for the grievances, he Conceived, that without aban-
arrear. Some of the cases which had been decided,' doning that duty which most certainly belonged to
from the very long time they were in Court, involved this House in point of redressing the grievances of
,much of hardship and distress to the parties con- the subject, it would not be too much to say, chit
cerned. He would instance one—the case of Miles,
be- , that justice would not be delayed in the- quarter
in which a widow claimed under a testamentry
where at•prese nt it was under consideration. It was'
quest of her husband, mid the question which arose ef no use, under these c'rciamstances, for the Heusi
out of that bequest was, whether it did not bar her ,
dowry? In the agitation of that question,.to adopt the measure of the Hon. Gentleman, and he
a period' *as sure that no person would be more ready to ad
of from 12 to 14 years had elapsed, in the course of mit than the Hon. Gentleman that the subject va; '
which the widow was reduced to the utmost distress, one which involved much of intricacy, and required
land the decision was not yet known. Another case great consideration. The public, feeling that the fact
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