Star.
London, England, 1828-02-08 00:00:00

a:press instructions not to roduee or show it till A cer'
win time, Well, the ease was gone into, and witnesses
were esatnined, which being done, he handed forth the
docionenr, and the case at once closed. It arose env:
dispute respecting 201. and 1504\ would hardly have
paid the costs ; while, if the party possessing the docani•
meat had been compelled to show it before pvoceedings,
the case could never have ante to trial at all. Then with
respect to matters of Tort, Justices, Excise Officers, and
a variety of other Officers under the Crown were per-
mitted by statute to pay sums in acquittal into Court.
but private individuals enjied no such privilege, and
he regarded that, system as highly prejudicial to the
public welfare,. and to the fair course of justice. It
was a sort of incitement to a cartel* class of the servants
of the public to do wrong. and an evident injury to pri-
vate individuals. He would therefore do away with the
distinction, and by so doing the money of individuals
and the public time would be saved. He was afraid.
that the last principle which he should mention would
be looked upon with hesitation and with doubt if not
with apprehension. But why, he would ask, should
we be hostile to the adoption of those plant, which
had proved so eminently successful in other countries?
Surely it was but wisdom to learn by the experience of
others, and to benefit from their experiments. He at
least spoke disinterestedly, for few people made more
by the law than he did, and- yet his great object was
to tender law cheap, and to prevent unnecessary liti-
gation. What be wished was to see all our inferiqr
Coons, the County Courts, the Courts of Request,
i
and others, rendered wally effective; and to bani
all those forms, quibbles, and doubts, ohich only
benefited practitioners and the officers of the Courts at,
the unnecessary expence of the suitors. All trnmperyi
cases would be done away with by the principle he
was desirous to see put in operation; but good litigation
—litigation that- was at once beneficial to the patties
and to the public, and just law would be brought
home to every men's door. That species of law would'
increase, and so far trritn being a curse, like that he
would abolish, it was a real ble.sing to the cowtry.
How many cases, he would ask, in the present paper
for trial at Westminster, would come before the Coutt,
if good sensible avbitrators were appointed first to hear
the parties, as was the case in France, in Holland, and
in Denmark? And what was the average amount at
issue in those cases? Certainly a very inconsiderable snetta
and yet in all probability, the costs would average
upwards of 1001. He remembered on an average'
being taken on a former occasion, it did net' exceed
141. to each case, and yet bow great were the
costs. But with reference to his first questtort, he'
was sure that he spoke within bounds when be
stated that the majority would not be brought into
Court if the parties themselves met before arbitrators.
He did not wish to press that part of the subject any
further. The principle was altogether, or at least al-
most, untied, and whether ultimately it Might -be
thought advisable to adi it to the full extent Otitis.
proposition, or to grafts introduce it, and to tempt,
parties themselves to come Isefore arbitrators, he was"
convinced that, were it tried, it would have the effect '
of 'hewing who was right and who was . wrong before
the purses were Ipw atid.the passions excited—(Hear,
bear). IA the next and third 'Place, he Came to
the commencement of toes soli., The first object of
his plan was to provide at once against the.debtoes
escape and injury. In the second place, to give the
debtor due notice of the cause. In the third plate. to
give him no personal inconvenience till there're/nod
reason to believe he was about to absent hinny' Ir, and
then to lave Mtn free from moleitation opoie bier*
audit giro securities. Now the operation eg itfilliaer,
as it at• puma rood* was in direct oppositiakto that
plan. The law at once assumed a Man charged With
debt to be about to abscond, and therefore gave the cre-
ditor the Power of arresting. In many cases that power
was notoriously abated. and in very few cases was it
at ell necessary to secure the presence of ihe debtor.
He would- pot a case, foe :the sake of illustrating the
bad uses which might boom& of the power of arrest at
present given by the law. Suppose on the eve of an elec-
tion any Gentleman who was about to becqnse a candi-
date for a particular place, aud:he was on a Saturday
to purchase in .any shop 201. worth of goods, and was
to s iy he would prey for thorn on she Monday following.'
Well, on .thee pleiiday,,tirrniug,. a Writ might be issued,
the purehasar ofitheipods.iniiiht be arrested, although
he tislly intended. to make the payment at the tittle
specified. In answer mitre, it might be said be could
ultimately be
_redressed, but he (Me. Brougham) said'
no s that was inspossible--the election iras over, sod'
nothing could compensate the party Masted for tha:
loss he . had sustained. A wealthy man might. AC
course, and .With ease, obtain bail, but even then his
inconvenience would. begreat, but with the poor man
how 11 ird was the easel. ..peslitspsrunable to find secu-
rities, would. be thrown into prison. and it was wail
known that the men who had been once there, excepti
for political offences. never again held up their heads
as they were wont to do. The subject of Mesne Process
had-already :be brought forward by the Honourable
Member for Aberdeen, and he,"ip common with. the
country, was indebted so that -Honourable tientleman
for his exertions. He denied that by suffering arrest
upon eteseeproass the law proceeded upon 'principles
of i miles, or of common sense, or of experience. Ilk-
presearsystetes seduced ilse tradesman into A bad,, al-
moat a dishossest system: it indueed him to give coedit
to expectant heirs and spendthrifts, to a class who rawly
paid even with all the power of persotial arrest, and in
reality had the elfeet Ultimately of imposiog st tax upon
the eonse*stiotor pert of the colanaltaity, who lived,
Within theharteans in order- to compensate ter the limes
sustained tbrougls &Aug it um easy eredita—tlfear).—
Ile would or iota clear intelligible writ be left
at the wellintown domicile of a debtor, and that should
be sufficient service; and only when it wee-koorru, or
there was good reason to believe he was about to fly
his country, as in Scotland, in cases of meditation* Argo,
let hirn-he.ealted rapers to fendlecusityfor hie appear--
once and if be was not forthcoming,although there weer
no security, let him safer-oittlaWry, iil4l His kienteadolts.
be entered upon. Let it sot said k. I* 4#4 *OBl. '
a-man's• property in his, abreast, beemispom-pa: iup.
=done at this time ; and the Croseeereeidekpartyl:
eg.through the *licence of the debtor,lleeltinineJ
irmapossawrioa of whatever property their militlfster;
He bad Wow avtived at that point at which i ,piettlei'
came to be beard in Court, and to state their-claim&
That wostastiginally done by word of mouth, but it bad
t been considered an improvement that it should be dosna
r in pleading. At first 'that was performed in frearbi
i then in Istitt, and dttring the last centurr4twas changed)
i into English.. • He: eon/cased ihat lie approached' Thai
i branch .of his inquiry with considerable
s4,ttation,
s • especially liaise stood-in.-die presence of his Master in
I the art (the tilerlicircir*enerd). aid he was aware lbw
~ .
i whaibret just isfonwation ic had acquired, he bid de•
r lived 140 M Ids triitldn. Lord Coke, when opeakiog of
r Pleading, iireCsibie iesdelOtiui 444 flealing Purr
0 Be apviied tti;itlyilit.orwittiracelare, and koras his, ( r.
! broogadnes) desire to see it restored to its ancient form
1 and merit. Lord Mansfield bad described good plead-

lng as kainded upon good sense; but by degrees it has,
,tio changed -its character, that the defiaitions of theme
Viable and Learned Lords were no longer at all appli ' '
cable. The Honourahle and Learned Gentleman then
ttated the useless technicalities of the present system
of pleading, which, he contended. was only calcu-
lated to mystify and mislead; and preposed that in.
•tead of the multiplicity of the counts and pleas new
I permitted, the parties should be confided to two,
sad that the pleadings should in reality set forth the
- aims of the plaintiff and the defence of the other party.
Such a course, he maintained, would cheek perjury,
prevent - ruinous litigation, and
,give strength to the
tourse of justice. He then proceeded to remark upon
demurrers, and maintained that they also required
to be much mere limited than at present. He would
never permit a failure in a case from a variance ; and
ilkillfitOrt of his position alluded to the late case of
Lend Dudley a Robins. If the instrument to be used
d not, throogh error, bear a sufficient stamp, that
should be no reason for the course of justice being
'checked ; but the Judge -should have the power of
Lading the party in the fine of 201. instead of 101. The
Hon. Gentleman then read a letter from a Learned
Friend of his. which detailed a case of very great hard-
ship. The ,pleAlings by fictitious proceedings were
'weasel from fore to five hundred folios, and a
delay of nearly two years obtained by the defend-
ant, to the great cost and injury- of the plaintiff, who
was a widow woman. But, bard as the case
was, it might have been much were—it might have
been wholly ruinous, had the defendant had re-
semarse to all the means% the law permitted. That suit
was in fact an undefended one, and yet after so serious
'a delay the plaintiff had to pay SOL costs to an Attor-
ney, which could not appear among those costs upon
ehe defendant. The Hon. Gentleman then alluded to
another case which occorred in Yorkshire, and was re-
ported by Blackstone, although that Learned Judge
seemed to have quite forgotten ft when he penned his
eloquent eulogy on the tenderness of the law, at the
end of his book, upon actions, and was even more un-
just than that which he had stated. He then came to the
noticoofJeries. He esteemed them to he the very best
inventions ever hit upon by human ingenuity—an ito
ventioi which required only one thing to perfect it and
that was the extension o!' its operation to many of the
cases now lodged in the Equity Courts—(Hear.)—
Mere was one thing which he hoped sincerely, and that
was, that if any inquiry was instituted, some remedy
would be Illund to do away with the present system
pursued in the Equity Courts, and in the Law Courts
in Term time, of swearing by affidavit. A more MO-
rims stystem could not be devised. Witbrepect to in-
t ested witnesses, he confessed that he did not see why
I credible witnesses should not be heard; and
Honourable Gentleman stated several cases in
.
ich the present system did not virtually exclude
most interested from giving testimony. He
Id grant a much wider field; and in the case of
i'ileases, he would pursue the same principle ; the statute
of frauds he looked upon as a nio.t valuable one, but
'sill there were alterations which might be introduced
with considerable advantage. The books of a dead per.
ire considered evideoce in case be charged himself.
Amid not the same evidence be sufficient whether
charged himself or not? In a case in the Court .f,
ancery, some time back, it was suggested by his
°mutable and Learned Friend (the Attorney-
General) that the books of a dead person should be
evidence, whether he charged himself or not. The
bpoks of a person in reference to matters of trim,
were such. -With respect to the present system of
eaamining witnesses, nothing. generally speaking, could
be bettor. Perhaps the only thing to be complained of_
was the different course pursued by different Judges.
It ought to be reduced to something like order. The
two great tests in the examination of witnesses were the
test of tooth and the test of knowledge. By the present
practice, in many cases, Counsel were precluded from
alvailing themselves of these. They were not permitted,
fer instance, to try the memory of a witness, by examin-
ing him as to the contents of a letter. Neither were they,
allowed to try his honesty. In matters of libel, the truth
or falsehood of the matter charged, when the action was
not a civil one, was not permitted to be inquired into._
Another point worthy .f consideration was, the exclusion
of evident-es on the ground of religion. Why should theerri-
deuce of teQoaker be received in civil and not in criminal
leases ?la a case in which he himself had been concerned,
the Court would not permit a Quaker, who was a phy-
sitian, to be examined, though he was the only witness
they had to produce. All presumption of evidence
was bad. No presumption, as to matters of fact should
be admitted. He was decidedly opposed to those conclu-
sions drawn from what CbanceryLawyers called equips).
tent matters. At present the practice was, that the
Court always construed written evidence, while parole
evidence was left to the Jury. There was no good rea-
son why this should continue so in some cases, and not
in others. In a lease, where any ambiguity occurred
as to the person, as, for instance, if a man devised his
property to John Noakes, residing in a certain parish,
and there happened to be in the same parish two
of that name, the Jury was allowed to decide, by
the coostructiun of the will, who the person was
whom the testator meant to poiut out. it would .be
most desirable if the intricacies and technicalities
which encumbered the law,, in reference to the sub-
ject of evidence. could be got rid of by 'some siva-
c4e straight forward course. The consequence was, that
when a man, at his death, set about making a will,it
was impossible for, him to know how. or when the sal
a ould begin to operate. The present technicalities were,
little creditable to the law ; it the./ were removed, a man
would know, better bow to deal with his properly. Sup;
pose a man lent a sum of money to a person whom he.
afterwards made bis. executor ; the fact of being ap-
pointed executor released him from the debt, while,
perhaps, the, posse testator was wholly ignorant that such'
would be the consequence. If a man made a will and
placed it iiut of. him, as the phrase was, for a moment,
with a view to secure his title, be might eventually lose.
the whOle property. The late Lord Erskine lost a con-
iiderable property in this way. By Omit% into opera:
ties tAleptsaciple Of admitting as evidence all records.
PadOloritiugs. of a party against himielf—by gloat*.
lall,petoona IA infamous to give testimony—by by allowing
nce
coffarw
of
ordneteciention otfhisthceocredibilit
wouldy
bee rendered
'nearly as perfect as could be expected. Why should
loot written evidence be received in a Court of Law as
4vell as a Italia of Equity t One uniform. Mode
itif Proceeding should be introduced into all Courts, so_far
i
las the subject of evidence was concerned. The Statute
• •
'of Limitations wava most escellenrose. but it itill-re-,
tinireki•setna revision. They should not be. &tetrad by
iany fear of innovation from oceadonlitY intiOducing•
:limo their system of -law such alterations as change of
loans &ad earCuusstances called for. Here the Learned,
Identleinsin quoted a passage from a speech of the pre-.
tent.4tad ?Musket, -importing, " that it was the province
of, -fongielndolt lo correct such anomalies as ,tisne and.
change of circumstances might have introduced.".--1
Propped up by the Statute of Frauds, the Statute eil 1

. -
Limitations was a most excellent one. No.ditchwatio,n
Aught to take a case out of the Statute of Limitations,
unless a declaration in writing. Another &teat evil to
which he must advert, was the, present practice of the
Courts with respect so real actions. In real actions, I
though the person had been in possession for 59 pleb
and this* quarters, he might st 11 be ousted, or otherwise
pit to.the utmost inconvenience, by mere chicane and
trickery. Any adventurer who pleased torset up a claim,
could effect this without any risk to himself of costs, be-
Amuse theta were no costs in a real action. Here the Hon.
and Learned Gent. referred to a case of this nature which
occurred at York some time back. The defendant bad
been in possession of the property for fifty-nine years
rand three quarters. He himself was concerned in it,
and had it not been that the trial was put off from the
Spring to the Autumn Assizes, the defendant must have
failed. In church rights there was no such limitation
as that affecting real property, but why should there
not ? It used to be so with the Crown formerly, but not
now. The propriety of such limitation with respect to
the church was strongly urged by Baron Wood, in
two pamphlets which he published upon the subject.
Why should not a muillmon tesepsst Act be applied to the
Church as well as the Crown? He did not mean with
a limitation of sixty years—it• might be extended to
eighty. It had been well observed by_Mr. Burke, that
no more effectual benefit could be conferred on the
church than to take from it everything which tended
to render it not only Ineffectual, bat odioni. There
was another point to which he shbild advert—the
present mode of preserving the words of a trial.—
The only record now was the Judge's notes. Now,.
the Judge is often a slow ...titer, and iii this respect
the faculties of Judges are very unequal, for one Judge
will try ten causes where another will dispose only of
one: he is also often an incorrect taker of notes, which
not unfrequently leads him to an incorrect theilsios.—
The Judges never write short hand, and for this, if for
no other reason than that these notes may have to be
transmitted to another quarter—and, under the present
practice, it is necessary that they should be at once
legible-1 think it would be weft if we could introduce
an improvement suggested by the Honourable Member
for Durham, to make use of sworn short hand writers
in our Courts of Law. The benefit of that practice is
already observable in our Committees; I would have
these short hand writers take full and accurate notes of
the proceedings on every trial; at the .name time, 1
would not have the parties finally concluded by these
notes. They might be conclusive evidence as to points
of fact, but it s ould still be competent to the Judge to
say to the writer, " You have mistakes the fierCe of this
point of law, or you have misapprehended• that legal
objection," and the error would be open to correction.
If the Judge were indolent or inactive. such AM arrange-
ment as this might prove a great iradOlooo4 nod, a;
all events, by its adoption, he would be selimreal frain
much fatiguing labour of a mere antasal nature. that
'it is desirable be should be freed from. Another of
my proposed improvements is, that each party, pot
only _in their respective pleas, but in •the briefs
Prepared for Counsel, should state distinctly the na-
ture of the action in which they were engaged, and in
their briefs their true and actual defence. Fur my own
part, lam every day obliged to .open many cases in
which it is my lot to be engaged, almost, if not entirely,
in the dark. This results from the vague and indefinite
way in which the facts and proofs ate set down in the
briefs. As a legal practitioner, who has now attained
some experience, I can contrive to make allowance for
the colouring which the agents impart to the facts of
the case in my ,brief. But in order to divest the facts
lef that colouring, it requires no small sham of eepeoi-
ace, and Counsel young at the Bar snust•frequently
find great difficulty in attempting its • Another conse-
quence of this practice is, that the Pk: bett Counse)'
CAD never know with any certainty.what Will,.be the
result of the cross-examination of Ms own witnesses;
,consequently they are obliged to proceed,with eastioa,
and to make what Slay be
.called a 'gingerly opening.,
The difficulty would be !colored, it, 40 s4dition to a
greater degree of clearness and preciiion in the briefs.
and pleadings, a practitioner were allowed to comment
on his case after as well as before the examination of his'
witnesses. *I would have him open shortly before he ad.
duced his facts, and comment on them at greater length
afterwards. As matters at present stand, the fear of t•
reply on the part of the plaintiff often prevents the de:
fendant's Counsel froin calling witnesses. He is aware al
the advantage his client might derive.feom their testi.
mony, but he is afraid of the last word from the other
side, and he compromises the matter by declining to call
any. It is true he might call them, and the Judge never'
forgets to tell the Jury that the defendant might have
called witnesses. I am of opinion, however, that it
would be better for the administration of justice, and
infinitely more to the advantage of the puhlid, if these
efforts of Counsel to make an impressive opening-4o
obtain the last word—to put forth what may be favour-
able and to conceal what is disaJvantageons, were abo-
-1 lished. It is the interest of justice that each party,should
be compelled to thew, not merely the part of his case
'frith he conceives most beneficial to himself to exhibit,
but the whole of the case, both in his' Iza and his evi-
dence. In the Court of Chancery,five or silt Counsel speak'
on each side, and in the )(log's Bench, dating term, ha'',l'
a dozen are frequently beard. In the Ecclesiastical
Courts too, several Counsel are heard, and the practice
on Committees of this [louse, in respect to hearing
Counsel is well known. Sir, alter judgment conies
execution. And as I would allow no hand to touch
the person of the debtor, except on the plea of medita-
tion of flight, or,to meddle with his goods before trial,
o, after jedgment and a verdict bad against him, I
would permit no consideration to prevent all his pro.
petty and goods from being immediately taken posses-
sion of. If any man pretends to speak in favour of
fteehold property, I shall set him down inconsistent as
;'seasoner, or fidgetty and crochetty AS a legislator,
i*dfy to :edifice the interests of justice and of the.
ow sunity in favour of the suppose) rights and dignity
of shy Aristocracy, or else as a dishonest man, who
!ohne, •to obstruct the wholesome, current of tholes,
fortis private:tads. 1 holdpilirathat execution should
be dons as, speedily as ?gni*, and at safely as possi-
ble. I would have only two, specific actions, a re-
plevin, and delimit. If an action is brought ler the re-
covery of a horse, MOO take the case to which I have
already adverted, a gun. ands-verdict is o'itained by the
plaintiff, the luJgo.e.nt will bifor the value.of the gun.
Now the gen. itself Anglo to be delivered sip, if in ex-
istence, or elsothe body of the debtor given.sp in lieu
of it. AndtheVaintiffooght only tcrobtain the value
of tbe.gun in Caselt itlost or destroyed. On this point
Common : aad.Chantery ; I..aw stand opposed to each
.other ; thergaimason Law is against, and the Chaucer,'
.Law in is erblillif:pertormance in specie. If you apply
toChancert*the subject of a deed, the Court Will or-
der* tole delivered up. instead of the consideration for
which itAva piseedu If you sue kw a debt due on lands.
add eater. On-pOistition by aegis, you are madded to re-
'' di" ' ics bed' '
Icetve e rea . . profits, but not to dispose of the
lands ; sio tliit'wten' 110 for money I. get goods of
lod, and am told to pay myself outot them; and when

I go for the tunnies' of goods,- limitcoori of CcOriroon
'IA, **aide me damage.; the UM et debtor and cre-
carol* tio country requires reeligtm: more than in this'.
Land eacam be taken Onisinili'ilinfra—ctliebti or Judg-
ment, mad so be disposell of (be alumna of the debt ;
L Wise the rents and profits, bet I possess no tight to
sell the land. Suppose I hand over ten drousand pounds,
which is invested in land by a dishonest. specebtsw; be
deceives me, and I sue him for si e-ific performance in
• •
Chancery, and only get poihession of land which I
cannot sell, I am only entitled to receive the rents and
profits of the land, my moiety of which, perhaps, pro-
duces me two hundred a Jesr, not only do I not
recover my capital, I do not obtain the interest of my
capital. Meanwhile, the person I have trusted taught
at me„. and the only satisfaction I obtain is, that I
enjoy one half of the proceeds of the piopertr, and he
the other. In simple contract debts, not a single acre of
WO is liable, neither is money liable. I sue for a debt, and ob.
WO a verdict for tie amount, say to 5,0001. The Mari" goes
til the defendant ; be finds 5,000 f. lying in paper, or guineas, on
tilai table. all whet specks of property he may take, but that he
Ereatiot. Lord Mansfield felt and wished to remedy this absurdity
in the law. There never existed a mast of mere acute sense in the
' legal profeseloo, and who had, at the same time, a greater 'lure of
common sense. No man ever attacked Lord hi. as a judidal per-
sonage, who was not jealous of his fame as a lawyer and a ukase.
I repeat,- no one who knew his merit ever attacked bins without
a lurking feeling of jealousy. He has been attacked by a writer
of great power and beauty, but who knew nothing of law. Lord
Mansfield said, that money could not be taken, for a grand ree-
elin--(it is clear from his Lordship's expression, that he wished it
Were otherwise, but the cases were against 6;ml—became mosey
ld not be sold, and the terms of the writ -required that the
t and caste should be made out of the goods and chattels.
ow, the argutneot was, that made meant sold; sad that, there.
' goal* and chattels did not mean obney. • Consequently,
`Osociey being neither plods nor chattels, 'tor of being
add, could not be taken hi execution.. Lord was
if a similar opinion, and held that 'honey could not be takes.
'AU a man's property in land was deemed his goods and chattels;
consequendy, when the law said, " you qball take his
' 'ft atom " you shall take an." Since drat pearled,
II . et. , money bas become plenty, a paper nprdium has been
'rimed, Bank accounts have been opened, trade has increased,
Iliad no yoit aft called iljboll to denominate a change in the law
'itil innoVidon I I defy any man to say who the innovator is—
* when my*" change" (skeratiou being necessary), or be liiio says
". change nothing." Down the stream a vessel glides, a boat fel.
haws in her wake, a man from the bask club out " stop the boas.--
..I want to keep it standing." The • fool does not see that be calls
for that which is impossible t so it is with the subject before us.
Changes are taking place from day to day which we cannot pre-
ent. All the improvements• we make are rendered of no account
the ararius. " Don't change," white, by avoiding dune', you
theke the most fatal of chtigea, the unfortunate 1441 Innova-
tions-.-(Lipad cheers).—To retutu—my proposition is, that all the
debts of a man ought to be take,' ot# nf all his goods; that his per.
- refuses to give -. his goods, and
• - - falat-'- - - -
not

7gridt,
..
Sonils;iiiid li itailiikela ._ ato , .: Up . ..__
that all his prop sty, all his goods, iht:tel ..
a be wide av: .4ble to his
creditor, be they real or be they ethetwi.e„ I would not take his
' permit unless for criminal or quasi criminal conduct. I would take
his persoo when his debts and embarrassments arose net of sash
apeculation—swiudling—buying goods, and immediately tenni
duos aggajo to ad*, ready money. I would punish by imprisonansen.
partly as a means of extorting payment, but chiefly as a punidtamnt
fir his criminality—and this I would is, by enabting the Judges Ms
4:modems him toimprisanlitellt for a period proportirmate told* ollhoce
lw the Insolvent Debtors' Comet, by three months' hsprisonnient
use species of critninalLy—six for another, and so on ; and then
would say the laws had been attended to, having been rendered
:fr
tlre• Perfect as it was possible. Tie Right HonoUrable Gentleman
ilr. Secretary Peel) is perfectly aware that writs a error
occasioned area' wile, having been the sources of great
ndgetine—the consequence of this is, that hundreds of causes
ern defended without merits, for the sake of delay alone. For
tisit evil a rev/ obvious remedy presents itself, by compelling
the party to' give security in the event of the appeal going against
Wen, and then there would be an end to the practice. I would
*rest all the Judges with power to say to a debtor, " You shall
pay by instalments. I will soundly exercise the discretionary
power with which lam clothed by the law—l will grant you
indulgence—l will give you delay." The consequence would be,
that the property of debtors would not be sacrificed—not destroyed
,--6 doe creditor would Pot be deprived of his debt—nor the debtor
,deleted by hieproperw being torn away. Were this principle adopted,
he man would.ilver have recourse to a Writ of Error. or other
ream, for the putpoSe of delay. This Would be a remedy—this
*mid be an iniprovement—and 1 arts quite confident it is prac-
esabh--(Hear !) I have mid little or; nothing on the subject of
...It occurs ipcidentalitonly, hut:still it js.a large one. If a man
*sere to ask me should be commence an action to recover a debt of •
W. I *odd say " no; for if you have a rich man for your debtor,
he will avail himself of all the fictions, all the subtleties of the law -
and you asaylain your NI. but you will low WI. in costs."—(ll;
Hoo.and Learned Gentleman here illustrated this patitiori, by citing
.a variety of.cases—in one _where the sum recovered amounted to
4t Ili yet the plaintiff lost 220 f. in . costs—in another, the sum re.
covered was 6171. the less by costs, 671.—in another, an undefended
tense, the amain of the. verdict was GU. the taxed costs, 64/.).....
now is this to is. r,ensedied? Re enforcing better risks for the
.taxatiort of cow. An attorney, hy being deprived of many of his
legitimate charges, is obliged to resort to the creation of others, is
order to indemnifyhintstelf.—:(deter the Him and Learned Geed...
tnanentensesseed cases is which ettandes wawa* allowed so*•
tint costs a atantilanint Witinisaaas *o=o4 and instanced one,
.ii particular, wherein expense 0 25W. had been incurred, and 1471.
*as deducted from it by the taxing ollicer.)—That evil would be
,diminished, is proportion as the other improvements should be
Adopted. One of my principal reasons for bringing forward We
subject is, that every day I witness the evils that arise out of the
'paathil changes of the law. The whole system ought to be taken
at once into consideration, with a view to reduce the number of
enactments. In my conscience I believe that this is the only safe
and rational course that can be adopted with a view to tefoina—o
Are we to be afraid of . reform ? Were we to took to the Scotch
Courts, what should we see there 2—in the Courts of a people as
**aloes, and as justly jealous of their rights, as any breathing; for it
is no small matter of praise to the old Scottish law-givers, to my
that the whole of the Scottish Laws are contained in three mall
duodecimo volumes. I may be told—" touch not our Laws, ren-
dered respectable and venerable by their antiquity." Is that a r.:a-
on why they should be immortal? Take the authority of Lard
Hale, than whom none ever existed more tenaciously attached to
the Constitution of the Country in Church and State—
" By long use and custom, many, especially that are aged. and
have been lung educated in the profession and practice of the law.
contract a kind of superstitious veneration of it, beyond what is just
and reasonable. They tenaciously and rigorously maintain those
very forms and proceedings, practices which, though possibly at
I first they were seasonable and useful, yet by the very change of
', maters, they become not only useless sod impertinent. but bur-
thensome and Incorrect, and prejudicial to the common justice and
the .common good of mankind; not considering the fronts and pre-
cepts of laws, were nut introduced for their own sakes, but for the
use of public justice; and theceleare, when 'they became insipid,
useless, impertinent, and derogatory to the end, they may and must
b s revised."
roilliese were his very.word,s. No greater authority can be cited
*pa Lord Coke—and Littleton himself, whose opinions were in
unison. Shepherd too—England's balmy lawyer—the author of
The Touchstone, one of the highest authorities that could be referted
to, what were his words, speaking on thicsubject ?—" I have but
gal word to say—to take away the weeds will not hurt the wheat."
Qs these convince? If not, if any further evidence were wanting, •
it is to be found in one of the ablest books lately published, the work
of a Mr. Parkes, a Solicitor of Warwickshire, in which he loci.
Atonally points out-the reformi that is waisted in the common law.
A necessity, and an attempt to reform the laws it not of very modern
•dats We Sod that in 1654, in the days of the Commonwealthi
two Committees were formed with that object. At the bead of
,the first, Within doors, was that bonouraWe man, Lord Gene-
ral (Yomwell—my Hon. Friend's more inertial and leas learned
oredeemor. Sidney was aeother. From these no great efforts at
pro
ikol, imvement could be expected ; but in the second out of the
House was " Mr. Matthew Hale," as he is called in the Recosd I
refer to, afterwards Sir IL Hall, one of the pelted luminaries that
iever biased' in the legal hetnisphere--ene of the most learned and en-
lightened lawyers that ever existed. From these Committees several
Acts emanated of the most valuable, kind; some of which still remain.
Moon; them were—Acts for the abolition olden and recoveries—
' for ascertaining copyhoid rightl—for regulating county courts—for
.the regulating criminal ptosecutione--,for the examination of wit-
thanes far the. deireilast en oath. That was an innovation, a
liesile innovation—. 4 cruel departure from the previous just and
linpitable and humane practice—(A laugb)..—which, having been
I waisted by the Ceinnionwealth, was afterwards adopted by the
gotardbieen Anse—(Hear). In short, thirty or forty Acts were
di ii See years, suggested by those Committees' deliberated
Ws. aid several of thew brought in, sech was the industry and
toe, disposition of our ancestors on this subject. If insole-
dietely after the Restoration, a Committee had been appointed
to examine into the state of our law ; and if upon that Committee
sat Sergeant Maynard and other great lawyerew-fifty-one ff tilers
ha ail—if they brought in four bilis, -which proceeded thimigla