Star.
London, England, 1829-05-22 00:00:00

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always applied to the Judges of. Ass:ze. A Commission
had been-appointed to investigate tettiin subjects con-
nected-With the administration of justice in Chancery,
and they were undoubtedly men of great industry,
ability, and experience. It was, however, rather strange
that in the inquiries which they were pursuing they
had not subpoenaed a single Judge. He should sug-
gest that the person to be appointed to the new office,
or the Vice-Chancellor, should exercise an appellate
jurisdiction from the decisions of the Commissioners , f _
Bankrupts, and it might be desirable if in some case.
there were no ulterior appeal.- as the espeneefro t
double appeal was in many eases greater than the oil-
ginal 'abject of litigation. The Noble and. Learned
Earl. in conclusiob. expressed a desire to know morsel
the Bill before it should pass into a law. .
The LORD CHANCELLOR regretted that Lot 1
Eldon had not Riven his opinion upon the subject until
the Nit stage of the Bill. He regretted that the Noble
and Learned Lord had not stated his sentiments at the
second reading. when he (the Lord Chancellor) entered
at length into the details of the meature and its mode.
of operation, as well' as into the causes which shOwed
the necessity of the measure itself. - The elect of his
deferring the statement of his opisiont till .tow rendered
it ,necessary :for hits (Lord Lyndhurst) sotto repeat the
decalitre:Welt he hid •formetly ptoduced, but only to
'refer to them, e* to point out the objects of the BA.
He agreed that tire object of the Rill was. mast impor-
tant, ot, swine toriectly speaking, that the sti ject to
which the Bill related. was of the utmost importance to
the people of this country. The Earl of Eldon had
entered into a minute retail of the course of proceedings
in the Counts of Equity. In many of the observations
made by Lord Eldon he (Lord Lyndhurst) fully acreed;
and, judging from the nature and objects of a Court of
Equity, he thought it perfectly iidiculcus to compare
the progress of a suit in equity with one at common
law. Lord Eldon had alluded to the Chancery Com-
mission, and be (the Lord Chancellor) could say that
the Learned Person who had filled the Chair of that _
Commission was as fully qualified to discharge_the
duties of the office at any man that had ever existed. in
this country. He alluded to the present Master of
_Ole
Rolls. The object of the Commissioners was one of
great importance. It was principally to accelerate the
progress of a cause from its commencement to the heir.,
ing. All persons who knew the Court of Chancery •"
knew that the greatest delays which occurred in the
Court of Chancery took place in that period. To this
object the attention of the Commissioners had been prin-
cipally directed, and the result of their labours 'bad
been the drawing up of a series of orders, in a view
to prevent the delays which took place in that
part of the suit. if the Learned Lord would li ok
into these orders, and apply to their examination the
learning, talents, and experience • hich he possessed, be
would find -that the orders had achieved the object as
far as it eras possitslein the nature_of the circumstances
to effect it. For the last twenty years the re had elapsed
on an average eighteen months between the commence.
ment cf a suit arid the hearing, and this not in the ad-
ministrative faits of which Lord Eldon had spoken, but
In the ordinary litigation of the Court. And was not
this art evil of such magnitude as to call for a remedy?
According .to the practice • f the common law, in 18
months the whole case would be decided and at an end;
I sat in a suit in e.,uity there were flee or six stages, and
the same delay to 4 ;lice in each. He slicrolsi ask
their Lordships, as men of reason and cominne sense.
whether thir was not an evil of the most mon.trows de-
scription? and when the question was, whether or no
they would give 6 0001. a year to a hew Judge, for the
purpose of relieving the country from ,itch a state of
affairs, they could not for a moment hesitate in making
such a grant for such an object. To illustrate the evils
reinliing from this delay, it was not ne.essai y for him
to search into the records of the Court of Chancery.
He should only mention a case which had occurred Vat
morning in Court—the case of Priornier v. Payne.
.In
that case, the Bill was filed in 1820. These was in
1822 a reference to the Master, who, in 1i.24, :snide a
'report, which was excepted to. The exceptions were
entered for' argument, but not heated for two years
after, when the exceptions were allow.d, and the
report Overruled. An, appeal was then , lodged.
The appeal was set down for heating. It war beard
in the year 1828 ; and now 'the case is set down again
for a re-hearing of the appeal. Tnis case aas an acci.
dental illustration of the ruinous delays which tosiik
place under the present system. The Noble Eat!, , for
sehroe great experience and profound knowledge or the
law he (the Loud Chancellor) entertained the highest
opipion, had correctly inhumed their Loidships that'he
had called upon him, for the purpose of statingthe evils
which existed, and consulting him as to the best means
of remedying them. The L. rd Chancellor suggested
the probability of doing something with the C.** of
Exchequer, but Lord Eldon said that' the*.best • plan
would be to appoint an additional Judge in the Court
of Chancery. He was sure that the, Noble aid Learned
Loud would recollect the fact on its being brhught to
bit memory. If then, the evil was so great, was it not
time to endeavour to remedy it ? If the court, by its
present constitution. had not the power to hear causes
when ripe for hearing, was it:not necessary to:give it
die power of doing w? If they wanted to have more
causes decided .by the Court • of Chancery they must
give it more. Judges. Lord Itedesdale had said that
something may be done amongst the COCOA who
practised in both Counts. He (the Lotd Chancellor)
thought it due lb them to say that, although they had a
pecuniary. interest in the contiouaoce of the present
system. yet they had immediately and cheerfulky ficS.
quiesced in the preposition which he_liad made of con,
Going themselves to separate.Couits. With regard to
the observations which the Earl of Eldon had made
upon the Court of Exchequer he (the Lord Chan.
Mho) thought them irrelevant to the present' subject,...
—He did not wish to mix the Court of Etchearter
with the present question. If the Court of, Xtchequet
',had-no existence he should not the less bring forward
the present measure. The Noble and Learned 4irl
had alluded to the jurisdiction in bifkruptcy, and he
(toe Lord Chancellor) agreed with WI le thinking that .
tita separation of it from the great seal troOld produce •
no
mitigation of the evil, and. that the system under
such a change, if it could be effected, would be more
mischievous and rninous.end neither less expensive nor
more effectual. The Noble'and Learned Earl had tug-
sewed the propriety of giving the new Judge an ap-
pellate jurisdiction in cases of bankruptcy, bat be (Loed .
Lyndhurst). was of opinion thatthe best plan would
to confinepte butioestof bankruptcj to the Vsce Chafe.

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