The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1833-03-29 00:00:00

Emperiai ?dal:ham/it.
DOUSE OF LORDS.

MONDAY, MARCH 25.
Mr. Bernal and other§ trona the Commons brought up the
ta_gar Duties' Bill.
Petitions praying for the batter observance of the Sabbath
were presented by the Duke of Newcastle, from parishes in the
county of Nottingham; by the Earl of Rosebery, from Dum-
barton- by the Bishop of Lincoln, from parishes iu Montgo-
meryshire, Leicestershire, and Carnarvoushire ; and by Earl
Fitzwilliam, from Rotherham, in Yorkshire.
Lord KING presented a petition from St. Michael's and St.
John's Dublin, against the coercion bill; and from several
places in Ireland against the tithe system.
Lord Wyraoan presented a petition from a religious congre-
gation in Glasgow, praying for some measure to prevent the
successive labour of children in factories.
-The Earl of ROSSLYN presented a petition to the same effect
from Cupar.
The Duke of GORDON presented a petition for the revision
of-tithes from a parish in Aberdeenshire.
• Petitions in favour of the abolition of slavery were presented
by the Duke of CLEVELAND, from a parish in the county of
Durham; and by the Earl of Gosford, from a parish in Perth-
shire.
•• ••The Earl of RODEN presented a petition from a place in
Inverness-shire, praying for the abolition of church patronage :
from Dundalk, against slavery; from Cashel, and from different
places in the counties of Down, Dublin, and Meath, praying
that a convocation of the clergy might be summoned, to take
the important subject of church reform into consideration; and
from the inhabitants of Elphiu, against that part of the Church.
Reform Bathe effect of which would be to take away the advan-
tages they at present enjoyed from the residence of a Protestant
Bishop among them. The noble earl said that the last peti-
tion was signed both by Protestants and Catholics, and was well
deserving of their lordships' serious consideration.
On the motion of Earl Fitzwilliam, an account of the dif-
ferent counties, baronies, and parts of baronies, lying within the
several sees in Ireland, was ordered to be laid before the house.
-The Marquess of WESTMEATH, as the house was about to ad-
journ, called the attention of their lordships to the wording of a
petition presented by a noble baron (King) from the parishei
of St. Michael and St. John, Dublin, against the Irish Dis-
turbances Bill. The petitioners used language which he
thought highly unbecoming towards that house; they said that
afirliament, instead of preparing fresh bayonets and cannon to
keep the people down, ought to pass measures for the relief of
their sufferings and the redress of their grievances; but what
he particularly objected to in the petition was the assertion that
the people of Ireland had a right to a separate legislature. He
thought the petition was, moreover, irregular, in respect of its
reference to a bill which had passed their lordships' house.
Lord KING said that the petitioners had a right to take their
own view of their own affairs; and he was not aware that they
stated anything that was disrespectful to their lordships' house.
•They had a.perfect right to petition against the Irish Disturb-
'oxides Bill, inasmuch as it had not yet passed into a law;_ and
it should be borne in mind that the bill now before the Com-
-Tomas was a very different bill from that which had passed their
lordships' house. (" Hear," and laughter.)
After a few more words, the conversation on this subject
dropped, and the house adjourned.
TUESDAY.
Lord King presented a petition from a place in Wales for the
repeal of the malt-tax.
The Bishop of London presented petitions for the better oh-
.servance of the sabbath from a congregation in Conduit-street,
and from St. Andrew's' (Scotch) church, near the Commercial-
road.
Petitions to the same effect were presented by the Earl of Ro-
den from St. Katherine's, in Dublin, and from other places in
Itele.nd: and by Lord Melbourne, from Arbroath.
The Earl of Morley presented a petition from the merchants,
bankers, and tradesmen of Plymouth, praying for the amend-
ment of the law of debtor and creditor.
Earl Fitzwilliam presented petitions, praying for the removal
of the disabilities alfecting. the Jews, from the inhabitants of
the town of Kingston-upon-Hull; and from the Jews residing
,ati. the same place.
The Earl of Roden presented petitions praying for a convo-
-cation of the clergy, to take into consideration the proposed
measure of church reform, from St. George's, Dublin; and from
the dean and chapter of Elphin. Also a petition from Caith-
ness against church patronage in Scotland ; and another from
Brechin against the new system of education in Ireland.
On the motion of the ?Lord Chancellor, the house then re-
solved into a committee on ttke
LAW AMEN)p_IENT RILL.
On the Ist clause, which gve.s to the judges the power to
make alterations in the mode eyes
in the superior courts,
being read,
The Earl of Etnosi said he considered the principle of this
clause very objectionable. As he understood it, the effect of it
would be to give the force of law to whatever rules or orders
respecting pleading the judges might. think proper to make
within the space of the next lisie years:
The Lord CHANCELLOR admitted that at a first view the
clause appeared to confer upon the judges a large and needless
kower; The law commissioners, four of whom were judges,
ad recommended that the whole question of special pleading
should undergo revision, for the purpose of ensuring greater ac-
curacy in the pleadings, as well as of diminishing tae expense
as regarded the suitor. Those learned gentlemen, however,
never contemplated that parliament could frame a code of spe-
cial pleading adapted to all times, and to every variety of cir-
Oumstances.
Lord WYNFORD objected to giving the judges such extensive
powers for the space of five years. He was ready enough to
admit their great learning and ability, but he could not consent
to delegate to them the powers of the legislature. He should
therefore propose an amendment, requiring the judges to con-
sider what alterations in the practice of pleading were neces-
sary, and to submit whatever regulations they might adopt to
both houses of parliament.
The Lord CHANCELLOR thought that, whatever inconveni-
ence, the clause as it stood might occasion, the noble and
learned lord's proposition would give rise to still greater incon-
venience, and was infinitely more objectionable. If their lord-
ships adopted the amendment, they might depend upon it that
no man would ever propose a change in the law without being
met by the objection that the matter ought to be referred to the
jddges in the first instance.
The Earl of ELDON felt himself bound to give the clause, as
it, stood, his most decided opposition. It went to overthrow
that ancient and salutary principle of the constitution—that
enly parliament should alter the law of the land. It, in fact,
delegated the powers of parliament to the judges, instead of
the good old practice of making the Lord Chancellor embody
in alegislative measure the suggestions of the judges. It
would do away with parliamentary interference altogether in
the practice of the courts, and, so far, would arm the judges
with power above the law. The law f practice was the law of
the land, and if the judges' regulations could, after five years,
become a part of the law of practice, it followed that to them
was delegated a most important junction of the legislature. He
would trust no judge with such an unconstitutional power, and
would therefore vote for the amendment.
The Lord CHANCELLOR begged leave to remind the learned
earl that the Scotch judges were armed with a much more dis-
cr6tionary 'power than 'the clause could invest the English
judges with.
The Earl of ELDON admitted that.
Lord'ELCENeoisoenra thought that the object of the amend-
ment would be attained by inserting, as a provision in the
clause, that the regulations of the judges should not be binding
till six weeks after they had been submitted to Parliament.
(Hear.)
The LORD CHANCELLOR had no objection to the noble ba-
ron's suggestion being adopted ; the rather as the regulations
of the judges were meant to affect only the machinery of the
court, and not the rules or principles of the law of practice.
The Earl of ELDON begged the learned lord's pardon; the
clause would enable the juuges to alter the whole ancient prac-
tice of pleading.
Lord Wits; soars agreed with his learned friend, and would
therefore persist in Ins amendment, the more confidently, as it
would receive all the advantages to be derived from the ex-
perience and practical suggestions of the judges without arm-
mg them with a most unconstitutional authority. The real re-
medy for the abuses contemplated by the bill, would be the sim-
plifying the form of pleadings, to make them brief and explicit,
instead of being, as at present, a mass of absurd verbosities.
On a division, these appeared :
For Lord Wynford's amendment
Against it

Majority
The LORD CHANCELLOR withdrew, for the present, the clause
compelling part shipowners to refer the cause to arbitration.
The Earl of ELDON would have offered the clause his uncom-
promising opposition. His 50 3,cars' experience as judge and
chancellor emboldened him to say that a more despotic clause
could not have been submitted to the legislature.
The LORD CHANCELLOR said that it would only be in cases of
small amount, and not involving any difficult question of law,
that-the sheriff would be called upon ; besides that, it would be
optional with the suitor to have his cause tried by the judge of
writhe ia the usual way.

The other clanks of the bill were then put and agreed to.
On the clause which provides that witnesses interested solely on
account of the verdict may be admissible being moved,
Lord WYNFORD objected to the wording of this clause, and
suggested an amendment which would have the effect of de-
itroying, in some measure, the temptation to swear falsely.
It was wrong, the noble lord observed to place a man in a si-
tuation in which he was either compelled to give false evidence
or injure his personal interests; and he would prefer getting
rid of the clause altogether.
The LORD CHANCELLOR concurred in the amendment, and
the clause was agreed to. •
On the clause being moved which abolishes certain holy-
days,
The Lorna CHANCELLOR observed that an erroneous impres-
sion had gone abroad that Good Friday was included in the
holydays specified in the bill. That was not, hoWever, the case,
since Good Friday was not one of the holydays mentioned in
the sth and 6th Edward VI., to which alone the present bill had
reference.
The other clauses of the bill were then severally put and
agreed to, the house resumed, and the report was ordered to be
received this day.
Lord WYNFORD postponed his motion for the second reading
of the Law Amendment Bill till Tuesday next, in consequence
of the continued absence of the Lord Chief Baron.—Ad-
journed.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.

MONDAY, MARCH 25.

The SPEAKER took the chair soon after twelve o'clock.
Mr. ELLICE moved for a writ for the election of a burgess to
serve in parliament for the borough of Sunderland, in the room
of the Hon. Captain Barrington, who had accepted the office
of the Chiltern Hundreds.—Ordered.
This being the last day for the first reading of private bills,
the house was occupied upwards of an hour in disposing of the
private business.
Mr. iionGEs brought in a bill for the making the city of
London Arcade.—Read a first time. _ . _

Mr. HODGES brought in a bill for erecting and maintaining
a pier at Gravesend.—Read a first time.
On the motion of Sir E. KNATCHBULL, the Serjeants'-inn
Improvement Bill was read a first time.
Sir E. Wi r:moz presented a petition from the parish of Bed-
worth, Warwickshire, for an amendment of the Beer Bill, and
for the better observance of the Sabbath ; a petition from cer-
tain inhabitants of the county of Warwick, praying for relief
from the heavy taxation under which they. labour; and a peti-
tion from the parish of Little Tethering, in the same county,
for the better observance of the Sabbath.
The house continued occupied in receiving petitions until
three o'clock, when the Speaker left the chair.

At five o'clock the Speakar resumed the chair.
LIVERPOOL ELECTION.
Mr. BANNERMAN reported from the committee appointed to
inquire into the corrupt practices pursued at elections for mem-
bers to serve in Parliament for the borough of Liverpool, that a
witness of the name of Elizabeth Robinson had refused to an-
swer questions put to her by the committee.
Elizabeth Robinson was ordered to attend at the bar of the
house to-morrow.