The Statesman.
London, England, 1823-07-11 00:00:00

SCOTCH LAW COMMISSIONERS' BILL.

The ATTORNEY-GENERAL moved the third readieg
of the Scotch Law Commisstoners' Bill.

Mr. BROLIi HA NI said he highly approved of the prin-
ciple of the Hitl, and expressed a hope that its intention
would not be infrared by the employment of incompetent
persons to 'discharge the duties of Commissioners. It
was undersiood that this Bill emanated from a Noble and
Learned Person at the head of his Majesty's Government.
It was strange that it should never strike that Noble Per-
son, whilst penning the. Preamble to this ffill, which so
well described the expediency of inquiring into the abuses
of Courts of Justice in Scotland, that there was in an-
other part of the United Kingdom, and under his own im-
mediate control. a Court that A much, if not a great deal
more, than the Courts of Law in Scotland, ch►llenged in-
vestigation. ...Inquiry, like charity, ought to begin at
home. No man knew better the value of the latter max-
im than the Noble person he teas speaking of. That No-
Isle person might have also remembered that
,Christian
and wise principle about the mote and the beam. Surely
we should have made a gentle effort to take the beam ottt
of our owe eye before we Went violently to pluck the
mote from that dour Scottish neighbours. Why, then,
he woold ask, was no attempt made before the Commit-
tee, from whose Report dill Bill proceeded. to investigate
the abuses iw she Court of Chancery ? Why were no
Chancery lawyersexamined ? Why was not his Honour-
able and Loaned Friend opposite (Mr. Wetherell) called
before the Committee, than whom no man was in a situa-
tion, from his experience and integrity, to give a more
useful opinion, and, at the same time, one that would not
be in the slightest degree affected by an undue re►erence
for those before whom he would have to avow it. lie
would contend for It, that in no Court was Reform more
necessary than in the Court of Chancery, The late sir
S. Itomilly used to say, " it is not a VicteCtiancellor you
want, but a net► Lord Chancellor." Sir Samuel held in the
profoundesteespeet the teaming and legalsubtletyof lord
Eldon but his judicial course was perpetually crossed by
politics. He (Mr. B.) gave Lord Eldon credit for int-
menselearning and tile:its., and. for spotless integrity in
his judicial adininistration; hut in the distribution of the
patronage of his office, no roan, tt was admitted on all
sides of Wrstininster Hall, ever so much allowed the per
to sway the Chancellor Lord Eldon. But the
Noble Lnrd had recently added tai his numerous and ins-
portent functions an other which was not likely to render
Wen a more elliciebt and expeditious Judge—namely, th•
othce of Prime Minister.—(Hear, and a laugh.) Lord
Liverpool." continued Mr. Al. "is no 'more the Prime
Minister than I am. He and I indeed now act trigether.
I consider bins as a very-efficieut Member of the Opposi-
tioo pert of Inc Ilouse.—(l.anglarg.) In tipeaking of
my Lord Liverpool,l do cot know hat I should nut name
aeon as my Noble Friend in another place, with whom I
have the honour to act.—(Much laeghing.) It is aril a
joke to talk of Lord Liverpool being Prime Minist-r, af-
ter recent events. No doubt be has a certain, but still an
indirect influence in the Howe, in the sante way as Lord
Grey, the Marquess of Lansdown, and other Noble Peers
have. But all the direct influence resides with Lord El-
don. He Call stand up now proprio matte, and carry any

ot—EiTeiiiics.


measure be.pleaseeagainit •the whets, Ministry—algainst
the seise of The country, es well as against its best me.
*Os, Loid"Liverpecd, to be sure, can say that he'soc:
cbilderl apiest the Chailitellor Oa & dense •is the Mar.
riige Bill. Well, l'have trinaeplied also Over his Lbrilabio
on the Education Bill. Again, Lord Liverpool. defeeed
Lord Eldon on .a clause is the Biller Pallid and ?entities t
and I datterinyeelf that I Lad some hand in defekting the
lame person in the whole of that Bill : to that I will *not
yield one login My claim on the gratitude of the eowntry
$.4" Lord Liverpool, my Noble Friend in another "'place.
With whom I have the honour to act—(Hach laughing).
indeed, that this is but the beginning of a aeries
Igt Warts between us that may turn to the service ()film.
'annoy. Indeed, there never visa recruit received into
:the ranks, of the Opposition, that gave me more satisfac-
tiOn than Lord Liverpool, though 1 confess the accession
of Lord Westmorland has excited more of my astonish-
amt. We will all, I hope, mutually exert ourselves.
nod make heed against the prevailing indoeuce that
pees Bs
not,indeed, that I hope that any endeavours
Wears will asuseed iu renaming my Lord Eldon from a
place which I have now reason to be satiafied he holda
for and during the term of his, natural life." The-Hon.:
Ointleinan then complained of the conduct of the House
Of Lords in adopting certain regulations, with respect to
the appellate jurisdiction, without the consent or pretty
of the House of Commons. He sacrificed souse time in
showing that this course, though legal, was unconstitu-
tional. It was tbeir duty, he contended, to have submit-
ted a Bill for the purpose to the judgment of the House
of Commons. Haring protested against that whiCh he
would describe as an innovation of a most unconsti-
tutional nature, he came to state his opinion of that re-
form which was in the contemplation ot their Ldrdships,
and which, in his opinion, would be productive, not only
of the most serious, but of the most inconvenient con's.-- •
quences. He begged to refer back a little to the history
of the changes that took place in the. Courts of Equity.
In 1913. the Learned Lord Chancellor Eldon sent dowa
:o that Hoes* a Bill for the appointment of an assistant
in Chancery, and that Bill met with such a reception.
sad so disagre 'able were its results to the Learned Lott!,
that he got heartily tired of the job. The Learned Lor.l
then said, that he Wanted a journey mats Chancellor—(.a
laugh)—to 'hist him in diapdsing of equity causes, in
order that he might give attendance to the Lords. No• ,
in Dad, the Learned Lord wanted a journeyman Speak-
er, to relieve him from the burden ot Scotch Appeals i:t
the Lords.—(Hear, hear.) In the former case, he sail
" give use a Deputy to relieve ins in evity." Now he
says " give me a Deputy to relieve one in appeals."—
,(Hear, hear.) By the contemplated arrangements of
chair Lordships, Lord Eldon's. lioli ilea] and judicial ca-
diacity would be totally separatednot so, however, tha:
his political capacity Would be dissevered from his lath-
nl capacity ; for as lung as that Learned Lord was
among theliving, he would continue to be politie...ll.--(A
laugh.) It was possible that a Court favourite, without
any other pretensions, might be next appointed to the
offide of Chancellor. He recollected that which was
an illustration of this case. It was said of that profli-
gate Prince. Charles the Second, that he used to
amuse himself by ordering his favourite, Shaftesbury,
to turn into ridicule and to mimic the nia.:ner, dress, and
gait, of Lord Clarendon, the Lord Chancellor; so, the
historian says, that be ordered a person to walk Before,
carrying the 6r&ir0011 across his shoulders in mimicry of
the easce—(a laugh)—with Shaftesbury following be-
hind dressed in his robe,, and tying the gait of
Clarendon. But what followed ? Charles soon after ap-
pointed to the high and solemn dignity of Lord Chan-
cellor, his poppet Shaftesbury, and he made an lionester
Chancellor than Statesman—a thing, however, not
peculiar to bins—(Hear, hear, and a laugh.) By the
projected regulations of the Lords, the Monarch migh:
now make a bargain by Which he might share the pa-
tronage with the Lord Chancellor, who would have
nothing else—except politics—to attend to, while his
deputies in Equity and in Appeals in the other Botts.:
were doing the business. But these arrangements were
all subservient to the continuation of Lord Eldon il4
Prime Minister, while they made a tacit admission that
he no longer was physically capable of dischargingaho
functions of a Lord Chancellor. This would ultimately
lead to the result, long ago predicted by Sir Samiiel
Romilly, that a person completely ignorant of law or
equity, a mere Goan fly; might 611 the seat of Chawiel-
lor. It was on these grounds that Sir Samuel Roniiily
joined with Sir John Leach, the present Vice Chancel-
lor, in opposing the measure of 1813, for the creation
of a new office to aid the Lord Chancellor. They
then maintained, that yon would find a person raise-1
to be Chancellor, although no lawyer. Hoe act was
already made to relieve the Lord Chancellor
.in equity,
and now it was intended to make another to appoiut
Deputy Speaker in the Lords, to relieve his Lordship
in Appeals. What then was wore likely than that in
ten years hence, you may get some tine gentleman
—like that Lord Shaftesbury, coining down, as Melt-Ara
North said, in his gay dress—a fine gentleman of the
Court for your Chancellor,always having in his thoughts
and before his eyes, the Court of St. James's, end never
'linking of the Court of Chancery.'—(l-lear, hear.)
Such would probably be the result of the proposed ar-
rangemenrs contemplated by the Lords' Report; and 'it
was the duty of the House to more on probabilities,
and they ought not to sanction the appoiutuient of .4
new other, merely because there was a Apart for whom
it was convenient such an office should be created.—
_(Hear, hear.) It was fur the interest, as cell as the good
of the country, that the best lawyer should be the CASII•
cellor. Sir Samuel Hominy, by the made he pro-
posed, would have got rid of the arrears in Chancery,
in half a year, as quickly as Lord Hardiiieke did meant
he Caine to the office. He who was excluded by the
courtiers, _ being a good lawyer -withal,. was the tittaLst
for the office of Lord Chancellor. As long its jhe Lord
Chancellor was obliged to go daily into the Court of
Chancery, arid .had to grapplethere with 6: ntlen of the
Bar, the most enlightened, toe best informed, the most
independent and ablest lawyers—as long also as lie
wai obliged to go into the 6ortis to:prtside in Appeals,
and hail to grapple There also with min equally enlight-
ened, and equally stubborn in the assertion of right pri..-
ciples (for he knew them well), hr should necessarily he
a great man and an able lawyer, an I tsar Monarch could
not appoint any other than such. Bat take away the n.•-
cessity of sitting is the Court of Chancery—tatie
also the ne essity, as was contemplated at present, of pre-
siding on Appeals in the Lords, and you may soon have
—What? a good debater, perhaps, or a fine wntleinan,
chosen to be Lord Chancellor—chosen for other goal ties
rathir than for his knowledge of law, or of the C institu-
tion, or fur his integrity.—(Hear, hear.) These were
some of his objections so the proposition of nitkihe a
Deputy Speaker to ease Lord Chancellor Eldon of App
Now, as to the mode of payment proposed by their boril-
ships
.for their Deputy Speaker, he was to be paid lor
atten•ing the Lords—he, this new officer. this Depufsr
Speaker, was to bepaid among the.doer-keepersl He
thought that this mode of proviling for the, Deputy
Speaker, by calling for a rope fur his salary among the
door-keepers, was not respectful to the Commons, nor to
the people who might be suitors. He could say from his