§ Mr. Hawesmoved, that the order to commit any bill for the recovery of small debts be discharged, and that no such bill be committed until the 8th day of April next. There were many Small Debts bills now before the House, and it was exceedingly important that they should be uniform in their provisions. The object of his present motion was to postpone any determination upon their enactments until after the House had determined upon the course it intended to pursue relative to the County Courts Bill, introduced by the noble Lord the Secretary for the Home Department, which might in some instances avoid the necessity of the local bills being passed at all. Many of the bills contained provisions in reference to different localities which were of a conflicting nature, and such as to prevent all uniformity in the practice.
§ Mr. W. Evansthought that it would be unjust to accede to this proposition, 874 because the rights of parties who had, at considerable cost, procured the introduction of bills to the House, would be concluded without a due regard being had to their interests. The bills had, in many instances, been introduced before that of the noble Lord had been determined on.
Sir J. Bullersupported the motion, and would go even further than the hon. Member for Lambeth, in recommending the House to proceed no further with any of those local bills this Session. It was most important that they should all agree in their provisions, and it would be a useless outlay of money for the parties interested to carry their measures any further, when they might be rendered unnecessary by the adoption of the bill of the noble Lord. The expenses already incurred were unnecessary, because the parties had notice of the noble Lord's bill. If the noble Lord's bill should pass, he would agree with the hon. Member in putting a stop to all bills of this description.
§ Mr. Freshfieldsaid, that the House had as yet received no assurance that the measure which had been introduced by the Government would be pressed on, or would be proceeded with at all; and he thought that some statement of the views of the noble Lord upon the subject should be made. It would be unjust to the parties that they should lose the money which they had spent, without the benefit to which they were entitled being secured to them.
§ Lord John Russellsaid, that he, of course, could say nothing as to the probability of any measure passing that House; but he must say, that the parties by whom these bills had been introduced had had abundant notice of his intention to introduce the general measure now before the House. He stated the principle of the bill last year, and this Session he had not only brought it in as early as possible, but he had taken care to separate the Small Debts Bill from other provisions to which some objections were likely to be made, and which might impede its progress. The only question for the House, as it appeared to him, was whether they would allow a number of these separate bills to go through committee, when there was a general measure before Parliament upon the same subject. Those bills had always been objected to by his hon. and learned Friend the Attorney-General, and he thought pro- 875 perly so, on account of the various enactments which it was proposed they should contain—for while one bill provided that a party might be imprisoned for twenty-one days, another proposed a term of imprisonment of sixty days' duration. If the hon. Member for Lambeth should press his motion, therefore, he should feel himself bound to give it his support.
§ Captain Pechellsaid, that the hon. Members who had opposed this motion might rest satisfied as to no pains being lost to procure a general measure being passed, because if that of the noble Lord were to fail, he should introduce again a bill which had passed this House last Session, and, by mistake, was thrown out in the other House of Parliament.
§ Motion agreed to.