The Duke of Buccleuchwished to know if the noble and learned Lord would lay upon the Table of the House the returns for which he had moved, relative to the Exchequer Court of Scotland, they were, "An account of the number of cases in the Court of Exchequer in Scotland, distinguishing undefended causes, causes tried, defended causes tried, and causes compromised without any trial, for the last five years, distinguishing each year.
The Lord Chancellorhad no objection whatever to lay the papers upon the Table of the House. He should take the opportunity of his being upon his legs to advert to an observation which had been made relative to the amendment of the Bankrupt-laws themselves. A Commission had been sitting during the whole of the last twelve months, and learned Commissioners had been added to it, in lieu of those who had been promoted to the Bench. The Commissioners had entered into the most important questions of law—such as the law of debtor and creditor and the great subject of imprisonment for debt. They had collected a vast mass of the most important information from persons experienced both in law and in trade, and they had examined between 300 and 400 persons, so that they would be able to make a Report which would be the foundation of some of the most salutary alterations which ever were made upon such great and important subjects. He had been asked whether he intended to abandon the plan 908 of local jurisdictions—the plan of making justice more cheap and more accessible to all men. He would answer, that he intended to adopt the salutary suggestions of the present Chief Baron, and to submit to the Commissioners of Legal Inquiry the whole question of those local courts for the purpose of its undergoing the most thorough investigation. In six months or less, a very important Report would be made from the Commissioners upon the subject of the local court jurisdiction.
§ The Earl of Hardwickebegged to ask his noble and learned Lord, whether it was his intention to make any improvement in the laws respecting creditors who avoided the payment of their just debts by leaving the country, and residing abroad. He now knew a person who resided at Boulogne for this purpose, though he regularly received an income of 800l. a quarter, from his property in this kingdom.
The Lord Chancellorsaid, that the subject which the noble Earl had mentioned was one of the very highest importance, and it had received a due consideration from the Commissioners of Law Inquiry. It would be a very imperfect arrangement which did not provide for cases such as the noble Earl had mentioned. He (the Lord Chancellor) abstained from stating the principles upon which the Commissioners had proceeded; but he would say, that a more shameful, scandalous state of the law could not possibly exist, than that of which persons could avail themselves by going abroad, or living within the rules of the King's Bench, and thereby avoid the payment of their debts. He himself knew a man of 8,000l. a-year who lived in the rules in order to avoid his creditors. The expenses of law proceedings, those of the Insolvent Court, the discharge of prisoners, the expenses of debtors while in gaol, and those of collecting debts, amounted altogether to 600,000l. a-year, and all this was abstracted from the funds of the creditors. In addition to this the sum of 116,000l. a-year was spent in justifying bail. If the Report of the Commission of Law Inquiry was attended to, this sum of between 700,000l. and 800,000l. a-year would be thus swept away from such a useless direction, and added to the fund for the payment of creditors.
Viscount Melvillewished to take that opportunity of making an observation or two on the Court of Exchequer in Scotland. The reason why so small a number of cases 909 were decided in that Court was, the system adopted of trying such causes in inferior Courts where it was usual to compound for penalties: when prosecutions were instituted, the defenders were induced to enter into compositions, and to pay a composition for the penalties, in order to save expenses. That was the cause of so little business being done in the Court of Exchequer. That power of compounding was one which ought not to be intrusted to an inferior Court, but ought to be under the control of the highest law officers of the Crown. That was a system which had grown up of late years.
The Lord Chancellorsaid, the same system of compromise in revenue causes prevailed very much in the Court of Exchequer here also. The Crown neither gave nor received costs; and it was often thought adviseable to compromise. The revenue causes occupied but a very small portion comparatively of the English Court of Exchequer, the Judges of which tried other causes, and went the circuits. The Scotch Court, on the contrary, was entirely confined to revenue causes. The returns called for by the noble Duke (the Duke of Buccleuch) extended only to the number of causes tried in the Scotch Court of Exchequer in each year during the last five years. If the noble Duke pleased, this might be extended to twenty years.
The Duke of Buccleuchsaid, he should be happy to attend to the suggestions of the noble and learned Lord.
A return was accordingly ordered of the number of causes tried in the Scotch Court of Exchequer in each year during the last twenty years, distinguishing between those compromised and those not compromised.