Lord Broughammoved the nomination of the Select Committee on this Bill, pursuant to notice. He was rather astonished to hear, if indeed he could after living so long be astonished at anything, that the motive assigned to him for his bringing in this Bill instead of the Government was, that he wanted to make a place for himself. He, however, ought not to be astonished at this assertion, considering the numerous race it belonged, is a story engendered by Malice and her bastard sister Falsehood —begotten both by the father of lies upon the weakness of human nature. He believed that all of their Lordships had formed some passing acquaintance with that family, not excepting the noble Duke opposite, and the noble Earl (Earl Radnor) behind him, than whom he believed none cared less for such things. In this case the story lost nothing from the coincidence of there being a creation of places as well as a Bill; but one could not help feeling that the person who put forth the story ought to have reflected that anything more absurd could not have been devised by the wit of man. It was a perfectly notorious fact, that he (Lord Brougham) had refused such an offer three times over, and when his noble and learned Friend on the Woolsack, and another noble Friend pressed him to it, and when, if he consented, the Bill would have been brought in with all the weight of Government, he refused it. This had been more than once stated in this House by his noble and learned Friend himself. Now, if at his time of life, he were afflicted with the vice of old age, avarice (and he believed those who knew him, would admit that he had not indicated it before), he might have accepted that offer at a former period, when the Bill would have been brought in with the weight of Government; but at that period he refused it, and he refused it on these grounds, that be did not then see the necessity for it; he at that time had 797 not lived to see the necessity which now existed for such a Bill—he had not lived to see such an increase in the business brought before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council—he had not seen the great necessity which now existed for further judicial help, and that arose from no fault of his noble and learned Friends in that House. His noble and learned Friend on the Woolsack laboured as bard in the discharge of his duties in the Court of Chancery and in that House as any one could, and his noble and learned Friend behind him (Lord Campbell) had constantly attended since he obtained a seat in that House—they sat four days in the week for six hours a day, and no kind of blame attached to the House or to any individual of it; but when he saw the great arrears of business, and when he also saw a continual increase of business, he felt that four days in the week would not do. The question then was, why did he bring in the Bill? He brought it in for an obvious reason—he originated it—it was his Bill—he brought in the Bill relating to the Judicial Committee, and he introduced provisions relating to the Patent jurisdiction, but he had not taken any further steps until he felt it his duty to improve what had become a defect in the constitution of the Court. The noble and learned Lord concluded with nominating the Committee.
The Lord Chancellorrepeated the suggestion he had formerly made, that the Bill should be divided into two parts.