HC Deb 23 February 1824 vol 10 cc303-4
Lord Althorp

having brought in his bill, "for preventing delays and expenses in the Proceedings of County Courts, and for the more easy and speedy recovery of Small Debts,"

Mr. Hobhouse

said, he fully concurred in all the eulogiums that had been so deservedly pronounced upon the noble lord for this very useful measure: but he wished to call the attention of the noble lord to two alterations which were entitled to his consideration. It was true, that they would more especially affect his own constituents and the city of London. The first amendment he would suggest, related to the alteration respecting the statute of limitation from six years to two; and he should propose, that creditors should have the power to renew their demand at the end of every two years, by filing an affidavit at a small expense. In London and Westminster, where the persons who dealt with tradesmen frequently left their residence, those tradesmen would be subject to frequent losses if this were not done. The House was probably not aware that there was a society in Westminster, of tradesmen, who kept an account of the residences of different people who owed money to them, where information could be procured; and he had been informed by one of the leading persons of that society, that they had upon their list at that moment no less than 2,000 persons whose residence they did not know; but the majority of whom were considered good paymasters, if they could be found. The House would therefore see, that, under such circumstances, these small debts would be irrecoverably lost. The second point would be, to give the debtor the privilege of suing, not at the residence of the debtor, for it would be impossible that they could follow people for small debts to York, and Lancaster, and Gloucester, and so on. He should not expect an answer from the noble lord at present, but he considered these two points of such importance, that he wished to take that opportunity of impressing them upon the attention of the noble lord; for, notwith- standing all the praise that had been justly bestowed upon the measure, he conceived, it would be incomplete without them.

The bill was then read a first time.