§ MR. WHITESIDE moved for leave to introduce a Bill to make provision for the Appointment of Registrars to the Masters of the Court of Chancery in Ireland; also for the safe custody of Title Deeds and Documents lodged in the said Court; and to amend the practice in certain particulars. In doing so, the hon. and learned Gentleman took occasion to state that upon the death of the late Master Henn—whose place the Government had come to the conclusion not to fill up—the three remaining Masters had in a manner, which did them great credit, undertaken to clear off all the arrears in his office—amounting to some 800 or 900 causes—provided they were supplied with a reasonable staff for the purpose. That proposal, however, had been met upon the part of the Government by the munificent offer to afford them the services of a clerk with a salary of £100 per annum, with the prospect of having his position improved by an increase of £10 upon his annual income until it should amount to £200. That offer the Masters had very properly declined, inasmuch as they did not deem it desirable to allow the business to pass through the hands of the 241 person whose services they would be likely to secure for so trifling a remuneration. They had, however, signified their readiness to enter upon the task of clearing off the arrears if the sum of £200 were allowed annually for the payment of a proper officer. That very reasonable proposal had not, however, as yet received the sanction of the Treasury, notwithstanding the circumstance that a considerable saving in dealing with the business which had until lately been disposed of in the office of Master Henn would be the result. It was in order to provide the requisite assistance for the present Masters in the discharge of their duties that he asked for leave to introduce the present Bill, as well as to promote the security of documents lodged in the Court of Chancery in Ireland. He might also add that, in accordance with the existing practice in that court, a case under the 15th section of Sir John Romilly's Act, before it could be referred to the Masters must be submitted to the Lord Chancellor, who had merely to nod his head expressive of his assent to the proposal. That preliminary hearing it was another object of the Bill to abolish, so that the case would in the first instance be laid before the men who at present substantially dealt with it throughout its progress. In fact, he wished to enable the Masters to begin and complete their business without extraneous and unnecessary references. For instance, in winding-up accounts they were for a while precluded from signing cheques on the estate; but now that that power is given there is no one to draw up the orders, and that accordingly was left to the solicitors themselves—an improper state of the practice. His Bill would amend that also. He would now move for leave to bring in the Bill.
§ MR. J. D. FITZGERALDsaid, he hoped to convince the hon. and learned Gentleman and the House that this Bill was unnecessary. As had been stated by the hon. and learned Gentleman, in consequence of the death of Master Henn, the Lord Chancellor, in March last, after consulting the surviving Masters, recommended the addition of another clerk to each of the Masters, at a salary of £200. The Treasury acceded to the recommendation, with this exception, that the salary should be £100 a year, rising by £10 a year till it was £200. The Masters declined the offer; and he thought in so doing they acted very properly. When he came to London he went to the Treasury, and 242 represented to them the position which this new clerk would occupy, and stated that he thought the Masters had named a very moderate sum when they mentioned £200. The Treasury accordingly adopted the full recommendation of the Lord Chancellor, and the order had been already issued authorizing the appointment of the additional clerk at £200. The second proposition of the hon. and learned Gentleman's Bill proposed to provide safe places for the custody of public records in Ireland. That was a matter which had engaged the attention of the Government at different periods, until at length, in the course of last autumn, it was determined that not only ought fitting accommodation be erected or allocated for the business of the Encumbered Estates Court, but also that provision ought to be forthwith made for the safe keeping of the records. It was uncertain whether the intervention of Parliament was necessary to enable the Government to carry out that determination; perhaps, however, some amendment in the existing Act might be needed. For some time the Government had been engaged about the purchase of land for the erection of the edifices in question. It was intended to erect an isolated building on a large scale, where all the records of the different courts of law would be deposited. It seemed to him, therefore, that the two main objects of the Bill of the hon. Member for Enniskillen were already realized. As for the third object of the Bill, which would enable the Master, without an order from the Lord Chancellor, to entertain a petition in Chancery, he would not stop to consider the expediency of such a proposal. According to the present practice, all petitions went before the Master on the order of the Lord Chancellor, and in the great majority of cases the order was made as a matter of course; but every one who was acquainted with the Irish Court of Chancery must be aware that the discretion of the Lord Chancellor was exercised to determine whether a case came within the statute, and whether it was a fit case to be referred to the Master. Next Session a large measure, having reference to the Incumbered Estates Court and the Court of Chancery in Ireland must be introduced, and whatever enactments regarding the transaction of business in those courts were necessary could then be introduced. Under those circumstances he would submit that, as the objects of the hon. and learned Gen- 243 tleman would be otherwise answered, it would be superfluous to proceed with the present Bill. If, however, he wished to lay the Bill on the table, he (Mr. FitzGerald) should not oppose its introduction.
§ MR. WHITESIDEsaid, though gratified at the prospect held out by the hon. and learned Gentleman, still as there were three or four practical inconveniences adjusted by his Bill, which would otherwise remain unredressed, he could not undertake to withdraw the Bill until, at all events, those details had been ventilated.
§ Leave given.
§ Bill ordered to be brought in by Mr. WHITESIDE, and Mr. NAPIER.
§ Bill presented, and read 1°.