§ MR. COGHILL (Newcastle-under-Lyme)I beg to ask the Attorney General what was the number of cases waiting to be heard in the Queen's Bench Division and the Chancery Division respectively when the Judges rose on the 23rd May for the Whitsuntide vacation; and whether, as the Judges have vacations of three weeks at Christmas, two weeks at Easter, 10 days at Whitsuntide, and 11 weeks in the autumn, he would consider the advisability of either abolishing the Whitsuntide vacation altogether, or of limiting it to the Saturday preceding and the Monday following Whit Sunday?
§ THE ATTORNEY GENERAL (Sir R. WEBSTER,) Isle of WightThe number of cases standing for trial at the commencement of the present sitting was, in the Chancery Division, 627, and in the Queen's Bench Division, including cases pending before Divisional Courts and appeals in Bankruptcy, 1,212. The question of the length of vacations is not for me, but having regard to the work which has to be performed by the Judges and officials when the Courts are not sitting, I am unable to hold out any hopes that a proposal for shortening the Whitsuntide vacation would be entertained.
§ MR. J. KELLY (Camberwell, N.)May I ask if Divisional Courts are in future to be composed of three Judges instead of two, as has been the case for the last 10 years? If so, there will be one Nisi Prius Court the less.
§ SIR R. WEBSTERI must have notice of that question.
§ MR. COGHILLDoes not the Attorney General consider one-third of the year too much of a holiday?
§ [No answer was given.]