§ MR. CLOUGH (Portsmouth)I beg to ask the Solicitor General whether it has been brought to the notice of the Lord Chancellor that there have lately been pending, both in the local Courts under the administration of the County Court Judge of the Portsmouth district, and that there are now pending in the High Court of Justice, several petitions in bankruptcy against the learned Judge himself; that his honour has on more than one occasion acted judicially in one 1627 of his own cases, and is personally indebted to officers of his Court and to practitioners practising before him; whether he is aware that in administering the winding-up of the Portsea Island Building Society in the Portsmouth County Court his honour has caused the Sheriff's Officer of the county, one Moore, to sell the society's properties by public auction, and the Clerk of the Portsmouth County Court to collect the rents of the society for reward; that the relative of one of his honour's largest creditors, by his honour's instructions, is employed as counsel on behalf of the liquidators of the society, and his honour's private London solicitors, who were not otherwise interested or engaged for any client in the matter of the winding-up of the society or otherwise, have been appointed by his honour to represent a class of parties interested in the winding-up; and whether he will cull the attention of the Lord Chancellor to the matter?
§ THE SOLICITOR GENERAL (Sir J. RIGBY, Forfar)As to the first paragraph, I have spoken to the Lord Chancellor, who has not heard of what is suggested. He will, however, cause inquiries to be made into these statements, and also as to those set forth in the second paragraph.