The Marquess of Westmeathsaid, he should not have troubled the House with what he was about to mention, but that it really was a matter of very considerable consequence, relating, as it did, to the injury sometimes suffered by suitors at their Lordships' House. He had been in attendance yesterday upon a Committee of Privileges, upon a claim of Peerage, and the House was kept waiting one whole hour, from ten to eleven, without the means of doing anything, because there was not a sufficient number of Peers ready to form a Committee. In consequence of this a case was postponed to Thursday, and then the further hearing of the Peerage claim was anticipated, and was fixed for to-morrow. Great inconvenience was felt by the suitors, if there was not a sufficient number of Peers present to do their business. In his opinion there should be, for Committees of privilege, as well as for the other judicial business of the House, an attendance in rotation, by which the attendance of a sufficient number of Peers would always be secured. As matters stood at present, the suitor might have to incur a great deal of unnecessary expense—such as to re-fee Counsel, and pay other expenses which need not be incurred but on account of the delay.
Lord Broughamwas unwilling to enter upon this matter at this moment, as it would have the effect of postponing what they were all anxious to hear—the discussion on the order of the day; but he must say, that the matter referred to by the noble Marquess, was the cause 495 of much prejudice to the interests of suitors. What the noble Marquess said was perfectly true—they had been detained yesterday for the best part of an hour, which, however, was not unusual, waiting for a sufficient number of Peers to constitute a Committee; for it was often very difficult to get seven Peers together in the morning, so that they lost an hour, and might very likely make parties pay the expense of an additional day besides that to which the hearing was postponed. He wished that some rota was established, as in the judicial business of the House, for that might have the effect of avoiding the mischief. He should be ready to give his best attention to the subject, and to assist in procuring a remedy. He begged, however, to say, that he was not to blame in this matter; for he had no choice but to postpone the full hearing of a case then before the House, and he had anticipated the next hearing of the Peerage case, lest there should be nothing before the House to-morrow.
The Marquess of Westmeathhad not intended to blame the noble and learned Lord; what he complained of was, the occurrence of a circumstance which had entailed so much unnecessary expense on the parties.
Lord Farnhamthought that, however, it might be expedient to postpone a case, it could never be proper to anticipate it, for the parties might not be fully prepared; and therefore he should propose that, instead of to-morrow, a future day for the hearing of this Peerage case should be fixed. He thought that there would be some inconvenience in the plan of the rota. It was well known that it was always considered that lay Lords should not interfere with law cases, so that it did not much matter who were upon the rota for the judicial business of the House; but it was most important and most proper that all noble Lords present at the hearing should take part in cases of claims of Peerage, and if the rota were established with regard to them, it might happen that some would hear part of the case one clay, and the others the remaining part on another day. Some remedy for the evil should, however, be adopted.
Marquess of Westmeaththought that though the rota were established as a rule, the same noble Lords who had heard part of any one particular case might still con- 496 sider themselves bound to attend on every other day till it was heard out.
Lord Broughamagreed with what had fallen from the noble Marquess; but with respect to what the noble Lord had observed, as to the inconvenience of anticipating cases, he begged to say that though such a course was unusual, it was not without precedent. He himself had frequently anticipated the hearing of the causes. Many cases appointed for the Monday, had been taken on the Friday, the Thursday, or Tuesday preceding, without any inconvenience whatever. In the case now referred to it was clear that the parties must be prepared, for if there had been time, the whole case would have been heard out yesterday, he begged also to observe, with reference to what the noble Lord had said, that a question of a claim of peerage was as much a matter of law as anything else.
§ Lord Lyndhurstobserved, with respect to the inconvenience of proceeding to-morrow with the case of the claim of peerage that he now saw in the House most of the noble Lords—he believed all—who were present yesterday, at the hearing of the case, and if they would agree to come tomorrow, the matter might be disposed of without difficulty. As to the other case, he should be unable to attend to-morrow, and it was therefore postponed, as he had heard part of it; and his noble and learned Friend had appointed the Peerage case for to-morrow, that their Lordships might not lose a day. With regard to the rota, he begged to say that there was no rule as a rota adhered to. The only rule that he knew of was, that when a noble Lord had attended once, he was not called on to attend again in the same session.
§ Conversation dropped.