LORD BROUGHAM(who was very imperfectly heard) said, that he wished to draw the attention of the House to the present situation of the Commission for inquiring into and reporting on the Criminal and Common Law of this country. The Commissioners of Criminal Law had been appointed by a Commission issued by himself in 1831. The Commission had conducted their labours with the greatest perseverance and ability, and one proof of their industry was that they had digested the criminal law into one statute containing 800 or 900 different articles, besides making some most important suggestions. In the course of last summer the Commissioners had completed their labours, and had produced another statute digesting all the rules and proceedings of the criminal courts. This magnificent work having been completed, it appeared to Lord Lyndhurst, Lord Cottenham, and himself, that the true mode of passing this legislative code was not by sending these two Bills, containing from 1,500 to 2,000 articles, to the two Houses of Parliament to legislate upon—for no legislative power of either House separately, or of both Houses combined, would be able to undertake such a mass of legislation—but by submitting them to another Commission well and carefully selected, in order to the most perfect revision of the labours of the preceding Commission. It would be bad economy to allow the Commission to fall to the ground 955 after the country had spent from 90,000l. to 100,000l. upon it; and he recommended its continuance till the members of it had again revised the code which they had drawn up. It had been reported that the work of the Commission had been performed by the late Mr. Starkey, its secretary. This charge he strenuously denied, and could assure their Lordships from the communications he had had with the Commissioners, that it was their work, and their work alone. It was too late in the day to advocate either the policy or the necessity of having a good digest of the law, which all were bound to obey. It was impossible to over-estimate the advantages which France had derived from the code drawn up by command and under the active superintendence of that wonderful genius the late Emperor Napoleon. He thought this was a subject of so much importance, that he would give notice that early next Session he would call the attention of the House to the subject.