§ LORD LYNDHURSTsaid, he wished to call the attention of their Lordships for 990 a moment to the subject of the promised Bill for the reform of the Court of Chancery. Their Lordships would recollect, as a matter of history, that towards the close of the last Session of Parliament the noble Lord at the head of the Government gave notice to the House of Commons that he should, early in the next Session, introduce a Bill for the reform of the Court of Chancery. One would, therefore, naturally enough have supposed that that noble Lord, in conjunction with the law officers of the Crown, would have employed himself during the recess in framing that Bill; and accordingly, in the Speech from the Throne at the opening of the present Session, the promise previously made in distinct terms was again as distinctly reiterated. Within a few days after the meeting of Parliament, in answer to a question put in the other House by the hon. and learned Member for Newark (Mr. Stuart) the noble Lord stated that he should very shortly lay on the table of the House the Bill in question. Very shortly lay on the table of the House! It was perfectly clear that the noble Lord did not use these terms in the ordinary sense, but (if he might so express himself) in a quasi-Chancery sense; for upwards of three months, or more than half the Session, had expired, and yet they had heard no account whatever of the Bill—it had never yet made its appearance. The noble Lord, it would seem, from the moment that he had become connected with the business of the Court of Chancery, had partaken of the sin of that court, namely, the sin of delay; or perhaps he was desirous of illustrating, in his own person, the inconveniences in the Court of Chancery which he wished to see remedied. But the question was, when were they likely to have the Bill to which the noble Lord had referred? He confessed that he was at a loss to know whether he should put that question to the noble and learned Lord on the Woolsack, or to the noble Earl opposite (Earl Grey), who seemed to be more in the secret of the Government on the subject than the noble and learned Lord; but whether he could get a distinct answer from the one quarter or the other, at all events a distinct answer he should like to have.
THE LORD CHANCELLORsaid, his noble and learned Friend who had just spoken, had previously given him notice that he should make some observations on this subject. As the noble and learned Lord had himself presided for some time 991 in the Court of Chancery with so much credit to himself and benefit to the country, he was aware how far the remedy for the inconveniences of that court could be easily accomplished. He could hardly think the remedy was so easy, or the noble and learned Lord would not have been so long in office without proposing one—for during all the time that he held the Great Seal the noble and learned Lord did nothing whatever in this matter, but left the task entirely to his successors. He could assure the noble and learned Lord that ever since he had been in official communication with the Government, their attention had been earnestly directed to the subject. The noble and learned Lord said that they were now in the middle of the Session, and yet the Government had done nothing in the matter; but surely the memory of the noble and learned Lord was at fault there, because he (the Lord Chancellor) recollected the noble Lord at the head of the Government stating in the House of Commons the outline of the Bill which he proposed to introduce. His noble Friend had also stated that it was his intention very shortly to bring in that Bill, and at that period a draft of the Bill had been actually prepared, and was intended to be introduced. The noble and learned Lord himself made some very important observations on the subject of that proposed Bill; and many learned Members of the House of Commons and members of the profession, in consequence of what had passed, had been in communication with him (the Lord Chancellor) on the subject, and had made various suggestions of too much importance to be overlooked. He had also been in communication with his noble Friend at the head of the Government, and had requested him not to bring in his proposed Bill at that moment, until he (the Lord Chancellor) had had an opportunity of fully considering and communicating to him the suggestions of these learned persons, by no means overlooking the several important suggestions of the noble and learned Lord himself. Since then he (the Lord Chancellor) had been in communication with those learned persons, and the Bill was still before him; but he had not yet been able to give it a final perusal. He had the Bill prepared, however, and it would undoubtedly be brought in in a very short time. He could assure the noble and learned Lord that the subject had never been absent from the attention of the Government during the whole of the 992 Session, and he had himself been greatly engaged upon it. He would appeal to the noble and learned Lord himself whether he was not fully aware of the extent of the difficulty in proposing a measure of such vast importance, which, while it should accomplish some objects of undoubted importance, should not fail to provide for the accomplishment of others equally important. The remedy for certain evils alleged to exist had already been proposed; and the noble and learned Lord himself had pointed out what would be the consequences in some other respects if such a remedy were adopted.
§ LORD LYNDHURSTsaid, he was glad that he had put his question, because he had obtained a distinct answer to it. What had just fallen from the noble and learned Lord, fully justified the remarks that he (Lord Lyndhurst) had made on a former occasion. He now wished to know whether it was intended to bring in the Bill in that House or in the other House of Parliament, for that was a material question?
THE LORD CHANCELLORsaid, he was not aware that there was any alteration in the original intention of the Government to introduce the Bill into the House of Commons.