Lords Sitting of 26 April 1852

MINUNES.
PUBLIC BILLS.—1° Exchequer Bills; Poor Relief Act Continuance; Sheep, &c. Contagious Disorders Prevention.
Reported.—St. Albans Disfranchisement.

MASTERS IN CHANCERY— EXPLANATION.
LORD CAMPBELLbegged to offer a short explanation in reference to some words which had fallen from him during the discussion on the Bill for the abolition of the Office of the Masters in Chancery. To his great surprise and regret, he found that what he had then said with respect to the individuals who filled that office had been misunderstood. There was no class of men who could deserve more sincere respect than the Masters in Chancery—men of the greatest learning and of the highest honour—and he must say of them all, that they discharged with zeal and efficiency their important duties. What he had said
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on the occasion to which he alluded was not intended to reflect on their conduct personally, but merely on the system of Masters in Chancery. He had made use of an: expression which certainly seemed an ex-aggeration—namely, that there were cases I which had remained in the offices of the Masters from generation to generation—but he had had no intention at all to reflect I on the Masters, or to convey an impression: that they did not do with great despatch their important business. Wherever it was in their power they did use despatch, and the suitors had the greatest reason to be satisfied with them. He would give a single instance in proof of this assertion. He had learned from undoubted authority that in the year 1851 Master Tinney had made 204 reports; and upon referring to the dates of the references upon which those reports were made, it was found that 70 of the references had been made before 1850, and many of them very shortly be fore; 68 had been made in 1850, and the remainder had been made in the course of 1851. That showed that very speedily after references had been made, there were reports disposing of the business, and he believed that that was a fair specimen of the despatch of the Masters. But it did unfortunately happen that in some cases, notwithstanding all the exertions of the Masters, causes did stick in the Masters' office from year to year, and sometimes from generation to generation. It arose, not from the fault of the Masters, but from the system, and he heartily rejoiced that a Bill had been brought in to abolish those offices.

ST. ALBANS DISFRANCHISEMENT BILL.
Order of the Day for the House to be put in Committee, and for hearing Counsel against the said Bill, read.
Counsel accordingly called in.
THE EARL OF VERULAMbegged to inform their Lordships that he had communicated to the Mayor of St. Albans the result of their Lordships' deliberations on a former occasion in reference to their petition that counsel should be heard at the bar of their Lordships' House against the Bill introduced for the purpose of disfranchising their borough. He had received a letter from the Mayor, in which he informed him that the petitioners were very thankful for the permission which bad been granted to them to be heard by counsel; but on re-

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consideration they would not take up the time of the House by appearing by counsel at their Lordships' bar.
And no Counsel appearing, the House was put into Committee on the said Bill: Bill reported without Amendment.
House adjourned till To-morrow.