Lords Sitting of 27 March 1855

MINUTE.
PUBLIC BILL.—2a Militia (Ireland).

CRIMINAL LAW PROCEDURE—RESOLUTIONS—QUESTION.
LORD HATHERTON, seeing that his noble and learned friend opposite (Lord Brougham) had brought forward some Resolutions declaring the need of a more speedy administration of justice, which Resolutions had been postponed, begged leave to inquire when he would proceed with them? Even the all-absorbing interest of the war ought not to prevent the immediate consideration of his suggestions, to many of which he (Lord Hatherton) attached the greatest value. He (Lord Hatherton) being connected with one of the most populous counties of the kingdom (Staffordshire), had had opportunities, during forty years, of remarking, to his infinite pain, the inefficiency of the present system. Nothing could be more lamentable, nothing more dreadful than some of the evils it caused, and it was impossible that it could be longer maintained. He cordially agreed in the general principle, though not in all the details, of the Resolutions which Lord Brougham had proposed.
LORD BROUGHAMregretted to say, that at present, from the absorbing interest of the war, in which we were unavoidably and necessarily, but most unfortunately engaged, it was very difficult to obtain, either in Parliament or out of doors, the attention due to other subjects, of a different kind, but of the greatest importance. Not the least among the evils of that most unhappy conflict in which we were engaged, was that it tended to check the course of improvement in our internal affairs. But he thought it his duty to press these Resolutions on the attention of their Lordships. From letters he had received since they were moved on Friday, he found a great mistake prevailing as to their object. More than one person, magistrates in the country, supposed they related wholly to the want of a public prosecutor. That was only one of the subjects they included. What appeared to him to be most urgently necessary was the more speedy administration of justice to prevent the enormities he had described, when persons against whom there was really no shadow of an accusa-
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tion were sometimes kept in prison for six or eight months, and perhaps not even then were brought to trial. He had intended to move that the debate be resumed after the holidays; but he now doubted whether a different course would not be more convenient. In 1828, when he made a statement to Parliament of the defects of our system of law, and jurisprudence, the result was the appointment of Commissions, to consider the method of civil procedure, and valuable improvements, including the establishment of the county courts, arose from their suggestions. He doubted now whether he should move the House to call upon the Crown to appoint such a Commission, or whether he should ask their Lordships to appoint a Select Committee. He should himself prefer a Commission, and hoped the result would be improvements of our criminal procedure as extensive and as valuable as those which from the Commissions of 1828, 1829, and 1830, had been made in our civil procedure.

THE ADDRESS TO THE QUEEN—THE ANSWER.
THE QUEEN'SAnswer to the Address of yesterday, reported by the Lord Chamberlain, as follows:—
"I thank you for your loyal and dutiful Address, and for the assurance of your Concurrence in such Measures as may be necessary to enable Me to fulfil the engagements which I have entered into with His Majesty the King of Sardinia."

THE STEAM-SHIP "PERSEVERANCE."
EARL TALBOTput the questions he had given notice of about the Perseverance steamer which upset herself in the dock, from the great top weight of her mast and yards. He would like to know who had ordered her to be so constructed. There were many instances he could cite of gross blundering and waste of money in the building and alteration of ships, which might have been obviated if a scientific board of reference had existed, or committee of dockyard officers, whose opinion could have been taken. He had heard that the Perseverance had now been resold to Messrs. Mare, from whom she was originally bought, at a sacrifice of 30,000 l. or 40,000 l. Was it true, also, that two other ships, of the same build, had been ordered by the Government?
EARL GRANVILLE, in his reply, which was not quite audible, said that the Perse-

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verance, of 1967 tons, was purchased in May, 1854, of Messrs. C. and J. Mare, for the price of 38,000 l., and since then the Government had purchased the Urgent, for the sum of 41,000 l., and the Sovereign, for 53,000 l. They were now being fitted up as troop ships; and the first two had been launched, and the third was ready for launching. They had none of them been offered for sale, nor did the Government intend to sell them.

MILITIA (IRELAND) BILL.
LORD PANMURE, in moving the second reading of this Bill, explained that its object was to regulate the application of the statute 49th Geo. III., c. 120, which required that officers of the militia in Ireland should possess a certain property qualification according to their grades in the service. Any officer acting without his qualification did, under that statute, subject himself to a very heavy penalty; but from various circumstances, which need not be particularly described, there were many officers who had, for some time, most inadvertently been in that situation; and the object of this Bill was simply to provide, that in such cases, the officers should not become amenable to the penalties of the law, if they proved their qualifications within three months after the passing of this Bill.
The EARL OF HARDWICKEwould only take that opportunity of observing that it was very important the House should, at some early period, take into consideration the whole subject of the state of our militia. He felt much anxiety, at present, for the good order and satisfactory condition of that force.
After some remarks from Lord PORTMAN,
LORD PANMUREsaid he should take care, as soon as the Bill became law, to notify to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland the instructions of the Government with regard to its provisions.
THE EARL OF ELLENBOROUGHsaid, he had had an opportunity of seeing the last circular, and so far as he could judge of it, he entirely approved of the conduct of the Government in sending it forth.
THE EARL OF WICKLOWsaid, that as the last clause of the Bill seemed to give rather stringent powers of removing officers, he wished the noble Lord would issue a circular to explain exactly how far its provisions were intended to be enforced.
LORD PANMUREwas understood to
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say, that an explanatory circular has been sent down by Government to the lieutenants of the counties, in order to correct a mistaken impression about the militia service, which had apparently excited some temporary dissatisfaction.
Bill read 2a.
Committee negatived, and Bill to be read a third time on Thursday next.
House adjourned to Thursday next.