JUDICIAL STATISTICS—DEBATE RESUMED. (Hansard, 13 March 1856)

LORD BROUGHAM

said, he presumed the House might be somewhat alarmed at the prospect of a debate resumed on so dry a subject, how important soever; and he hastened to relieve their Lordships from any such apprehensions. He merely intended to make an addition to the Resolutions which he had proposed last weak, and to move that the whole be taken into consideration after the recess. The circulation of these Resolutions by his worthy and learned colleagues of the Law Amendment Society had produced some important suggestions from professional men and others, especially from Recorders; and the most valuable had come from his learned friend the Recorder of Birmingham, Bankruptcy Court Commissioner at Bristol (Mr. M. D. Hill). The additional Resolutions 34 embraced like wise some heads omitted in what related to prison and penitentiary statistics, as well as in what related to the Admiralty Courts. It was remarkable that during the short period which had elapsed since his Motion, the want of such information was more than once practically felt. Thus, when he presented petitions, praying for a change in the Ecclesiastical Courts, the whole, or nearly the whole, of the facts required for discussing that important subject would have been found by a few minutes' inspection of the tables, if we were possessed of the true statistical details which one of his Resolutions would have given when acted on, and which the French tables had in full abundance. He ought, however, to mention what he had only generally glanced at, that the possession of such resources to guide administrative and legislative proceedings, was by no means confined to France; several other continental States had departments of the same description—indeed, most of them have had regular returns for many years, and some, as the Belgian and Sardinian States, had yearly tables, with the Reports of the Ministers charged to superintend such inquiries. The Sardinian tables in particular were of great merit. How useful such details were to the lawgiver, as well as the administrator, he had, he hoped, shown last week. That they were full of interest, as well as of instruction, to those engaged in improving our legal system, he need hardly add. He observed his noble Friend who had just taken his place on the opposite bench, the noble Marquess (the Marquess of Lansdowne), who, the last Session, had the happiness of effecting the repeal of the Usury Laws—let it be said the high honour of that most beneficial change in our jurisprudence, of which his noble and learned Friend on the woolsack, and himself, could well speak from very recent experience of one, at least, of the evils of those repealed laws; for they had been kept for several days hearing a case which never could have had an existence, had the noble Marquess' s Bill been passed a year earlier. Such causes were by that Act now absolutely and for ever prevented; and not only their Lordships' House, but all the Courts, whether of Law or Equity, would now bless the great improvement which, so long anxiously desired, had happily at last been effected. The noble Marquess might be assured that the profession, the bench at least, and the commerce of the country, 35 owed him lasting gratitude. He was not more to be envied by philosophers for the possession of that mansion in which the brilliant discoveries of Priestley were made, while sheltered there under the protection of his celebrated father, than he was to be envied by the law reformers, for the triumph he had won over those laws which had been denounced by Jeremy Bentham, and had so long defied that great, amender of our jurisprudence. He should only add, that it might be found impossible to establish the system of judicial statistics without a department apart from all others; but it would be better at first to try if the object in view could not be attained by annexing the duty to some department already existing. The Home Office appeared already too much loaded with business to admit of so considerable an addition; but the valuable assistance of Mr. Redgrave should be secured, who had done great things, considering the want of help from which he must have constantly suffered, in consequence of the miserable economy, the expensive parsimony, not more loudly than justly complained of by him (Lord Brougham) last week. The Statistical department, however, now existing at the Board of Trade, under the very able superintendence of Mr. Fonblanque, afforded a natural means of at least making a beginning in establishing the Judicial branch there. He ventured to express his earnest hope, that during the approaching recess the whole of this important subject would be well considered, and he should now move his additional Resolutions.