THE LORD CHANCELLOR, in moving the second reading of this Bill, observed that the subject of domicile was a very difficult one. If a man died abroad and he retained his English domicile his property would be liable to legacy duty; whereas if he was domiciled in a foreign country it would not. The law of domicile had also a great deal to do with questions of marriage. There was no difficulty as to the rule of domicile; but there was often the very greatest difficulty in its application, for the moment a question arose as to a man's domicile it became necessary to inquire into everything that he had done and everything that he had said, in order to discover whether he had ever formed the intention of abandoning his country. The infliction upon parties litigant of the present law of evidence on the subject was very grievous; and for that it was the object of this Bill (which had already passed the House of Commons) to furnish a remedy. It provided, therefore, that no British subject resident abroad should be held to have changed his domicile unless he had declared his intention of doing so by an unmistakeable and public act. There was a similar provision with regard to foreigners resident in England. That 1843 Dr. Corrigan—all gentlemen of high poportion of the Bill could not be carried into effect without the co-operation of the foreign Governments; but the success which had followed the International Copyright Act led him to hope that there would be no difficulty on that score. The Bill also contained a provision with regard to persons dying in a foreign country without friends. In such cases it gave power to the Consul of the nation to which he belonged to take out letters of administration and to act as his representative.
§ Bill read 2a; Committee negatived; and Bill to be read 3a on Monday next.