LORD BROUGHAMsaid, a petition on a most important subject had been in trusted to him by the in habitants of Nottingham, chiefly of this trading class. They felt the greatest alarm, at the County Court Bill now before the House. One part they highly approved—the extension equitable jurisdiction, but they objected strongly to he limitation of one year in simple contract debts His noble and learned Friend the Lord Chancellor had announced his intention of changing that from one to 1825 three years; the Petition earnestly prayed he would also abandon or greatly alter the part of the Bill which alarmed them most —the abolishing imprisonment for small debts. They considered this at once most injurious to them, the great bulk of debts due to them being of small amount, and it would at once close the County Courts, from which they derived so great a benefit. This he stated to be quite true, according to all the opinions of the County Court Judges. Of sixty who returned answers without any concert whatever, fifty eight, were decidedly against the provisions of the Bill, one had doubts, and only one of the whole body approved of it. Nothing could be more inaccurate than the representation of the great numbers of commitments. There were 900,000 suits yearly in these courts, and of these not above 9,000, or 1 per cent, led to the judgment summons, which is the only possibility of commitment. In the superior Courts of King's Bench, Common Pleas, and Exchequer, there were eight times the number of arrests in proportion to the number of actions. But the judgment summons only led to actual commitment in a few cases. Thus, in one County Court, in 5,500 suits, these being the usual proportion of 1 per cent, of 550 of these summonses only thirty-seven led to commitment, all the others having led to payment or settlement. And of these thirty-seven only nine actually went to prison, the other twenty-eight having paid when arrested. Now, but for the fear of commitment, none of them would in all probability have paid. It was absolutely necessary that the imprisonment should be held over the heads of these debtors. He (Lord Brougham] considered that a most salutary course was pursued by some County Court Judges, Sir E. Wilmot and Mr. Dasent especially. Indeed, Mr. Dasent had furnished most valuable information on the whole subject in his very able answer to the question proposed. The course recommended was to suspend for a short time, as a month, the execution of the order, and in the course of this month the greater number paid, He.(Lord Brougham) thought a provision should be inserted in the Bill, not compulsory, but giving, the Judge a discretion to suspend for a time to be defined. He trusted, for the sake of trade and of the County Courts, that the prayer of the petitioners would be granted.