§ THE EARL OF SHAFTESBURY, who had given notice to call the attention of the House to the state of the Ecclesiastical Courts, said, that his Notice related to the whole subject of these Courts; but the advanced period of the Session rendered it indispensable that he should postpone bringing forward the entire question till next year. He wished, however, to be permitted to quote two or three extracts in order to show that he had not rashly or unadvisedly taken up the subject. He found that Lord Cranworth, when Lord Chancellor, in 1856, described the existing system of the Ecclesiastical Courts as cumbrous, dilatory, and expensive, and cited, as an instance, the case of "Furnell v. Craig," which lasted four years, and cost an immense sum. In November, 1866, Dr. Lushington said, "The framer or framers of the Church Discipline Act had not the advantage of knowing the Ecclesiastical Law," and he added, "the confusions introduced by it have no limit." Again, Lord Chancellor Cranworth, in 1856, said of the Chancellors of the Dioceses, "In five cases out of ten the Chancellor or Vicar General is not a properly qualified person for the administration of justice." Many of these opinions were shared by the Convocation of Canterbury in 1853, and were strongly expressed. There were ample funds obtainable from ecclesiastical sources for carrying out any improvement which might be required in the present system. For example, there were the fees derived from marriage licenses, which from the twenty-eight ecclesiastical registries amounted to about £42,000 a year. The average fee of a marriage licence being about £2, and the number being estimated at 21,000 annually, gave a sum of £42,000 a year. This 1559 was an amount from which the salaries of a sufficient staff of Judges might be derived to administer the affairs of these Courts to the satisfaction of everyone. He mentioned these facts to show that he had not taken up the matter rashly. He now gave notice that he would next Session call the attention of the House to the state of the Ecclesiastical Courts.
THE BISHOP OF OXFORDsaid, he should be very glad to have the whole subject to which the noble Earl had referred thoroughly investigated; but reminded him that many of the abuses complained of had already been reformed, one of the principal reforms being the substitution by the new Judge of the Admiralty Court of oral for documentary evidence in certain cases.
§ House adjourned at a quarter before Eight o'clock, till To-morrow, a quarter before Five o'clock.