Lords Sitting of 21 July 1884

MINUTES.
PUBLIC BILLS—First Reading—Naval and Greenwich Hospital Pensions* (203); Cholera Hospitals (Ireland)* (204).
Second Reading — Yorkshire Registries (192); Prisons (Ireland) (Cost of Conveyance of Prisoners)* (196).
Committee—Report—Local Government Provisional Orders (No. 2)* (132); Elections (Hours of Poll) (179); New Parishes Acts and Church Building Acts Amendment* (171); Revision of Jurors and Voters Lists (Dublin County)* (178).
Report—Summary Jurisdiction (Repeal, &c.)* (202).
Third Reading — Naval Enlistment* (175); Bishopric of Bristol* (181), and passed.
Withdrawn—Educational Endowments (Ireland)* (173).

INDIA (BENGAL) COURT FEES BILL, 1881—CASE OF LOUIS RAMAY.

  QUESTION. OBSERVATIONS.
  LORD STANLEY OF ALDERLEY,in rising to call the attention of the House to the excessive fees levied on suitors in the Civil Courts of Bengal; and to ask the Secretary of State for India, Whether, if Louis Ramay, a Frenchman who was imprisoned because he was unable to pay the costs, about £300, of a suit for his inheritance against the administrator, which was decided against him, was still in prison, he would order his release; and if he had no objection to lay Sir Richard Garth's Minute on the Court Fees Bill, 1881, on the Table? said, that if he did not make a long speech he hoped it would not detract from the importance of the subject, and his noble Friend the Secretary of State was already acquainted with the figures. Up to 1867 the tax on suitors in Civil Courts amounted to one-fourth of the expenditure; now it amounted to nearly double the cost of the Civil Courts of Bengal. An initial fee of 475 rupees was levied on a suit for a bond for 10,000 rupees — that was to say, a one-and-twentieth part of the value. If the object of those heavy fees was to check litigation it did not succeed, for Sir Richard Garth pointed out that it had the effect of preventing cases being settled out of Court. In 1880, the Secretary of State for India was asked in the other House what sum the Government of India realized by this tax upon suitors over and above the expenses of the Court establishments? Lord Hartington, in reply, stated £45,000 as the sum realized. It appeared that that sum was arrived at in this way—the cost of all the Courts in India, both Civil and Criminal (British Burmah included), was deducted from the amount of the tax receipts. It was unjust that the Civil suitors of Bengal should be made to pay for the Criminal Courts of all India, for the maintenance of Criminal Courts was a primary duty of the Government, and was of equal interest to all the inhabitants of India. Sir Richard Garth, however, said that Civil suitors in India not only bore the burden of the Civil Courts, but of the Criminal Courts also, besides contributing, in addition, a large surplus, amounting probably to not less than £100,000, for the benefit of the general public. He would ask the Secretary of
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  State if he could explain the discrepancy between these figures and those supplied to Lord Hartington; and if he would lay Sir Richard Garth's Minute on the Table? As to Louis Ramay, his father was a Frenchman, and at his death the administrator declared the son to be illegitimate, and refused him his inheritance. There were no printed reports of the hearing of the case, so he did not know on what grounds the administrator had prevailed; but, from what he had heard of the case, he thought Louis Ramay had been treated with injustice. But, besides the grievance of losing the inheritance he had looked forward to, he had been imprisoned, because he was unable to pay the heavy fees exacted by the Indian Government for fulfilling its duties to its subjects. That afternoon he had received a letter from Calcutta stating that Louis Ramay had been set at liberty; and if his noble Friend the Secretary of State had given the Indian Government a hint to that effect, he hoped he would say so.
  THE EARL OF KIMBERLEYsaid, that the Secretary of State for India had no power in any case to order Louis Ramay's release; but if he was in prison for the reason alleged in the Question, he could obtain his release by declaring himself insolvent. This was a matter of ordinary law. As to the last paragraph of the Question, he was unable to lay Sir Richard Garth's Minute on the Table of the House, as it had not been officially transmitted to him. The subject of Court fees generally was under the consideration of the Government of India; but he would remind the noble Lord that the question was one of extreme difficulty, great care being requisite to avoid fixing the Court fees at a figure which would practically amount to a denial of justice; and, on the other hand, to guard against their lowness giving encouragement to the prevailing love of litigation. There were several questions to be considered, and they could only be properly determined by those who had practical knowledge of the Courts in India.

ORDNANCE SURVEY—THE MAPS FOR ANGLESEA AND CARNARVONSHIRE.

  QUESTION.
  LORD STANLEY OF ALDERLEYasked Her Majesty's Government, when

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  the new large Ordnance Survey Maps for Anglesea and Carnarvonshire would be ready?
  THE EARL OF CORKsaid, that according to the arrangements that had been made for completing the Ordnance Survey of the country Carnarvonshire would be commenced in 1886, and Anglesea in the following year. The publication of the plans would be proceeded with as they were drawn and completed; and all of them would, it was expected, be issued by 1890. An earlier date for proceeding with the work in Carnarvonshire and Anglesea could not be adopted without delaying the plans of other localities and creating inconvenience and delay by upsetting the general arrangements.

  ELECTIONS (HOURS OF POLL) BILL.
  (The Earl of Kimberley.)

  (NO. 179.) COMMITTEE.
  Order of the Day for the House to be put into Committee, read.
  THE EARL OF KIMBERLEY,in moving that the House go into Committee, said, he was asked, on the second reading of the Bill, whether the Government were willing to extend the provisions to counties? Personally, he was decidedly in favour of such an extension; but looking at all the circumstances under which the Bill came up to their Lordships, and the fact that the matter was very fully considered in the House of Commons, he had to state that he could not undertake to accept an Amendment including the counties in the Bill.
  Moved, "That the House do now resolve itself into Committee on the said Bill."—(The Earl of Kimberley.)
  Motion agreed to.
  House in Committee accordingly.
  Clause 1 (Hours of polling in boroughs with more than three thousand electors.)
  THE EARL OF POWISmoved, in subsection 3, to extend the Bill to boroughs which were not Parliamentary, but which were Municipal, and had large populations of over 10,000; for instance, boroughs like Accrington, Barnsley, St. Helens, and Crewe, and some 21 in all. He did not see why the hours of polling should not be extended to them. He asked the noble Earl to make the Bill apply to them; and it could easily be
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  done by striking out the words which limited the Bill to Parliamentary boroughs.
  Amendment moved, in page 1, lines 19 and 20, leave out ("of a parliamentary borough.")—(The Earl of Powis.)
  THE EARL OF KIMBERLEYsaid, that, as far as he was personally concerned, he would not have been adverse to a much larger application of this Bill than it had been found convenient to make; but after having expressed himself as unable to accept its extension to the counties, he could not accept the Amendment now proposed.
  THE EARL OF POWISobserved, that the question of extending the Bill to municipal purposes did not raise any of the controversial questions which were connected with elections in counties, municipal elections were held in a Town Hall, or some other building where the polling could be carried on in one place. He would ask the noble Earl to consider, before the third reading of the Bill, whether there was any valid objection to including the 21 towns to which he had proposed that it should apply.
  THE EARL OF CAMPERDOWNsaid, that if the Government adopted this extension, he would move to extend the Bill to counties.
  Amendment negatived.
  Bill reported, without Amendment; and to be read 3a To-morrow.

CONTAGIOUS DISEASES (ANIMALS) ACTS — FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE.

  QUESTION. OBSERVATIONS.
  LORD HENNIKER,in rising to ask the Lord President of the Council, Whether foot-and-mouth disease was making any progress in the country; and whether he had reason to suppose that Local Authorities generally had made such regulations as would place them in a favourable position to prevent an extensive outbreak of disease? said, he asked this Question as to the progress of foot-and-mouth disease in the country as it was said that there had been some fresh outbreaks of disease lately. On such occasions he thought it of much consequence that those chiefly concerned should know the exact state of the case from an authentic source. It gave those who had to deal with the disease an opportunity of knowing how best to meet

  1711
  it, and it made owners and buyers of stock careful not to have any communication with infected districts. However, the second part of his Question was the most important. A great deal had been said about the importation of disease; and Parliament had passed an Act to deal with this. It would not, of course, be right for him to go into that part of the question, as it had been settled; but he referred to it because, although there was a great deal to be said in favour of keeping out disease, there was a great deal, too, to be said in favour of the use of the powers of the Act by Local Authorities. It would never do for Local Authorities to fancy that they were protected now that the Act was passed, and to relax their Orders and Regulations. He had now had a good deal of experience, as Chairman of the Local Authority in his own district for some years; and he had found the powers given to Local Authorities ample to deal with an outbreak of disease when put into full force. When the disease broke out on the last two occasions, directly the county was closed, and all the powers were put in force, the disease had disappeared in a very short time. Their Lordships would recollect that the last outbreak came so quickly upon them that it was impossible to deal with it at once; the remedy would have been worse than the disease; but directly it became manageable the powers put in force had the desired effect, and the disease entirely disappeared. He should be glad to mention here that he was strongly of opinion that it was of the greatest possible assistance to the Local Authorities to have the markets closed by the Privy Council as soon as possible. When some of the markets were open it was very difficult to carry out regulations. Of course, it was very difficult to secure absolute obedience to regulations; but he was glad to hear from an experienced farmer in his district the other day that the regulations had never been so strictly carried out as they had been this year. He had said so much in order to prove to their Lordships the great importance of the carrying out of the Act by Local Authorities; and he might further refer to the great importance of Local Authorities being prepared to act at once when disease appeared. Prompt and vigorous action was always the best. It might seem hard to put everyone to incon-
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  venience for a few cases; but, as a matter of fact, if nothing was done till the disease spread the inconvenience was ten times worse. He hoped the noble Lord would be able to tell the House that he believed Local Authorities were prepared to act promptly, and that they had done so generally speaking. He hoped, too, that they would hear that the machinery necessary for prompt action was in good working order. If not, he hoped that his Question might call the attention of Local Authorities to the importance of being ready, and that his remarks had so far met with the approval of the House as to be a means of urging them to act. Before he sat down he should like to refer to the importance of adjoining counties acting together. It was most important to mention this in good time, for an agreement could not well be come to at the last moment. Last year the Suffolk Local Authority, over which he presided, had invited, at his instance, the Authorities in adjoining counties to meet in conference and discuss some joint line of action. He was sorry to say that only one county (Norfolk) had agreed to the proposal. It was true that one of these counties (Essex) was differently situated to Suffolk, as it was a Metropolitan county; but the agreement they had come to with Norfolk avoided any difficulty. It was this—that neither county should make fresh regulations without notice to the other, and that, as far as possible, the regulations should be the same. Their Lordships would see the importance of this agreement, for nothing made it so easy to avoid regulations: particularly on the borders, as that they should be different. In fact, he would go further, and say that such a state of things was most puzzling to those who did their best to obey the law. He hoped such agreements as he had mentioned might be encouraged by the Privy Council; but he by no means wished to hamper the discretion of Local Authorities. He had mentioned this as he thought it an important point to discuss when the subject of being ready to meet an outbreak of disease was before the House. In conclusion, he begged to ask the Question of which he had given Notice.
  LORD BELPER,who had given Notice of the following Question:—To ask the Lord President of the Council, Whe-

  1713
  ther he would consider the desirability of making some arrangement by which Local Authorities should have the earliest possible notification of fresh outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease in other counties, especially in those counties which were immediately adjacent to their own? said, that he would put his Question now, so that an answer could be given at the same time. He cordially agreed with the remarks that had fallen from the noble Lord who had just sat down, especially as to the necessity for prompt and concerted action on the part of the Local Authorities. The Privy Council was the only reliable authority from whom such information as he (Lord Belper) desired could be gained; and as Local Authorities could not prohibit the import of cattle into their districts or counties until they could declare that these counties were infected or contained infected areas, it was of the greatest importance that the Local Authorities should have the earliest possible notification of fresh outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease in other counties. He suggested that the Privy Council, on the receipt of a notification of an outbreak, should immediately communicate the information to such counties as they thought might be likely to have importations of cattle from the infected areas.
  LORD CARLINGFORD (LORD PRESIDENT of the COUNCIL),in answer to the noble Lord who had spoken last, said, that the Privy Council had not hitherto undertaken to give information of outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease to the various Local Authorities in the country. That was a point which he did not think had come before him until now, and he thought there would be very considerable difficulty in the Privy Council undertaking that duty. Certainly it would be very difficult to undertake it on a large scale, and if foot-and-mouth disease were widely prevalent. But the case seemed to be one in which they might fairly expect the Local Authority in whose district the disease had appeared to give notice to their next door neighbours. It would be naturally a case for joint action. It would be very natural that adjoining counties should agree among themselves that each one should give notice to its neighbour of any outbreak. The noble Lord suggested that Local Authorities might be required by order of the Privy Council to do so.
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  That was a point worthy of, and it would receive, his careful consideration. In answer to the Question of the noble Lord opposite (Lord Henniker), the fact was that about a month ago foot-and-mouth disease, they had reason to hope and believe, was all but extinct in the country. But since then there had been a slight revival, but not of a very serious character. At that moment there were six centres, one in each of the counties of Cheshire, Leicestershire, Worcestershire, the West Riding, and two in the county of Norfolk. But although the centres were few, the disease was there; and he entirely agreed with the noble Lord that without prompt action on the part of the Local Authorities they were in danger of having a fresh extension of the disease. He could not say—he wished that he could—that Local Authorities generally had put themselves in a position to be prepared for the appearance of the disease in their respective districts. He would state what had been done. In March last, when the general stoppage of fairs and markets was coming to a close, the Privy Council passed a temporary Order giving very large powers to Local Authorities, particularly of slaughtering animals infected, or supposed to be infected, and what was most important, very extensive powers for the purpose of securing absolute isolation of the infected places. He meant an isolation in respect of persons and of every means of conveying the disease as distinct from the mere isolation of the infected animals from other animals. By that Order the Local Authorities were empowered to make stringent regulations for preventing the access of anyone to the animals affected except those who had charge of them, and to disinfect the clothes of all persons who had been in contact with them, and generally to secure the complete isolation of the infected place. At the same time, a Circular was issued in order to impress on Local Authorities the necessity of adopting special precautionary measures, and representing that if they were duly taken there was a reasonable probability of the complete suppression of the disease. In the case of the Local Authorities deciding not to have recourse to the extreme measure of slaughtering the animals, then they strongly recommended them to do the next best thing—to

  1715
  adopt complete isolation. He was sorry to say that that Order had not had all the effects they had hoped from it. In every case in which foot-and-mouth disease had appeared since then they had at once, on obtaining knowledge of the circumstance, sent an Inspector from the Privy Council to the place to ascertain the facts, and still more to confer with the Local Authorities and with the owners of the animals, with a view to seeing that all possible precautions should be taken. That course of proceeding had been of very great use; but, evidently, it could only be adopted by the Privy Council on a small scale, and in regard to a few centres. It would obviously become impossible if the disease were to spread over the country. As a result of the inquiries of the Inspectors, it appeared generally that there had been no organization formed beforehand by the greater number of Local Authorities in the country for the purpose of being prepared against the appearance of disease in the districts—he meant organization for the special purpose of isolating infected places, and of preventing the extension of the disease from any centre. In the great majority of cases the Local Authorities were content with declaring an infected circle or area, and with preventing any movement of animals into or out of that area. That was not sufficient for the purpose of securing the county or the country against a further extension of disease. He was not surprised to hear the noble Lord, in connection with this subject, refer to the Foreign Animals Wharves. Certainly when one thought of the excitement that would at once be caused if a case of foot-and-mouth disease were reported in any of those places, the disease having come from abroad, it did seem somewhat astonishing to find the amount of apathy which was exhibited as to the appearance of the disease in any fresh centre. He hoped the Local Authorities would not fail to see that one centre of disease was as dangerous as another, and that they might be induced to imitate the precautions taken in the Foreign Animals Wharves. The animals there were slaughtered; but besides that, the most careful system of isolation was maintained for the purpose of making it as nearly impossible as might be that in-
  1716
  fection should escape. That was the course they were earnestly desirous that the Local Authorities should pursue. The system was well known. It had been tried with the best effects by several Local Authorities in Scotland, England, and Wales, and in almost every case it had had the effect of isolating the disease in the places where it had shown itself. He did not mean to imply by these remarks that a great deal had not been done by the Local Authorities for the purpose of preventing the spread of the disease. Generally speaking the Inspectors of the Privy Council had been well received, their advice had been taken, and a great deal was being done in the counties he had mentioned for the purpose of preventing the disease spreading. The desirable thing was, and the urgent duty of the Local Authorities was, to make use of the ample powers conferred upon them, and of the experience which had been gained in other districts, in preparing themselves at once against the possible appearance of the disease in their own. If they were so prepared measures might be taken with promptness, and a vast amount of subsequent trouble and loss might be avoided. He hoped the discussion would call the attention of Local Authorities to the necessity of the case, and the critical nature of the present moment, when the disease might either be entirely stamped out, or might be allowed to spread once more over the country.
  LORD BELPERsaid, he would not have suggested the arrangement he mentioned had there been any other means of conveying the information.
  LORD HENNIKERasked whether the noble Lord approved the joint action in regard to counties?
  LORD CARLINGFORD (LORD PRESIDENT of the COUNCIL)said, he was not aware that that could be provided for by the Privy Council; but he had no doubt it would be a most beneficial course to take.

  YORKSHIRE REGISTRIES BILL.
  (The Lord Wenlock.)

  (NO. 192.) SECOND READING.
  Order of the Day for the Second Reading, read.
  LORD WENLOCK,in moving that the Bill be now read a second time, asked

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  for the indulgence of their Lordships' House while he explained, as briefly as possible, the objects of the Bill. The Yorkshire Registries Bill was promoted by the Courts of Quarter Sessions of the three Ridings of Yorkshire to consolidate and amend the Acts relating to the public registering of deeds, conveyances, and wills in Yorkshire. Their Lordships were doubtless aware that Yorkshire and Middlesex were the only two counties in England that enjoyed a system of registration of transactions relating to land. The statutes by which this system was established had existed 180 years, and no Act had since been passed to amend them. But they showed, that, in some respects, they were ill-suited to the requirements of the present day, and the West Riding had been several times in communication with the Government of the day as to the desirability, nay, even the necessity, of some modification in the Acts. It was also doubtless in the recollection of their Lordships that last Session a private Member in the House of Commons brought forward a Bill with this object, without any communication with the Justices. They had, therefore, promoted the Bill, which he now hoped would pass the second reading. He would point out that the two main objects of the Bill were—first, the amendment of the law as to the effect of registration, and as to what might be registered; second, simplification of the mode of election of Registrar, and the manner in which the business of Registrar was to be conducted. Registration was first given to Yorkshire, and had proved since to be a means to afford protection against fraud to all persons buying or mortgaging land. For that purpose it was necessary that all dealings in land should be registered. Under this Bill, it was hoped that registration would become practically compulsory. He wished to point out the alterations proposed by the Bill, which he hoped would bring about this result. By the Bill every deed would have priority according to the date of its registration—in the absence of fraud. Registration was to constitute actual notice of the instrument registered for all purposes. The Register might be corrected by the Chancery Division of the High Court of Justice, and official searches might be made by the Registrar, and the certificate of the result should be a sufficient
  1718
  protection to solicitors and others who were bound to search. Provision was also made requiring registration of a memorandum of any lien or charge for unpaid purchase-money, or of any equitable mortgage by deposit of title-deeds. Power was also given to Courts of Quarter Sessions, subject to the approval of the Lord Chancellor, to organize a thoroughly good system of indexes, without which it was impossible to carry on a good system of registration. It also provided that deeds might be registered in full. It was very often useful that anyone searching the Register should be able to see the deeds affecting the land in which he was interested in full; but as many persons did not like the idea of exposing to the public all the transactions regarding their dealings with land, this was made optional, and the rule, which was now only applicable in the North Riding, was now extended to all the Ridings. It was hoped by this plan to do away with the necessity for "abstracts of title," which were often very expensive. A more simple mode of registration was also provided in place of the present complicated method. The Bill also enabled documents to be sent by post, instead of, as at present in many cases, compelling the personal attendance of witnesses. The second part of the Bill applied to the election of future Registrars. It was not intended to interfere with the privileges of the present Registrars; but that in the event of a vacancy occurring the election would vest in the Courts of Quarter Sessions, instead of by the present £100 freeholders. There was no list kept of the freeholders, nor did any Corrupt Practices Act apply to elections of the Registrars; and so it happened that very great and heavy expenses fell on the candidates. It was estimated that if an election in the West Riding were contested to the end among the 7,000 freeholders of that Riding, the expenses to the candidates would be £15,000. Under these circumstances, and considering all the inconveniences of the present unsatisfactory arrangements, this Bill provided a new mode of election, as already described. It also provided that the Registrar should be paid by salary, and that the fees taken in the Registry Office should be paid to the county rate, out of which rate also the salary of the Registrar and the expenses of the Office would be

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  paid. These were the chief objects as foreshadowed in the Bill, and he had every confidence that their Lordships would pass it. He did not wish to touch on such matters as compulsory registration of titles, a subject which was open to much argument; but as regarded registration of assurances, he could assure their Lordships that the scheme was much appreciated in Yorkshire. As a proof of the utility of the offices in Yorkshire, he held in his hand a statement that in 1882 some 21,000 assurances were registered in the three Ridings; while in 1876 that number was exceeded in the West Riding alone, so that evidently the system as regarded Yorkshire was popular. He thought it would not be inappropriate to read to the House an extract from the Report of Mr. Osborne Morgan's Committee in 1879—
  "That registration of titles is in the abstract to be preferred to registration of assurances may at once be conceded, for the former aims at presenting the intending purchaser or mortgagee with the net result of former dealings with the property, while the latter places the dealings themselves before him, and leaves him to investigate them for himself. It must not be forgotten, however, that if every assurance relating to land were registered, a basis would be laid which would make the registration of possessory titles a comparatively simple matter."
  They had a registration of assurances in Yorkshire, and all they asked for was that the system of that registration should be improved. The Yorkshire Law Societies appointed a Committee which attended before the Select Committee in the House of Commons, and proposed Amendments, some of which were in the Bill. He also had reason to believe that the Bill, in its present shape, was approved by Yorkshire solicitors. Under these circumstances, he trusted their Lordships would assent to the second reading of the Bill.
  Moved, "That the Bill be now read 2a."—(The Lord Wenlock.)
  THE LORD CHANCELLORsaid, he did not rise for the purpose of throwing any difficulty in the way of the Bill passing; but he was bound to say that it did not realize his idea of a substantial step in the direction of that result which most persons who wished for a reform in the transfer of real property desired to see. It was, however, an improvement upon the existing system of
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  registry of deeds in Yorkshire. So long as they had a registry of deeds, whether in part or in their entirety, they must have various disadvantages which they would not have under a system of transfer by registration only. He had looked at the Bill sufficiently closely to see that the greater part of its provisions, if they did not accomplish all which might be desirable, were, at all events, in the direction of usefulness, and were likely to produce good results. There were, however, some points as to which he was not satisfied that the Bill was not susceptible of amendment. He alluded, in the first place, to the clause dealing with contested wills and intestacies, the meaning of which he thought might be made a little clearer. The Bill provided that where a will was contested, and could not be registered within a period of six months after the death of the testator, the person claiming an interest under it could within that time register a notice of the will; and if the will was established within two years its date of registration should be held to be that at which the notice was registered. The next clause seemed to allow, without any limit of time, any person who claimed as heir of any land, and believed that the owner died intestate, to register an affidavit of intestacy; and then it went on to say that—
  "Where any such affidavit of intestacy has been duly registered, any assurance or will made or executed by any person who would be empowered to make or execute the same in case of such intestacy and duly registered should have priority over any will of the supposed intestate, the date of registration of which should be subsequent to the date of registration of such assurance or will, and not within or under this Act to be deemed to be within a period of six months after the death of the supposed intestate."
  He thought the second clause should be amended, so that the power to register an affidavit of intestacy should take effect at the end of the time allowed for registering the notice of will—namely, at the end of six months. He thought that would be soon enough for all parties, and it would make it clear that the two clauses should be taken together. He thought, also, that the priority, to be obtained by registration, ought in this, as in other cases, to be limited to titles by purchase for valuable consideration. Another objection referred to the appointment of Deputy Registrars. By Clause 37

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  the Court of Quarter Sessions, with the approval of the Lord Chancellor, could appoint as Registrar any person who had been a barrister or solicitor of seven years' standing, or a person who for five years had been Deputy Registrar. No doubt that was a proper qualification; but by the 3rd sub-section of the same clause the Registrar might, with the consent of the county authority, nominate any "fit" person to be his deputy. It did not state anything as to the qualifications of the deputy; but if he was to be allowed after five years to become Registrar it was, he thought, essential that there should be some qualification before he could be appointed a deputy. He did not speak without experience of the evil effects which resulted from the appointment of persons to discharge important public functions without proper qualifications. He hoped some Amendments in the directions he had indicated, and such others as might be found necessary, would be made in the Bill, and he would, therefore, offer no opposition to its now being read a second time.
  EARL CAIRNSsaid, he quite agreed that the changes proposed by the Bill were changes for the better, and improved the working of the system. He considered a registration of titles preferable to a registration of assurances. But as long as the Yorkshire Registry was so much used it was desirable to make it as effective as possible. Subject to the observations of the noble and learned Earl referring to matters which could be settled in Committee, he would be very glad to leave the Bill to the House.
  Motion agreed to: Bill read 2a accordingly, and committed to a Committee of the Whole House on Thursday next.
  House adjourned at a quarter before Six o'clock, till To-morrow, a quarter past Ten o'clock.