Sitting of 10 July 1823

DELAYS IN THE COURT OF CHANCERY.
Mr. Leakesaid, that all attempts made in this House with a view to remedy the delays too well known to exist in the practice of the court of Chancery, having hitherto, from various causes which it was not necessary for him at present to state, proved wholly unsuccessful, and the evil so generally, and in his opinion so justly, complained of, having, within the last four or five years, increased in a most alarming degree, and to an extent amounting in its effects, and consequences, almost to a denial of justice to the suitors of the court, he rose for the purpose of giving notice that it was his intention, as early as possible in the next session, to submit to the consideration of the House two hills; the one for the furtherance of justice in the court of Chancery; for preventing persons disqualified, or, not duly qualified, from being appointed officers, clerks, or ministers of the said court; for the better regulation of the several offices most immediately connected with the practice of the said court, particularly the Master's offices, the Register's office and the Examiner's-office; and Jog appointing a commission to settle and ascertain the fees to be received at such offices, for the future, for the purpose of creating a fund to defray so much of the salaries to paid to the officers, clerks, and ministers of the court, in lieu of the
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fees and emoluments now received by them respectively, as have not already been provided for by the Crown, under the Authority of parliament or otherwise; the other bill for the better and more speedy administration of life several laws relating to bankrupts; and for preventing persons for the future being appointed commissioners of bankrupt who are disqualified, or who are not duly qualified to act as such.

SCOTTISH LAW COMMISSION BILL.
On the order of the day for the third reading of this bill,
Mr. Broughamrose to make a few observations on the nature of the bill, and other matters connected with its consideration. He stated, that the object of the bill was to facilitate inquiry, relative to the forms of process and proceedings in appeals in Scotland, by means of commissioners. This he looked upon as a much filter mode than the old practice; as it would obviate much of the trouble and expence incurred by sending for judges and practitioners, to ascertain points of form which evidence taken before commissioners would now furnish. He took occasion to urge the necessity of selecting able and intelligent persons for the performance of such a duty; as they would have task of no ordinary difficulty to discharge. They would have to come in contact with persons of a very acute and penetrating habit, much addicted to dispute, and not at all disinclined to start objections, even to first principles. Besides, the forms of pleading at both bars were very different, and therefore it was necessary that the commissioners should be judiciously selected; that the object of the bill might not fail td be carried into effective execution. He proceeded to say, that the bill had been carried through the other House with the support of a noble and learned lord, who would have done well to consider, whether its principles might riot be applied to the administration of justice in another part of the united kingdom; for he believed the forms of process in Scotland were not more prolix or objectionable, than those of the English court of Chancery. When the noble and learned lord at the head of that court did the other House, in carrying the resolutions on the appellate jurisdiction, evince a great anxiety to facilitate the proceedings of Scotch law, he ought not to have forgotten that the process of the court over

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which he himself presided was as fit an object for inquiry as that to which those resolutions referred. But perhaps the noble and learned lord would not agree with him, that inquiry; like charity, ought to begin at home. Yet he ought surely to have kept in view the Christian maxim; and before he proceeded to remove the beam out of the eyes of our Scotch brethren, he should have taken the mote out of his own. The proceedings might be prolix in Scotland, but he defied them to be more prolix than were the proceedings in our own court of Chancery. An hon. and learned friend opposite (Mr. Wetherell) afforded daily proof of this fact. No man made longer speeches there, though always unquestionably highly to the advantage of his clients. Why was not he to be examined upon this point before a commission, that he might give there, as he was in the constant habit of doing in that House, a fair, candid, and impartial opinion, uninfluenced by any wish to please persons in authority? [Hear, hear]. Why had not the attorney-general and the great ornaments of the court of Chancery been called upon to state their ideas of its abuses and of the remedies. In looking over the report which he had mentioned, it was curious to observe hew summarily it disposed of a matter of grave dispute, which elsewhere was still vexata questio. It declared unreservedly, that it was impossible for the lord chancellor to discharge all his duties in the House of Lords and in the court of Chancery. Such had not been the opinion of sir S. Romilly. In 1813, he had not thought that a vice-chancellor was necessary, but a new chancellor. He had admitted the great legal talents of lord Eldon; but denied his fitness for the office he filled: he had complained that he did not confine himself to his judicial duties, but that his ministerial duties crossed and jostled them on the way, and interfered with their progress. He had objected, that lord Eldon was required to be not only in his own court, but in the eabinet, in the Privy Council, and in the King's closet. In short, that his other avocations took up so much of his time, that lord Eldon could not devote his high talents, and his unequalled learning, to the cases of suitors in equity. He (Mr. B.) joined in these sentiments most heartily. He wished to speak with all due respect of the incorruptible integrity of the learned lord in the discharge of ordinary
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judicial business. A man who stood exposed to; the eyes of all the world could not well be guilty, of any acts of corruption; but the appointments made by him to judicial offices formed quite a different question. There the politician interfered, and it was the opinion of all Wesminsterhall, that lord Eldon carried the politician too much into court, in disposing of the patronage attached to his station. Let it be remembered also, that he had taken upon himself another office; namely, that of prime minister. "As to lord Liverpool being prime minister (continued the learned gentleman), he is no more prime minister than I am." I reckon lord Liverpool a sort of member of Opposition; and, after what has recently passed, if I were required, I should designate him as "a noble lord in another place, with whom I have the honour to act." [A laugh.] Lord Liverpool may have collateral influence; but lord Eldon has all the direct influence of the prime minister. He is prime minister to all intents and purposes, and he stands alone in the full exercise of all the influence of that high situation. Lord Liverpool has carried measures against the lord chancellor. So have I; therefore I say, that we act together. If lord Liverpool carried the Marriage act, I carried the Education bill; and if lord Liverpool succeeded against lord Eldon in some points on the Queen's-trial, I say that I totally defeated him on that odious bill of pains and penalties. I might just as well call myself prime minister as lord Liverpool. He has no more claim to the distinction than I have. He acts with me, and I with him; and I call him my noble co-adjutor, and I trust we shall enjoy a long course of co-operation. I am sincerely glad of it; and, long as I have sat and fought on this side of the House, I never welcomed a recruit to our body with greater satisfaction than my lord Liverpool. Lord Westmorland's accession may have given roe more surprise, but certainly not more pleasure. With such powerful assistance, and especially with the highly classical—eloquence of lord Westmorland, I should not much wonder if we were to make head against our opponents, and, in time, turn out this prime minister. The right hon. gentleman opposite appears to entertain some doubt upon the point; and truly, I must myself admit, that lord Eldon seems to possess a grant of the place, "for the term of his naturallife"—[a ladgh]. The learned gentle-

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man proceeded to express his strong disapprobation of the change lately made in the House of Lords, in the administration of justice in the last resort. A private ex-parte proceeding had been got up on this subject in the other House, regarding which not a word had been said, or even whispered—to the Commons' House of parliament. It was a measure, not a bill—a series of resolutions adopted at the extreme end of the session, on a matter affecting the interests of all classes of the community. And yet one branch of the legislature had not been allowed the slightest participation. Was this treating the House, or the people it represented, as they ought to be treated? He did not deny that the peers had the power of taking this course. It might be abundantly legal, and at the same time extremely unconstitutional. He laid this down, not as a paradox, but as a maxim. The Crown might do many acts perfectly legal, but for which the minister who advised them would be impeached. If the House carried an address to the foot of the throne for the removal of a minister, the king might reply, "I will not attend to your insolent resolution; you are my poor Commons, as you styled yourselves in the reign of my predecessor, Elizabeth; the mere tools of a misguided populace; I will not listen to you; get about your business, and never let me see your faces again." This might be very legal language, but it would be most unconstitutional and perilous—perilous, indeed, for the advisers of the Crown; for an impeachment would certainly and instantly be the consequence. In the same way, either House might lawfully refuse to receive a bill passed by the other; but such a course would be most unconstitutional. So here the House of Lords, if it had acted legally, had acted unconstitutionally—unadvisedly towards the House of Commons, and unjustly towards the people it represented, he House of Lords ought to have pursued the old, plain, straight-forward course, of sending down a bill; and the times had been, when the Commons, if they had not carried an address would have voted resolutions expressing their indignation that this mode of proceeding had been abaudoned. Had the Commons no constituents, or were the abuses in Chancery of no importance to the people of England? "O yes," replied the lord chancellor, the prime minister "very true, it is very fit to inquire; but that in-
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quiry ought only to be, made by the law-officers." The House of Commons was yearly summoned by the king "to deliberate upon divers great and weighty affairs;" and were any affairs more great and weighty than the proceedings in the court of Chancery? Lord Eldon, in 1813 had sent clown a bill; he then tried to do the job in that way: but he grew tired of it, and he now prevailed upon the Peers to pass resolutions behind the backs of the Commons. In 1813 he had said, "I want a journeyman chancellor, that I may get to the House of Lords;" and in 1823 he declared, "I want a journeyman Speaker, that I may get to the court of Chancery." If this last demand were acquiesced in, lord Eldon might indeed attend in Chancery, or in the House of Lords, at his pleasure; but he would be relieved effectually from all the burthens of his office, and the result might be, that the practice would terminate of appointing a great and enlightened lawyer to the dignity of lord-chancellor. Once sever his judicial and political capacities by giving him only the last, and a second lord Shaftesbury might be made chancellor; such a man as Charles 2nd made his friend, for turning into ridicule that illustrious statesman, lord Clarendon, for imitating his manners and his gait, and for employing a man to carry the fire-irons before him in mockery of the insignia of office. Lord Shaftesbury—the virtuous and pure lord Shaftesbury—had, indeed, turned out a more honest chancellor than he was a politician; and an instance of the same kind in our own was not wanting. If such were the case, a creature, a favorite, might in future be appointed chancellor, and the monarch himself might make a bargain for a part of the patronage belonging to the office. Such was the consequence that sir S. Romilly had predicted. His fears had been in great part realized. He had said it was possible that, in a short time, it might cease to be the practice to appoint a great lawyer to the office of chancellor. To this it was answered, that there would, nevertheless, be still a great lawyer in the House of Lords; but now, even that was to be done away with. Some fine gentleman taken from the court, such as Roger North spoke of as going down to the House of Lords in a silk dress, upon a gaily caparisoned horse, might be chosen to preside in the Peers, who thought merely of the court

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of our lord the king at St. James's, and never troubled himself with the court of our lord the king in Westminster-ball. Though this was an extreme case, yet great mischiefs might arise, even if that extreme case did not occur. The best lawyer on the side of the minister now must be chosen. Such a man as sir S. Romilly, who might have got through the arrear in half a year, and discharged the duties of chancellor as satisfactorily as lord Hardwicke, was of course excluded on political grounds; but at present, the best lawyer among the Toties must he named, or the Chancery bar would soon make the court too hot to hold him.—After these resolutions of the House of Lords, however, some useful, acute, and able debater might be appointed to the chancellorship, for other qualifications than his law, and other recommendations than his integrity. Another objection to the resolutions was, that the House of Lords would be able to pay this new Speaker, without coming to the House of Commons at all. For by a sort of trick and chicane, and for the purpose, no doubt, of heightening the station, and preserving its dignity, he was to be included among the doorkeepers and attendants of the Peers. This was not using the House of Commons well; and the plan used the people of Scotland at least equally unceremoniously. They were completely satisfied with the decisions of lord Eldon upon their appeals, and must be dissatisfied with any new arrangement. The professional men of Scotland had the highest confidence in the learning, skill, and integrity of lord Eldon. They were even satisfied with his decisions, when he differed from a large portion of them, as he sometimes did, on the law of Scotland, as affecting certain descriptions of property. Nay, some of them had gone round to that learned lord's opinions on those points; and he (Mr. B.) believed that, if the lawyers of Scotland were polled, the majority would be in favour of the learned lord's opinions on those points. The same sentiments were entertained with respect to lord Redesdale, whose attention to subjects of appeal was unremitting. Nothing, therefore, could be less satisfactory to, the Scotch than to be deprived of the Advantage of having their causes determined, by individuals of such high station and character. In another point of view, the final jurisdiction
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of the lord chancellor was of immense importance, as it gave confidence to the suitors in the courts below, that no gross injustice would be perpetuated in those courts. No such injustice would be attempted, while there was this great authority behind, always on the watch, and always ready to pounce down on any one whom he saw guilty of such conduct. Every judge in the courts below knew what he would get if he made any such attempt. He (Mr. B.) never knew sharper language used by one to another, than that which he had heard lord Eldon use towards the judges of the Court of Session. He did not speak of the present period, but of a period twenty years ago. Talk of attacks in that House? They were nothing compared to what he haw heard in the House of Lords, from the learned lord on the woolsack. He remembered that, on one occasion, an extravagant charge bad been made by what was called in Scotland, a factor, on the estate of an infant for great feasts. The judges of the Court of Session sustained those charges; and some of them threw out an opinion, that it was highly important that the hospitality of great houses should be preserved, and that the links should be kept up between great families and the surrounding people; and they remarked, that one of the most endearing of those links was a mutual indulgence in the popular amusement of eating and drinking. They observed also, that such an intercourse was the origin of society, and was calculated to ameliorate the character of man in his rude state. However, the circumstances came in the shape of an appeal to the House of Lords' before the lord chancellor Eldon who knew nothing of man in his rude state, but a great deal of him in his polished state. When he was told of the necessity for hospitality, the learned lord simply-asked, whether the factor had exhibited all this hospitality in the neighbourhood of a circuit town? thereby intimating, that the judges might probably have formed some of the links of which they had spoken; and have illustrated their own doctrine, by their lives, by eating and drinking on the estate of the infant in question. With, that caustic remark, the learned lord dismissed the further consideration of the case—Among the instructions given to the commissioners, was one, to inquire into the practicability of any intermediate court of appeal for scot-

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land. That would never do. Let them take men of the highest rank at the bar, or on the bench—let them take men of all parties—let them take even Clerk and Cranstoun, men not less illustrious for their firm integrity and punctilious honour, than for their splendid talents. Mr. Clerk, especially, who during a long life had invariably exhibited a degree of chivalrous honour, and who enjoyed, on the part of his clients, as well as of his professional brethren, a confidence richly deserved by his singular sagacity, by his extraordinary ingenuity, and by that profundity of legal learning, in which he was equalled by no man but the learned lord on the woolsack; or Mr. Cranstoun, who had been repeatedly heard by many members of that House, with an admiration continually increasing, and whose integrity was as unimpeached as his powers of mind were unexcelled; let them take those men, and let them add any others they pleased, and he defied them to constitute a board of appeal that would be satisfactory to the people of Scotland. What the latter wanted was, an ultimate court removed from Scotland, unconnected with Scotland. What they wanted was that which they at present enjoyed—the House of Lords, with the lord chancellor at its head. Then came the other recommendation to the commissioners, namely, to see whether there were not cases in which it would be advisable that no appeal should be allowed. For his part, he trusted the commissioners would give the most positive negative to both the questions thus put to them. Under all these circumstances, it was his decided opinion—1st, that the commission was proper and desirable, if the commissioners were fitly chosen—2ndly, that beyond the bill now under consideration, nothing ought to have been done by the House of Lords.—3rdly, that whatever was done, ought to be done in the form of a bill, and with the co-operation of the House of Commons—4thly, that no change in the appellate jurisdiction would ever satisfy the people of Scotland, though it might relieve the chancellor from the duties he had hitherto performed, and which he ought still to discharge.
The Attorney Generalthought that a great deal of the remarks and censures upon individuals indulged in by his hon. and learned friend might well have been spared. The commission to be appointed
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was for the purpose of inquiring, whether any means were devisable for clearing the arrears of appeals from the courts of Scotland, and for preventing the accumulation of those arrears in time to come. To neither of these objects did he understand his hon. and learned friend to express any opposition. He could not say that a great deal would be effected by the bill in the reform of the evil; but at any rate, as the evil existed too notoriously to be disputed, parliament was bound to do something towards a remedy, and that was a sufficient argument for the bill before the House. They were aware, that, in one court of Scotland, there already existed a right for the suitor to reclaim his cause, as it was called, for review before the judges who had tried it. They might find it eligible to commute this right for that of subjecting the case adjudged to the judges of the land. At any rate, the plans before them demanded consideration. No one could doubt the benefit of reducing the number of appeals, and no other plan had as yet been submitted. He did not say that this was the best or only plan; neither should his hon. and learned friend have argued it, as if no other could, at any future time, be tried. It was not offered as a permanent measure, and would unquestionably come under the revision of the House. His hon. and learned friend had argued as if the measure had only for its object to ease the labours of the lord chancellor. That was not at all the intention. It was simply, in the first instance, to get rid of the arrears of Scotch appeals. The success of it would, in all probability, not in in the least affect the labours of that great magistrate; who despatched these appeals at present as speedily as, in all probability, had ever been done, and who would continue to have the whole of his valuable time employed, if none of those appeals were to come before him. He justified the House of Peers from any supposition, that the arrears were to be attributed to their neglect, because a great deal of time and attention were bestowed upon them. Of course, nothing could be further from the wishes of himself, as well as of his hon. and learned friend, than to see the office of chancellor bestowed merely with a regard to political influence, or court favour, or upon any other person than upon one who was generally known to be the most skilled in the knowledge of the laws, and who pos-

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sessed the highest character in the profession. It could never become the business of the lower House to dictate what number of hours, and upon what plan of proceeding, the peers should entertain appeals. The peers must be left to settle those, points, and many others of the kind, for themselves. He admitted that there were, very considerable difficulties in the way; but something must be attempted for the riddance of those arrears. He was convinced that there were cases in which it would be advantageous to take away the right of appeal. Upon the whole, the House bad heard nothing to induce them to oppose the third reading of the bill.
Mr. Secretary Canningsaid, he had a few words to offer, only to one point of the discussion. He professed his ignorance of the general nature of the plan, and therefore would reserve his opinion until he should be better informed. It was admitted on all hands, that the evil was excessive, and that the necessity for a remedy could not be disputed. It was as plain that the appellate jurisdiction must be left with that tribunal which was of the highest authority in the kingdom. He could not say that this was the best possible plan. But, a doubt had been expressed by the hon. and learned gentleman whether, upon, instituting and installing this substitute, supposing that he should not fulfil the expectations entertained, concerning him and his office, it would be open to the House to go into a discussion upon the merits of a judicial office in the upper House. It was to this point, he wished to reply. Undoubtedly the House would be at liberty to deliberate upon this subject, without at all infringing upon the orders and constitution of the other House, and that too by the exercise of their own proper, jurisdiction; for, by the time this new machinery would be up and ready for use, the House would be called upon to provide for the salary of the new office. Up to 1816, the pay of the officers and clerks of that House, was provided for retrospectively. Since that period, the provision had been prospective; and he found on the estimates of the present session, an item for the salary of lord shaftesbury for this current year. It was obvious, therefore, that the House would have full opportunity for renewing the whole of this subject, at a period nearly as early as that in which the experiment was to be made.
Mr. Abercrombymaintained, that the present was the only occasion on which his hon. and learned friend could animadvert on the strange and anomalous plan in question before it was carried into execution. He thought it was matter of much regret, that an opportunity for considering the subject had not been afforded until so late a period of the session. Nothing could be more interesting to the people generally, and more especially to the people of Scotland, than a proposal to alter and vary that roost important of all matters to the subjects of this realm—the ultimate decision of justice in the House of Lords. He knew no question of more deep and general interest than that which is hon. and learned friend, the Member for Lincoln, had agitated this session respecting the court of Chancery. Whether his hon. and learned friend, who this year had brought the abuses of the court of Chancery before the House, pursued the subject at another period or not, he was convinced the public would never rest, till a thorough investigation of the whole of those abuses had taken place. With respect to the appellate jurisdiction, the measure in contemplation would render the holder of the new appointment a greater person than the lord chancellor himself; for appeals might come before him from the court of Chancery; the lord chancellor's Deputy in the House might thus become his superior, as an equity judge. So far also as regarded the present Scotch appellants, he thought they ought to be allowed to withdraw their appeals, in case they should not approve of the new jurisdiction which Parliament appointed to decide them, but which in preferring those appeals they had never anticipated. It had been said, that this could not properly be called an innovation, because it was not intended to be a permanent alteration. But the did not dread innovation when permanent good was the object in view; although he most strongly objected to changes which were only to meet temporary emergencies. By the present measure a plan of profit would be created, and every man must know in his conscience, that if the existing administration were able to show the necessity of the appointment now, a future administration would he able to shows the necessity for continuing it. The result, in short, of this and the other alterations which had been made in the duties of the head of

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the court of Chancery, would be to render the lord chancellor a mere political personage, who, without being himself a lawyer, and without having any sympathy with the bar, would have the power of dispensing vast patronage among his political adherents. Upon the whole, therefore, he objected to the measure, as one of the greatest grievances which could be inflicted upon the people of Scotland, and one of the most injurious alterations, as regarded the law in England. Instead of adopting such a course, he, would, if necessary, afford the lord chancellor further relief in the court of Chancery, but retain him as the head of the appellate jurisdiction of the country It was first incumbent, however, upon that House to investigate the whole subject of the Court of Chancery. The report, which they already possessed, admitted there was great room for improvement; and it was the duty of parliament to eradicate abuses where they existed.
Mr. J. Williamsexpressed his disappointment that the right hon. Secretary for the Home Department had not favoured the House with his sentiments upon the present subject. For his own part, he could not avoid expressing his conviction, that it was not the appellate jurisdiction only, but the whole business of the court of Chancery, which Parliament ought to investigate. As to the present bill, all he should object to was the period of the session at which it was introduced. In answer to what had been said by the right hon. gentleman opposite he would observe, that the alteration in the appellate jurisdiction was now an open question, but at the period when the right hon. secretary thought it might be best discussed, a person would be appointed to that newly-invented situation, and his very appointment might be urged as an argument against inquiry. The report which they had before them was not, in his opinion, fit evidence upon which to legislate; for it appeared to have been drawn up for the mete purpose of making a florid display of the vast labours which the lord chancellor had now to perform. He could not help adverting to what had been said by sir S. Romilly of lord Hardwicke—"That great man" (said he) "instead of sitting till two o'clock in the day, often sat tilt two in the morning;" and extra exertion," during that extra number of hours, might be one reason why the arrear of business was so much less in
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lord Hardwicke's time than it was at present. Indeed, he in his conscience doubted the truth of the allegations in the report, and believed, that the three existing equity judges were perfectly competent to discharge all the duties of the court of Chancery. Upon the new assistants which the lord chancellor was to have in the appellate jurisdiction of the House of Lords, he merely begged to say, that if, as had been observed by his hon. and learned friend, the whole fifteen judges of Scotland would not form an appellant tribunal satisfactory to the people of that country, the present arrangement must totally fail in that object. It was to be composed of four peers who, except her reditarily, knew nothing of the law of Scotland, and a splendid unknown, who had no vote in deciding the cases which came before him, but when asked for his opinion, was bound to give it to those lawyers of fiction, not of fact—his noble colleagues. In conclusion, he felt himself bound to say, that if no member better qualified than himself undertook the task, he should early next session bring the subject of delays and other abuses of the court of Chancery before Parliament. To the present bill he should not object.
Mr. Peelsaid, he thought he had observed a smile on the cheek of the hon. and learned gentleman who spoke last, when he expressed his surprise that he (Mr. Peel) had not spoken during the present discussion. In reply, he could assure the hon. and learned gentleman that there were various reasons for his silence 1st, the two speeches of his right hon. friend, and of his learned friend the attorney-general, had exhausted the subject; next, he begged to assure the hon. and learned gentleman, that as he had sat in his place till three o'clock that morning, with not more than a fifth of the members then present in attendance, he was but little disposed to enter on such a subject as that now under consideration; 3rd. he had reason to think, from an intimation from the hon. and learned gentleman himself, that he would bring the subject before Parliament early next session; and upon a question of so much importance, he wished to reserve himself till that occasion should occur for delivering his sentiments at length. 4th. as he was to have the satisfaction of concurring with the hon. and learned gentleman in the vote he should give on the present

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bill, he was unwilling to disturb the harmony of the evening. Lastly, as the vote for the salary of the person appointed to the new situation in the House of Lords, would give the hon. gentlemen opposite another opportunity of stating their opinion on that office, he thought there was no necessity to provoke a premature debate on the subject.
Mr. Wetherellsaid, that he considered the measure adopted in the other House of Parliament merely as a choice of considerable difficulties, and as such assented to it. He did so the more readily, because there appeared no necessity for rendering the appointment a permanent one.
Mr. Denmanremarked the singular fact, that in the speeches which had been delivered, none of the gentlemen opposite had thought proper to say that the bill was a good one. He trusted the commission for inquiry into the administration of the law in Scotland would supersede the necessity of adding to the law the ignoble officer alluded to. He would never vote one farthing for paying such an officer, and he called upon his hon. friend (Mr. Hume) to oppose any grant for that purpose. He objected also to the appointment of that officer, because it would in crease the judicial patronage, when the mode in which that patronage was dispensed and withheld was already most disadvantageous. His opinion on this subject was at least impartial, because now he held, by the vote of a great public body, the city of London, those advantages which he would rather hold from the public than from any individual: but no man could look at the manner in which his hon. and learned friends, the members for Winchelsea and Lincoln (Mr. Brougham and Mr. J. Williams) discharged their duty to their clients, and at the talent which they uniformly displayed, without being filled with surprise that they were not placed in the first ranks of their profession. The consequence of this rank being withheld from them, produced not only great inconvenience upon the northern circuit, but was a material drawback upon the interests of the profession; and he should suffer no opportunity to escape him, in which this subject was mentioned without expressing his opinion upon the injustice which had prompted their exclusion.
The bill was read a third time and passed.

QUARANTINE REGULATIONS AT MALTA.
Mr. Hume, in bringing forward his motion with respect, to the Quarantine Laws of Malta, felt it necessary to explain shortly the nature of the grievance complained of, and the remedy which the aggrieved parties were, anxious to obtain. He had mentioned this subject early in the session, and he understood that it was to be inquired into; but he had four days ago received a letter from the Committee of Merchants at Malta, in which was an extract of a letter from lord Bathurst, stating, that after a full inquiry into all the circumstances of the case, he saw no good ground for altering the Quarantine laws with respect to that island. This answer of the noble lord had put the whole commercial interest of the island into a state of alarm. Therefore it was that, even at that late period of the session, he felt it necessary to make this motion. It was well known that Europe had for a long time, and as it were by a family compact, excluded the states of Barbary and the other Turkish states and dependencies, from that free intercourse which took place between the other ports of the Mediterranean, with the express view of preserving themselves as much as possible from the plague which raged in those countries. But while this law existed in the Mediterranean, as well as in all other European ports, the island of Malta was in free pratique with those ports. In 1813 the plague reached Malta, and was not removed until 1814. After this, the ports of Genoa and Leghorn notified that the ships of Malta (if no recurrence of the evil took place) were to be allowed free pratique as before. In 1814, circumstances arose which created a want of confidence in, Genoa and Leghorn, in consequence of which Malta was placed, with respect to her ships, upon the same footing with the Barbary or any other Turkish states. What he wished was, that Malta should be placed upon the same footing with other Mediterranean ports; that there should be established at Malta a Board of Health, instead of at allowing the power to rest with Dr. Greaves, who was under the control of sir T. Maitland, and who allowed persons from any part of Turkey, to land by his directions, without undergoing the usual quarantine. This it was that caused such a jealousy in the other Mediterranean ports, and induced them to place vessels from

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the island of Malta under the same qualantine restrictions which were imposed upon vessels from the Turkish coast. So long as the irregularity existed, so long would the other Mediterranean ports keep Maltese ships on a footing with Turkish ships. In 1815, sir T. Maitland went to Tunis. He remained there two days, and on his return to Malta he was allowed to land immediately, without performing any quarantine. True it was, that the plague did not then rage at Tunis; but this was no answer, the omission of the usual cautionary measure was a good ground of jealousy on the part of the other ports, and it consequently subjected the Maltese merchants and traders to all the losses and disabilities which a quarantine must necessarily bring upon them. The hon. member went on to state various cases in which the quarantine system had been observed by other powers, while it had been totally neglected in Malta. The return of sir T. Maitland to Malta was notorious. It was a singular fact, that while we were so regardless of the quarantine laws, they were so strictly observed by other powers, that even on the arrival of the consort of the duke de Berry from Sicily at Marseilles, she was obliged to perform quarantine. After some remarks upon the farce of fumigating letters from Malta, while woollens were allowed to pass unnoticed, he proceeded to state, that it appeared from a calculation, upon which he could rely, that from February, 1816, to April, 1823, a period of more than seven years, sir T. Maitland had not resided more than 309 days in Malta. Let the House consider the important duties which sir T. Maitland had to perform. Let it be remembered, too, that the courts of justice had been several times at a stand, in consequence of the absence of that gentleman; who, in the mean time, issued the most important orders from the island of Corfu. Let the House but take this for a moment into their serious consideration, and they must at once perceive the necessity of a change of system. He would cite one, amongst many instances, of the exercise of the governor's power in this way. On the 18th of March, 1819, sir T. Maitland proclaimed, from Corfu, that from and after that date, there should be imposed upon each quarter of corn imported into the island of Malta a duty of three scudi, or about 5s. English. In the following August, this duty was raised,
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by proclamation of the lieutenant-governor, from 5s. to 8s. 4d., and on the 5th of the following November, the then lieutenant-governor, (colonel James Maitland) issued a proclamation, stating that, from the date thereof and until further orders, the duty on barley or Indian corn should be raised from three to five scudi, or, in English, from 8s. 4d. to 13 s. 4d.—These orders were to be enforced on the instant, without entering into any consideration of the interests of the parties concerned. The hon. member then moved, "That there be laid before this House copies of all Correspondence between the Committee of British Merchants at Malta and the Government at Malta, and the Colonial Office in England, since 1814, respecting the Quarantine Regulations at Malta."
Mr. Wilmot Hortondid not rise to oppose the motion, to which he would have agreed without observation, did he not feel it to be an act of justice towards sir T. Maitland to make a few remarks on what had fallen from the hon. gentleman. With respect to the alteration in the duty on grain, if it could be regulated by any fixed principle, as might be the case under ordinary circumstances, the observations of the hon. member would be just; but, when it was recollected that the island depended upon a foreign supply, he could not assume, because a change was made in the rate of duty, that the system was bad, or that there did not exist some sufficient reason for the change. The hon. member had argued, that there ought to be an independent board of health at Malta, the same as at other ports, instead of the system of regulation which now prevailed there. But he could not have read the correspondence for which he now called, or he would have found, that the merchants admitted the theory of the quarantine system to be more perfect at Malta than any where else. Vessels carrying susceptible goods were formerly placed in quarantine for forty days. That period was now lessened one-half; others carrying goods less susceptible were detained for a shorter; time; and a third class, not likely to have any thing infectious on board, were placed under what was called the quarantine of observation. There was not, as the hon. member had asserted, any favouritism, in the invidious sense of the word, manifested towards men of war. If more indulgence was shown to them than mer-

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chantmen, the reason was obvious. The cleanliness and the discipline of men of war rendered the chance of their crews being afflicted with contagious distempers much less likely than those on board merchantmen. The fumigation, the expurgation to which the latter was subjected during quarantine, were going on in the men of war all the while they were at sea. The hon. member had observed, that sir T. Maitland went on shore at Tunis, and returned to Malta without undergoing any quarantine. It was true he went to Tunis in 1815, passed two days there, and then came back to Malta; but it was a remarkable fact that, at the time sir T. Maitland paid his visit, no person had had the plague at Tunis for the space of years. But the practical charge was, that the quarantine at the other ports in the Mediterranean was rendered more severe, in consequence of the laxity of the regulations at Malta. In proof of this, the hon. member had alluded to Marseilles. But the board of health at Marseilles were perfectly satisfied with the regulations at Malta. The hon. gentleman concluded, by saying, that he could have no objection to furnish the hon. member for Aberdeen with such copies or extracts of the correspondence as he might wish.
Mr. Hume, upon that undertaking, consented to withdraw his motion.