17 FEBRUARY 1923, Page 12

CONCILIATION COURTS FOR RENT DISPUTES. [To the Editor of the

SPECTATOR.]

Sia,—A great deal of interest seems to have been taken in a suggestion that I have made that, when the Rent Restriction Act is continued, as it probably must be, the County Courts should have given to them special powers to act as Conciliation Courts. The idea seems prevalent that this proposal is a new one and it is not well understood. The proposal is a very old and a very simple one It was put before the citizens of the 'country in a speech on Local Courts delivered in the House of Lords by Lord Brougham in 1880. What he said was this

" In many foreign countries Courts of Conciliation are established with a view to the prevention of lawsuits by having parties called before them—by talking to them familiarly, kindly and privately —by telling one that it is very foolish to, go into court when the facts arc so clear against him and that he will lose his cause—by telling another that lie ought not any longer to resist payment as it is quite clear 'that he is wrong ;• in short, by giving the parties sound advice. to. which they may attach the weight that. does and will always belong to the disinterested counsel of a prudent and worthy man and of one experienced in such disputes.'

The idea would be to make conciliation, or the effort at con- eiliatioa, a condition precedent to litigation. It would save landlords and tenants—the vast majority of whom desire to live and let livea great deal of unnecessary expense and bad blood, and would promote peace and comfort' in the henries of the country. It would also save the courts, the

Bar and the solicitors from being parties to much degrading and useless litigation. I therefore ask you to assist me in making known what the proposal really is, and seek your co-operation in persuading Parliament at least to discuss the possibility of such a reform. As to the details of carrying it out there can be no difficulty. When the judges and barristers of Denmark visited England last year they came to Lambeth County Court, and, thanks to Mr. Ostenfeld, of the Danish Bar, I have a copy of all the forms which have been used in Denmark, where the system has worked with success for the last hundred years. These could easily be adapted to our needs: All that is required is for Parliament to rise above the vested interests of lawyers and Treasury officials—interests which, to my mind, are not the highest interests of the lawyers and officials concerned— and to insist upon introducing a system of conciliation which will be a great relief to the poor and to those whose deity it is to endeavour to administer justice to the dwellers in the

[We deal with Judge Parry's admirable proposal in our leading paragraphs.—En. Spectator.]