TOPICS OF THE DAY.

LOCAL COURTS.

AMONG the numerous reforms promised by the present Govern- ment, one of the most prominent—as beyond question the most necessary of them all—related to the administration of justice, and especially to the establishment of Local Courts. In nearly every Speech from the Throne since the Whigs came into power, the subject has been alluded to. But what has been done ? Has any sensible proposition been made, that even their stanchest supporters could approve of ? has any change so good been sug- gested, that nothing but the obstructiveness of Conservatism could have prevequed from being effiTted ? Quite the contrary: the Government have exhibited neither capacity nor willingness to take so much as the first step in a reforming course. Alore pecu- liarly is it the business of' the Attorney-General, as the only person bolding an office imposing duties such as would properly belong to

C•itirt sat. Snits Limit or Fees. Days. lward. Debts.

, X Ashten-maLT-Lyne

-G4 115 ...

1,998 ...

Bath

-.•43 49 ...

1,853 ... 10

Beverley.

70 116 ,.. 208

Birnilith ton (t wo Clerks '

each received)

51 ...

6,113 ...

Boston

lso 26 ... 575 ... 5

Bradthril, Yorkshire -107 54 ...

11,397 ... 2

Bradford, NV ilt shire

1.2 16

590 ...

Bristol

46 I,2S 1 10

Ilroseley, shrepsliire 12114

1,-G5 ...

C;,ntel.buly

f-52 ...

Chippenham

1,0111 ...

Cirencester

417 :.0

1,310 Deal

41 10 ...

l)erhy 123 17

1,:?(12 ... 2

1/oncaster

— 12 .

)71 .. 2 Dover 21 12 l'..il ... 2 Ecelesliall .. ''`ii 18

3.137 ... 5

Exeter

tai 241 ...

315 ... 2 Faversham 21 12 ... 214 ... 2 Gravesend 12 ...

.126(7) 129 ,..

193 ... 5

Gr.euu it'll (two officers d:vide 111.• fees.:,.

3,531 ... 5 Crinisbv

77 15:1

201 ... 5 Iiales Owen (two Clerks preside. :1;11 each receive) 26 ... 2,796 b ...

'Halifax end 11 taltlerslield :-.:.z.,C),:,tilw

:1 59 ...

.1.015 ... 2 Ilolheach 24 ...

223 ... :) 11ernertstle

70 13 ...

239 ... 5

Ipswich Kendal

kidderminst er 1;1;4415 r.2 ... 11 ... 55 ...

891 .,. •

675 ... :2

Kinfoton-upon -linll 671 32 ..

'1,1:,t1 S

Lincoln 48 -):;

411 ... 2

Livt•rpool (Ref urn refused)

— — ••• — ••• — London (acre are two ..k ssisf ants to the

Presiding Officer ; one it etives 111,(1/. a

year and the other Dia a year)

2:175 1 (SI 25 : : : ,41 :

Manchester

.1);0:010, ( salary )10o,-, . . .

Melksham CO Ili ... 801 .., 5

Newport, Isle of V ight Z7i 1, t4i . . . 25 Norwich 364 4°5 . . .

Old Swinford

93 26 ... 667 ... 2

the department of a Minster of Justice, to initiate some measure respecting Local Courts or at lc s --t to t !1:e the trouble to expound to the public. the difiledlies connected With any change, as well as the change that it is desirable to wake, and the meth: be which it might be accomplished. Public opinion is:ght thus be formed, and instruction given, which, from the interests involved, could not fail, in the course of a short period, to have beneficial results. Hut has Sir JOHN CAN1PBELL z,tti.0!plt.,1 t!, y,,,.:,,„,„,,. ,,f. :4o honour- able a task ? has a weal ti!llsn 1...e' 1 1.H it :11 i, .[...,tive of any wish to facilitate the ;als 71.1.-1r '1 IitH --11,., tit. it, make the law more accessible ? Let tls .,,1\1s. Is- t 1,n,:w 1,),1 i,,,iiiy. They will tell that there never w ,!i, tot 2, if,,incr-Ge i:, r::1 00 intent upon rendering his office and his ollicial pcidtion subservient to mere personal gain. Will they not also say. that it is a calinnity to the country that one who is not osl:. dttwilling to engture in the task of framing some measure of hsstl reform hut is the obstne 0 rti and represses its perfol. !.re by others, should be the Atek,eys General? On one ocess's!1 slime has he taken any apptintly serious interest in any 7!'• '; :.,..1a•n!: and it wrs v.I•cri it bungli4g measure to constitute 0 4 ,. 11 urt ,-!. 11.1.-luity, (.;* Nvhich lie \Nos ois peeted to be the chief. vs, is ,s:•.' '. '' .•s ssi. Lord LYN-OM:EST even is a more w!:7:ng 1.!•t: :, .1 1 S:r Joins CA:ups:ELL.

Jn looking over the 11, ,.,:.;:.:.::,.:,: to the House of Commons during the last session, it :, :i.pos.:ble not to be struck with the importance of some moron, i;a- by :Mr. LEAnna, lespecting Courts of Requests, Borough C -,r;s, I [kindred Ceurts, and County Courts. They exhihit the e.,11.- .61 it he eNistint,t syston ht a remark- able manner. The evideree they at:6rd of the necessity of some change is so striking, that :t rc.cds only scmc person conversant with legal details and the 1)1.w:flee ei: the Courts to take the subject in hand in the lionse of (7111-linens, to make Law Reform an intelligent and popyl;ir subject. In order to show the character of the present system, we shall first take the Courts of Requests, and present an abstract of the returns relating to them for the vear 1837. The following table shows the emoluments Of the presiding (-Slicers, the number of days that the Courts sat in the year, the number of suits heard, and the highetA amount of debts that may be sued -Ow in each Court.

COURTS OF 112QuEsT.

Bamsgate Rochester St. Albans Sandwich Sevenoaks Sheffield* Shrewsbury Sonthwark Spalding Spilsby,,&c., Lincolnshire

Stockport, -Sec

Tower Hamlets Trowbritlge Warminster Westbury- Westminster Whit tlesea, &c.

Wisbech Wolverhampton, Ike • 56. 12 184 12 82 53 40 12 23 10 1,700 52 68 26

51:00 37 (Salary) 98

28 118 24 414 34 '300 (Salary 93 to 3 Clerks each) 141 IS 30 13 — 13 300(to each 103 of 2 persons) 47 12 137 11 275 12 .-.. 198 ...

... 845....

... 526 ...

... 162 ...

... 77 ...

... 8,862 ...

.•. — •.• ... 11,812 ...

... 324 ...

... 316 ...

... 2,947 ...

... 10,838 ...

... 331 .. 176 ... 176 ... 7,564 ... 223 ...

604

... 5:32 ... 5 5. ..

2 5 5 5 — 5 5 5 5 5

Ci■ t7f

• The office of Bailiff in this Court is worth above 'Mi. a year. Out of 57 Courts, thirty-two have jurisdiction to the extent of Si., and three only to the extent of 10/., namely, Bath, Bristol, and London. The income of the Presiding Officer at Bath in 1837 was 543/., at Bristol 559/., and in tendon 400; the last alone being paid a fixed salary. The great eat incomes are received where the jurisdiction of the Court is not beyond 51.; and of these the largest is that received by Mr. Panami, the -ffither of one of the Lords of the Treasury, who was paid in 1837 no less a sum than 1,700/.,—contributed, be it remembered, by poor persons, who are unable or unwilling without compulsion to pay debts under five pounds.

The officers of the Court at Liverpool have declined to furnish

the information given by every other Court in the kingdom—and given in many eases with the greatest willingness. It is to be re- gretted that there is this omission in the list. But it is impossible to ascertain, why at Manchester the jurisdiction of the Court should extend to only 51., and at Bristol to 10/. ; or at Norwich to only 2.4., at Bath to 10/., and at Birmingham only to 5/. Those who have been at Liverpool during an Assize, must often have been struck at the waste of time and the enormous expense attending petty suits originating in a country district—the large parade of forms and cesemonies, the visitation of the Supreme Judges, the flight of barristers, mid the flock of attornies to settle them. What is proved to be advantageous to Bath or Bristol, would no doubt be equally so to every other large town in the kingdom. But why is it th..t the system is not uniform ? Ask the Whig Attorney-Genefal—ask the Whig officials ; and when they have given a satisfactory reply, then, and not sooner, ask the House of Lords, whether its rejection of Lord llitorou.sses defective bill for the establishment of Local Courts implies a de- termination for ever to deny justice to the people. Another fact that cannot -1161 to strike those \rho look through the above list, is the high payment that is given for the short period diming which the Courts sit in the course of the year'. Mr. PARKER received 1,7001. for a service of fifty-two days at Sheffield ; Mr. Pommes at Hull, 671/. for a service of' thirty-two days ; and Mr. Woarimsceros at Ashton, 534/. for a service of eighteen days. None of these persona are prevented from carrying on other bu- siness. The first can leave his bank without any inconvenience to his partners, and the others can see their clients in the morning or evening of the days thy sit, without inconvenience or inter- ruption. The same remark teay be made with respect to nearly all the Presiding Officee.:.

The want of unifiamity in these Courts applies to every thing that distinguishes them : for in some places they sit once a week, in some once a month ; some have a jurisdiction confined to a town, some a jurisdiction extending over a hundred, and some extending over several hundreds ; and the followlog table shows how admi- rably this variety is exhibited even in their patronage.

. chief Officers. Appointed by Ashton R. 'Worthington Earl of Stamford and Warrington.

Bath .1. Smith The Lord Chancellor.

llitrrish The Commissioners.

Birmingham ... f I'' (1:

( 2. W, Musgrave The Lord of the Manor. Bristol The Town-Council.

Cirencester IL Anderson The Earl Eittloirst.

Ecclesliall F. Maude Earl Fitzwilliam.

Greenwich 1 " . • •

5i. S. M . Parker )- 1 he Commissioners.

t 2. C. IL Parker

Kidderminster ...W. Talbot I ord Foley.

Manchester ........John Hill ((;60/.) c Chancellor of the Botchy of ( Lancaster. Hon. F. F. Molyueux (15t

Cler!:, :5')07.) Earl Sefton. A. .N. E. Mesicy (2d Clerk, 4600 Sr O. Mosley.

Swynford ...... ....'W. If unt Earl of Stamford andWarrington. 5 MO PRi•.,,r

Sheffield (J.Waterieil(th, ilid, 9000 I Duke of Norfolk.

Stotkport J K. Winterhottoto . I ady of the -Allmon

Thus the best-paid Judges in England, having the easiest duties and the least occupation of their time, are nominated by private persons. Their officer; may be taken into the market and sold, in the same mariner as an adrowson ; or they may be the portion of a younger son, or the reward of a chief butler. They may be part of the effects of an insolvent debtor; and—such is the exquisite sistem of judicial patronage in England—it may happen that Mr. UEOR011 ROBINS shall sell at the' Auction Mart the Judgeships of the Courts of Request at Sheffield, Stockport, Eceleahall, or Birmingham. . .

The lumber of suits beard in every Court, proves how advanta• geous *these Courts might be ; and leads to the conclusion, that it' such Courts are necessag for the recovery of small debts in towns,' a monstrous denial of justice must take place throughout the country districts of the kingdom, where none exist.