The details of legislation are not important, when a dissolu-
tion is almost sure to stop all progress ; but we must mention Mr. Norwood's Bill for extending County-Court jurisdiction. The Member for Hull proposes to raise the jurisdiction of these Courts from 250 to £200, to allow plaintiffs to institute suits, not being Admiralty, Probate, or Divorce suits, to any amount, subject to defendants' right to transfer them to a higher Court; and to raise the salaries of the Judges to £2,000 a year. The debate was remarkable for the readiness of all parties, the Government included, to accept the Bill, and the reluctance of almost all speakers to admit that the Judges' salaries must be increased. It was admitted that the maximum cost would only be £28,000 a year, but everybody had some suggestion for retrenchment, the usual one being to absorb the Registrars' fees into a fund for paying the Judges ; and the Solicitor-General distinctly refused to pledge him- self that the increase of work should include increase of pay. The reluctance to spend money on Judges is characteristic of both Liberal and Tory Administrations, and when contrasted with the readiness to spend millions on villainous little wars, has a depressing effect. The idea of Mr. Norwood's Bill is that it would make civil justice cheap and accessible all over the kingdom, and that is worth 228,000, or, if needful, ten times that amount. The mere saving of loss in the security to property would make such an expenditure cheap.
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