learned Friend has referred to one parti- | Field, himself, admits, that with the mascular return made under peculiar cir- ter himself there is no delay. And whilst cumstances; he ought to have stated the my hon. and learned Friend undervalues general average, and which appears to be the services of the masters, he ought to nearly five hours a day to each master. I reflect, that, whilst there is more substan-have the authority of the Colleague of my tial business done in our courts of equity hon. and learned Friend, that no judge in the course of the year than in all the ought to be called upon, with advantage other courts at Westminster Hall, two to the public, to sit beyond five hours in thirds of that business are transacted in the day; but my hon. and learned Friend the masters' offices. As to the romantic says, that the time of the judge is much allusion of my hon. and learned Friend, of occupied out of court in preparing for the masters reading the newspaper or a court; he must know that the master is novel, he could hardly be serious; and I also so occupied; there is no day passes feel confident he intended it merely as a that I am not occupied from one hour to figure of speech, as a flourish which an two hours at least out of office-hours in orator can hardly ever avoid where it falls reading my papers for the next day and in his way. If a warrant should not be looking at points of law. And then, in attended, if an interval should arise berespect of the number of days, I agree tween the attendance on warrants, the with my hon. and learned Friend, that the master has plenty of occupation in reading master should sit every day the court sits; over and preparing his reports, and in but I do not see what use their sitting at signing them. For my hon. and learned other times would answer. And my hon. Friend is grealy mistaken when he says, and learned Friend may be assured, that their reports are prepared by the chief if they continued their sittings until clerk and not by the masters themselves; Christmas next, there would then be the true it is, that the statement and technical same bustle and hurry as there is gene- part is so prepared; but I will speak for rally at this time of the year; and surely myself, and, in so doing, may also for all my hon. and learned Friend ought to the other masters, that there is no master know, that the masters, after the last seal, who does not prepare or settle his own have no power whatever of compelling at- finding, and peruse the whole of the tendances upon warrants. I think the report. It is not, I conceive, the duty of practice most absurd and mischievous. I the master to do more, but that of the have, with the other masters, adopted chief clerk; and the master's time must every means we could to put a stop to be, and is much better occupied in other such a practice. I have suggested in the and more difficult matters. And now, proper quarter that an alteration should be as to attendances and their enforcement; made, and I have no doubt it will be made. I wish the masters had more power; but As to the hours, it is well known that how that is to be effected with safety or solicitors cannot, except under very press-utility is a matter of grave consideration. ing circumstances, attend upon the masters, but from eleven to four o'clock. They are occupied in the earlier hours in the morning in reading their letters, and making arrangements for the day; and in later hours they are again occupied with letters for the post, and preparing for the next day. But my hon. and learned Friend says, that there is a great pressure and arrear, and delay of business; that there is an actual choaking up in our offices: all I can say, is, that I know there is no such arrear or delay or choaking up in my office, and that I am not aware and I do not believe that there is any such in any other office. I know that, by the time my office closes, there will not be a single matter left undisposed of or unfinished

Whom will you mulet with costs, or punish for non-attendance? Not the suitor, for he may be perfectly innocent; the solicitor, will you gain your point thereby ? My hon. and learned Friend says, and so does Mr. Field (a solicitor himself), that solicitors will not attend sometimes, out of courtesy to each other; will they not extend that courtesy as to costs, and keep a regular account between each other for non-attendance, and set off one against the other? All this, as I have already said, requires consideration, and much, very much, depends upon proper management, and the master's seizing the proper moment to compel attendances and continuity of warrants. My hon. and learned Friend then says, referring no

Their Lordships divided on the original motion Contents 24; Not Contents 23; Majority 1.

The Marquess of Salisbury said, had I still making, to Austria, to induce her to this bill been introduced earlier in the withdraw her troops from the territory of session, he would have moved, that it be that republic, and to restore it to the referred to a committee up stairs, in order situation in which it was placed by the to show not only the gross negligence, treaty of Vienna. All these facts were but, to use a harsher phrase, the gross admitted by Government; and when he malversation which was observable in the heard that a new alliance had been enproceedings of (as we understood) the tered into between this country and the Dunstable trust. He had many objec- courts of St. Petersburg and Vienna, tions to this measure. By the former bill which must, of course, give so much adthe funds necessary for the improvement ditional influence to Her Majesty's Goof the road were voted by Parliament, but vernment at those courts, he could not by the present measure Sir Henry Parnell, but express his extreme regret that the and four commissioners, were authorised remonstrance made by Her Majesty's Goto expend any money they pleased without vernment to those courts, earnest as they any efficient control. The noble Mar- might have been, were not attended with quess moved that the bill be committed success. However, he looked forward this day three months." with hope to the withdrawal of the Austrian troops from the republic of Cracow at no distant period, and the consequent renewal of that state of commercial as well as political independence which was guaranteed to the republic by the treaty of CRACOW.] Lord Lyndhurst had to Vienna. The petitions referred merely to present to their Lordships two petitions, the commercial character of the republic. the one from the merchants of the city of One of them was signed by merchants of London, the other from the merchants of the city of London, the other by merthe borough of Birmingham, on the sub-chants and manufacturers of the town of ject of the present state of the republic of Birmingham; and when he adverted to Cracow, with reference to its commercial relations. He had been in possession of those petitions for a considerable period, and he rejoiced that he had not presented them sooner, because, from circumstances which had recently occurred, he had some reason to hope,that events were in progress that would beneficially alter the situation of the inhabitants of Cracow. He alluded to the sentiments expressed by the noble Lord the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (who must be taken as the representative of the Government) with respect to the conduct that had been observed towards the republic of Cracow. That noble Lord was stated to have described the proceedings adopted with reference to the republic of Cracow as a gross violation of the treaty of Vienna, and so far an injury, and consequently an affront, to the people of this country. The noble Lord further admitted that the pretence on which those proceedings were founded was false in fact, and afforded no justification for them. It was also, he understood, stated by the noble Lord, and he rejoiced in it, that Her Majesty's Ministers took a deep interest in the prosperity and welfare of this republic; and further, that pressing remonstrances had been made, and were

present Ministers have ceased to pay off that debt, and have furthermore brought about a defalcation in the public revenue, and are now about to impose new taxes, and to make this taxation fall on objects of primary neces

to him, he had reason to believe that it | amount of several millions sterling yearly, the was so signed without any recourse to those arts which were usually resorted to on similar occasions. It was, he conceived, of the utmost importance to their Lordships that the petition of such a nu-sity to the working classes. merous body of persons of this class should be seriously considered and attended to by their Lordships. With that view he would read the contents of the petition to their Lordships. He did so, because there was no other mode by which he could fairly and properly discharge the duty which he owed to the petitioners. The noble and learned Lord accordingly read the petition.

"That Her Majesty's present Ministers came into office through the support they obtained from the operatives of this country, in the expectation they had held out and the pledge they had given, of effecting the reform of existing abuses, of retrenching lavish and insupportable expenditure, and of preserving the blessings of peace to the empire.

"That, in regard to the reform of abuses that did exist, they have done nothing of that which they promised, and that they have

created abuses unknown before. That in regard to the public expenditure, insupportable before, and which they had pledged themselves to retrench, they have done nothing, but, on the contrary, augmented that expenditure. That in regard to peace,-they found peacethey have brought war.

"That these Ministers are the first Ministers of the British Crown who have come into office through popular agitation. That, using with cruelty the power which they had obtained by perfidy, they have directed the worst rigours of the law against the very men by whom they have been raised, while in pursuit of objects identical with those which they had encouraged.

"That at the period when these Ministers obtained the management of public affairs this country was oppressed with an enormous debt, the result of the previous mismanagement of our foreign affairs, was oppressed still more grievously by the injurious mode in which the revenue was assessed, resulting from the miscomprehension of their predecessors of our domestic concerns.

That the present Ministry have done nothing to reduce that debt, or to correct the false and oppressive mode of taxation, but, on the contrary, commenced their career by an assault upon the last remnants of the constitutional taxation of this empire. That whereas even the previous Administrations had, during peace, diminished the burden of the public debt. That whereas the Administration which immediately preceded them had

"That a degrading system of corruption has been introduced on the pretence of commissions to inquire into grievances, through which taken place, money is expended, and the peoextensive corruptions of men of ability have ple have been beguiled by delusive hopes.

"That the prospects of increased expenditure, of additional demands for troops and for ships, are presented in the colonies, at home, and throughout the world, by the universal mismanagement of our affairs, by the violation of the rights of our fellow-subjects, by the submission to insult and to outrage from foreign Powers, by the contempt into which Her Majesty's crown has been brought, and by the injustice inspired into the councils of every foreign state, through the hopes awakened of the dismemberment of the British empire

"That Her Majesty's present Ministers found the colonies of North America in a state

of tranquillity, that they have brought them into one of insurrection.

France-that they have submitted to the en"That they found this country allied to croachments of that power upon the territories of our allies, and to the violation by her of our commercial rights, and, consequently, they have placed present hostility, and laid the grounds of war, between this country and France.

"That they found Poland an independent state, and they have reduced it, suffering the violation of a treaty guaranteed by Great Britain, to the condition of a province of Russia.

"That they have suffered, encouraged, and co-operated in the progressive encroachments of Russia, while setting treaties at noughtassaulting our allies-fomenting insurrections and organizing conspiracies throughout the territories that own allegiance to your Majesty's crown.

"That by their concurrence with Russia they have overthrown the strength of Circassia, suffering on its coasts the seizure of a British vessel while engaged in lawful traffic.

"That by secret and treasonable collusion with Russia to set up her protegé on the throne of Persia, they have reduced that state to subserviency to Russia, and led it to join with her for the conquest of India.

"That they have invaded Affghanistan without a declaration of war, and for the purpose of forcing on that people a monarch whom they had thrice expelled, in violation of all laws, human and divine, as in scorn of every British feeling and interest. That they have thus laid prostrate, by treachery and violence, every barrier which withstood the advance of Russia upon India.