361

felonies or misdemeanors committed within

their parish as to them should seem meet, of holding a court of requests, of abating and fining for nuisances, "of inquiring of," to use Lord Bacon's words respecting the jurisdiction of the court leet, " punishing and removing all things that may hurt or grieve the people in their health, quiet and welfare," of managing the poor and the highways, of providing schoolhouses and savings banks, of making drains, public walks, bathing places, and any other improvements for the common good, and of raising rates within certain limits for carrying the above objects into effect.

Were parishes properly constituted, it can scarcely be doubted but that the love of distinction and of rule, the hope of further advancement, and the desire of doing good, would be sufficient to induce the best qualified to seek office; and as the electors would come much into immediate contact with the objects of their choice, they would most likely, at least after a little experience, be more careful and discriminating than electors under other circumstances frequently are. Popularity-hunters, mob-flatterers, adventurers, and jobbers, would be too nearly in view long to escape detection. We think it useful, without pledging ourselves to any specific modes of legal reform, thus to put our readers in possession of the plans which are, from time to time, brought forward; and when they come before Parliament, we shall be prepared to discuss their claims to support.

THE GENERAL REGISTRY QUESTION.

We shall very shortly resume our consideration of the Report of the Real Property Commissioners on a General Registrya-certainly a work of great importance, with reference to all stages of the question. For the present, we can only call our readers' attention to the notice given by Mr. Brougham for bringing in the Bill on the 5th of March next. We have reason to think that it will be postponed, probably until after Easter. We believe that considerable exertions have been made to bring over Members to support it; we have, however, no expectation that it will pass: at any rate, we shall be on the look out for any new feature which may appear, either in Parliament or elsewhere; but the sub

We add some remarks from a correspon

dent.

GENERAL REGISTRY.-PRESUMED SURRENDER OF TERMS.

Some

It is stated at page 178, that the cases of Doe, d. Blacknell, v. Plowman, 2 B. & Ad. 573; and Day v. Williams, 2 C. & J. 460, have distinctly overruled the former cases in favour of the presumption of surrenders of terms. Not so distinctly, I think. conveyancers treat forty as the minimum, and sixty years as the maximum period, after which, even where a term has been expressly assigned to attend the inheritance, and not subsequently noticed within that period, they may presume a surrender. There can be no doubt, that the recent Real Property Statutes will have the effect of limiting, rather than extending, the last mentioned periods.

A General Registry, in my view of the ques tion, will be a great evil. It really sometimes happens, that great hardships take place, which sure is supported. These are principally owa registry would prevent; and hence the mea ing to settlements in contemplation of marriage, and to outstanding terms; but is there any reason to contend for a registry when simple plans would remedy the evils here alluded to? We rarely hear of the suppression of settlements, where due diligence has been employed; and indeed, many of the evils which a registry proposes to cure, are the consequences of neglect, or of gross negligence; and at once, I shall, without hesitation, impute the case mentioned by W. B. J. p. 201, to such a source, taking it for granted that the case was a real one. We must presume that client's adviser never saw the deeds, nor en

quired after them; therefore, I should say, punish him for it, and all such like, severely.

If I were to buy part of an estate, the original deeds being left with the vendor, of course I should take care to indorse a memorandum of my conveyance on the conveyance retained by the vendor and it is the duty of every practitioner, in preparing settlements before dum thereof is made on the previous deeds. marriage, also to take care that a memoran

A gentleman concerned in the negociation for a loan a short time since, on behalf of the mortgagee, put the question to the solicitors of the mortgagor, respectable men, whether their client, on his marriage, had executed a settlement. They were not aware of any themselves. This answer of course was not satisfactory; and the question was then put by

factorily answer. He said he believed he had

executed something, but was not sure; nor could he describe the nature of it, if any existed, although an intelligent man. It turned out, after some delay, that an instrument had been prepared by the solicitors, to the father of the lady, in contemplation of the marriage. It was a bond; whereby the husband secured an annual sum to his wife, after his death, which of course could not affect the estates to be conveyed to the mortgagees; and the solicitors who prepared the bond, undertook that no settlement was made on the marriage. I mention this circumstance to shew that due diligence was used on the part of the mortgagees; and how simple and useful would it be to have a record for memorials of settlements, the same as annuities, leaving it, nevertheless, entirely optional for parties to register; and at the same time to provide, that where the party subsequently dealing with the estate, could not be fixed with notice on record, or otherwise, he should not be postponed to the objects taking under the settlement.

In every commercial town, resort is frequently had to the security of equitable lien, which is an extremely expeditious and commodious plan. A sudden and heavy pressure, falling upon a first-rate house (not a bankinghouse), in a large commercial town, it was imdiately relieved, by a loan of no ordinary amount, on a deposit of deeds; and had they not been so relieved, bankruptcy would have immediately followed, with all its recklessness, in various forms; though the house was suffieiently stable. It soon afterwards repaid the loan. Some people say, this is by no means an eligible security. With honorable men, I say, there is as good a security as a regular mortgage in fee would give; and five-sixths of the commercial men of the British nation, we may call honourable men; and supposing the other one-sixth to be unprincipled, not one in five hundred of that one-sixth could take any great advantage, and that generally must be with an unprincipled one also; for what could they do without their deeds? And suppose bankruptcy or insolvency happened to some, would the equitable mortgagee be in a worse situation by those events? No. And are we then, by an expensive registry, devised for the purpose of creating births for swarming dependents, to be robbed of our deeds, and prevented raising a loan on an emergency?

HARPOCRATES.

NEW BILLS IN PARLIAMENT.

ANALYSIS OF A BILL TO REGULATE THE OFFICE OF, AND MODE OF ELECTING COUNTY CORONERS.

1. 58 G. 3. 95. Repealed.

2. The present act to commence 1 Jan. 1835. 3. The Justices of the Peace in their respective counties, &c. in some one of their

General or Adjourned Quarter Sessions after the passing of the act, and before the said 1st day of January, to divide their respective counties into such convenient districts or divisions as to a majority of such Justices in such sessions assembled shall seem most calculated to carry the purposes of this act into effect, according to the number of coroners in each county respectively, and with a due regard to the extent of the population and to the hazardous nature of the prevailing employments in the various parts of the same; and that they shall also affix to each of such divisions or districts the name of some principal or convenient parish, township, or place within the same.

4. That the said Justices shall appoint one of the coroners of their respective counties to be the coroner for each of the divisions or districts to be formed under the authority of this act; and upon death or removal, his successor shall be elected to the office of county coroner, and exercise the said office according to the provision of this act : provided that nothing in this act shall extend to affect the residence of any coroner who shall have been elected otherwise than under the authority of this act, although such residence may not be within the district to which he may be appointed by virtue of this act, or to alter the usual and appointed sums of money which are by the authority of any existing act of Parliament, or otherwise, usually paid for the fees and expenses of such last-mentioned coroner.

5. A list of places in each district to be made.

6. The Justices of the Peace to allow to all coroners to be elected under the authority of this act, their usual and appointed fees and charges for all inquests taken out of their respective districts for which they shall have been chosen to act as coroners, whenever such coroners shall have been duly called upon to hold such inquests, and shall have holden the same during the absence or illness of the coroner for the district in which such inquest shall have sat, or for other good and sufficient cause shown: provided that no charges shall be allowed to any coroner acting under the authority of this act, for any expenses of travelling for the purpose of acting as coroner within the district or division for which he shall have been elected to act, except for such number of miles as he shall have travelled within the

same.

7. After the said 1st Jan., upon the death or removal of any coroner of any district or division formed under the authority of this act, the election of a new coroner to such district shall be held at some place within the district or division in which he is to serve the office of coroner; and that every person to be so elected, shall be chosen by and only by a majority of such persons residing within such district or division as shall at the time of such election be duly qualified to vote at the election of knights of the shire for the county wherein such district or division is situate.

8. Coroners may apply to a magistrate te

363

11. Punishment for perjury.

12. Expenses of sheriff, &c. to be paid by the candidates.

13. Coroner incapacitated from acting professionally in prosecutions where he shall have

sat as coroner in the same case.

14. Every inquest to be held before any coroner, shall be held in open court, and the evidence of the witnesses and the charge and direction of the coroner shall be delivered in, and all the proceedings shall be carried on in open court, save the deliberation of the jury, if they think fit to retire.

15. Act not to extend to Ireland or Scotland.

SELECTIONS

FROM CORRESPONDENCE. No. XLV.

LIMITATION OF ACTIONS FOR RENT.

To the Editor of the Legal Observer. Mr. Editor,-Having been out of town till to-day, I did not before see the last communication of your correspondent P――e, on the subject of the limitation of actions for rent. P―e observes, "1st, that he is not aware that it (the stat. 2 & 3 Will. 4, c. 42,) contains any clause limiting the arreurs of rent to be recovered sect. 3 limits the time within which the action must be brought to recover any rent at all, but not the arrears that may

be recovered in such action." The words of the section (3) alluded to are, "the said actions of debt for rent upon any indenture of demise, or covenant or debt, or any bond, or other specialty, &c. within ten years after the end of the present session, or within twenty years after the cause of such action or suits, but not after."

It is almost unnecessary to offer any remarks on the words above quoted, or upon the opinion of your correspondent, that this exception

does not limit the arrears of rent to be recovered.

I presume it is to be admitted, that all rent, which has become due and is unpaid, is rent in arrear; and that for such rent a cause of action arises. When therefore the statute enacts, that actions shall be brought within twenty years (I omit the other period to prevent confusion) after the cause of action, does it not limit the arrears of rent which may be

twenty-two or twenty-five years?

With respect to the dictum of your correspondent, that no more than six years rent, whether reserved by deed or not, can now be recovered in any action:-I would merely observe, that even supposing your correspondent correct in his interpretation of the stat. 3 & 4 Will. 4, c. 27, and that the legislature intended indirectly and by implication to place. simple contract debts, and monies reserved by specialty on the same footing, (which to me is incredible) yet, as the law amendment act passed subsequently, its provisions, if they are inconsistent with those of the previously passed statute, must prevail. PRIOR.

ELECTION LAW.- CORPORATIONS AGGREGATE.

To the Editor of the Legal Observer.
Sir,

Corporations sole may vote for a member of Parliament; but whether corporations aggregate can or cannot vote as a corporation, does not appear ever to have come under the consideration of the Courts.

It would seem that corporations aggregate cannot vote, as the act of voting is a personal act, and all the old acts, as well as the Reform Act, speak of male persons only as being entitled to vote. Independent of this, oaths may be, and very often are, required to be taken by the elector, and a corporation aggregate cannot take an oath. Nor does it seem possible for a corporation aggregate to vote by deputy, (their secretary for instance) as voting by proxy is out of the question.

The question whether an individual member of a corporation can vote in respect of lands of which the corporation is seised, has repeatedly come under consideration. It has been decided that a master of the Westminster School, who was appointed by the dean and chapter, and thus became a member of the also entitled ex officio to a house, part of the corporation, who received a stipend, and was corporate estates, could not vote. well, 113.

See 2 Peck

River Company, for instance,) the shares are But in some public companies (the New deemed real property, and the proprietors have a vote in respect of each share. In most of the acts of parliament, however, incorporating public companies, the shares are declared personal property; and where this is the case, there does not appear to be any question that no proprietor can vote.

The same difficulties which arise to prevent corporations aggregate from voting in respect of real property, of which the corporation is seised, for a knight of the shire, seem to exist with reference to their voting in respect of occupancy for a burgess.

A. B.

364

COURT BILL.

THIS Bill purports to direct an investment of the money of the suitors in bankruptcy (which one would think it was the duty of the Court and official assignees to keep always invested for the benefit of those to whom it belongs), in order to make interest, to be applied, without responsibility to Parliament, in paying the Judges, &c. of the Court. There is some propriety (on the present system) in taking part of the old and dead fund of the Court of Chancery for the expenses of that Court; but what justice is there in laying out the current money of creditors (paid in only yesterday, and of which the owners are present and at hand) for any one's benefit but theirs? It seems a curious plan of relieving them, by fixing fees and charges, and then, not only taxing the creditors with a per centage to official assignees for managing their money, whether they will or not, but putting the very money out, and abstracting the interest. It is true that this will not prevent assignees, whose attention is directed to the matter, from laying out their money themselves; but why should not this be a general rule of the official assignees' duty? and why should he be allowed to lie by, and only invest when required, while the higher authorities are to be on the alert, and lay out all that he leaves unemployed for public purposes?

The truth is that, as regards both Chancery, Exchequer, and Bankruptcy money, the honest, correct, parliamentary, and constitutional course would be, that all money paid in should go to the Treasury of the country, and bear interest on the public books at a fair rate of interest, thus forming a peculiar and distinct stock or debt, the specific money being paid out again when wanted. Thus an end would be put to the buying and selling of stock, brokerage, fluctuation, dead money, &c. The salaries of the Judges, &c. would then be voted by Parliament regularly; every suitor's money would bear a regular interest, without fluctuation by rise or fall of funds or Exchequer bills; and all savings would go, as they ought, to the credit of the purse of the nation.

Allow me to enquire also, what the clause for paying the expenses of the act means? Are not these bills public measures, conducted by the Treasury? Is the Bankruptcy Court a private suitor to Parliament, soliciting a bill for its particular interests,

and employing its own professional ad

visers ?

One thing seems clear, that the Court's expenses (which there is power given to the bill to increase, by employing more clerks) exceed the representations and calculations originally made; and that a gcneral, sweeping power is sought, to tax the suitors, by using their money to make up the deficiency, instead of either reducing the establishment, or raising fees adequate to its support, and carrying any profit that can fairly be made of the suitors' money to the public account.

P. S. T.

PARLIAMENTARY RETURNS.

CHANCERY BUSINESS.

SUPERIOR COURTS.

taxation.