★ Keep up to date with the latest news - subscribe to the Transcribe Bentham newsletter; Find a new page to transcribe in our list of Untranscribed Manuscripts
14 MINUTES OF EVIDENCE BEFORE SELECT COMMITTEE
Thomas Chapman,
Esq.
22 February,
1825.
clerk?—No, I apprehend not, except so far as the fees of the different officers
would be diminished ; and they would of course expect that some compensation
should be made to them for that.
Are there two deputies to the master?—Yes.
They have no fixed salary?—They are paid by the fees arising to the master.
Would the master be able to dispense with the services of one of them if the
business was very much diminished in the court of King's Bench?—I think not ;
becase, in consequence of the arrangement of the court now, one of them being
obliged to sit in the bail court, and the other when they sit in banco, it requires
two constantly ; and there must be one at chambers.
Supposing all causes under 10 l. were withdrawn from the court of King's Bench,
would be the emoluments of the chief clerk and the master be much diminshed?—
Very considerably.
In what stage or stages of the proceedings do the fees arise which form the emoluments
of the chief clerk?—A fee is paid to the chief clerk on signing of writs, and
his emoluments arise principally from the entries of proceedings, which are paid
when the parties obtain judgement, or the parties are at issue.
Does the amount of those fees depend at all upon the sum sought to be recovered?
—Not in the least.
What is the fee upon signing a writ?—Two shillings and sixpence ; out of which
there are some payments which he makes to the judges.
What proportion of that is paid to the judges?—Two pence on each writ to each
judge of the court of King's Bench.
Is there any other deduction?—Not out of the writ.
When is the next fee taken?—The next fee to the chief clerk is taken on signing
the judgement,or entering an issue.
Then the fees amount to more when the case is brought to trial than when judgement
goes by default?—No ; the fee for the chief clerk is the same,
except there
are special pleadings ; and the longer the pleadings, of course the greater the fee
to the chief clerk, because he receives so much upon the length of the pleadings.
Have you known many instances of cases under 10 l.
being brought to trial?—
There are certainly a great number of instances ; not so many, I shuould say, as of
judgement by default, and execution by inquiries.
You say that the deputies to the master are paid by the master?—Yes, by salary.
Do they receive any emoluments from the fees ?—None whatever.
The master is paid almost entirely by fees?—Yes.
What fee does the master receive on the signing of the writ?—No fee on the
writ.
In what part of the proceedings do the master's fees arise?—Principally by
taxing costs.
Are costs taxed when judgement goes by default?—Yes ; but it is a very trifling
fee that is paid to the master ; in fact, the fee due is half a crown, as the bill is a
short bill, on signing judgement by default, and that fee goes to the chief clerk.
The master receives none of that?—No part of that.
What fee does the master receive?—If it is a very long bill, he receives a shilling
extra, on account of the extra trouble he has.
Then in causes where the sum recovered is less han 10 l. it is very seldom the
master would receive any thing?—No, very seldom, except that a great number of
those causes are stopped in their intermediate stage, and then the parties come
before him to tax the costs, and then the whole fee is due ;
a great number of
causes under 10 l. are settled before they come to maturity.
Do you apprehend that the withdrawing all causes, such as are alluded to in the
County Courts Bill,
under 10 l. would diminish the emolument of the master?—
Yes, very considerably ; because there are fees arising in the course of causes that
would affect the master's fees very considerably.
What other fees, besides that upon taxing costs, does the master receive?—There
is a fee of two shillings on entering a retraxit to a plea, and there are fees, if the
parties proceed in court ; there are fees due to the master for judgement and on
demurrers, there is a fee of two shillings due to the master.
[The Witness was directed to furnish a written statement of the fees due to the
chief clerk, and in what stage of the cause they become due, and also of the
amount of fees that have been received by the chief clerk in each year for the
last ten years.]
Do
|
Identifier: | JB/004/041/002 "JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 4.
|
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
1825-05-04 |
|||
|
004 |
lord brougham displayed |
||
|
041 |
|||
|
002 |
county courts bill / minutes of evidence / taken before the select committee on the / bill / for preventing delays and expenses in the proceedings of county courts, and for the more easy and speedy recovery of small debts, in england and wales |
||
|
printed material |
36 |
||
|
recto |
(6-35) |
||
|
1962 |
|||