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ON COUNTY COURTS BILL. 29
It does not by any means follow because there is a declaration, it should go to trial?-No.
The declaration is often delivered before the return of the writ?-Oh, never.
Before the time of putting in bail? - Yes, before the return of the writ; because if the defendant appears, we have a right then to deliver the declaration, and wait no longer, if we have no instructions.
Could you give the Committee a statement of the number of writs under 10 l. in any given period that came to trial?-No, I cannot; I have not looked at all to satisfy myself.
If we give you time to look, could you send a return to let the Committee know the proportion, say, out of one hundred writs, how many come to trial?-Yes, I could do that; because we have a list of such causes as we are concerned in, that do go actually to trial; but it would be a work of considerable labour to see from that list, and to refer to the papers in different years, to ascertain what they were for; it would be attended with very great labour, and would require an immensity of papers; It would make a very essential difference to us altogether annually.
Mr. Luff Stocker. 9 March, 1825
Stephen Richards, Esquire, called in; and Examined.
WHAT office do you hold?- I am one of four sworn clerks of the Exchequer Office of Pleas.
One of the four sworn attornies?- Yes.
It has been supposed that persons holding that office would be affected by the County Court Bill?-Certainly.
In what way will they be affected?- In the loss of fees of office.
Are there many writs, and many processes issued for debts under 10 l. in the Exchequer?- I think there are a very large portion.
What description of process?-I should think that the subpoena is the writ which is more issued for that purpose; I always conceive the issuing the subpoena to be for a small sum of money, and the reason I have for that is, that it is most usual to see two, three and four defendants in one writ, for separate causes of action.
Is there any difference as to the number of writs that are issued by the different attornies, the four attornies?-Oh, very material.
Who issues the most, can you tell us?-I should think, as an attorney, that I do; as an attorney.
But as agent?-For all purposes of business, an attorney and side clerk you may consider as one and the same person, because the side clerk practices in the name of that attorney. I should think the larger number of writs that is issued in the office is issued by Mr. Adlington, who is one of the side clerks.
Can you tell us what proportions of the writs that are issued, are issued for sums under ten pounds; have you any mode of judging?-Why, I have no accurate mode of judging; but still I have adopted a principle which I think, from the general tenor and nature of business, which I am individually concerned in, I am speaking on my own behalf; I have taken only yesterday the number of Exchequer processes that I have issued for the last three years; I have afterwards distinguished how many of those processes were serviceable, and how many were for bailable processes, under fifteen pounds; I had an idea it went to fifteen pounds; and the result was, that in the course of those three years, they were about half of the whole. I then considered that it was fair, at least I conceived, from the general nature of the actions I saw, which pass through my hands, about two-thirds of those were under fifteen pounds, that making the third of the whole.
The office of side clerk is sold, is it not?- It is.
What does it usually produce?-The regular price now is, and has been for years, three hundred guineas, together with an annual payment.
The person who holds that office, by degrees gets up to the situation of head clerk?-Sworn clerk.
Then the office of sworn clerk itself, is never directly sold? No doubt it is an appointment in Mr. William Stewart Rose, the clerk of the Pleas, and he receives his appointment from the Chancellor of the Exchequer, quite independent of the barons; perfectly independent of the barons.
In the case of the County Courts Bill passing into a law, should you claim compensation for yourself?-Certainly.
How are the Committee to measure that compensation?-The measure would not do in the manner I have stated, because although I believe that it would create a depreciation
Stephen Richards, Esq.
276. H
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Identifier: | JB/004/049/001 "JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 4.
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1825-05-04 |
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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 |
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1970 |
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