GENERAL HISTORY. 



[147 



Jimagined. He should state some 

 instances of abuse which had been 

 discovered since he had made the 

 former statement. 



The hon. and learned gentle- 

 man then went through a number 

 of these examples, all of them 

 sufficiently notorious. He then 

 turned to the appointment of the 

 commissioners, which he said were 

 now to be nominated by the 

 Crown; and he implored the 

 right hon. gentleman opposite to 

 consider, that whatever were the 

 provisions of the bill, and however 

 ample were the powers granted to 

 the commission, its success would 

 be mainly dependent on the per- 

 sonal qualities of the commis- 

 sioners. Some of the commis- 

 sioners were to receive no salaries. 

 As nothing but the labour could 

 reward such an appointment, and 

 no motive could engage any one 

 to accept it but a desire to see 

 the matter conscientiously and 

 steadily proceeded in, he thus 

 publicly, on the terras he had 

 mentioned, begged to offer his 

 own services as one of the com- 

 missioners. His brother com- 

 missioners thought it fair that he 

 should make this ofiFer, from the 

 part he had taken in this business 

 already, and from the interest he 

 had shown in the complete suc- 

 cess of the measure. In conclu- 

 sion, he trusted that the House 

 would give its assent to the bill, 

 and act in such a manner, that if 

 it should be negatived in another 

 place, they might be prepared 

 with some other measure in fur- 

 therance of their common object. 



The bill then passed through 

 the committee. 



In the House of Lords this bill 

 was moved for a second reading 



on May 27th by tlie Earl of 

 Rosslyn. His lordship, after a 

 general encomium of the bill, 

 entered into a detail of its chief 

 provisions. There were to be 

 fourteen commissioners appoint- 

 ed, six of whom were to have no 

 salaries, and all to be appointed 

 by the Crown. The commission 

 was to be armed %vith power to 

 examine upon oath, and to call 

 for papers, persons, and records. 

 He concluded by moving that the 

 bill be read a second time. 



On the motion, that it be com- 

 mitted, the Lord Chancellor said, 

 that he could not help thinking 

 that this bill would be much more 

 detrimental to the interests of 

 charities than any mode of pro- 

 ceeding that could be devised, and 

 therefore felt bound to give it his 

 decided negative. The late 

 master of the Rolls, Sir W. Grant, 

 and himself, had applied them- 

 selves in every way to redress the 

 evils that were pointed out to' 

 them, as far as was consistent 

 with the rules of distributive 

 justice, but they found so many 

 difficulties in the application of 

 the act, that they could do- 

 nothing but desist. The present 

 measure appeared to him objec- 

 tionable upon many grounds. If 

 the legislature did not protect to 

 the utmost all honorary trustees 

 in the execution of their trusts, 

 not one honourable man in the 

 kingdom would take upon himself 

 the responsibility of a charitable 

 trust. One great difficulty he felt 

 with regard to the bill was, that 

 though it provided that reports 

 were to be laid before both Houses 

 of parliament, and even before 

 the throne, it did not give the 

 most distant hint what future 

 [l 2] ste^j' 



