,x^ SALARIES onrf EMOLUMENTS, IN COURTS OF JUSTICE.
7 Register be held jointly by the two officers, who attend the sittings of the Lord court of Chancellor and the Master of the Rolls respectively; and that the person acting in chancerv.
the office be their First Clerk; that the joint Registers be appointed, one by the "^ Lord Chancellor, and the other by the Master of the Rolls; and that they should offices in Courts of hold, during their good behaviour, of which the Court to be the judge; that the Justice in disposal First Clerk be appointed by the Principals, subject to the approbation of the <* The Crown.
Chancellor; and removable by the Registers, with his Lordship's concurrence.
We also suggested, that the signature of this Clerk should be sufficient for authen-ticating official copies and certificates, and each of these three persons be obliged to discharge his respective duties in person; or temporarily, upon cases of inevitable necessity, by a substitute, to be specially approved of, from time to time, by the Lord Chancellor.
We further recommended, that the joint Registers should allot a reasonable por-tion of their fees for the First Clerk, who should, thereout, be obliged to defray all payments to inferior clerks, and other expenses incident to the office; the nature and amount of the First Clerk's remuneration to be arranged by the joint Registers, subject to the approbation of the Lord Chancellor.
Upon the occasion of the present reference, we submit our recommendation to Your Majesty, that 500/.
per annum be the sum appropriated as a reasonable remuneration for the First Clerk, payable out of the gross fees proposed for establishment in our Chancery Report; and that it would be more convenient to exonerate him from any part of the charges of the office, and impose the obligation of providing for them upon the joint Principals.
We further recommend, that the joint Registers be held responsible for the fees of their office; and in order that they may be the better enabled to check the receipts of their clerk, it appears to us advisable, that the signature of one of these officers be requisite to authenticate all documents issuing from the office.
We submitted to Your Majesty, in our former Report, the alternative, of pro-viding for the payment of the Deputies, either by salary, or by establishing, during the life of the present Principal, but no longer, the fees which the Deputies have been in the habit of receiving for their own use.
We expressed, at the same time, our extreme reluctance to recommend the establishment of these new fees, in addi-tion to the legal fees; a measure which we were aware could not be justified, but by the necessity of providing an adequate fund for the payment of officers, whose remuneration hitherto has been hardly adequate to their duties.
We here beg leave to repeat our earnest wish, that the Legislature may think it right to provide, by salary, for these two officers, during the life of the present Principal, rather than establish new fees, in addition to those which we have recognized as the legal fees of the Register's Office.
In analogy to the scale of allowances, which we have recommended for other officers, we submit that 800/.
per annum would be a reasonable salary for each of the Registers; and we entertain no doubt that the fees, which we have recommended in our First Report, to be established as the legal fees of the Register's Office, would produce a fund amply sufficient to provide for these salaries, as well as that of the First Clerk, and all other official expenses.
II.
CLERK OF CROWN AND HANAPER.
We have already submitted to Your Majesty, that the emoluments of the Principal, in this office, consist of a salary of 960/.
per annum, and a great variety of fees, the annual produce of which we were unable to ascertain.
There is, besides, a salary of 100/.
payable for the Deputy, and charged, as well as the 960/.
upon the Consolidated Fund.
We stated, also, that the King's Silver on Cursitor's Writs, originally payable to the Lord Chancellor, had been relinquished to the Clerk of the Hanaper, in consideration of his supplying the Court with sta-tionary; that this fund amounted, in the year 1814, to 508/.
8*.
and in the year 1815, to 382/.
16*.
8 </.;
that the present Deputy receives both the salaries, all the fees, and also the King's Silver, undertaking for the performance of all the duties; and that, after allowing 1,800/.
to the Principal, he retains the residue for his own use ; and we felt it our duty to recommend that the system, under which this office is now held, should be discontinued, and the Deputy, for the future, paid by a fixed salary.
140,
