25 Oct r 1807

L d Eldon's Bill

'.8.

Senior Judges

Another incident, nor that altogether an improbable one. In this unfortunate division, which has no Judge either to preside in it, or to sit at the head of it, some how or other by agreement among the Judges, whether by a regular election as under '.2. or by acknowledgement of the Jure divino right of succession claimed by the next in seniority go on with the business of their office. But now in its turn the seeds of dissention spread themselves through the diminished /reduced/ population of this Division (i.e. Court) and a division /takes place/ with equal numbers on both sides takes place. What now is to be done? To terminate the division the same process that was carried on /took place/ before requires to be repeated, though in the contrary direction. A cross-call requires now to be made. Shall it be obeyed or not /be obeyed/? If obeyed to whom shall it be made and by whom shall it be obeyed? Shall this diminished Division take back its own Judge again, or receive one of the Judges that belong to the other? Dire must be the distress, endless the doubts and difficulties: and while the unhappy divisions between which an interminable division has thus been excited /stirred up/ are distracting /tormenting/ themselves to find or rather make a sense for an Act which has none of its own, the business of justice is at a stand: and the great misfortune is that unless for clearing up all these difficulties of which the two Inner Houses are the scene /theatre/ the learned Judges can find a decent reason /ground/ for ordering pleadings scriptural or oral by Advocates of the parties, at the expence of the parties, notwithstanding the vast [...?] thus given to the business, nobody is the better for it.