Feb y 1808

on L d Eldon's Bill

Letter V

II. Eldons & J.B.'s course

3. In the third place whatsoever authority I had given as above for the proposing of regulations to Commissioners as above, I should have given likewise to the Court of Session: taking care, as of course, that the inquisitorial powers necessary to the due execution of that authority should not be wanting in this case any more than the other: which is all that it is seems necessary at present to say on that head. On the utility of the sort of competition which would thus be instituted something will be said under a separate head.

4. In the fourth place, /After that/ would have come the /such/ powers of subordinate legislation as it would have appeared advisable to give to the Court of Session, or rather to leave them in possession of: taking care at the same time to give notice that they were not designed to be exercised otherwise than provisionally, and to use the Scottish phrase ad interim, and coupling them with instructions the object of which would be to prevent them from making any such regulations as under the notion of being but provisional, would have the effect of setting up an insuperable though silent bar to such definitive regulations as at the suggestion of the Commissioners or otherwise, it might happen to Parliament to see reason to establish.

But to this this power I would /should have/ tacked two obligations: one for obliging /binding/ them to report to Parliament each regulation or string of regulations as soon as settled by the Court: another for subjoining to each such proposed regulation a statement of the considerations on which in the character of reasons they had grounded the expectations entertained by them of its being found subservient to the ends of justice.

This latter obligation I should also have tacked to the initiative authority given to the Commissioners. Of the reasons for thus calling for reasons something will be said under a separate head.