1378 THE JUDICIARY [PART VI 
assumption was needless, and he then withdrew his objection 
to one Final Court of Appeal. General Botha devoted his 
contribution to the discussion to the question of a Final 
Court of Appeal in South Africa, and not to the constitution 
of the Court of Appeal in this country. Sir Wilfrid Laurier 
said that the Appeal to the Judicial Committee had as a 
general rule given great satisfaction, but he desired that the 
constitution should be remodelled, and he admitted that 
there was a conflict of opinion in Canada as to the value of 
an Imperial Court of Appeal at all. It is noteworthy that he 
was inclined to suggest that appeals by special leave were 
out of date and should be abolished. Sir Joseph Ward 
stated that New Zealand was in favour of an ultimate Court 
of Appeal—whether the Judicial Committee or an Imperial 
Court substituted for it. He indicated, however, that 
in his opinion the Judicial Committee was insufficiently 
informed with regard to the law of New Zealand ; it was true 
that counsel called attention to the New Zealand side of the 
law, but when the argument was over the Committee might 
apply some rule of English law which had been revoked in 
New Zealand or omit to apply some rule of New Zealand law 
which did not exist in England, and to which at the moment 
their attention had not been specially called. He suggested 
that in the case of every appeal from the Colony a Judge of 
the Supreme Court should sit, not to take part in the argu- 
ments or decision, but to supply full information as to the 
Colonial law. The Lord Chancellor explained in reply the 
existing constitution of the Judicial Committee as effected 
by the Act of 1895. He explained the relations of the 
House of Lords and the Judicial Committee, and he pointed 
out that in the case of Webb v. Outtrim! the four judges who 
sat were men of the greatest distinction, including Lord 
Halsbury and Lord Macnaghten. He indicated that to 
transfer the appeals to the Lords would be to deprive the 
cases of the advantage of being heard by distinguished 
Colonial judges who now sat on the Judicial Committee. 
He also pointed out that if Australia or any other part of 
111907] A. C. 81.