are thereby, and by statute 13 and 14 Char. II. empowered to determine in a summary way, all causes concerning policies of assurance in London, with an appeal (by way of bill) to the court of chancery. But the jurisdiction being somewhat defective, as extending only to London, and to no other assurances but those on merchandise, and to suits brought by the insured only, and not by the insurers, no such commission has of late years been issued; but insurance causes are now usually determined by the verdict of a jury of merchants, and the opinion of the judges in case of any legal doubts; whereby the decision is more speedy, satisfactory, and final.

IV. The court of MARCHALSEA and the PALACE COURT at Westminster, though two distinct courts, are frequently confounded together. These courts have jurisdiction to hold plea of all manner of personal actions whatsoever, which shall arise between any parties within twelve miles of his Majesty's palace at Whitehall, and are now held once a-week in the borough of Southwark, and a writ of error lies from thence to the court of king's bench. But if the cause is of any considerable consequence, it is usually removed on its first commencement, together with the custody of the defendant, either into the king's bench or common pleas, by a writ of habeas corpus cum causa; but the inferior business of the court has of late years been much reduced by the new courts of conscience erected in the environs of London.

V. Another species of private courts of a limited though extensive jurisdiction, are those of the principality of Wales. By several statutes of Henry VIII., courts-baron, hundred, and the county courts are established there, the same as in England. A session is also to be held once in every year, in each county, by judges appointed by the king, called the great sessions of the several counties in Wales; in which all pleas of real and personal actions shall be held, with the same form of process, and in as ample a manner as in the court of common pleas at Westminster; and writs of error shall lie from judgments therein (it being a court of record), to the court of king's bench at Westminster.

VI. The court of the duchy chamber of Lancaster is another special jurisdiction, held before the chancellor of that duchy or his deputy, concerning all matters of equity relating to lands holden of the king in right of the duchy of Lancaster; which is a thing very different from a county palatine, (which has its separate chancery for sealing of writs and the like,) and comprises much territory which lies at a vast distance from it, particularly a very large district surrounded by the city of Westminster. The proceedings in this court are the same as on the equity side in the courts of exchequer and chancery, so that it seems not to be a court of record; and indeed it has been holden that these courts have a concurrent jurisdiction with the duchy court, and may take cognizance of the same causes.

VII. There are a species of private courts which are of a limited local jurisdiction, and have at the same time an exclusive cognizance of pleas, in matters both of law and equity, as those which appertain to the counties palatine of Chester, Lancaster, and Durham, and the royal franchise of Ely. In all these, as in the principality of Wales, the king's ordinary writs, issuing under the great seal out of chancery, do not run ; that is, they are of no force. For originally all jura regalia having been granted to the lords of these counties palatine, they had of course the sole administration of justice, by their own judges appointed by themselves and not by the crown. It would therefore be incongruous for the king to send his writ to direct the judge of another prince's court in what manner to administer justice between the suitors. But when Henry VIII. abridged the privileges and franchises of these county palatines, it was enacted by statute 27 Henry VIII. that all writs and processes should be made in the king's name, but should be witnessed in the name of the owner of the franchise. Wherefore, all writs whereon actions are founded, and which have current authority in the counties palatine, must be under the seal of the respective franchises; the two former of which are now united to the crown, and the two latter under the government of their several bishops. And the judges of assize who sit therein, hold their seat by virtue of a special commission from the owners of the several franchises, and under the seal thereof, and not by the usual commission under the great seal of England. Hither also may be referred the courts of the cinque ports, or five most important havens, as they were formerly esteemed; viz. Dover, Sandwich, Romney, Hastings, and Hythe, to which Winchelsea and Rye have been since added; which have also similar franchises in many respects with the counties palatine, and particularly an exclusive jurisdiction before the mayor and jurats of the ports, within which exclusive jurisdiction the king's writ does not run. A writ of error lies from the mayor and jurats of each port, to the lord warden of the cinque ports in his court of Shepway, and from the court of Shepway to the king's bench. And a writ of error lies also from all the other jurisdictions to the same supreme court of judicature, as an ensign of superiority reserved by the crown at the original creation of the franchises. And all prerogative writs, such as habeas corpus, prohibition, certiorari, and mandamus, may issue for the same reason to all these exempt jurisdictions; because the privilege, that the king's writ runs not, must be intended between party and party, for there can be no such privilege against the king.

VIII. The STANNARY Courts in Devonshire and Cornwall for the administration of justice among the tinners, are also courts of record, but of the same private and exclusive nature. They are held before the lord Warden and his substitutes, in virtue of a privilege granted to the workers in the tin mines there, to sue and be sued only in their own courts, that

they may not be drawn from their business, which is highly profitable to the public, by attending their lawsuits in other courts. What relates to our present purpose is only this, that all tinners and labourers, in and about the stannaries, shall, during the time of their working therein bona fide, be privileged from suits of other courts, and be only impleaded in the Stannary court in all matters, excepting pleas of land, life, and member. No writ of error lies here to any court in Westminster hall. But an appeal lies here from the steward of the court, to the under warden, and from him to the lord warden, and thence to the privy council of the prince of Wales, as duke of Cornwall, when he hath had livery or investiture of the same. And from thence the appeal lies to the king himself in the last resort.

IX. The several courts of justice within the city of London, and other cities, boroughs, and corporations throughout the kingdom, held by prescription, charter, or act of parliament, are also of the same private and limited species. It would exceed the limits of this work to enter into a particular detail of these, and to examine into the nature and extent of their several jurisdictions.

But there is one species of courts constituted by act of parliament in the city of London, and other trading and populous districts, which differs so much in its proceedings from the course of the common law, that it deserves a more particular consideration. We mean the COURTS OF REQUESTS, or courts of conscience, for the recovery of small debts. In these courts, two aldermen and four commoners sit twice a week, to hear all causes of debt not exceeding the value of forty shillings; which they examine in a summary way, by the oath of the parties, or other witnesses and make such order therein, as is consonant to equity and good conscience. The time and expense of obtaining this summary redress, are very inconsiderable, which make it a great benefit to trade; and in consequence, several trading towns, and other districts, have obtained acts of parliament for establishing courts of conscience upon nearly the same plan as that in the city of London.

X. There is yet another species of private courts, which must not be omitted in this notice, viz. the chancellor's courts in the two universities of Oxford and Cambridge; which two learned bodies enjoy the sole jurisdiction, in exclusion of the king's courts, over all civil actions and suits whatsoever when a scholar or privileged person is one of the parties, excepting in such cases where the right of freehold is concerned. So far as the privilege relates to civil causes, it is exercised at Oxford in the chancellor's court; the judge of which is the vice-chancellor, his deputy, or assessor; from whose sentence an appeal lies to delegates appointed by the Congregation; from thence to other delegates of the house of Convocation, and if they all three concur in the same sentence, it is final; at least by the statutes of the university, according to the rule of the civil

law. But if there be any discordance or variation in any of the three sentences, an appeal lies in the last resort, to judges delegates appointed by the crown, under the great seal in chancery.

DOCTORS COMMONS. This college of civilians is established for the study of the civil law, in which, courts are kept for the trial of civil and ecclesiastical causes, under the archbishop of Canterbury and the bishop of London, as in the court of arches and the prerogative court. There are also offices in which wills are deposited and searched, and a court of faculties and dispensations. The name of commons is given to this college, from the circumstance of the civilians commoning together as in other colleges. This edifice is situated in Great Knight Rider Street, near the college of arms, on the south side of St Paul's Cathedral. The old building which stood in this place was purchased for the residence of the civilians and canonists, by Henry Harvey, doctor of the civil and canon law, and dean of the arches. But this edifice being destroyed by the general devastation in 1666, they removed to Easter House, in the Strand, where the civilians had their chambers and offices, and their courts were held in the hall. But some years after, the commons being rebuilt in a more convenient and elegant manner than before, the civilians returned thither. The causes of which the civil or ecclesiastical law do, or may, take cognizance, are, blasphemy, apostasy, heresy, ordinations, institutions to benefices, celebration of divine service, matrimony, divorces, bastardy, tithes, oblations, obventions, mortuaries, dilapidations, reparations of churches, probates of wills, administrations, simony, incest, fornication, adultery, pensions, procurations, commutation of penance, right of pews, and others of the same kind. Those who practise in these courts are divided into two classes, advocates and proctors. The advocates are such as have taken the degree of doctor of civil law, and are retained as counsellors and pleaders. These must first, upon their petition to the archbishop, obtain his fiat, and thus they are admitted by the judge to practise. The following is their mode of admission: Two senior advocates in their scarlet robes, with the mace carried before them, conduct the doctor up the court with three reverences, and present him with a short Latin speech, together with the archbishop's rescript. Then, having taken the oaths, the judge admits him, and assigns him a place or seat in the court, which he is always to keep when he pleads. Both the judge and advocate, if of Oxford, wear in court scarlet robes, and hoods lined with taffeta; but if of Cambridge, white minever, and round black velvet caps. The proctors or procurators exhibit their proxies for their clients, and make themselves parties for them, and draw and give pleas, or libels and allegations in their behalf, produce witnesses, prepare causes for sentence, and attend the advocates with the proceedings. These are also admitted by the archbishop's fiat, and introduced by two senior proctors. They wear black robes and

Y

hoods, lined with fur. The terms for the pleading and ending of causes in the civil courts, are but slightly different from the term times of the common law. The order as to the time of the sitting of the several courts, is as follows. The court of arches having the pre-eminence, sits first in the morning, the court of admiralty sits in the afternoon in the same day, and the prerogative court also sits in the afternoon.

INSOLVENT DEBTORS' COURT.-The defective state of the law respecting the issuing of mesne process, and the frequency of insolvency acts, rendered some such court as this necessary. It was established about the year 1814, as an experiment for five years, being chiefly founded on the cessio bonorum principle of the law of Scotland; a debtor is entitled to petition for his discharge out of prison, after an imprisonment of three months, on condition of surrendering all his effects for the use of his creditors. This discharge, if it should not be conditional, on the ground of extravagance, or fraud having been committed by the debtor, releases the person; but any property that can be traced to him, although it may have been subsequently acquired, is liable for the payment of his debts; the person is for ever released, but property never, so long as any debts remain unsatisfied, where there is an unconditional discharge.

The acts constituting the insolvent debtors' court, contain the regulations for its guidance, and appoint a commissioner to carry them into effect. The construction to be put upon these laws is left to his sole discretion; there is no intervention of a jury; and thus the court partakes of the mingled principles of law and equity, having specific regulations to enforce, at the same time possessing a large discretionary power.

How far the principle of releasing the person, and fixing the property of a debtor, have answered the expectations of the supporters of this change in the practice of the common law, we shall not pretend to decide, in an impartial matter-of-fact work like the present; but to assist in others coming to a conclusion, on what so materially affects credit and the interests of trade in general, the following facts may not be unacceptable; they are drawn from the Commons' report on the subject, which the house ordered to be printed a very short time after the constitution of the court.

Feb. 1st, 1816, there had been presented 7,509 insolvent debtors' petitions; of these 1,419 were withdrawn in consequence of the 54 Geo. III., so that 6,090 petitions remained; of that number 5,511 had been heard, determined, and discharges ordered. There were 186 petitions remanded, and 393 not finally determined, which made up the 6,090 petitions.

The amount of debts in the schedule withdrawn, was

Ditto of the petitions remanded

Total gross amount of the schedule of all the petitions presented

£1,132,171

220,699

5,598,574

On the other side of the statement we find, that assigning of the effects of 500, out of the 5,511 debtors, had been appointed and that the assignees,

: