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courts, that they may not be drawn from their business which is highly profitable to the public, by attending their lawsuits in other courts. The privileges of the tinners are confirmed by a charter, 33 Edw. I. and fully expounded by a private ftatute 1, 5o Edw. III. which has fince been explained by a public act, 16 Car. I. c. 15. What relates to our prefent purpofe is only this: that all tinners and labourers in and about the flannaries fhall, during the time of their working therein bona fide, be privileged from fuits of other courts, and be only impleaded in the ftannary court in all matters, excepting pleas of land, life, and member. No writ of error lies from hence to any court in Westminsterhall; as was agreed by all the judges in 4 Jac. I. But an appeal lies from the fteward 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 inveftiture of the fame. And from thence the appeal lies to the king himself, in the laft reforth.

IX. THE feveral courts 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 defign and compafs of our prefent inquiries, if I were to enter into a particular detail of thefe, and to examine the nature and extent of their several jurisdictions. It may in general be fufficient to say, that they arose originally from the favour of the crown to those particular districts, wherein we find them erected, upon the fame principle that hundred-courts, and the like, were established; for the convenience of the inhabitants, that they may profecute their fuits, and receive juftice at home:

€ 4 Inst. 232.

♦ See this at length in 4 Inft. 232.

€ 4 Inft. 231.

1 Ibid. 230.
* 3 Bulft. 183.

Doderidge hift. of Cornw. 94.

1 The chief of those in London are the fberiffs courts, holden before their Reward or judge; from which a writ of

error lies to the court of bustings, before the mayor, recorder, and sheriffs; and from thence to juftices appointed by the king's commiffion, who used to fit in the church of St. Martin le grand, (F.N.B.32.) And from the judgement of those justices a writ of error lies immediately to the house of lords.

that,

that, for the most part, the courts at Westminster-hall have a concurrent jurifdiction with thefe, or else a super-intendency over them; and are bound by the ftatute 19 Geo. III. c. 70. to give affiftance to such of them as are courts of record, by iffuing writs of execution, where the perfon or effects of the defendant are not within the inferior jurifdiction: and that the proceedings in these special courts ought to be according to the courfe of the common law, unless otherwise ordered by parliament; for though the king may erect new courts, yet he cannot alter the established course of law.

BUT there is one fpecies of courts, conflituted by act of parliament, in the city of London and other trading and populous districts, which in their proceedings fo vary from the courfe of the common law, that they may deserve a more particular confideration. I mean the courts of requests, or courts of confcience, for the recovery of fmall debts. The firft of thefe was eftablifhed in London, fo early as the reign. of Henry the eighth, by an act of their common council; which however was certainly infufficient for that purpose and legal, till confirmed by ftatute 3 Jac. I. c. 15. which has fince been explained and amended by ftatute 14 Geo. II. c. 10. The conftitution is this: two aldermen, and four commoners, fit twice a week to hear all caufes of debt not exceeding the value of forty fhillings; which they examine in a fummary way, by the oath of the parties or other witneffes, and make fuch order therein as is confonant to equity and good confcience. The time and expenfe of obtaining this fummary redrefs are very inconfiderable, which make it a great benefit to trade; and thereupon divers trading towns and other diftricts have obtained acts of parliament, for establishing in them courts of confcience upon nearly the fame plan as that in the city of London (2).

j Salk. 144. 263.

(2) By the 25 G、o. III. c. 45. and 26 Geo. III. c. 38. no debtor or defendant, in any court for the recovery of small debts,

where

THE anxious defire, that has been fhewn to obtain these feveral acts, proves clearly that the nation in general is truly fenfible of the great inconvenience, arifing from the disuse of the antient county and hundred courts; wherein causes of this small value were always formerly decided, with very little trouble and expenfe to the parties. But it is to be feared, that the general remedy which of late hath been principally applied to this inconvenience, (the erecting these new jurifdictions) may itself be attended in time with very ill confequences: as the method of proceeding therein is entirely in derogation of the common law; as their large difcretionary powers create a petty tyranny in a fet of ftanding commiffioners; and as the difufe of the trial by jury may tend to eftrange the minds of the people from that valuable prerogative of Englishmen, which has already been more than fufficiently excluded in many inftances. How much rather is it to be wifhed, that the proceedings in the county and hundredcourts could again be revived, without burthening the freeholders with too frequent and tedious attendances; and at the fame time removing the delays that have infenfibly crept [83] into their proceedings, and the power that either party have of transferring at pleasure their fuits to the courts at Weftminfter! And we may with fatisfaction obferve, that this experiment has been actually tried, and has fucceeded in the populous county of Middlefex; which might serve as an example for others. For by ftatute 23 Geo. II. c. 33. it is enacted, 1. That a fpecial county court fhall be held, at least once a month, in every hundred of the county of Middlefex, by the county clerk. 2. That twelve freeholders of that hundred, qualified to serve on juries, and ftruck by the sheriff,

where the debt does not exceed twenty fhillings, fhall be committed to prison for more than twenty days, and if the debt does not exceed forty fhillings, for more than forty days; unless it be proved to the fatisfaction of the court, that he has money or goods which he fraudulently conceals, and in the firft cafe the imprisonment may be extended to thirty days, and in the latter to fixty.

fhall

Book III. fhall be fummoned to appear at fuch court by rotation; fo as rone fhall be fummoned oftener than once a year.

3. That in all caufes, not exceeding the value of forty fhillings, the county clerk and twelve fuitors fhall proceed in a fummary way, examining the parties and witneffes on oath, without the formal procefs antiently used: and shall make fuch order therein as they fhall judge agreeable to confcience. 4 That no plaints fhall be removed out of this court, by any process whatfoever; but the determination herein shall be final. 5. That if any action be brought in any of the fuperior courts against a perfon refident in Middlefex, for a debt or contract, upon the trial whereof the jury fhall find less than 40s. damages, the plaintiff fhall recover no costs, but fhall pay the defendant double cofts; unless upon fome special circumftances, to be certified by the judge who tried it. 6. Laftly, a table of very moderate fees is prescribed and fet down in the act; which are not to be exceeded upon any account whatsoever. This is a plan entirely agreeable to the conftitution and genius of the nation calculated to prevent a multitude of vexatious actions in the fuperior courts, and at the fame time to give honest creditors an opportunity of recovering fmall fums; which now they are frequently deterred from by the expense of a fuit at law a plan which, one would think, wants only to be generally known, in order to it's universal reception.

X. THERE is yet another species of private courts, which I must not pafs over in filence: viz. the chancellor's courts in the two univerfitics of England. Which two learned bodies enjoy the fole jurifdiction, in exclufion of the king's [84] courts, over all civil actions and fuits whatsoever, when a scholar or privileged perfon is one of the parties; excepting in fuch cafes where the right of freehold is concerned. And thefe by the university charter they are at liberty to try and determine, either according to the common law of the land, or according to their own local cuftoms, at their discretion; which has generally led them to carry on their process in a courfe much conformed to the civil law, for reasons fuffi ciently explained in a former volume *.

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THESE privileges were granted, that the ftudents might not be distracted from their studies by legal process from diftant courts, and other forenfic avocations. And privileges of this kind are of very high antiquity, being generally enjoyed by all foreign univerfities as well as our own, in confequence (I apprehend) of a conftitution of the emperor Frederick, A. D. 1158. But as to England in particular, the oldeft charter that I have seen, containing this grant to the univer fity of Oxford, was 28 Hen. III. A. D. 1244. And the fame privileges were confirmed and enlarged by almost every fucceeding prince, down to king Henry the eighth; in the fourteenth year of whofe reign the largest and most extensive charter of all was granted. One fimilar to which was afterwards granted to Cambridge in the third year of queen Eliza beth. But yet, notwithstanding these charters, the privileges granted therein, of proceeding in a courfe different from the law of the land, were of fo high a nature, that they were held to be invalid; for though the king might erect new courts, yet he could not alter the courfe of law by his letters patent. Therefore in the reign of queen Elizabeth an act of parliament was obtained", confirming all the charters of the two universities, and those of 14 Hen. VIII. and 3 Eliz. by name. Which blessed act, as fir Edward Coke entitles it " established this high privilege without any doubt or opposi tion: or, as fir Matthew Hale very fully expreffes the fenfe of the common law and the operation of the act of parlia- [85] ment," although king Henry the eighth, 14 A. R. fui, "granted to the univerfity a liberal charter, to proceed ac"cording to the use of the university; viz. by a course much "conformed to the civil law; yet that charter had not been "fufficient to have warranted fuch proceedings without the

help of an act of parliament. And therefore in 13 Eliz. "an act paffed, whereby that charter was in effect enacted; " and it is thereby that at this day they have a kind of civil "law procedure, even in matters that are of themselves of

1 Cod. 4. tit. 13. m 13 Eliz. C. 19. a 4 Inft. 227.

Jenk. Cent. 2. pl. 88. Cent. 3. pl. 33. Hardr. 504. Godbolt. 201.

P Hift. C. L. 33.

"" common

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