having the seal in his possession. It was not the "Great Seal;" it was the public seal of the province, given to him for certain purposes not connected with any court.

Of course, no adequate idea can be given of any of the arguments of the members of the Committee, by these extracts. There was apparently no discussion before the Council, unless the brief argument of Mr. Ogden, after he had presented his main paper, was such; that really seemed to be in answer to Mr. Stockton's argument, whose opinion was certainly deserving of the greatest attention; it was very learned, well written, thoughtful and considerate.

On the 26th of March, 1770, another meeting of the Council was held, when the subject was again discussed and the opinions of the other members given. A majority was found to be in favor of the establishment of a Court of Equity and of the appointment of Governor Franklin as Chancellor; the result was that "the Council, after mature deliberation advised that his Excellency, Governor Franklin, be, by ordinance, appointed the Chancellor or Judge of the Court of Equity of this Province, and that the Attorney General be desired to prepare a draft of an ordinance for the better establishing the High Court of Chancery of this Province and for appointing his Excellency Governor Franklin the Chancellor or Judge thereof." Two days afterwards, the ordinance was presented to the Council, discussed and unanimously passed.

It is an indubitable fact that a Court of Chancery had existed in the colony during and since Cornbury's time, until 1750, and that each of the Governors from and including Cornbury to Bernard's time, took oath as Chancellor, except Ingoldsby. In November, 1704, an ordinance for establishing a Court of Chancery was passed and on the 30th of that month, Cornbury was sworn in as Chancellor. At the same time five members of the Council were sworn in as members of the Court. On May 26, 1707, it was ordered that the Court be opened, and two days afterwards, the Court was opened; after reading the ordinance, two Masters in Chancery were sworn in, and two days after that, two Clerks. In the time of Lord Lovelace, Governor, December 21, 1708, the members of the Council were sworn in as judges of the Court of Chancery. When Robert Hunter was Governor, January 1, 1710, Lewis Morris, Roger Mompesson, Peter Sonmans and Thomas Gordon were appointed a committee to prepare an ordinance for a High Court of Chancery, and on the 3rd of January, 1710, Lewis Morris,

reported the ordinance on behalf of the Committee. On the 17th of March, 1713, Lewis Morris moved that the Court of Chancery be opened; the motion was discussed and the Council decided, that, as the Governor "held the custody of the seal of the province under the Great Seal of England," he was, ipso facto, Chancellor and that he might appoint the proper officers and declare the court open when he pleased. On the 8th of August, 1715, Gov. Hunter took the oath of office as Chancellor. Governor William Burnet acted as Chancellor, on the 23d of November, 1723, when he notified the Council that he had appointed two Masters in Chancery and an Examiner. On May 1, 1724, an order was made that an ordinance be prepared for regulating the fees of officers in the Court. On the 1st of February, 1727, a Solicitor of the Court made a motion based upon a decree granted by Governor Burnet as Chancellor. On July 4, 1730, a Committee was appointed to revise the ordinance relative to fees, to "moderate the same in such manner as they shall judge agreeable to the circumstances of this Province and to consider of remedies for any abuses that they may discover to have crept into the practice of the Court." On the 13th of the same month, the Committee reported that they had gone through the ordinance, made several amendments and had examined into the abuses and presented some remedies for correcting them.

There was a quick succession of five Governors from 1733 until 1747, ending with Jonathan Belcher, all of whom took the oath of office as Chancellor. From 1750 up to 1763, there were four Governors, Francis Bernard, Thomas Boone, Joseph Hardy and William Franklin. Neither of these was sworn in as Chancellor, until March 28, 1770, when Franklin took oath as Chancellor under the ordinance passed a few days before by the Council, but they were each sworn to administer justice duly and impartially.

There can be no possible doubt under this statement, that there was a Court of Equity in the Province during colonial times from the surrender to Queen Anne, in 1702 until 1776, and that the Royal Governor acted as Chancellor. The important fact remains that the authority of the Governor to act as Judge of this Court was never, until Franklin's time, seriously questioned. The Court was duly officered; it had a Judge, a Clerk and other ministerial officers; it passed decrees, entered judgments and enforced them; it had behind it many centuries of existence in the mother country, and the prestige of a useful career in the past that promised much for the future; it was eventually to

become part and parcel of the jurisprudence of the State, firmly rooted and grounded in its very being, possessing in a most eminent degree the confidence of the community and was entitled to its respect and admiration, for the ability of its judges, for its perfect integrity and that conscientious adherence to the principles of equity and right which has ever marked its proceedings. At first, it did not meet with the favor of the community; the old Saxon spirit of independence that claimed the inestimable right of trial by jury engendered a feeling of jealousy against a court where a single Judge determined such important issues as were often brought before it. But this spirit gave way before the growing confidence in a tribunal whose action was found to be permeated by the principles of justice and with which equity was a cardinal virtue.

The Constitution of 1776 recognized the necessity of retaining so useful a Court and by direct terms made the Governor the Chancellor of the State, or, as it was expressed, "of the colony." The Constitu tion of 1844 separated the two offices and made the Chancellor an appointee of the Executive by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

It is entirely probable that during the colonial times comparatively little business was done in this Court, but, as the population increased, business also increased; mercantile and mechanical ventures were put in operation; the duties of the Chancellor became more and more onerous, and, in process of time, the Court was burdened with cases, and the physical and mental resources of the Chancellor were overtaxed. The method of conducting suits in this tribunal, through the slow and tedious examinations of witnesses taken in writing by examiners, became irksome to Counsel and suitors and not at all satisfactory to the Court. Another cause of complaint arose from the fact that the Governor was elected for only one year; making an officer upon whom depended so many important interests liable to be removed at most inopportune times, at the will of political parties. This made litigants and their solicitors restive and desirous of securing permanency in the position and less frequent changes in the incumbents. So, in the new Constitution it was declared that the Chancellor should hold office for seven years.

The tedious delays in the disposition of causes in this court, arising from the peculiar method of taking the testimony in written form and the consequent expense, very nearly imperilled the existence of the

court and it was determined by Chancellor Zabriskie that some means must be taken not only to change the system of trial, but to expedite the decisions of causes. In 1871, he drew a law which was passed by the Legislature, providing for the appointment of one Vice Chancellor by the Chancellor, the commission to issue from the Governor. Gov. Randolph, who was in office at the time, seriously objected to this law and was about to veto it because of the method of appointment, all other judicial appointments being made by the executive with the advice and consent of the Senate. But such representations were made to him by Chancellor Zabriskie that he was induced to withdraw his objections and approve the act.

By the terms of the statute the Chancellor might refer to the Vice Chancellor causes or other matters, which, at any time might be pending before the court, to hear for the Chancellor, report thereon and advise what order or decree should be made. The act made a change in the method of hearing witnesses who were required to appear be fore the Vice Chancellor and be orally examined and the case was to be tried in the same manner as suits in the several courts of law on trial before a jury. The Vice Chancellor was authorized to employ a Stenographic Reporter and to fix his fees. The Chancellor was also directed to divide the State into districts and appoint the time and places for the hearing of causes before the Vice Chancellor, who was to be a Counsellor of at least ten years' standing and was not permitted to practice in any court of the State. His salary was Five Thousand Dollars, with an additional per diem allowance of Ten Dollars for every day actually engaged. A salary of Nine Thousand Dollars is now paid to each Vice Chancellor, without any extra allowance.

Amzi Dodd was appointed the first Vice Chancellor, was commissioned May 2, 1871, and resigned May 1, 1875.

Abraham V. Van Fleet became his successor, May 3, 1875, and was thrice reappointed, but died December 25, 1894, just after entering upon his fourth term, and was succeeded by John R. Emery, who was appointed January 30, 1895.

Several acts have been passed at various times, by the Legislature, authorizing an increase in the number of Vice Chancellors until, from one, in the beginning, there are now five. The third Vice Chancellor was Amzi Dodd, commissioned the second time, April 1, 1881, but he only held the office until January 1, 1882, when he was elected President of the Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Company, located at Newark, and of course, resigned his office as Vice Chancellor.

John T. Bird was appointed to succeed Amzi Dodd, his commission dating from January, 1882, his term expiring in 1896. Frederic W. Stevens became his successor April 14, 1896.

Henry C. Pitney, Alfred Reed and Martin P. Grey were independent appointments by the Chancellor, authorized by virtue of several acts of the Legislature.

The present members of the Court of Chancery are the following: Alexander T. McGill.

Chancellor:

Vice Chancellors:

Henry C. Pitney.

John R. Emery.

Alfred Reed.

Frederic W. Stevens.

Martin P. Grey.

The volume of business in this court has increased with wonderful rapidity and it seems hardly possible that officered even as it is, it will be able to meet the requirements of suitors. The time of the Chancellor and Vice Chancellors is fully occupied in the hearing of causes and in attention to the other business of the court.

The courts of Common Law and the Court of Equity, in New Jersey, have never interfered with each other. Each has acknowledged the jurisdiction of the other, without any attrition or friction. The benefits which have accrued to the suitors of the State from the wise and beneficent practice of the Court of Chancery can never be calculated. It has fastened itself upon the respect and confidence of the people and is now recognized as the most important factor in the jurisprudence of the country. The drift of public opinion is in favor of its independent jurisdiction within its own orbit and opposed to its union with the Courts of Common Law. Its destruction will certainly never be permitted and it is fervently hoped that no diminution of any of its powers will be attempted, either by Constitutional Amendments, or otherwise. It will be remembered that the Governors, after 1776, were also Chancellors and, therefore, it was necessary that the appointees to that office should be lawyers and, if possible, able and experienced in their profession, and great care was taken in their selection.

William Livingston, who has been noticed elsewhere, was succeeded by William Paterson, whose services in the Federal Constitutional Convention have already been referred to. He came with his father very early in life, in 1747, from the north of Ireland. His first residence was at Trenton, or as it was then called, Trent Town, afterward at Prince