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broken by the Union, when both portions of the island became one great mercantile community, to which the civil law was in many respects unsuitable; and. since that event various provisions have been made to improve and assimilate the laws and practice of the two kingdoms.

restored. This continued (with the excep- | tion of an attempt to the contrary in 1457, probably under the influence of Bishop Shorsewood, the favourite and confessor of King James II.) till the time of Bishop Elphinstone, to whom undoubtedly may be ascribed the crafty acts passed in 1487 for the recovery of the large jurisdiction The similarity of procedure in the of the chancellor and court of the session, court of session in Scotland and the high as well as the act 1494, c. 5, to enforce court of chancery in England is striking. in the courts the study and practice of Both courts indeed, and the ecclesiastical the canon and civil laws. Nor perhaps courts of both countries, borrowed their shall we greatly err in conceiving his forms from the court of Rome, and with zeal to have been employed in establish- these last the forms of the court of session ing in 1503 the court of daily council, in many respects still agree. The bill which was essentially a restoration of the or written supplication to the court for old court of the session. But all these letters, whether of summons or of diliproved only preparatory steps to the erec- gence, is of the same nature with the suption of the court of council and session, or plication for letters in the court of Rome; college of justice, which was instituted in and it is observable that when the de1532, and has continued to our own time. sire of the bill is granted, it is in the same Of this college the chancellor, or, as he terms in both courts. The condescenthen began to be styled, lord chancellor dence and answers are plainly derived of Scotland, was to be principal; and as from the articuli and responsiones of the on the one hand it was the supreme court papal tribunal. The initialia testimonii, of the kingdom, and on the other all in- or purging of a witness, are identical. ferior courts were required to copy its with the interrogatoria generalia of that proceedings, it wielded the whole judica- court. Letters of advocation, suspension, tive power of the country. It early and reduction are well known there. The claimed also, and exercised, a large legis-malè appellatum et benè processum" is lative power under the statutes permitting it to pass acts of sederunt; and the officers who executed its warrants and decrees were either its own macers or else messengers, over whom it obtained complete control. These powers the court wielded so as to effect nearly an entire change of the law. The ecclesiastical estate for some time predominated both on the bench and at the bar. The consequence was, the canon and civil laws became, what indeed they used to be styled, the common law of the land, and the old common law became obsolete and antiquated. Much of this has been corrected since the Reformation; and still more since the union with England, where the old common law has ever continued the antagonist of Roman jurisprudence. At the Reformation the authority of the canon law ceased, and not long afterward ministers of the gospel were disabled by statute from being either of the bench or bar. The authority of the canon law was in like manner essentially

but verbally translated in the phrase of the Scots court, "finds the letters orderly proceeded;" and letters of horning, caption, and relaxation bear their papal' origin impressed upon them. It appears also that from an early period the court issued commissions to its macers to perform judicial duties, as the ecclesiastics appoint the inferior church officers their legates and commissaries for the like purposes; and at an early time also the judges began the yet subsisting custom of changing their name on their elevation to the bench, in imitation, as it seems, of the like custom on elevation in the papal hierarchy.

From what is above stated, we may see why there is no court of chancery in Scotland, separate from the courts of common law, as in England; the whole judicatures of Scotland having become subject to the court of session, where the chancellor presided, dispensing both equity and common law. But from the earliest times there was an office of chancery in

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Scotland, and we shall find that many of the early chancellors had been clerici cancellarii.'

In the list of chancellors for Scotland in the Penny Cyclopædia,' art. “Chancellor," various errors are corrected which occur in Crawford's Officers of State' in the series of chancellors of Scotland. In Beatson's Political Index' there is a chancellor as early as the reign of Malcolm III., but the more authentic series begins with Constantine, earl of Fife, who was chancellor in the time of Alexander I.

By art. 24 of the treaty of Union, it was provided that there should in future be but one great seal for the United Kingdom, and that a seal should be kept and used in Scotland for such private rights or grants as had usually passed the great seal of Scotland. The office of chancellor of Scotland then properly expired, and none have been appointed to it since the earl of Seafield, who was chancellor at the time of the Union.

CHANCERY (Cancellaria); the term is derived from Chancellor, Cancellarius, and signifies the court where that judge exercises his functions. There are several chanceries, as there are several chancellors; but the place where the Lord High Chancellor's judicial functions are exercised is called the High Court of Chancery.

law judges, that is, during good behaviour. He has the power of hearing and determining originally the same matters as the Lord Chancellor, excepting cases in lunacy and bankruptcy; orders and decrees pronounced by the Master of the Rolls are good and valid, but they must be signed by the Lord Chancellor before they are enrolled, and they are subject to be reversed by the Chancellor. The Master of the Rolls has precedence next to the Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench. This office is one of high antiquity. The salary is 7000l. a year under 1 Vict. c. 46. The Master of the Rolls in Ireland has 39691. a year under 4 Geo. IV. c. 61.

The office of Vice-Chancellor was created by 53 Geo. III. c. 24. This officer (who, in Chancery, takes precedence next to the Master of the Rolls) is appointed by the crown by letters patent, and holds his office during good behaviour. Rank and precedence are given him by 5 Vict. c. 5 next after the Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer. If a member of the Privy Council, he is also to be a member of the Judicial Committee. He has power to hear and determine all matters depending in the Court of Chancery, either as a court of law or as a court of equity, or as incident to any ministerial office of the said court, or which are subjected to the jurisdiction of such court or of the Lord Chancellor by any special act of parliament, as the Lord Chancellor shall from time to time direct. All orders and decrees of the Vice-Chancellor are valid, but subject to be altered or reversed by the Chancellor; and they must be signed by the Lord Chancellor before they can be enrolled. It is expressly provided by the act that the ViceThe Lord Chancellor, the three Vice-Chancellor has no power to alter or disChancellors, and the Master of the Rolls, are the judges by whom equity is administered in Chancery. Each of them has a separate court. In term-time they sit in Westminster Hall; in vacation, the Chancellor and Vice-Chancellors sit in Lincoln's Inn, and the Master of the Rolls at the Rolls, in Chancery-lane.

The principal part of the business of the Court of Chancery consists in the administration of Equity, a name which in this country comprehends those rules of law, which are applicable to such matters as belong to the jurisdiction of the court. The Court of Exchequer had a similar jurisdiction, which was abolished by 5 Vict. c. 5. [EQUITY.]

The Master of the Rolls is appointed by the crown by letters patent, and holds his office on the same terms as the common

charge any decree or order made by the Lord Chancellor, unless authorised by the Lord Chancellor, nor any power to alter or discharge any order or decree o the Master of the Rolls. The salary is 6000l. a year, granted by 2 & 3 Will. IV. c. 116. On the next appointment of a Vice-Chancellor, under 53 Geo. III. c. 24, the salary will be 5000l., with a retiring pension of 3500l. Since the appoint ment of two additional Vice-Chancellors

by 5 Vic. c. 5, he is styled the ViceChancellor of England.

The act appointing two additional judges (Vice-Chancellors) to assist in the discharge of the functions of the Lord Chancellor is the 5 Vict. c. 5. They are respectively styled the first Vice-Chancellor and the second Vice-Chancellor, and hold office during good behaviour. The act prohibits the appointment of a successor to that one of the two new Vice-Chancellors who was appointed second. The salaries of the new ViceChancellors are 5000l. a year each, paid out of the interest arising from the Suitor's Fund. The salaries of the secretary, usher, and train-bearer, of each ViceChancellor are fixed by the act at 300l. a year for the secretary, 2007. for the usher, and 100%. for the train-bearer. After fifteen years' service, or when incapacitated for the duties of office by infirmity, a pension not exceeding 3500l. a year may be granted to each Vice-Chancellor. If he holds any other office of profit under the crown the annuity will be reduced, so that on the whole his public income may not exceed 3500l. a year.

An appeal (which, strictly speaking, is nothing more than a re-hearing of the cause) may be made from any decision of the Master of the Rolls or the ViceChancellors to the Lord Chancellor, and the court of the Lord Chancellor has been of late years much occupied with such appeals: original causes are generally confined to the courts of the Master of the Rolls and the Vice-Chancellors. The appeal from the decree of the Lord Chancellor is to the House of Lords.

There are officers of the Court of Chancery by whom certain parts of the equitable jurisdiction are exercised. These officers have however no original power for this purpose, but derive all their authority from special delegation by one of the judges in Chancery. The principal of these officers are the Masters in Ordinary, and the Accountant-General. The Masters in Ordinary are eleven in number, besides the Master of the Rolls, who is the chief of them, and the AccountantGeneral. The number of Masters was increased from ten to eleven when the equity jurisdiction of the Court of Ex

chequer was abolished by 5 Vict. c. 5. They were formerly appointed by the Lord Chancellor, but are now appointed "by the crown, and hold office during good behaviour. (3 & 4 Wm. IV. c. 94.) The salary is 2500l. a year. It is the duty of the Masters to execute the orders of the court upon references made to them, whether in exercise of its original jurisdiction, or under the authority of an act of parliament, and to make reports in writing upon the matters that are referred to them. The Masters' reports must be confirmed by the court in order to make them effectual. The heads of reference to the Masters are almost as numerous as the subjects of the court's jurisdiction. The principal subjects of reference are, to examine into any alleged impertinence contained in pleadings, and into the sufficiency of a defendant's answer; to examine into the regularity of proceedings taken in any cause, or into alleged contempts of court; to take the accounts of executors, administrators, and trustees, or between any parties whatsoever; to inquire into, and decide upon, the claims of creditors, legatees, and next of kin; to sell estates, and to approve of the investment of trust-money in the purchase of estates, and, for this purpose (or for any other, as the case may be), to investigate titles, and settle conveyances; to appoint guardians for infants, and to allow proper sums for their maintenance and education; to tax the costs of the proceedings in any suit, or under the orders of the court: and generally to inquire into and inform the equity judge upon all matters of fact, which are either disputed between the parties, or not so far ascertained by evidence as to preclude all doubt on the subject.

The Accountant-General is an officer created by the stat. 12 G. I. c. 32, which also regulates his duties. [AccOUNTANTGENERAL.]

The proceedings in the Court of Chancery are conducted by Bill and Answer. But besides the jurisdiction, of which a sketch has been given above, a summary jurisdiction, upon Petition only, has been given to Courts of Equity in certain cases by acts of parliament. The principal cases in which this summary jurisdiction

has been granted are those where trustees or mortgagees die without heirs or leaving infant heirs, or where trustees are out of the jurisdiction, or refuse to convey property to the persons beneficially entitled to it. In these, and many similar cases, the court is empowered, upon petition of the parties beneficially interested, to direct a conveyance or assignment of the property held in trust or on mortgage by the infant, or in case of a trustee having died without heirs, or being out of the jurisdiction of the court, or refusing to convey, to appoint some other person to convey in his place. The principal statutes relating to this branch of the jurisdiction of the court are, 1 Wm. IV. c. 47, 1 Wm. IV. c. 60, 1 Wm. IV. c. 65, 4 & 5 Wm. IV. c. 23, 5 & 6 Wm. IV. c. 17.

The stat. 52 G. III. c. 101 gives the court a summary jurisdiction in cases of abuse of charitable trusts. The court also appoints guardians for infants upon petition merely.

The jurisdiction exercised in Chancery over infants and charities is partly derived from the general equity jurisdiction, and partly from acts of parliament. (As to the origin of the jurisdiction over infants, see Coke upon Litt., by Hargrave, 88 b. n. 16; 2 Fonbl. on Eq., p. 226, 232.)

The jurisdiction over infants is exercised principally in directing maintenance to be given them out of the property which they will enjoy on attaining their full age; in appointing and controlling guardians of them; and in providing suitable marriages for them.

It has chiefly respect to actions by or against any officer or minister of the Chancery, and to judicial proceedings respecting the acts of the king, when complained of by a subject. 3 Blackstone, Com. 48.

court will have the issues tried by jury, and give judgment in the actions: and, from a judgment on demurrer in this court, it is said that a writ of error lies to the Court of King's Bench.

To the common law jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery belongs the power of issuing certain writs; particularly the writ of habeas corpus, and the writs of certiorari and prohibition, for restraining inferior courts of justice from assuming unlawful authority. (1 Madd. Chanc. 17, &c.)

The place where the common law jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery is exercised is the petty bag office; which is kept solely for this purpose. No part of the equity business of the Court of Chancery is carried on there.

The Court of Chancery, in respect of its common law jurisdiction, is said to be a court of record, which, as a court of equity, it is not. (Spelm. Gloss. 3 BI. Com. 24.)

"In this ordinary or legal court,” says Blackstone (vol. iii. 49), “is kept the officina justitia, out of which all original writs that pass the great seal, all letters patent, and all commissions of charitable uses, bankruptcy, sewers, idiotcy, lunacy, and the like do issue." The issuing of original writs, however, is now unfrequent. These writs, which were formerly the foundation of all actions in the courts of law at Westminster, have, with few exceptions, been abolished by recent statutes. Commissions of bankruptcy also are now never issued, owing to the late alterations in the bankrupt law. [BANKRUPT.]

A distinct part of the business in Chan- The principle of the High Court of cery, though but a small part, arises from Chancery in England has led to the estawhat is called the common law jurisdiction|blishment of courts of equity in the Briof the Court of Chancery. tish dominions and dependencies. Some of these are called Courts of Chancery. In each of the counties palatine of Lancaster and Durham, and also in Ireland, there is a court so named, which dispenses the same equity within the limits of its jurisdiction, as the High Court of Chancery. By 6 & 7 Wm. IV. c. 19, the palatine jurisdiction of Durham was separated from the bishopric and vested in the king, but the courts were expressly reserved. In the Irish Court of Chancery the Lord Chancellor for Ireland presides. From

In actions depending in the Court of Chancery by virtue of its common law jurisdiction, the court has no power to try issues of fact. For this purpose the record of the pleadings must be delivered to the Court of King's Bench, and that

these courts the appeal is immediately to the House of Lords.

In most of our colonies there are Courts of Chancery (Howard's Laws of the Colonies). From the colonial courts an appeal now lies to "the judicial committee of the Privy Council." (Stat. 2 & 3 Wm. IV. c. 92.)

There are Chancery Courts in some of the states which compose the North American Union.

CHANCERY, INNS OF. [INN.] CHANTRY (Cantária, in the middle age Latin), a private religious foundation, of which there were many in England before the Reformation, established for the purpose of keeping up a perpetual succession of prayers for the prosperity of some particular family while living, and the repose of the souls of those members of it who were deceased, but especially of the founder and other persons named by him in the instrument of foundation. The French word Oratoire appears to correspond to chantry.

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that any edifice should be erected for it. Chantries were usually founded in churches already existing: sometimes the churches of the monasteries, sometimes the great cathedral or conventual churches, but very frequently the common parish church. All that was wanted was an altar with a little area before it and a few appendages; and places were easily found in churches of even small dimensions in which such an altar could be raised without interfering with the general purposes for which the churches were erected. An attentive observation of the fabric of the parish churches of England will often show where these chantries have been; in some churches there are perhaps small remains of the altar, which was removed at the Reformation, but the traces of them are seen more frequently in one of those ornamented niches called piscinas, which were always placed near the altars. Sometimes there are remains of painted glass which was once the ornament of these private foundations, and more frequently we see one of those arched recesses in the wall which are called Founders' Tombs, and which in many instances no doubt were the tombs of persons to whose memory chantries had been instituted.

In churches which consisted of only nave and chancel with side aisles, the eastern extremities of the north and south aisles were often seized upon for the purpose of these foundations; in the larger churches, in which the ground-plan resembles the cross on which the Saviour suffered, the transverse beams (transepts) were generally devoted to the purpose of these private foundations. In the great conventual churches and the churches of monasteries, it would appear as if provision was often made for these private chantries in the original construction, each window that looks eastward being often made to light a small apartment just sufficient to contain an altar and a little space for the officiating priest.

Chantries owed their origin to the opinion once generally prevalent in the Christian church of the efficacy of prayer in respect of the dead as well as the living. Among the English, it prevailed in all ranks of society. The inscriptions upon the grave-stones of persons of ordinany condition in the times before the Reformation almost always began with "Orate pro animâ," Pray for the soul," which was an appeal to those who resorted to the churches to pray for the soul of the person who slept below. Princes and persons of great wealth, when they founded monasteries, included amongst the duties of the religious for whose use they gave them, that they should receive in them their bodies, and for ever make mention of them in their daily services. When a taste for founding monasteries declined, which may be referred to about the close of the twelfth century, the disposition to secure the same object, by the foundation of It was by no means unusual to have chantries, began to prevail extensively four, five, or six different chantries in a in the better classes of society, and it con- common parish church in the great tinued to the Reformation, when all such churches, such as old St. Paul's in Lonfoundations were swept away as super-don, the Minster at York, and other ecstitious. clesiastical edifices of that class, there A chantry did not necessarily require were at the time of the Reformation

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