PRACTICE OF COURT-KEEPING. Of the Steward and Deputy | Of the Business subsequent to Steward 361, 364. General Business 364, 377. Steps previously to holding a Court the Court 388, 391. Surrenders, Admittance, 378, 380. The Business at the Court, 381, 387. 361. In the king's manors a steward should be appointed by patent; and the steward of a manor belonging to a corporation can only be appointed by deed; in other cases a steward may be appointed by parol, but it seems he could not be appointed for a term or for life by parol. See authorities in Scriven on Copyholds, 126. In general practice, except in the cases abovementioned, no appointment by deed takes place, but the lord merely directs the previous steward to deliver the books and papers to the successor, who then takes upon himself the office of steward; but as the form of appointment by deed may be useful, it is given in the Appendix, 441. 362. The steward, on receiving the appointment, will in the first place obtain the court books, &c. from his predecessor, and will be careful in seeing that all are delivered up. It should, however, be remarked, that as the draft courts are not paid for by the lord, the dismissed steward will seldom deliver them up; and in some cases the steward refuses to deliver up the original surrenders after they have been presented, alleging that they became useless after the presentment and entry on the court rolls. This is however not a very honourable practice; and it is conceived, that on the usual application to the Court of Queen's Bench for delivery of papers, a delivery of all such documents would be required; but in a case which came within the writer's knowledge, the delivery was not enforced where a very experienced court-keeper was appointed to a stewardship; and therefore the existence of such right to enforce may be doubtful. 363. The steward's duties will extend to taking absolute and conditional surrenders, preparing abstracts, and making searches as to copyholders' titles and customs, &c.; taking an account of all deaths, surrenders, and other business leading to admissions; preparing for and holding courts; drawing courts, entering in the court books, and making copies; receiving and handing over to the lord the fines, &c.; preparing the yearly rental; perusing any enfranchisement deeds, and advising on enfranchisements, and attending to any general business connected with the manor. As the practice of legal proceedings in manorial courts is now obsolete, it is deemed useless to enter into the subject of such practice here. 364. According to the usual practice, he may also appoint a deputy, either to act generally for him, or to act in any particular business; and though formerly even the limited appointments were by deed, yet at the present time no formal appointment takes place, the authority to act as deputy being verbal, or by a letter; and as the acts of a steward de facto as to any ministerial matter (forming almost the whole of the present practice) are deemed valid, even if the steward be a minor, a formal appointment would, in most cases, be a needless expence. See more fully on this subject, Scriven on Copyholds, 131. 365. Except when the custom of a manor authorizes the taking a surrender before copyhold tenants, the steward or his deputy takes all the surrenders, both absolute and conditional, unless the lord chooses to exercise his right in any particular case and take a surrender. 146 366. A steward or his deputy may take a surrender at any place, whether within or out of the manor, and hence arises a great facility in copyhold conveyances, as according to the usual practice where parties live at a considerable distance from the steward, he authorizes a professional man residing near the parties, to take the surrender as deputy, on its being delivered to the steward within a specified time, and receiving the usual deputation fee of one guinea for each deputy. 367. The mode of taking a surrender is as follows: The steward, on being required to take a surrender, will peruse it in order to see that it is worded so as to only give a customary estate, and that it does not infringe the lord's rights, as by being made without impeachment of waste, and he will also see that it is properly stamped. Should the wife of the party join in the surrender, he will take her examination as on a freehold sale, asking her in the absence of her husband, whether she consents voluntarily to the proposed surrender (stating shortly its substance); and on her consenting he will call in the husband, and giving into the hands of the husband and wife the rod or customary symbol, and taking hold of the other end himself, will read the surrender, altering it to the second person, adding, at the end, "In token whereof you deliver me this rod," and they resign the stick to him. The parties will then sign the surrender and receipt, and the steward the surrender, retaining the original, and signing a receipt on the back of the copy to the following effect: "Received the original surrender, of which this purports to be a copy, to be presented and entered at the next court." A. B., steward." [Date.] The original surrender should then be deposited with the other documents, to be presented at the next court. 368. The usual fees on a common surrender, for taking, presenting, and entering, are each 6s. 8d., being 17.; and the fee on examination of feme covert is |