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PREFACE.

MORE than twenty years having elapsed since the publication of the leading treatises upon the law of costs by the late Mr. John Gray and the late Mr. Walker Marshall, and the law relating to the costs of an action in the Queen's Bench Division having been materially affected by the Judicature Acts and Rules of the Supreme Court and by recent decisions, the present time seems to afford a convenient opportunity for a new treatise upon the subject.

The key-note to the present work is contained in a passage in the judgment of Lord Justice (now Lord) Bramwell in the case of Myers v. Defries (5 Ex. D. at p. 184) that although "the old law as to costs is gone, we may look upon it as a guide; for the former rules as to apportioning the liability for costs were in themselves reasonable, and ought to be followed wherever it is practicable." Keeping the words of the learned Lord Justice in view, the author has made such a selection of the earlier decisions, statutes, &c., which dealt with questions relating to costs arising prior to the passing of the Judicature Acts as appear to be useful for the purpose of solving questions of a similar nature likely to arise in the future. For this reason reference has frequently been made to the Common Law Procedure Acts and many of the Regulæ Generales issued under those Acts, although they are now repealed or annulled.

The principles upon which the law of costs is founded are those laid down by former writers on the subject, and the author is desirous of acknowledging the great assistance he has received

from them, and in particular from a work entitled The Practice of the Master's Office by the late Mr. Thomas Dax.

The Rules of the Supreme Court have been collected under the various heads of the subject matters to which they relate. As several of the rules, however, make provision for different matters, it necessarily happens that the same rule is in certain cases set out more than once in the work, and a table of the rules cited has, therefore, been compiled for reference and will be found at page xxiii. All the rules of court which directly refer to costs have been cited in the body of the work, and in the appendices will be found a selection of forms relating to costs given in the appendix to the Rules of the Supreme Court, 1883, as well as the scale of costs in the Supreme Court, the County Court scale of costs, and the recently published Order as to Supreme Court fees which has been given in its entirety. It has been thought unnecessary to insert any precedents of Bills of Costs, inasmuch as only a few precedents could be given, and the recent edition of Precedents of Bills of Costs, by Messrs. Summerhays and Toogood, contains all the information necessary for the purpose of drawing bills.

Attention is called to the "addenda," in which will be found all the cases relating to costs which have been decided at Judges' Chambers down to the most recent date.

In conclusion, the author desires to acknowledge the obligation under which he lies for the assistance given to him by his father-Master Gordon-one of the masters of the Queen's Bench Division, whose long practical experience of the subject renders the aid thus afforded of especial value.

3, ELM COURT, TEMPLE.
February, 1884.

W. E. G.

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