delay, it was provided by statute 22, Geo. II. c. 46, s. 35, Mesne Process, that the mesne process of this Court, should bear teste in the preceding assizes, and be made returnable on the first Wednesday of any month, or at the first day of the next assizes, at the election of the party. That Act, however,

being confined to mesne process, great inconvenience was Writs of Instill felt for want of more frequent returns of other process: quiry, Scifa, &c. and it was therefore provided by 39 and 40, Geo. III. c. 105, s. 2, that writs of Inquiry of damages, Scire facias, and any judicial or other process, (except such as might be made returnable on the monthly returns) might be made returnable, either as they then were, (viz., at the assizes) or on any of the Return-days, in Easter and Michaelmas-terms.

The last-mentioned Act has been altered by 1, W. IV., c. 7, the 8th section of which provides, that in lieu of the Return-days in Easter and Michaelmas-terms, all writs of Inquiry and other writs mentioned in the 39 and 40, Geo. III, might be made returnable on the first Wednesday in the month, in addition to the first and last days of the Assizes. A further alteration has been made by statute 4 and 5, W. IV., c. 62, which provides, that writs of Inquiry shall be made returnable on any day certain (1); and writs of Execution, may (if the party issuing the same shall think fit) be made returnable immediately after the execution thereof (m). This act also provides, that all writs, issued out of this Court, shall be tested in the name of the Chief Justice of the Court; or in case of vacancy of such office, in the name of one of the other Judges thereof: and, that all writs, except writs of Exigent and Proclamation, and process for Juries, shall bear date on the day on which the same shall be issued (n).

Executions.

re

Writs for the removal of causes from inferior Courts to this Writs for Court, are required by stat. 1, W. IV., c. 7, s. 9, to be made moval of Causes returnable on the first Wednesday in the month next after the issuing thereof, unless, in the meantime, the assizes shall be holden for this county; and then, on the first or last day of such assizes, as the case may be, next after the issuing thereof.

(1) Sec. 18, 19.

(m) Sec. 33.

(n) Id.

Present Process for commencement of actions

Summary.

In process for the commencement of personal actions, no return-day is mentioned. Such process, however, has four months to run, from the date, inclusive; and it would seem to be returnable on the last day of the four months, though, for practical purposes, the day on which it is executed, may be considered the return-day (o).

:

Thus we have seen that now all Process of this Court, except Process for Juries, Writs of Exigent, and Proclamation (p), is tested on the day of issuing; and the return of process, except for the commencement of actions, is as follows, viz. of Writs of Inquiry, on any day certain, to be named therein of Writs of Scire facias, and other Judicial Process, on the first Wednesday in any month; or on the first or last day of the Assizes : of Writs of Execution, either on the monthly returns, or at the Assizes, or immediately after execution, at the party's option and of Writs for the removal of Causes, on the first Wednesday in the month, next after the issuing thereof, unless in the mean time the Assizes shall be holden, and in that case, on the first or last day of such Assizes, as the case may be, next after the issuing thereof.

(0) See 2nd Addenda to Chapman's Pr. K. B. 115. Atherton's Treat. 19. (p) As to the teste and return of these Writs, see the respective Titles.

BOOK 1. CHAP. VI.

OF THE RECORDS AND OTHER OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS OF

THE COURT (a).

The Official Documents of this Court are kept by the Documents of Deputy Prothonotary, and are contained in Rolls, Books the Court, by whom kept, and of Entries, and on Files of different proceedings. The more where. ancient of them are preserved in a tower within the Castle of Lancaster, called the Record-room, and are methodically arranged in separate compartments, according to their nature and dates; and those for the last sixty or seventy years, are kept at the Prothonotary's office, at Preston; as are also the Indexes (called the Docket-rolls), of the ancient, as well as the modern Records. The Records, prior to the seventh year of the reign of George the Second, with the exception of some during the commonwealth, are written in the old Court hand, and in the Latin language; and the documents generally, are in good preservation.

The Rolls are either Plea-rolls, Fine-rolls, or, Docket- What they conrolls. The Plea-rolls contain the enrolment of Judges' sist of. Patents-Deeds (t)—Recognizances of Bail-Issues—and Judgments; and, before the abolition of fines and recoveries, Plea-rolls. this Roll contained the entry of King's silver on fines, and the enrolment of recoveries. It is the practice to order at the Prothonotary's office, before every assizes, the enrol

(a) See the Report of the Committee appointed to inquire into the state of the public Records of this Kingdom, published in 1800, Page 257.

(b) Deeds of Bargain and Sale of Lands within the County, requiring enrolment under 27 H. 8, c. 16, may be enrolled in this Court, or in the Chancery of the County Palatine; and will have the same validity as if enrolled in any of the Courts at Westminster. See Stat. 5, Eliz. c. 26. There are, however, but few such enrolments in this Court, and these are indexed on the Dockets of Fines and Recoveries.

Fine Rolls.

ment of the pleadings in causes which stand for trial at such assizes (c): and thus, a new Plea-roll is made up before each assizes, and is styled as of the assizes preceding (d).

The enrolment of Fines (e) and Recoveries in this Court, was regulated by Stat. 27, Eliz. c. 9, which provided (amongst other things) that in each of the counties Palatine, there should be for ever, an office, called the Office of the Enrolments of Fines and Recoveries, and that the Justices of the Counties Palatine, within the limits of their Commissions, should take charge of the enrolments, and enjoy the office and disposition thereof.

Before the abolition of Fines and Recoveries, by Stat. 3 and 4, W. 4, c. 74, it was the practice for the Prothonotary to make a new Fine Roll, before every Assizes. Each Enrolment contained the Writ of Covenant and return― the Entry of the King's Silver-the foot-and the Proclamations-and was signed by the Chief Justice of this Court. The Roll was then deposited in the Record Room at Lancaster, and not kept at Preston, like other modern Records; and by the Statute of Eliz. above referred to, it is provided that the Records of all Fines and Recoveries in this Court, and all the proceedings thereof, shall be deposited in such places, and kept by such persons, as the Justices of Assize for the County Palatine of Lancaster for the time being, shall direct.

(c) See post B. 2 Ch. 10.

(d) Since the removal of the assizes to Liverpool, the following style of the Plea Roll has been adopted:

"Pleas at Lancaster of the Session of Assizes holden at Lancaster, on Wednesday the twelfth day of August, and at Liverpool on Saturday the fifteenth day of August, in the sixth year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lord William the Fourth, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, King, Defender of the faith. Before Sir Nicolas Conyngham Tindal, Knight, Chief Justice of the said Lord the King, of his Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, and James Lord Abinger, Chief Baron of the said Lord the King, of his Court of Exchequer at Westminster, Justices of the said Lord the King at Lancaster."

(e) The Stat. 37, H. 8, c.'19, makes Fines levied in this Court, of Lands within the County, as effectual as Fines levied in the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster. The Fines levied before that Act were comparatively few; although the Court possessed exclusive Jurisdiction over Fines and Recoveries of Lands within the County. See ante, pa. 13.

The Docket Rolls are indexes to the early records of Docket Rolls. issues (f), and to all the Records of Fines and Recoveries. Of Fines and These Rolls are kept at Preston, for more ready reference; Recoveries. and the earliest of them is thus headed "Med. negocior: int: Dum Ducem & partes ab anno Regalitatis sue primo p'plures annos sequentes, Inprimis d' Sessione Ascens: Dni Anno Regalit: &c. primo (g).”

It

may

be proper to notice here, that there is this material and very inconvenient defect, in the early Dockets of Fines and Recoveries, viz. they give the names of the first-mentioned Deforceants, and Vouchees, only; so that if, for instance, A and B have joined in levying a fine of their respective estates, it is docketted under the title of "Fine of A and al.," and consequently it could not be ascertained whether B has levied the fine, without a laborious search through the records themselves. This defect has, however, been supplied in the dockets from the beginning of the reign of Geo. II. which contain the names of all the parties; and the still more modern dockets contain not only the names of all the parties, but also of the townships or places where the premises are situate.

to be

sues.

Issues were formerly, as we have seen, docketted on the Dockets of Issame Roll as Fines and Recoveries; but since the beginning of the reign of George the Third, they have ceased and have lately been docketted in books kept exclusively for that purpose, and which serve as an index to all causes wherein the pleadings have been enrolled for trial, or in which the Judgments have been formally entered on Record.

so;

There is no separate docket roll, for the Judgments of Of Judgments. this Court, as in the Courts at Westminster; the statute (h) requiring Judgments to be docketted for certain purposes, being confined to the latter Courts: but the Record of a Judgment in this Court, is as effectual for all purposes, as if it was docketted.

(f) See infra.

A memorandum of the business between the Lord the Duke, and Parties, from the first year of his Royalty for many years following, beginning at the Session of the Ascension of our Lord, in the first year of the Royalty, &c.

(h) 4 and 5, W. and M. c 20.