Commis sions, examinations, and depositions. hath made a perfect answer, and to be examined upon interrogatories touching the points defective in his answer; but if any answer be certified sufficient, the plaintiff is to pay costs. 62. No insufficient answer can be taken hold of after replication put in, because it is admitted sufficient by the replication. 63. An answer to a matter charged as the defendant's own fact must be direct, without saying it is to his remembrance, or as he believeth, if it be laid to be done within seven years before: and if the defendant deny the fact, he must traverse it directly, and not by way of negative pregnant; as if a fact be laid to be done with divers circumstances, the defendant may not traverse it literally as it is laid in the bill, but must traverse the point of substance; so if he be charged with the receipt of one hundred pounds, he must traverse that he hath not received a hundred pounds, or any part thereof; and if he have received part, he must set forth what part. 64. If a hearing be prayed upon bill and answer, the answer must be admitted to be true in all points; and a decree ought not to be made, but upon hearing the answer read in court. 65. Where no counsel appears for the defendant at the hearing, and the process appears to have been served, the answer of such defendant is to be read in court. 66. No new matter is to be contained in any replication, except it be to avoid matter set forth in the defendant's answer. 67. All copies in chancery shall contain fifteen lines in every sheet thereof, written orderly and unwastefully, unto which shall be subscribed the name of the principal clerk of the office where it is written, or his deputy, for whom he will answer, for which only subscription no fee at all shall be taken. 68. All commissions for examination of witnesses shall be super interr. inclusis only, and no return of depositions into the court shall be received, but such only as shall be either comprised in one roll subscribed with the names of the commissioners, or else in divers rolls whereof each one shall be so subscribed. 69. If both parties join in commission, and upon warning given the defendant bring his commissioners, but produce no witness, nor minister interrogatories, but after seek a new commission, the same shall not be granted: but nevertheless upon some extraordinary excuse of the defendant's default, he may have liberty granted by special order to examine his witnesses in court upon the former interrogatories, giving the plaintiff or his attorney notice, that he may examine also if he will. 70. The defendant is not to be examined upon interrogatories, except it be in very special cases, by express order of the court, to sift out some fraud or practice pregnantly appearing to the court, or otherwise upon offer of the plaintiff to be concluded by the answer of the defendant without any liberty to disprove such answer, or to impeach him after of perjury. 71. Decrees in other courts may be read upon hearing without the warrant of any special order: but no depositions taken in any other court are to be read but by special order; and regularly the court granteth no order for reading of depositions, except it be between the same parties, and upon the same title and cause of suit. 72. No examination is to be had of the credit of any witness but by special order, which is sparingly to be granted. 73. Witnesses shall not be examined in perpetuam rei memoriam, except it be upon the ground of a bill first put in, and answer thereunto made, and the defendant or his attorney made acquainted with the names of the witnesses that the plaintiff would have examined, and so publication to be of such witnesses; with this restraint nevertheless, that no benefit shall be taken of the depositions of such witnesses in case they may be brought viva voce upon the trial, but only to be used in case of death before the trial, or age, or impotency, or absence out of the realm at the trial. dam conscien 74. No witnesses shall be examined after publication, except Ad informan it be by consent, or by special order, ad informandam conscien- tiam judicis. tiam judicis, and then to be brought close sealed up to the court to peruse or publish, as the court shall think good. 75. No affidavit shall be taken or admitted by any master of the chancery tending to the proof or disproof of the title or matter in question, or touching the merits of the cause; neither shall any such matter be colourably inserted in any affidavit for serving of process. Affidavits. Petitions. 76. No affidavit shall be taken against affidavit, as far as the masters of the chancery can have knowledge; and if any such be taken, the latter affidavit shall not be used nor read in court. 77. In case of contempts grounded upon force or ill words upon serving of process, or upon words of scandal of the court, proved by affidavit, the party is forthwith to stand committed; but for other contempts against the orders or decrees of the court, an attachment goes forth, first, upon an affidavit made, and then the party is to be examined upon interrogatories, and his examination referred; and if upon his examination he confess matter of contempt, he is to be committed; if not, the adverse party may examine witnesses to prove the contempt: and thereupon' if the contempt appear, the party is to be committed; but if not, or if the party that pursues the contempt do fail in putting in interrogatories, or other prosecution, or fail in the proof of the contempt, then the party charged with the contempt is to be discharged with good costs. 78. They that are in contempt, specially so far as proclamation of rebellion, are not to be heard, neither in that suit, nor any other, except the court of special grace suspend the contempt. 79. Imprisonment upon contempt for matters past may be discharged of grace, after sufficient punishment, or otherwise dispensed with: but if the imprisonment be for not performance of any order of the court in force, they ought not to be discharged except they first obey, but the contempt may be suspended for a time. 80. Injunctions, sequestrations, dismissions, retainers upon dismissions, or final orders, are not to be granted upon petitions. 81. No former order made in court is to be altered, crossed, or explained upon any petition; but such orders may be stayed upon petition for a small stay, until the matter may be moved in court. 82. No commission for examination of witnesses shall be discharged, nor no examinations or depositions shall be suppressed upon petition, except it be upon point of course of the court first referred to the clerks, and certificate thereupon. 1 I have substituted this for "therefore." 83. No demurrer shall be overruled upon petition. 84. No scire facias shall be awarded upon recognisances not enrolled, nor upon recognisances enrolled, unless it be upon examination of the record with the writ; nor no recognisance shall be enrolled after the year, except it be upon special order from the lord chancellor. 85. No writ of ne exeat regnum, prohibition, consultation, statute of Northampton, certiorari special, or procedendo special, or certiorari or procedendo general more than one in the same cause, habeas corpus, or corpus cum causa, vi laica removend', or restitution thereupon, de coronatore et viridario eligendo in case of amoving, de homine replegiando, assize on' special patent, de ballivo amovend, certiorari super præsentationibus fact. coram commissariis sewar', or ad quod dampnum, shall pass without warrant under the lord chancellor's hand, and signed by him, save such writs ad quod dampnum as shall be signed by master attorney. 86. Writs of privilege are to be reduced to a better rule, both for the number of persons that shall be privileged, and for the case of the privilege: and as for the number, it shall be set down by schedule: for the case, it is to be understood that besides persons privileged as attendants upon the court, suitors and witnesses are only to have privilege eundo, redeundo, et morando, for their necessary attendance, and not otherwise; and that such writ of privilege dischargeth only an arrest upon the first process; but yet, where at such times of necessary attendance the party is taken in execution, it is a contempt to the court, and accordingly to be punished. 87. No supplicavit for the good behaviour shall be granted, but upon articles grounded upon the oath of two at the least, or certificate of any one justice of assize, or two justices of the peace, with affidavit that it is their hands, or by order of the star-chamber, or chancery, or other of the king's courts. 88. No recognisance of the good behaviour, or the peace, taken in the country, and certified into the petty-bag, shall be filed in the year without warrant from the lord chancellor. 89. Writs of ne exeat regnum are properly to be granted according to the suggestion of the writ, in respect of attempts I have substituted "on" for "or." The thing meant seems to be a special patent to justices not being justices of assize for the county. See Fitz. N.B. 177. J. K. prejudicial to the king and state, in which case the lord chancellor will grant them upon prayer of any the principal secretaries without cause shewing, or upon such information as his lordship shall think of weight: but otherwise also they may be granted, according to the practice of long time used, in case of interlopers in trade, great bankrupts in whose estate many subjects are interested, or other cases that concern multitudes of the king's subjects, also in case of duels, and divers others. 90. All writs, certificates, and whatsoever other process returnable coram Rege in Canc. shall be brought into the chapel of the rolls, within convenient time after the return thereof, and shall be there filed upon their proper files and bundles as they ought to be; except the depositions of witnesses, which may remain with any of the six clerks by the space of one year next after the cause shall be determined by decree or otherwise be dismissed. 91. All injunctions shall be enrolled, or the transcript filed; to the end that if occasion be, the court may take order to award writs of scire facias thereupon, as in ancient time hath been used. 92. All days given by the court to sheriffs to return their writs, or bring in their prisoners upon writs of privilege, or otherwise between party and party, shall be filed, either in the register's office, or in the petty-bag respectively; and all recognisances taken to the king's use, or unto the court, shall be duly inrolled in convenient time with the clerks of the inrollment, and calendars made of them, and the calendars every Michaelmas term to be presented to the lord chancellor. 93. In case of suits upon the commission for charitable uses, to avoid charge, there shall need no bill, but only exceptions to the decree, and answer forthwith to be made thereunto; and thereupon, and upon sight of the inquisition, and the decree brought unto the lord chancellor by the clerk of the petty-bag, his lordship, upon perusal thereof, will give order under his hand for an absolute decree to be drawn up. 94. Upon suit for the commission of sewers, the names of those that are desired to be commissioners are to be presented to the lord chancellor in writing; then his lordship will send the names of some privy counsellor, lieutenant of the shire, or justices of assize, being resident in the parts for which the commission is prayed, to consider of them, that they be not |