452 Chancery Report. [May, 



The first step is to address the court by petition, in which you state 

 your grievance, coloured to your fancy, or rather to that of your sohci- 

 tor, who may be supposed to know what best harmonizes with the taste 

 of the court. This is called, filing your bill. Your complaints, thus 

 exhibited by yourself— completely an ex-parte statement — will of course 

 appear perfectly reasonable and entitled to redress. The court under- 

 takes to afford that redress ; and forthwith issues an order, under the 

 name of a subpcena, to the party complained of, commanding him to 

 make his appearance, and answer to the complaint. What does this 

 mean — that the defendant is to present himself in the floor of the court, 

 and give the account demanded, face to face,' in the presence of the 

 judge, on a given day ? Oh no ; unless he live in London, or within 

 ten miles of London, in which case the practice varies a little, the de- 

 fendant neither takes nor is expected to take any notice of the order 

 till the next term ; and when the next term arrives, his solicitor enters 

 the appearance, and then, by the custom of the court, eight days are 

 allowed the defendant to give in his answer. At the end of these eight 

 days, then, he gives his answer ? No ; he petitions for time — till the 

 first day of the next term following the appearance. Then he puts it 

 in ? No ; when that period expires, he requests a further delay of six 

 weeks ; and tlien ? — another of four weeks ; and then ? — a third of three 

 weeks. Impossible ! It is true — literally true. Upon extraordinary oc- 

 casions you must mean. No, habitually, and as a matter of course. 

 Then why not petition for the whole five periods at once ? Your lawyer 

 dares not. Then why does not the court voluntarily grant it ? It is not 

 the custom. But perhaps these several forms may only occasion super- 

 fluous trouble, the time allowed by them may be no more than is 

 necessary ? No, that is not all ; each of the five processes is accompanied 

 with the demand of fees ; and no one pretends that a period of six months 

 (for the delay amounts to that, and sometimes more) is at all necessary 

 for the purpose. Nay, the commissioners themselves propose to assign 

 ten weeks as the limit, and, very properly, without any order at all 

 being applied for by the defendant. 



Well, the answer is at last presented. W^iat follows ? Wliy ; it is 

 manifest, the answer may be evasive, or insufficient ; or it may disclose 

 new matter ; or it may be convenient for the plaintiff to consider it in 

 either of these views. In the one case exceptions must be taken, that 

 is, objections are to be made ; and in the other, the original bill must be 

 amended. We suppose the case of insufficiency ; exceptions therefore 

 must be taken, and eight days are allowed for this purpose, if the answer 

 be filed in term — and if in vacation, the remainder of the vacation goes 

 for nothing, and eight days of the next term are taken. To these eight 

 days the plaintiff is entitled, by the custom of the court, without order ; 

 but after the expiration of these eight days, he obtains, by order, grantr 

 ed as matter of course, and attended of course by fees, in succession, 

 two terms and the vacations, amounting sometimes almost to a twelver 

 month. Tlie commissioners propose two months. 



The exceptions we suppose to be now filed ; the defendant is then 

 allowed eight days to decide whether he ' submits to these exceptions,' 

 and wjll put in a more satisfactory answer. But, observe, though these 

 exceptions are filed, as it is termed, the plaintiff is not compelled, till 

 these eight days have expired, to ' refer' them to the original bill : that 

 is, whether these exceptions be made peremptoiy or not, depends upon 

 the plaintiff, who in fact may, at this point, suspend the cause as long as 



