THE USE OF THE LAW. 245 



these executors have by the will and death of the parties 

 all the property of their goods, chattels, leases for years, 

 wardships, and extents, and all right concerning those 

 things. 



Those executors may meddle with the goods, and dispose Executors may, 

 them before they prove the will, but they cannot bring an jj^ fore probate, 

 action for any debt or duty before they have proved the will. oS^butVot 



mi r&amp;gt; , i 1 1 . rr* i i i * . i P _ * 



The proving of the will is thus. They are to exhibit the bring an action 

 vvill into the bishop s court, and there they are to bring the ^, any d t bt , 



7 , , , . P . Whatprobateof 



witnesses, and there they are to be sworn, and the bishop s t he will is and 



flC _ i_ 1_ _ . . il_ _ Ml _-___ 1 1 i f il 



hat manner 

 il is made&amp;lt; 



officers are to keep the will original, and certify the copy in 

 thereof in parchment under the bishop s seal of office, which ll l 

 parchment, so sealed, is called the will proved. 



IX. By letters of administration. 



By letters of administration property in goods is thus 

 gotten. When a man possessed of goods dieth without 

 any will, there such goods as the executors should have 

 had if he had made a will were by ancient law to come to 

 the bishop of the diocess, to dispose for the good of his soul 

 that died, he first paying his funerals and debts, and giving 

 the rest, ad pios usus. P-- 



This is now altered by statute laws, so as the bishops are 

 to grant letters of administration of the goods at this day 

 to the wife if she require it, or children, or next of kin ; if 

 they refuse it, as often they do, because the debts are greater 

 than the estate will bear, then some creditor, or some other, 

 will take it as the bishop s officers shall think meet. It 

 groweth often in question what bishop shall have the right 

 of proving wills, and granting administration of goods. 



In which controversy the rule is thus :. That if the party Where the in- 

 dead had, at the time of his death, bona notabilia in divers testate had ^m 

 diocesses of some reasonable value, then the archbishop of &quot;era dioeesses&quot; 

 the province where he died is to have the probate of his then the arch- 

 will, and to grant the administration of his goods as the bish P of that 

 case falleth out ; otherwise, the bishop of the diocess where Kefis to 



he died is to do it. commit the ad- 



If there be but one executor made, yet he may refuse the Tninistrati n - 

 executorship coming before the bishop, so that he hath not StebJfSJ 7 

 intermeddled with any of the goods before, or with receiv- the bishop, if he 

 ing debts, or paying legacies. have not inter - 



And if there be more executors than one, so many as list ^od^ the 

 may refuse ; and if any one take it upon him, the rest that Executor ought 



