W R I 



tinue, trefpats, adlion upon the cafe, account, and covenant, 

 Sec. which, as well as others, muft be rightly direfted, or 

 they will be naught. 



Writs may be renewed every term, until a defendant is 

 arretted ; but in the court of king's bencli, if the latitat be 

 not renewed in five terms, a new writ is to be taken out, 

 and the plaintiff is not allowed to renew the old one. 



The {heriff's bailiffs cannot execute a writ direfted to the 

 ftieriff, without his warrant ; and if feveral perfons are in- 

 cluded in a writ (for four defendants may be in one writ), 

 there muit be feveral warrants from the fherifF to execute 

 the fame. All writs are to be returned and filed in due 

 time, to avoid fq/l-terminums. 



Attachment lies againft (heriffs, &c. for not executing a 

 writ, or for doing it oppreflively by force, extorting money 

 on it, or not doing it effeftually, by reafon of any corrupt 

 praftice. 



Writ of /tppralfemerit, a writ iflued out of court for 

 the valuation of goods feized as forfeited to the crown ; or 

 goods taken as prize of war, or found vi-recked, flotfam or 

 jetfam. 



Several feizures by feveral perfons not amounting to loo/. 

 may be included in one writ. (Bunbury, p. 63. ) And a new 

 writ was ordered where the firft appraifcment was too high. 

 (Ibid. 49. 185.) They are alfo required to fpecify the 

 goods particularly, p. 89. 



WniT of AJfife. See Assise. 



Writs of AJJiJlanct, are writs iffued out of the exchequer, 

 to enable officers to enter fhip? , houfes, warehoufes, and other 

 places, to fearch for fmuggled or prohibited goods. They 

 are direfted to be granted by 13 & 14 Car. II. c. 11. and 

 are ilfued on oath, that there is ftrong prefumption to be- 

 lieve goods of thofe kinds are harboured ; but if they are 

 executed in the night, the officers muft be accompanied by 

 a peace-officer. 



Writ of Capias. See Capias. 



Writ of Delivery, a writ direfting the delivery of goods 

 out of the king's pofleffions, either by verdidt or by con- 

 fent. They cannot be iflued till the information is in court 

 (Bunbury, p. 27. ) ; and they are difcretionary in the court. 

 (Ibid. p. 196.) A writ was granted out of the exchequer for 

 watches, becaufe the fprings and fteel-work vs'ere liable to 

 ruft (p. 74.) ; but it was refufed for tobacco-ftalks, 

 becaufe they were direfted to be burnt. (P. 196.) A writ 

 was alfo refufed in Ladd's and in Thomfett's cafe, in the 

 fame court, for coins ; the former reported, the latter not 

 reported. 



Writ of D'tjlringas. See Distringas. 



Writ of EleBion to Parliament. See Parliament. 



Writ of Entry. See Entry. 



Writ of Inquiry of Damages, a judicial writ that iflues out 

 to the fheriff upon a judgment by default, in an aftion of 

 the cafe, covenant, trefpafs, trover. Sec. commanding him 

 to fummon a jury to enquire what damages the plaintiff hath 

 fuftained, occafione prtm'fforum ; and when this is returned 

 with the inquifition, the rule for judgment is given upon it ; 

 and if nothing be faid to the contrary, judgment is there- 

 upon entered. 2 Lill. Abr. 721. 



Writ of Mainf rife. See Mainprise. 



Writ of Ntifty. See Neifty. 



Writ of Rebellion. See Commission of Rebellion. 



Writ of Right. See Recto. 



Writs Vicountiel. See Vicountiel. 



Writ, .liaion of a. See Action. 



Writ, Appeal by. See Appeal. 



Writ, Attachment by. See Attachment. 



Writ, Continuance of a. See Continuance. 



W R I 



WRITER of the Tallies, an officer of the exchequer, being 

 clerk to the auditor of the receipt, who writes upon the 

 tallies the whole letters of the tellers' bills. See Tally 

 and Exchequer. 



WRITING, Scriptdra, the art or aft of fignifying 

 and conveying our ideas to others, by letters or charafters 

 vifible to the eye. 



Or, writing may be defined to be the art of exhibiting to 

 the fight the conceptions of the mind, by means of marki 

 or charafters fignificant of the founds of language, which 

 enable us to transfer ideas from the eye to the ear, and 

 vice verfti. 



Written charafters are of two forts : they are either figns 

 for things, or figns for words. Of the former fort, are the 

 piftures, hieroglyphics, and fymbols, employed by the an- 

 cient nations ; of the latter fort, are the alphabetical cha- 

 rafters now employed by all Europeans. Piftures were, 

 undoubtedly, the firft effay towards writing ; accordingly^ 

 we find in faft, that this was the only fort of writing known 

 in the kingdom of Mexico, when America was firft dif- 

 covered. By hiftorical piftures, the Mexicans are faid to 

 have tranfmitted the memory of the moft important tranf- 

 aftions of their empire. ( See Warburton's Divine Legal, 

 of Mofes, vol. ii. part i. p. 67, &c. vol. iii. p. 73. Robert- 

 fon's Hift. Am. vol. iii. p. 203, &c. and Appendix, note 26. 

 p. 440. edit. ?vo. ) But as pi6lures could do no more than 

 delineate external events, without exhibiting their connec- 

 tions, defcribing fuch quahties as were not vifible to the 

 eye, or conveying any idea of the difpofitions or words of 

 men, there arofe in procefs of time, for fupplying this de- 

 feft, the invention of hieroglyphical charafters ; which may 

 be confidered as the fecond fiage of the art of writing. 



Hieroglyphics (which fee) confift in cei-tain fymbols, 

 which are made to ftand for invifible objefts, on account of 

 an analogy or refemblance which fuch fymbols were fup- 

 pofed to bear to the objefts. Among the Mexicans were 

 found fome traces of hieroglyphical charafters, intermixed 

 with their hiftorical piftures. But Egypt was the country 

 where this fort of writing was moft iludied, and brought 

 into a regular art. However, this fort of writing could be 

 no other than enigmatical and confufed, in the higheft de- 

 gree ; and muft have been a very imperfeft vehicle of know- 

 ledge of any kind. 



As writing advanced from piftures of vifible objefts to 

 hieroglyphics, or fymbols of tilings invifible ; from thefe 

 latter it advanced, among fome nations, to firaple arbitrary 

 marks which ftood for objefts, though without any refem- 

 blance or analogy to the objefts fignified. Of this nature 

 was the method of writing praftifed among the Peruvians ; 

 who made ufe of fmall cords, of different colours, and by 

 knots upon thefe, of various fizes, and differently arranged, 

 contrived figns for giving information, and communicating 

 their thoughts to one another. Of this nature, alfo, are the 

 written charafters which are ufed to this day in China. 

 The Chinefe have no alphabet of letters, or fimple founds, 

 which compofe their words ; but every fingle charafter 

 which they ufe in writing is fignificant of an idea : it is a 

 mark which ftands for fome one thing or objeft, and con- 

 fequently the number of thefe charafters muft be iramenfe. 

 This Chinese cfnVin^, (which fee,) probably began, like 

 the Egyptian, with piftures and hieroglyphical figures ; 

 which figures being, in their progrefs, abbreviated in form, 

 for the fake of more eafily writing them, and greatly en- 

 larged in number, paffed at length into thofe marks or cha- 

 rafters which they now ufe, and which have fpread them, 

 felves through feveral nations of the Eaft. For it is faid, 

 that the Japanefe, the Tonquinefe, and thff Coroeans, who 



fpeak 



