go c rr a n 
the bill; or, 8. He may not have that interefl: in the 
lubjeff to make him liable to the claims of the plaintiff. 
And notwithftanding all thefe requifites concur, 9. Still 
the plaintiff may not be entitled in the whole, or in 
part, to the relief or afliftance he prays ; or, 10. Even if 
lie is fo entitled, the defendant may alfo have rights in 
the fubjeff which may require the attention of the court, 
and call for its interference to adjuff the rights of all 
parties. The effeffing complete jullice, and finally de¬ 
termining, as far as poflible, all queftions concerning 
the l'ubjeff, being the conftant aim of courts of equity. 
Some of thefe grounds may extend only to entitle the 
defendant to difpute the plaintiff’s claim to the relief 
prayed by the bill, and may not be fufiicient to proteff 
him from making the difcovery fought by it; and where 
there is no ground for difputing the plaintiff ’s right to 
relief, or if no relief is prayed, the impropriety or im¬ 
materiality of the difcovery may proteff the defendant 
from making it. 
The form of making defence varies according to the 
foundation on which it is.made, and the extent in which 
it fubmits to the judgment of the court. If it refts on 
the bill, and, on the foundation of the matter there ap¬ 
parent, demand the judgment of the court, whether the 
fuit (hall proceed at all, it is termed a demurrer. If on 
the foundation of new matter offered, it demands judg¬ 
ment whether the defendant fliall be compelled to an- 
liver further, it afl'umes a different form, and is termed a 
plea. If it fubmits to anfwer generally the charges in 
the bill, demanding the judgment of the court on the 
whole cafe made on both Tides, it is offered in a fhape 
ltill different, and is limply called an anfwer. If the de¬ 
fendant difclaims all interefl: in the matters in quelfion, 
hi,s anfwer to the complaint made is different from all 
the others, and is termed a difclaimer. And thefe feve- 
ral forms, or any of them, may be tiled together, if ap¬ 
plied to feparate and diftinff parts of the bill. 
A demurrer, being founded on the bill itfelf, neceffa- 
rily admits the truth of the faffs contained in the bill, 
or in that part of it to which the demurrer extends ; and 
therefore, as no faff can be in queltion between the par¬ 
ties, the court may immediately proceed to pronounce 
its definitive judgment on the demurrer; which, if fa¬ 
vourable to the defendant, puts an end to fa much of 
the fuit as the demurrer extends to. A demurrer thus 
allowed confequently prevents any further proceeding. 
A plea is alfo intended to prevent further proceeding at 
large, by refting on fome point founded on matter Hated 
in the plea; and it therefore admits, for the purpofes of 
the plea, the truth of the faffs contained in the bill, fo 
far as they are not controverted by faffs Hated in the 
plea. Upon the fufficiency of this defence the court 
will alfo give immediate judgment, fuppofing the fluffs 
Hated in it to be true : but the judgment, if favourable 
to the defendant, is not definitive; for the truth of the 
plea may be denied by a replication, and the parties may 
then proceed to examine witneffes, the one to prove, and 
the other to dilprove, the faffs -Hated in the plea. The 
replication in this cafe concludes the pleadings, though, 
if tire truth of the plea is not fupported, further pro¬ 
ceedings may be had. An anfwer generally controverts 
the faiffs Hated in the bill, or fome of them; and Hates 
other faffs to fhew the rights of the defendant, in the 
fubjeff of the fuit; but fometimes it admits the truth of 
the cafe made by the bill, and either with or without 
Hating additional faffs, fubmits the queffions arifing 
upon the cafe, thus made, to the judgment of the court. 
If an anfwer admits the faffs Hated in the bill, or fuch 
of them as are material to the plaintiff’s cafe, and Hates 
no new faffs, or fuch only as the plaintiff' is willing to 
admit, no further pleading is neceffary; the court will 
decide on the anfwer, conlidering it as true. So if the 
foie objeff of the fuit is to obtain a difcovery, there can 
be no proceeding beyond an anfwer by which the dif- 
2, 
C E R Y. 
covery is obtained. But, if neceffary to" maintain the 
plaintiff’s cafe, the truth of the anfwer, or of any part of 
it, may be denied, and the fufficiency of the bill may be / 
afferted by a replication, which in this cafe alfo con¬ 
cludes the pleadings, according to the prefent praftice 
of the court. If a demurrer or plea is over-ruled upon 
argument, the defendant muff make a new defence. This 
he cannot do by a fecond demurrer of the fame extent 
with that over-ruled ; for although, by a Handing order 
of the court, a caufe of demurrer muff be fet forth in 
the pleading, yet if that is over-ruled, any other caufe 
appearing on the bill maybe offered on argument of the 
demurrer; and if valid, will be allowed, the rule of court 
aft'effing only the cofts. But after a demurrer has been 
over-ruled, new defence may be made by a demurrer lefs 
extended, or by plea or anfwer. And after a plea has 
been over-ruled, defence may be made by demurrer, by 
a new plea, or by an anfwer, and the proceedings upon 
the new defence will be the fame as if it had been origi¬ 
nally made. A difclaimer, neither afferting any faff, nor 
denying any right fought by the bill, admits of no fur¬ 
ther pleading. 
Suits thus inffituted are fometimes imperfeff in their 
frame, or become fo by accident before their end has 
been obtained; and the intereffs in the property in liti¬ 
gation may be changed, pending the fuit, in various 
ways. To fupply the defeffs arifing from any fuch cir- 
cumftances, new 1'uits may become neceffary, to add.to, 
or continue, or obtain the benefit of, the original fuit. 
A litigation commenced by one party, fometimes renders 
neceffary a litigation by another party, to operate as a 
defence, or to obtain a full decifion on the rights of all 
parties : and bills filed for this purpofe are termed crols- 
Tills. Where the court has given judgment on a l'uir, 
it will in fome cafes permit that judgment to be contro¬ 
verted, fulpended, or avoided, by a l'econd fuit; and 
fometimes a fecond fuit becomes neceffary to carry into 
execution a judgment of the court. Suits inffituted for 
any of thefe purpofes are alfo commenced by bill; and 
hence arifes a variety of diftinftions of the kinds of bills 
neceffary to anfwer the feveral purpofes; as bills of re¬ 
view, (which among other cafes may be brought, where 
new matter is difcovered, in time, after the decree made,} 
bills of revivor, &c. 3 Com. 448, See. and on all the dif¬ 
ferent kinds of bills there may be the fame pleadings as. 
on a bill ufed for inffituting an original fuit. 
It frequently happens that, pending a fuit, the parties 
difeover fome error or defeft in fome of the pleadings ; 
and, if this can be reffified by amendment of the plead¬ 
ings, the court will in many cafes permit it. This in¬ 
dulgence is moff extenfive in the cafe of bills; which 
being often framed upon an inaccurate ftate of the cafe, 
it was formerly the praffice to fupply their deficiencies, 
and avoid the confequences of errors by l'pecial replica ¬ 
tions ; but this tending to long and intricate pleading, 
the fpecial replication,'requiring a rejoinder, in which 
the defendant might in like manner fupply defeffs in his 
anfwer, and to which the plaintiff might fur-rejoin, the 
fpecial replication is now difufed for this purpoie; and 
the court will in general permit a plaintiff to reffify any 
error, or fupply any defeft in his bill, either by amend¬ 
ment or by a lupplemental bill, and will alio permit, in 
fome cafes, a defendant in like manner to complete his 
anfwer, either by amendment, or by a further anfwer. 
If the plaintiff conceives the defendant’s anfwer to he 
infufficient to the charges contained in the bill, he may 
take exceptions againff it, on which it is referred to a 
mailer to report, whether it be fufiicient or not; to which 
report exceptions may be alfo made. The anfwer, repli¬ 
cation, and rejoinder, &c. being fettled, and-the parties 
come to iffue, witneffes are examined upon interrogate-, 
ries, either in court, or by commiflion in the country, 
wherein the parties ufually join; and when the plaintiff 
and defendant have examined their witneffes, publica¬ 
tion 
