CLERK. 
664 
meffenger-s of tlie green cloth, Sec. He hath likewife the 
overfight of all defefts and mifcarriages of any of the in¬ 
ferior offices; and hath a right to lit in the counting- 
houfe, with the fuperior officers, viz. the lord ftewatd, 
treafurer, controller, and cofferer of the houfehold, for 
correcting any diforders. Stat. 33 H. VIII. c. 12. 
Clerk of the Crown. —An officer in the King’s-bench, 
whofe function is to frame, read, and record, all indict¬ 
ments againll offenders there arraigned or indicted of any 
public crime; and, when divers perfons are jointly in¬ 
dicted, the clerk of the crown (hall take but one fee, viz. 
two {hillings for them all. Stat. 2 H. IV. c. 10. He is 
othervvife termed clerk of the crown-office, and exhibits 
informations, by order of the court, for divers offences. 
Clerk of the Crown in Chancery. — An officer in that court 
who continually attends the lord chancellor in perfon or 
by deputy ; he writes and prepares for the great feal, fpe- 
cial matters of Hate by commiffion, or the like, either im¬ 
mediately from his majefty’s orders, or by order of his 
council, as well ordinary as extraordinary, viz. commif¬ 
fion s of lieutenancy, of jallices of affize, oyer and termi¬ 
ner, jail delivery, and of the peace, with their writs of 
affociation, &c. Alfo all general pardons, at the king’s 
coronation; or in parliament, where he fits in the lords’ 
lioule in parliament time ; and into his office the writs of 
parliament, with the names of knights and burgeffes elect¬ 
ed thereupon, are to be returned and filed. He hath like¬ 
wife the making out of all lpecial pardons; and writs of 
execution upon bonds of ftatute-ftaple forfeited; which 
was annexed to this offence in the reign of queen Mary, 
in confideration of his chargeable attendance. 
Clerk of the Declarations. —An officer of the court of 
King’s-bench, who files all declarations in caufes there 
depending, after they are ingroffed, &c. 
Clerk of the Deliveries. —An officer in the Tower of Lon¬ 
don, who exercifes his office in taking of indentures for 
all ftores, ammunition, &c. iffued from thence. 
Clerk of the Errors, in the court of common pleas, 
tranfcribes and certifies into the King’s-bench the tenor 
of the records of the caufe or aftion upon which the writ 
of error, made by the curfitor, is brought there to be 
heard and determined. The clerk of the errors in the 
King’s-bench likewife tranfcribes and certifies the records 
of caufes, in that court, into the exchequer, if the caufe 
of aftion were by bill; if, by original, the lord chief juf- 
tice certifies the record into the houfe of peers in parlia¬ 
ment, by taking the tranlcript from the clerk of the er¬ 
rors, and delivering it to the lord chancellor, there to be 
determined, according to the Hats. 27 Eliz. e. 8. and 31 
Eliz. c. 1. The clerk of the errors in the exchequer alio 
tranfcribes the records, certified thither out of the King’s- 
bench, and prepares them for judgment in the court of 
exchequer chamber, to be given by thejufiices of com¬ 
mon pleas, and barons there. Stats. 16 Car. II. 20 Car. II. 
c. 4. 
Clerk of the EJfoins. —An officer belonging to the court 
of common pleas, who keeps the efloin rolls; and the 
effoin roll is a record of that court; he has the providing 
cf parchment, and cutting it out into rolls, marking the 
numbers thereon; and the delivery out of all the rolls 
to every officer of the court, the receiving of them again 
when they are written, and the binding and making up 
the whole bundles of every term, which he doth as fer- 
vant of the chief juftice. The chief jultice of the com¬ 
mon pleas is at the charge of the parchment of all the 
rolls, for which he is allowed ; as is alfo the chief juftice 
of the court of King’s-bench, befides the penny for the 
feal of every writ of privilege and outlawry, the feventh 
penny taken for the ieal of every writ in court under the 
green wax, or petit feal ; the faid lord chief jultices hav¬ 
ing annexed to their offices or places, the cultody of the 
faid leals belonging to each court. 
Clerk of the EJlreats. —A clerk or officer belonging to 
the exchequer, who every term receives the eltreats out 
of the lord treafurer’s remembrancer’s office, and write* 
them out to be levied for the king; and he makes fche- 
dules of fuch fums eftreated as are to be difcharged. 
Clerk of the Hanaper, or Hamper. —An officer in chan¬ 
cery, whofe office is to receive all the money due to the 
king, for the leals of charters, patents, commiffions, and 
writs; as.alfo fees due to the officers for enrolling and 
examining the fame. He is obliged to attendance on the 
lord chancellor daily in the term time, and at all times 
of fealing, having with him leather bags, wherein are put 
all charters, &c. After they are fealed, thofe bags, being 
fealed up with the lord chancellors’s private feal, are de¬ 
livered to the controller of the hanaper, who, upon re¬ 
ceipt of them, enters the effeft of them in a book, &c. 
This hanaper reprefents what the Romans termed fifcutn, 
which contained the emperor’s treafure; and the exche¬ 
quer was anciently fo called, becaufe in eo reconderentur 
hanapi & fcutree cateraque vafa quee in cenfum & tributum 
perfolvi folebant ; or it may be for that the yearly tribute 
which princes received was in hampers or large veflels 
full of money. There being an arrear of 10,5901. 12s. nd. 
of feveral ancient fees and falaries, Sec. payable out of this 
office; and there being a remainder of 13,6981. is. nd. 
of the fix-penny llamp duty on writs granted for relief of . 
the luitors of the court of chancery; it was enabled, by 
the ftat. 23 G. II. c. 25. that thereout the 10,590k 12s. 1 id. 
lhould be paid to the creditors of this office. That the 
faid duty lhould be made perpetual; and thereout 3000I. 
per annum lhould be paid to the clerk of the hanaper, 
that the refidue of the 13,698k is. nd. lhould be laid out 
in government lecurities, and the intereft paid to the clerk 
of the hanaper, who lhould pay 1,200k to the mafter of 
the rolls; and that, in cafe the revenue of this office fo 
augmented, lhould be more than fufficient to pay all fees, 
falaries, See. the clerk lhould account for the furplus. 
Clerk of the Inrolments. —An officer of the common pleas, 
that inrols and exemplifies all fines and recoveries, ami 
returns writs of entry, fummons, and feifin, Sec. 
Clerk of the Juries. —An officer belonging to the court 
of common pleas, who makes out the writs of habeas cor¬ 
pora and diltringas, for the appearance of juries, either in 
that court, or at the affizes, after the jury or panel is re¬ 
turned upon the venire facias; he alfo enters into the 
rolls the awarding of thefe writs; and makes all the con¬ 
tinuances, from the going out of the habeas corpora until 
the verdift is given. 
Clerk of the Market. —An officer of the king’s houfe, to 
whom it belongs to take charge of the king’s meafures, 
and keep the (tandards of them, which are examples of 
all meafures throughout the land; as of ells, yards, quarts, 
gallons, Sec. and of weights, bufhels, &c. and to fee that 
all weights and mealures in every place be anfwerable to 
the faid ltandard. Touching this officer’s duty, there are 
divers ftatutes, as 13 R. II. c. 4. and 16 R. II. c. 3. by 
which every clerk of the market is to have weights and 
meafures with him when he makes elfay of weights, Sec. 
marked according to the ltandard ; and to feal weights 
and meafures, under penalties. The ftat. 16 Car. I. c. 19. 
enafts, that clerks of the market of the king’s or prince’s 
houfehold, fhall only execute their offices within the verge; 
and head officers are to aft in corporations, &c. The 
clerks of markets have generally power to hold a court, 
to which end they may iffue out procefs to lheriffs and 
bailiffs to bring a jury before them; and give a charge, 
take preferments of fuch as keep or ufe falfe weights and 
meafures, and may fet a fine upon the offenders, &c. But 
if they take any other fee or reward than what is allowed 
by ftatute, Sec. or impole any fines without legal trial, or 
otherwile mifdemean themlelves, they fhall forfeit five 
pounds for the firft offence, ten pounds for the iecond, 
and twenty pounds for the third offence, on conviftion 
before a juftice of peace, Sec. The court of the clerk of 
the market is incident to every fair and market in the 
kingdom, to punilh mifdemeanors therein, as a court of 
