P L E 
1 will neither plead my age nor ficknefs, in excufe of 
faults. Dryden. 
PLE'ADABLE, adj. Capable to be alleged in plea. 
—A foreft hath her court of attachments, fwainmote 
court, where matters are as pleadable and determinable 
as at Weltminfter-hali. Howell's Lett. 
PLE'ADER,/. One who argues in a court of juftice. 
—What a thing to laugh at, to fee a judge or fergeant at 
the law in a fhort coate garded and pounced after the 
galiarde fafhion, or an apprentife of tiie law or pleader 
come to the barre with a Millayne or French bonnet on 
his head fet full of aglets ! Sir T. Elyut's Gov. 
The brief with weighty crimes was charg’d, 
On which the pleader much enlarg’d. Swift's Mifcel. 
One who fpeaks for or again!!.—The pleaders of fcandal, 
like foldiers of fortune, are engaged in every quarrel, 
where they flake nothing againll the peace, order, and 
decency, of others, but only their private fancy, opinion, 
and diflike. Bp. Taylor's Artif. Handfom.— So fair a 
pleader any caufe may gain. Drydeit. 
Be you your country’s pleader ; j our good tongue 
Might flop our countrymen. Shakefpeare's Coriol. 
PLE'ADING, f. Aft or form of pleading : 
If the heavenly folk fliould know 
Thefe pleadings in rhe court below. Swift's Mifcel. 
Pleadings, in law, are the mutual altercations between 
the plaintiff and defendant. They form the third part 
or flage of a law-proceeding; and at prefent are fet down 
and delivered into the proper office in writing, though 
formerly they were ufually put in by their counfel ore 
tenus, or viva voce, in court, and then minuted down 
by the chief clerks, or prothonotaries; whence, in ourdld 
law-French, the pleadings are frequently denominated 
the parol. 
i. The firft of thefe is the declaration, anciently called 
the talc; in which the plaintiff fets forth his caufe of 
complaint at length : being indeed only an amplification 
or expofition of the original writ upon which his aftion 
is founded, with the additional circumftances of time 
and place, when and where the injury was committed. 
See Declaration, vol. v. 
z. When the plaintiff hath (fated his cafe in the decla¬ 
ration, it is incumbent on the defendant, within areafon- 
able time to make his defence , and put in a plea ; or elfe 
tlie plaintiff will at once recover judgment by default, or 
nihil dicit, of the defendant. See Defence, vol. v. 
After defence made, the defendant muft put in his 
plea. But before he defends, if the fuit is commenced by 
capias or latitat , without any fpecial original, he is 
intitled to demand one imparlance, or licentia loquendi ; 
and may, before he pleads, have more granted byconfent 
of the court, to fee if he can end the matter amicably 
without farther fuit, by talking with the plaintiff: a 
practice which is fuppofed to have arifen from a principle 
of religion, in obedience to that precept of the gofpel, 
“ Agree with thine adverfary quickly, whilft thou art in 
the way with him.” Matth. v. 25. And it may be ob- 
ferved, that this gofpel-precept has a plain reference to 
the Roman law of the twelve tables, which exprefsly di¬ 
rected the plaintiff and defendant to make up the matter 
“ while they were in the way,” or going to the praetor ; 
in via, rein uti pacent orato. There are alfo many other 
previous fteps which may be taken by a defendant 
before he puts in his plea. He may, in real aCtions, 
demand a view of the thing in queftion, in order to afeer- 
tain its identity and other circumltances. He may crave 
oyer of the writ, or of the bond, or other fpecialty upon 
which the aftion is brought; that is, to hear it read to 
him ; the generality of defendants in the times of ancient 
fimplicity being fuppofed incapable to read it themfelves: 
whereupon the whole is entered verbatim upon the re¬ 
cord; and the defendant may take advantage of any 
P L E 6?5 
condition, or other part of it, not ftated in the plaintiff’s 
declaration. 
When the plea of the defendant is thus put in, if it 
does not amount to an ijfue, or total contradiction of the 
declaration, but only evades it, the plaintiff may plead 
again, and reply to the defendant’s plea : either tra¬ 
veling it, that is totally denying it; as if, on an aCtion 
of debt upon bond, the defendant pleads J'olvit ad'diem, 
that he paid the money when due; or he may allege 
new' matter in contradiction to the defendant’s plea; 
as when the defendant pleads no award made, the plain¬ 
tiff may reply, and fet forth an aCtual award, and affign 
a breach : or the replication may confefs and avoid the 
plea, by fome new matter or diftinCtion, confident with 
the plaintiff’s former declaration ; as in an aCtion for 
trefpaffing upon land whereof the plaintiff is feized, if 
the defendant (hows a title to the land by delcent, and 
that therefore he had a right to enter, and gives colour 
to the plaintiff, the plaintiff may either traverfe and 
totally deny the faCt of the defeent; or he may confefs 
and avoid it, by replying, that true it is that fuch de- 
feent happened, but that fince the defeent the defendant 
himfelf demifed the lands to the plaintiff for term of life. 
To the replication the defendant may rejoin, or put in 
an anfwer called a rejoinder. The plaintiff may anfwer 
the rejoinder by a fur-rejoinder; upon which the de¬ 
fendant may rebut, and the plaintiff anfwer him by a 
fur-rebutter. Which pleas, replications, rejoinders, fur- 
rejoinders, rebutters, and fur-rebutters, anfwer to the 
exceptio, replicatio, duplicatio, triplicatio, and quadruplica¬ 
te, of the Roman laws. 
The whole of this procefs is denominated the plead¬ 
ing; in the feveral ftages of which it muft be carefully 
obferved, not to depart or vary from the title or defence 
which the party has once infifted on. For this (which 
is called a departure in pleading) might occafion endlefs 
altercation. Therefore the replication muft fupport the 
declaration, and the rejoinder muft fupport the plea, 
without departing out of it. As in the cafe of pleading 
no award made in confequence of a bond of arbitration, 
to which the plaintiff replies, fetting forth an aCtual 
award ; now the defendant cannot rejoin that he hath 
performed this award, for fuch rejoinder would be an 
entire departure from his original plea, which alleged 
that no fuch award was made : therefore he has now no 
other choice, but to traverfe the fact of the replication, 
or elfe to demur upon the law of it. 
Again, all duplicity in pleading muft be avoided. 
Every plea muft be fimple, entire, connedted, and con¬ 
fined to one tingle point: it muft never be entangled 
with a variety of diflindl independent anfwers to the fame 
matter; which would require as many different replies, 
and introduce a multitude of iffues upon one and the 
fame d.ifpute. For this would often embarrafs the jury, 
and fotnetimes the court itfelf, and at ail events would 
greatly enhance the expenfe of the parties. Yet it 
frequently is expedient to plead in fuch a manner as 
to avoid any implied admiffion of a fadt, which cannot 
with propriety or fafety be pofitively affirmed or denied. 
And this may be done by what is called a protejlation; 
whereby the party interpofes an oblique allegation or 
denial of fome fact, protefting (by the gerund, proteftun¬ 
do) that fuch a matter does or does not exift ; and at the 
fame time avoiding a direct affirmation or denial. Sir 
Edward Coke hath defined a proteftation (in the pithy 
dialed! of that age) to be, “ an exclufion of a c.011- 
clufion.” 
In any flage of the pleadings, when either fide ad¬ 
vances or affirms any new matter, he ufually (as was faid) 
avers it to be true; “and this he is ready to verify.” 
On the other hand, when either fide traverfes or denies 
the fadls pleaded by his antagonift, he ufually tenders an 
ijfue, as it is called; the language of which is different 
according to the party by whom it is tendered : for, if 
the traverfe or denial comes from the defendant, the 
iffue 
