c. 42. administrators shall have taken upon themselves the admi- 3 & 4 W. 4, nistration of the estate and effects of such person; and the damages to be recovered in such action shall be payable in like order of administration as the simple contract debts of such person. of action of III. And be it further enacted, That all actions of debt Limitation for rent upon an indenture of demise, all actions of covenant debt on speor debt upon any bond or other specialty, and all actions of cialties, &c. debt or scire facias upon any recognizance, and also all actions of debt upon any award where the submission is not by specialty, or for any fine due in respect of any copyhold estates, or for an escape, or for money levied on any fieri facias, and all actions for penalties, damages, or sums of money given to the party grieved by any statute now or hereafter to be in force, that shall be sued or brought at any time after the end of the present session of parliament, shall be commenced and sued within the time and limitation herein-after expressed, and not after; that is to say, the said actions of debt for rent upon an indenture of demise, or covenant or debt upon any bond or other specialty, actions of debt or scire facias upon recognizance, within ten years after the end of this present session, or within twenty years after the cause of such actions or suits, but not after; the said actions by the party grieved, one year after the end of this present session, or within two years after the cause of such actions or suits, but not after; and the said other actions within three years after the end of this present session, or within six years after the cause of such actions or suits, but not after; provided that nothing herein contained shall extend to any action given by any statute where the time for bringing such action is or shall be by any statute specially limited. infants, IV. And be it further enacted, That, if any person or per- Remedy for sons that is or are or shall be entitled to any such action or femes cosuit, or to such scire facias, is, or are, or shall be, at the time vert, &c. of any such cause of action accrued, within the age of twenty-one years, feme covert, non compos mentis, or beyond the seas, then such person or persons shall be at liberty to bring the same actions, so as they commence the same within such times after their coming to or being of full age, discovert, of c. 42. 3 & 4 W. 4, sound memory, or returned from beyond the seas, as other persons having no such impediment should, according to Absence of the provisions of this act, have done; and that, if any person beyond seas or persons against whom there shall be any such cause of provided for. action is, or are, or shall be, at the time such cause of action defendants Proviso in knowledg ment in writing, or by part payment. accrued, beyond the seas, then the person or persons entitled to any such cause of action shall be at liberty to bring the same against such person or persons within such times as are before limited after the return of such person or persons from beyond the seas. V. Provided always, That, if any ackowledgment shall case of ac- have been made, either by writing signed by the party liable by virtue of such indenture, specialty, or recognizance, or his agent, or by part payment or part satisfaction on account of any principal or interest being then due thereon, it shall and may be lawful for the person or persons entitled to such actions to bring his or their action for the money remaining unpaid and so acknowledged to be due, within twenty years after such acknowledgment by writing or part payment or part satisfaction as aforesaid, or, in case the person or persons entitled to such action shall at the time of such acknowledgment be under such disability as aforesaid, or the party making such acknowledgment be, at the time of making the same, beyond the seas, then within twenty years after such disability shall have ceased as aforesaid, or the party shall have returned from beyond seas, as the case may be; and the plaintiff or plaintiffs in any such action, or any indenture, specialty, or recognizance, may, by way of replication, state such acknowledgment, and that such action was brought within the time aforesaid, in answer to a plea of this statute. The limitaVI. And nevertheless be it enacted, if in any of the said tion after actions judgment be given for the plaintiff, and the same be judgment or outlawry re- reversed by error, or a verdict pass for the plaintiff, and upon matter alleged in arrest of judgment the judgment be given against the plaintiff that he take nothing by his plaint, writ, or bill, or, if in any of the said actions the defendant shall be outlawed, and shall after reverse the said outlawry, That, in all such cases, the party plaintiff, his executors or administrators, as the case shall require, may commence a new action or suit from time to time within a year after such versed. judgment reversed, or such judgment given against the 3 & 4 W. 4, plaintiff, or outlawry reversed, and not after. c. 42. Kingdom, deemed be yond the VII. And be it further enacted, That no part of the No part of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, nor the the United Islands of Man, Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, and Sark, nor &c. to be any islands adjacent to any of them, being part of the dominions of his Majesty, shall be deemed to be beyond the seas seas within the meaning within the meaning of this act, or of the act passed in the of this act. twenty-first year of the reign of King James the First, intituled "An Act for Limitation of Actions, and for avoiding of Suits in Law." abatement der of a co VIII. And be it further enacted, (b) That no plea in Restriction abatement for the nonjoinder of any person as a co-defend- as to plea in ant shall be allowed in any court of common law unless it for non-joinshall be stated in such plea that such person is resident defendant. within the jurisdiction of the court, and unless the place of residence of such person shall be stated with convenient certainty in an affidavit verifying such plea. IX. And be it further enacted, That, to any plea in abate- Reply of ment in any court of law of the nonjoinder of another per- plea in plaintiff to son, the plaintiff may reply that such person has been dis- abatement charged by bankruptcy and certificate, or under an act for the relief of insolvent debtors. of non joinder. subsequent against the X. And be it further enacted, That, in all cases in which Provision in after such plea in abatement the plaintiff shall, without hav- the case of ing proceeded to trial upon an issue thereon, commence an- proceedings other action against the defendant or defendants in the persons action in which such plea in abatement shall have been named in a plea in pleaded, and the person or persons named in such plea in abatement. abatement as joint contractors, if it shall appear by the pleadings in such subsequent action, or on the evidence at the trial thereof, that all the original defendants are liable, but that one or more of the persons named in such plea in abatement or any subsequent plea in abatement are not liable as a contracting party or parties, the plaintiff shall nevertheless be entitled to judgment, or to a verdict and judgment, as the case may be, against the other defendant or (b) For a full exposition of the previous state of the law, and of the grounds of the enactments contained in this and the four next sections. 3 & 4 W. 4, defendants who shall appear to be liable; and every defend c. 42. Misnomer ant who is not so liable shall have judgment, and shall be entitled to his costs as against the plaintiff, who shall be allowed the same as costs in the cause against the defendant or defendants who shall have so pleaded in abatement the nonjoinder of such person; provided that any such defendant who shall have so pleaded in abatement shall be at liberty on the trial to adduce evidence of the liability of the defendants named by him in such plea in abatement. XI. And be it further enacted, That no plea in abatenot to be ment for a misnomer shall be allowed in any personal action, pleaded in abatement. but that, in all cases in which a misnomer would but for this act have been by law pleadable in abatement in such actions, the defendant shall be at liberty to cause the declaration to be amended, at the costs of the plaintiff, by inserting the right name, upon a judge's summons founded on an affidavit of the right name; and, in case such summons shall be discharged, the costs of such application shall be paid by the party applying, if the judge shall think fit. Initials of be used in XII. And be it further enacted, That, in all actions upon names may bills of exchange or promissory notes, or other written instruments, any of the parties to which are designated by the initial letter or letters or some contraction of the Christian some cases. Wager of law to be abolished. or first name or names, it shall be sufficient in every affidato hold to bail, and in the process or declaration, to designate such persons by the same initial letter or letters or contraction of the Christian or first name or names, instead of stating the Christian or first name or names in full. XIII. And be it further enacted (c), That no wager of law shall be hereafter allowed. (c) Previously to this act, an executor or administrator was not liable to be sued in debt on simple contract in the King's Bench or Common Pleas, though he was liable in the Exchequer. This grew out of the absurd and long exploded mode of trial by wager of law, by which the defendant was allowed in debt on simple contract and some other cases, to discharge himself on his own oath, and that of a certain number of compurgators swearing to their belief of his assertion. This mode of trial being inapplicable to the case of an executor or administrator, because he was charged in auter droit, and had to answer, not for his own contract, but that of another person, the legal inference was, that an action for debt on simple contract ought not, as against such a defendant, to be permitted; for, other XIV. And be it further enacted, That an action of debt 3 & 4 W. 4, on simple contract shall be maintainable in any court of common law against any executor or administrator. c. 42. Action of debt on sim lations as to ten docu XV. And whereas it is expedient to lessen the expense ple contract. of the proof of written or printed documents, or copies Power to the judges to thereof, on the trial of causes (d); be it further enacted, make reguThat it shall and may be lawful for the said judges, or any the admissuch eight or more of them as aforesaid, at any time within sion of writfive years after this act shall take effect, to make regula- ments. tions by general rules or orders, from time to time, in term or in vacation, touching the voluntary admission, upon an application for that purpose at a reasonable time before the trial, of one party to the other of all such written or printed documents, or copies of documents, as are intended to be offered in evidence on the said trial by the party requiring such admission, and touching the inspection thereof before such admission is made, and touching the costs which may be incurred by the proof of such documents or copies on the trial of the cause in case of the omitting to apply for such admission, or the not producing of such document or copies for the purpose of obtaining admission thereof, or of the refusal to make such admission, as the case may be, and as to the said judges shall seem meet; and all such rules and orders shall be binding and obligatory in all courts of common law, and of the like force as if the provisions therein contained had been expressly enacted by parliament. the statute 3, c. 11, to XVI. And whereas it would also lessen the expense of Writs of intrials and prevent delay if such writs of inquiry as herein- quiry under after mentioned were executed, and such issues as herein- 8 & 9 Will. after mentioned were tried, before the sheriff of the county be executed where the venue is laid; be it therefore enacted, That all before the writs issued under and by virtue of the statute passed in less otherthe session of parliament held in the eighth and ninth years dered. of the reign of King William the Third, intituled ‘An Act for the better preventing frivolous and vexatious suits,' shall, wise it would follow that the estate might be charged in cases where the testator hinself, if living, might have waged his law. Both wager of law and the rule in question are by this and the next sec tion abolished. (d) A very elaborate statement of the grounds of this enactment will be found in the second Report of the common law commissioners. sheriff, un wise or |