covering such balances. s. 13 to 15.-The treasury shall cause to be laid before parliament, within fourteen days after the commencemeut of every session, a list of public accountants, in respect of whom the execution of any process hath been controuled, suspended, or prevented by authority of his majesty within the preceding year. s. 16.

By 41 Geo. 3. c. 22. the king may appoint five commissioners for examining the accounts of commissioners and others employed in the West Indies, and in foreign service, and making reports known to the commissioners for auditing the public accounts. s. 1.-The trea sury may appoint officers and clerks to assist the commissioners, and allow them salaries. s. 2.—Such commissioners may call before them all persons concerned in the expenditure of public monies, or in furnishing stores. And persons refusing to appear, or to produce accounts, or answer questions, may be committed for the contempt until they submit. s. 3, 4.—The commissioners may take the examinations on oath, and persons giving false evidence to be punished as for per jury. s. 5.-But this act shall not affect the powers of the commiş. sioners for auditing public accounts, who may proceed on any report of the commissioners under this act, as if the investigation had been made in this kingdom under 25 Geo. 3. c. 52. s. 6.—By 42 Geo. 3, c. 70. the declarations of receipts and issues at the exchequer, inade at Easter and Michaelmas, were abolished; as also the usage of making engrossed copies of the daily records of such receipts and issues. s. 2, 3.-And the treasury shall annually cause accounts of the revenues, expenditure, debt, and charges of Great Britain, to be made up to January 5, and laid before parliament on or before the 25th of March, yearly. s. 4.—By 45 Geo, 3. c. 55. the period within which accounts of money issued to sub-accountants may be transmitted according to 25 Geo. 3. c. 52. s. 17, 18, to the auditor's office, is enlarged to twelve months after 31st December yearly; and the auditor's office shall take such accounts into consideration within six months. By 45 Geo. 3. c. 91. his majesty may appoint three com missioners as an additional board for examining and auditing public extraordinary accounts, to whom the powers of the commissioners of public accounts, under 25 Geo. 3. c. 52. are extended; but such commissioners shall not be members of parliament.-By 45 Geo. 3. c. 47. commissioners were appointed to enquire into the public expenditure, and the conduct of the military departments, and this act was continued till the end of the then next session, by 48 Geo. 3. c. 61. -By 46 Geo. 3. c. 80, commissioners were appointed to examine ace counts of public expenditures in the West Indies: this act has since been amended by 48 Geo. 3. c. 91. and the same powers are now

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given which are granted by former acts to commissioners for auditing the public accounts.-By 46 Geo. 3. c. 141. the comptrollers of army accounts shall not be auditors of public accounts. s. 1.-His majesty may appoint ten commissioners for auditing the public accounts, with a salary of 1500l. per annum to the chairman, and 12001. per annum to the others, and the treasury may allow salaries to clerks and incidental expenses. s. 1-4.

Treasury may subdivide commissioners into boards, and apportion their business. But no vacancy shall be filled up without act of parliament, so as to keep the number above six: the king may from time to time, on avoidance, appoint a new chairman from the other commissioners, and when parliament shall by address state that the public accounts are sufficiently forward, the commissioners may bo reduced to six. The majority of the commissioners of any board to be a quorum. s. 5—7.—All public accountants shall transmit annual accounts to commissioners within three months after Christmas: but such yearly accounts shall not preclude other accounts, to be attested on oath. s. 8, 9.-Paymaster of the forces, the treasurer of the navy, the treasurer of the ordnance, or any other public officer, shall transmit accounts of money issued to others, and commissioners may charge such persons as sub-accountants, s. 10, and the commissioners may allow such money in the accounts of principal accountants. 8. 11. No accountant shall be allowed any sum paid to a subaccountant, unless accounts shall be transmitted as by this act directed. s. 12.--Accountants may be discharged, on payment of money into the exchequer, or into the bank. s. 13.-Sums paid by order of persons in foreign parts, not being accountants, are to be accounted for and checked, upon order of the commissioners for that purpose. s. 14.-Commissioners may allow to any accountant any sum not exceeding 1007. on account, prior to the 22d July, 1806, and 301. subsequent thereto, on oath, without vouchers, and commissioners may allow imperfect vouchers where there is no fraud ; but all allowances without vouchers, or on imperfect ones, shall be specified to the treasury. s. 15, 16.-The commissioners may call upon accountants to produce their accounts: if accounts are not produced, certificates thereof shall be presented to the exchequer, from whence process may issue to compel the account. s. 17.-Comptrollers of army ac counts may examine the accounts of commissaries, and others for military expenditures (except ordnance), and the exchequer may fine persons refusing so to account. s. 18,~Persons wasting or embezzling the public stores may be charged therewith, and an account thereof transmitted to the king's remembrancer, to be put in charge. s. 19. Commissioners and others, having accounted to the comptrollers,

are not liable to account to the auditors. s. 20.-Penalty on giving false evidence, perjury. s. 21.-Commissioners shall not be disabled from being members of parliament, and must be sworn before the chancellor of the exchequer to act impartially, s. 22, 23. Persons giving false evidence shall be guilty of perjury, and liable to the penalties of perjury accordingly. s. 21.-By 47 Geo. 3. sess. 2. c. 39. when balances have improperly remained in the hands of any accoun tant, the commissioners for auditing the public accounts may charge the accountant with interest. And the commissioners may make annual rests on such accounts: but notice must be given to the party of the amount of the charge for interest, who may however appeal from such commissioners to the court of exchequer. s. 1-4.—Interest shall have the same effect as interest charged under former acts.-Accounts may be attested, and Peers entrusted with public money shall attest accounts. Deputies may also attest accounts; and accounts may he proceeded in notwithstanding defect in attestation. The periods for the delivering of accounts under 46 Geo. 3. c. 141. is extended: and the commissioners may in certain cases dispense with the production of cash accounts, s. 1. et seq. 9.

ACCOUNTANT GENERAL, an officer in the court of chancery, appointed by act of parliament, to receive all money lodged in court: no fees shall be taken by this officer or his clerks, on pain of being punished for extortion; but they shall be paid salaries. 12 Geo. 1. c. 32.

ACCUSATION. By Magna Charta, no man shall be imprisoned or condemned on any accusation, without trial by his peers, or the law. AC ETIAM, is a clause in a writ, where, to entitle the court to jurisdiction, an additional cause of action is alledged; as where the defendant is required to answer the plaintiff in a plea of trespass, and also (ac etiam) to a bill of debt.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT MONEY, a sum of money, paid by the tenant on the death of the landlord, in acknowledgment of the new landlord.

ACQUITTAL, in one sense, is to be free from entries and molestations of a superior lord, for services issuing out of land; and, in another, for the deliverance and setting free of a person, from the suspicion of guilt; one acquitted of a felony cannot be tried again for the same offence, as he may plead auter fois acquit. Acquittal in law, is, when two are indicted, the one as principal, the other as accessary; the principal being discharged, the accessary will, of consequence be acquitted by law. Acquittal in fact, is, when by verdict, a person is found not guilty of the offence whereof he is charged. 2 Inst. 385.

ACQUITTANCE, a release or discharge in writing for a sum of money; and no one is obliged to pay a sum of money, if the demandant refuse to give an acquittance.

An acquittance given by a servant, for a sum of money received for the use of his master, shall be a good discharge for that sum, provided such servant is in the general practice of receiving his master's rents, debts, &c.

An acquittance in full of all demands, will discharge all debts, except such as are on specialty under seal, which can only be destroy. ed by a general release.

ACT OF PARLIAMENT. Statutes, acts, or edicts, made by the king, with the advice and consent of the lords spiritual and tem poral, and commons, in parliament assembled. An act of parlia ment, is the exercise of the highest earthly authority that the kingdom acknowledges. It hath power to bind, not only every subject, but even the king himself, if particularly named therein, and cannot be altered or repealed, but by the same authority.

Where the common law and a statute differ, the common law gives place to the statute; and an old statute, gives place to a new one. 1 Black. 89. By the 33 Geo. 3. c. 13. every act of parliament, in which the commencement thereof is not directed to be from a specified time, and which shall pass after the 8th of April, 1793, imme. diately after the title thereof, shall be endorsed by the clerk of parliament, with the day, month, and year, when the same passed and received the royal assent; which endorsement shall be taken to be the date of its commencement, where no other commencement shall be therein provided. By the 41 Geo. 3. sess. 2. c. 90. s. 9. the sta tutes of England and Great Britain, printed by the king's printer, shall be conclusive evidence in Ireland; and Irish statutės passed before the union, and in like manner printed there by the king's printer, shall be evidence in Great Britain. By 48 Geo. 3. c. 106. when bills for continuing expiring acts shall not pass before such acts expire, such continuing acts shall take effect from the date of the expiration of the act intended to be continued.

ACTION, is defined to be a legal demand of one's right; and implies a recovery of, or restitution to something. The suit till judgment, is properly called an action, but not after; and therefore a release of all actions, is regularly no bar of an execution. Co. Lit. 289.

Actions are divided into criminal and civil; criminal, are either to have judgment of death, or only to have judgment for damage to the party, fine to the king, imprisonment, &c. A civil action, is that which tends only to the recovery of what is due to a person, as ac

tion of debt, &c. Civil actions are divided into real, personal, and mixed Co. Lit. 284.

Action real, is that which concerns real property only, whereby the plaintiff or demandant, claims title to have any lands or tenements, rents, commons, or other bereditaments, in fee simple, feetail, or for term of life. 3 Black. 117.

Action personal, is that which one man may have against another, by reason of any contract for money or goods, or for any offence or trespass done by him, or some other, for whose act he is answerable. Bract. lib. 3. c. 3.

Mixed actions, are those in which the freehold is recovered, and also damages for the unjust detention of it. Co. Lit. 284. For the various kinds of actions, see Covenant, Debt, Detinue, Slander, Trespass, Trover, &c.

Actions popular, are those given on breach of some penal statute; which every man has a right to sue for himself and the king by action, information, &c. (See title Information, infra.) This kind of action is called popular; because it is given to any one in general who will prosecute. ACTOR.

The proctor, or advocate, in civil law courts. ADDITION, signifies a title given to a man, beside his christian and surname, setting forth his estate, degree, mystery, trade, place of dwelling, and

Additions of estate are yeoman, gentleman, esquire, and the like: additions of degree, are names of dignity, as knight, baron, earl, marquis, duke and additions of mystery are printer, painter, mason, canpenter, distiller: additions of towns, as London, Bristol, &c. By i Hen. 5. c. 5. it is provided, that in every original writ of actions, personal appeals, and indictments, in which the exigent shall be awarded, to the names of the defendants of such writs, additions shall be made of their estate, &c. But surplusage of additions shall not prejudice. ADEMPTION, or taking away of a legacy, arises from a sup posed alteration, of the testator's intention. See Legacy.

ADJOURNMENT, a putting off until another day, or to another

place.

ADJUDICATION, a giving, or pronouncing judgment.

ADMEASUREMENT, is a writ brought for remedy against such persons as usurp more than their share. It lies in two cases, one is termed admeasurement of dower, where the widow of the deceased holds from the heir, or his guardian, more in the name of her dower, than of right belongs to her. The other is admeasurement of pasture, which lies between those that have common of pasture appendant to their freeholds, or common of vicinage; in case any one of theus

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