Stat. 1788, c. 66, s. 3, Stat. 1788, c. 12, s. 1. The filing a claim with the commissioners upon an estate represented insolvent, is equivalent to originating a suit against an executor or administrator within the meaning of the act. V. Limitation of actions grounded on penal statutes. By statute it is enacted, that all actions, suits, bills or informations, which shall thereafter be had, brought, sued or commenced, for any forfeiture upon any penal statute, made or to be made, the benefit whereof is or shall be by the said statute, limited, in whole or in part, to the person or persons who shall inform and prosecute in that behalf, shall be had, brought, sued or commenced by any person that may lawfully pursue the same as aforesaid, within one year next after the offence committed, or to be committed, against the statute; and in default of such pursuit, then the same shall be had, brought or prosecuted for the commonwealth, at any time within two years after the offence committed. And if any action, suit, indictment or information, for any of fence against any penal statute, shall be brought after the time, in that behalf, limited the same shall be void. Provided always, that when any action, suit or information is or shall be limited by any penal statute, to be had, sued, commenced or brought within a shorter time than is above mentioned, in every such case, the action, suit or information, shall be brought within the time limited by such statute. (6) VI. Limitation of actions against sheriffs for the misconduct of their deputies. some may be commenced and prosecuted in the same time, way and manner, as they might have been, had the act never been made." (6) The act contains a proviso, that nothing therein contained shall extend to any information, suit or action, grounded upon any law or statute, concerning the concealing or defrauding the commonwealth of any customs, imposts or duties. By statute it is enacted, that all actions against sheriffs, Stat. 1796, c. 71. for the misconduct and negligence of their deputies, shall be commenced and sued within four years next after the cause of action. VII. Limitation of writs of review. A party aggrieved at the judgment of the supreme Stat. 1786, c. 66, s. 1. judicial court, where only one verdict has been given against him, may, of right, review his action at any time within two years. Provided, that any infant, feme covert, or person non compos mentis, imprisoned, in captivity, or out of the United States, shall have liberty to review their actions at any time within two years, exclusive of the time such impediment exists. A party may likewise have his action reviewed by petition, where, by reason of accident, mistake or some unforeseen cause, judgment has been rendered against him, to the hindrance of justice. The statute of 1788, c. 11, s. 4. makes it necessary that such petition be presented within one year and six months from the time such judgment was rendered. The statute of 1791, c. 17, s. 3. extends the limitation of such petition to three years from the time of such judgment. VIII. Limitation of writs of error. By statute it is enacted, that no judgment in any action or suit theretofore, or which thereafter may be rendered, shall, from and after the passing of the act, be reversed or avoided, for any error or defect therein, unless the writ of error brought for reversing the same, be sued out within twenty years next after the rendition of such judgment. Provided always, that if any person who is or who shall be entitled to such writ of error, shall, at the time such title accrued, be within the age of twentyone years, covert or non compos mentis; then such per. son, his or her heirs, executors or administrators, (notwithstanding the said twenty years expired) may bring a writ of error for the reversing of any such judgment, Stat. 1805, c. 35. Lager and Ux v. as such person might have done, in case the act had not been made, so as the same writ of error be sued out within five years after the coming of age, discoverture coming of sound mind, or death of such person, whichever shall first happen, and not afterwards. In this case, which was error to reverse a judgment in favour of the commonwealth, the commonwealth pleaded the above statute in bar of the writ. The plaintiffs, to bring themselves within the proviso of the statute, replied, "that the wife's right first accrued when she was an infant, and that the plaintiff intermarried with her during her infancy." The defendants, in their rejoinder, agreeing the infancy of the plaintiff's wife, at the time her title accrued, and also their intermarriage during her infancy, pleaded, "that after her title to the writ of error accrued, and after she became of full age, five years had elapsed before sueing out the writ." To this rejoinder, there was a demurrer and joinder. The plaintiffs contended, that as another disability of coverture occurred before the termination of the wife's infancy, which disability existed when her right accrued, they were within the proviso; because there had been no moment of time since her right accrued, in which she had not heen disabled. But, Per Cur. "the disability, to bring the plaintiffs within it, must be existing at the time their right first accrued." And the rejoinder was accordingly adjudged good. 861 TITLE XCIX. LITERARY PROPERTY. 1. COPY-RIGHT of books secured to their authors. 2. Penalty for printing or publishing such books without the consent of their authors. I. Copy-right of books secured to their authors. By statute it is enacted, that all books, treatises, and other literary works, having the name or names of their author or authors thereof, printed and published with the same, shall be the sole property of the said author or authors, being subjects of the United States of America, their heirs and assigns, for the full and complete term of twenty-one years, from the date of their first publication.(1) II. Penalty for printing or publishing such books without the consent of their authors. The same statute has further enacted, that if any person or persons shall print, re-print, publish, sell, or expose for sale, or shall cause to be printed, re-printed, published, sold or exposed to sale, any book, treatise, or other literary work, not yet printed, written by any subject of the United States of America, whose name, as author, shall have been thereto prefixed, without consent of the author or authors, or their assigns, during said term, shall forfeit and pay a sum not exceeding three thousand pounds, nor less than five pounds, to the use of such author or authors, or their assigns; to be recovered (1) For the laws of the United States on this subject, See Ap-. pendix No. I. Stat. 1782, c. 58, s. 1. Ibid. s. 2. by action of debt, in any court of record proper to try the same: Provided always, that every author of such book, treatise, or other literary work, shall, in order to his holding such sole property in them, present two printed copies of each and every of them, to the library of the university at Cambridge, for the use of the said university; and prior to the recovery of the said property, or any part thereof, shall produce, in open court where such action shall be tried, a receipt of such book, treatise, or other literary work, from the librarian of the said university for the time being: Provided also, that this act shall not be construed to extend in favour, or for the benefit of any author or authors, subject or subjects of any other of the United States, until the state or states of which such author or authors are subjects, shall have passed similar laws, for securing to authors the exclusive right and be nefit of publishing their literary productions. |