Court may sign and adopt any certificate made by the chief clerk of any other Judge. But in all cases in which any Judge signs and adopts a certificate, made in pursuance of an order made by any other Judge, it is to be expressed that he does so for such other Judge, and such certificate shall in all future proceedings be deemed to be signed and adopted by the Judge for whom it is signed and adopted, save that no application to discharge or vary such certificate is to be made to the Judge for whom the same is signed and adopted without the leave of the Judge by whom it had been signed and adopted; and the Judge by whom it has been signed and adopted is to have the same power to discharge or vary the certificate as he would have had if it had been made in pursuance of an order made by himself."

Moreover, by the 2d Order of June, 1854, " Any Judge of the Court whose chambers may be open for business during any vacation may issue summonses for the purpose of any proceeding before the Master of the Rolls or any Vice-Chancellor at chambers after the vacation."

The 48th and 49th Orders of 16th October, 1852, carry out the practice, and are as follows:

"Any party desiring to take the opinion of the Judge, as mentioned in the last preceding rule,1 is, within four clear days after the certificate or report shall have been signed by the chief clerk, to obtain a summons for such purpose." "2

"At the expiration of four clear days after the certificate or report shall have been signed by the chief clerk, if no party has in the mean time obtained a summons to take the opinion of the Judge thereon, the chief clerk is to submit the certificate or report to the Judge for his approval; and the Judge may thereupon, if he approve the same, sign such certificate or report in testimony of his adoption thereof, as follows:- Approved, this day of ——.'"

If, however, the certificate be adopted and signed by the Judge in chambers, a party dissatisfied therewith has still an opportunity of bringing the matter fully before the open Court, in the most simple and summary form, namely, by motion. In the first place the 34th section of the Act to abolish the office of Master,3 enacts that,

1 See 47th Order, above.

--

These Orders, 47, 48, and 49, are not to apply to certificates on passing Receivers' accounts, Order 53, October, 1852; and post, Chapter on Receivers. 15 & 16 Vict. c. 80.

"When any certificate or report of the chief clerk shall have been signed and adopted by the Judge, the same shall be filed in like manner as reports are now filed, and shall thenceforth be binding on all the parties to the proceedings, unless discharged or varied, either at chambers or in open Court, according to the nature of the case, upon application by summons or motion, within such time as shall be prescribed in that behalf by any General Order of the Lord Chancellor; and nothing herein contained shall prejudice or affect the power of the Court at any time to open any such certificate or report upon the same or the like grounds as any report of a Master of the said Court, which has been absolutely confirmed, may now be opened."

To carry out this enactment, the 50th Order of October, 1852, directs, with respect to the filing of the certificate or report, that "The certificate or report, when signed by the Judge, with the accounts, if any, to be filed therewith, is to be transmitted by the chief clerk to the Report Office, to be there filed."

The 51st Order prescribes the time within which the application to discharge or vary a certificate is to be made, and is as follows: "The time within which an application may be made by summons or motion to discharge or vary any certificate or report which has been signed and adopted by the Judge sitting in chambers, is to be eight clear days after the filing of such certificate or report."

As the application may, by the terms of this Order, be either by motion or summons, it may be either in chambers or in open Court. If, however, the application be made first in chambers, it is not of course to permit a motion in Court. If the party wishes to appeal, the course appears to be to apply to the Court below to make an order without argument in conformity with that made in chambers pro formâ, and from that order a motion by way of appeal may be made.1 When, however, an important decision in the cause has been made in this manner in chambers, the Lords Justices have commented upon an appeal against such a decision coming on as a motion.

We have seen, that, as a general rule, the Judge must sign a report to give it validity. The 32d section of 15 & 16 Vict. c. 80,

1 Douthwaite v. Spensley, 18 Beav. 70; Morgan v. Hatchell, 19 Beav. 86; York Railway v. Hudson, 17 Jur. 1090; Sandens v. Druce, 5 Drew. 139; Rhodes v. Ibbotson, 4 De Gex, M. & G. 787.

enacts, "That when the Judge shall approve of the certificate or report, he shall sign the same in testimony of his adopting the same."

There is an exception to this rule, for the 43d Order of October, 1852, directs, that "In cases where the Court directs any computation of interest, or the apportionment of any fund which is to be acted upon by the Accountant-General or other person, without any further order from the Court, the order to be made by the Court may direct such computation or apportionment to be made by one of the chief clerks attached to the Court of such Judge, and may direct the certificate thereof, signed by such chief clerk, to be acted upon accordingly, without the same being signed and adopted by the Judge."

It will be observed, that, if it is intended that the signature of the Judge may be dispensed with, an order to that effect from the Court must be obtained.

The 52d Order directs, that "Certificates of the chief clerk, made as mentioned in Rule 43, and not required to be signed and adopted by the Judge, are to be transmitted and filed in the same manner as those signed and adopted by the Judge."

It now appears as if the practice of acting upon these certifi cates, without the signature of the Judge, would not frequently be acted upon, as the 4th Order of June, 1854, directs, that, “In all cases in which the certificate of the chief clerk is to be acted upon by the Accountant-General of the Court without any further order, such certificate may be signed and adopted by the Judge on the day after the same shall have been signed by the chief clerk, unless any party desiring to take the opinion of the Judge thereon obtains a summons for that purpose before twelve of the clock on that day; and the time for applying to discharge or vary such certificate, when signed and adopted by the Judge, is to be two clear days after the filing thereof."

In the administration of the estate of a deceased it is person, usual and necessary for advertisements to be published, calling in all the claimants upon the estate, or creditors, next of kin, or otherwise. For this purpose certain General Orders direct the manner in which the advertisements shall be published, and also the manner in which the parties interested may come in and pros ecute their claims.

With respect to advertisements, the following Orders prescribe precisely the form and the manner in which they are to be issued:

The office fee for the advertisements at the Judge's chamber is 17., and the solicitor's fee for preparing it 6s. 8d.1

The solicitor should keep the papers when the advertisements appear as vouchers for his costs.

The 33d Order of 16th October, 1852, directs, that "Where advertisements are required for any purpose a peremptory and only one is to be issued, unless for any special reason it may be thought necessary to issue a second advertisement or further advertisements; and any advertisement may be repeated as many times and in such papers as may be directed."

By the 34th of the same Orders, "The advertisements are to be prepared by the solicitor, and submitted to the chief clerk for approval, and, when approved, are to be signed by him, and such signature is to be sufficient authority to the printer of the 'Gazette' to insert same."

The 35th Order then directs, that "Advertisements for creditors or other claimants are to fix a time for the creditors or claimants to come in and prove their claims, and to appoint a day for the hearing and adjudicating thereon, and may be in a form similar to the form set forth in Schedule (D.) to these Orders, with such variations as the circumstances of the case may require."

The form of advertisement given by the Orders is as follows: "Pursuant to a Decree or Order of the High Court of Chancery, made in a cause

against

the creditors of [or persons claiming debts, or liabilities affecting the estate of, or the persons claiming to be next of kin to, or the

ors, on or before the day of

debts or claims at the chambers of the Master of the Rolls, in the Rolls Yard, Chancery Lane [or, of the Vice-Chancellor No. Square, Lincoln's Inn], Middlesex, or in default thereof they will be peremptorily excluded from the benefit of the said decree [or order].

VOL. II.

1 See post, Chapter on Fees and Costs.

114

noon, at the said chambers, is appointed for hearing

and adjudicating upon the claims.

"Dated this

day of

1852.

A. B.,

Chief Clerk."

The advertisement is thus prepared by the solicitor, submitted by him to the chief clerk, who will fix the days, and direct in what papers it shall be inserted, and sign the advertisement.

The following Orders prescribe the course to be taken by the persons who, not being parties to the suit, come in under the decree, in consequence of the advertisements issued or otherwise:

In the first place, claimants should recollect, that under the 9th Order of 16th October, 1852, "Where any order is made directing an account of debts, claims or liabilities, or an inquiry for next of kin or other unascertained persons, unless otherwise ordered, all persons who do not come in and prove their claims within the time which may be fixed for that purpose by advertisement, are to be excluded from the benefit of the order."

The 36th Order directs, that "Claimants coming in pursuant to advertisement are to enter their claims at the chambers of the Judge in the Summons and Appointment Book,' for the day appointed for hearing by the advertisement, and are to give notice thereof and of the affidavit filed to the solicitors in the cause, within the time specified in the advertisement for bringing in claims."

This Order appears to contain all that is requisite in the first instance on the part of the claimant. The affidavit will simply state his claim, and may be sworn before the chief clerk, and must then be filed at the Record and Writ Clerks' Office. The party prosecuting the cause or matter should keep an office copy, as under the next Order and also the 42d, he may be called upon to produce them.

The following Order, the 37th, is, "That the claimants filing affidavits are not to be required to take office copies; but the party prosecuting the cause or matter is to take office copies, and produce the same at the hearing, unless otherwise ordered in chambers."