The following may not be witnesses of a will: (1) The notary's clerks; (2) blind, deaf, dumb, and crazy persons; (3) women, persons not of legal age, and those persons who according to law are not domiciled; (4) persons having been sentenced for perjury. (Art. 3489, Civ. Code.)

When the testator is an alien and does not speak the language of the country, it will be necessary that the will should also be signed by two interpreters, designated by the testator. (Art. 3491, Civ. Code.)

Public Open Wills. - Public open wills must be declared in the presence of the notary and three witnesses. If one of the witnesses should not be able to write, one of the others may sign for him, but there should be the signatures of at least two of the witnesses. If the testator cannot write, there must be one more witness, who will sign for the testator. If any of the above requisites is not complied with, the will is null and void and the notary will be severely punished. (Arts. 3499-3501, 3505, Civ. Code.)

Public Closed Wills. Public closed wills must be scrolled on each page by the testator and signed at the end. If the testator does not know how to write, another person may sign the will for him, and in that case, both must declare in the presence of the notary and witnesses authorizing the act that the will was signed and scrolled by the one in place and at the request of the other. The person acting for the testator will then affix his signature on the sealed envelope, in the presence of the notary and the witnesses, who will do the same. (Arts. 3507-08, Civ. Code.)

The testator must deliver, in the presence of the three witnesses, to the notary the will closed and sealed, and declare that it contains his last will and testament. (Arts. 3509-10, Civ. Code.)

The notary must state in writing on the envelope that he certifies to its contents, and the proper stamps will then be affixed. (Arts. 3511-14, Civ. Code.)

Persons who are not able to read may not make a closed will. (Art. 3515, Civ. Code.) A deaf and dumb person may make a will if he is able to write, sign, and scroll the will himself, and provided also that on presentation of the will to the notary, and in the presence of the witnesses, he states the above in writing on the envelope. (Arts. 3516, 3517, Civ. Code.)

If any of the above requisites are not complied with, the will is null and void and the notary will be liable to punishment. (Art. 3519, Civ. Code.)

After the will is sealed and certified by the notary, it is delivered to the testator. The notary will enter in his protocol the date and circumstances of the authorization. (Art. 3520, Civ. Code.)

General Provisions. Any person having a closed will in his power and who does not present it to the court at the death of the testator, will be liable to the following: (1) If he is an heir, he will lose his rights; (2) if not an heir, he will be punished according to the provisions of the penal code. (Art. 3534, Civ. Code.)

A private closed will is only valid if the testator dies of the illness or danger which threatened him at the time of making the will, or in the month following these, even though they have disappeared. The heirs, immediately after the death has occurred, must ask the court that such a will be made into a public document, without which requisite it has no legal effect. (Arts. 3540-42, Civ. Code.)

The witnesses who were present at such a will must testify to the following: (1) The date and place where it was made; (2) if they saw and heard the testator; (3) what the latter said; (4) if the testator was sane; (5) why no notary was present; (6) if no moral force was used; (7) whether or not the testator died of the danger or illness threatening him. (Art. 3543, Civ. Code.)

Testaments made at Sea. Persons at sea, but in national vessels, may make their will in the presence of two witnesses and the captain of the ship, who will sign the names on the wili; two witnesses and the second officer must sign it. (Arts. 3555-57, Civ. Code.) A testament of this kind must be made in duplicate. As soon as the ship arrives at a port where there is a Mexican consul or vice-consul, the captain will give him a copy of the testament and also a copy of the ship's diary for the day the testament was made. (Arts. 3558, 3559, Civ. Code.)

As soon as the ship arrives at a Mexican port, the other copy of the testament or both, if no port should have been arrived at before, must be delivered to the maritime authority to which it pertains. (Art. 3560, Civ. Code.)

The consuls or authorities receiving the will will send a statement of the fact of receiving the will and also the latter to the Minister of Foreign Relations, who will cause this to be published in the newspapers, together with the notice of the death of the testator, in order that the interested parties may assemble to sign for the probation of the will. (Art. 3562, Civ. Code.)

The testament made at sea will only be effective if the testator dies at sea or within the month following his arrival at the port where he has been able to ratify his last will. (Art. 3563, Civ. Code.)

Wills made abroad. Wills made in a foreign country will be valid if they have been made according to the laws of that country. Consuls, vice-consuls, and secretaries of legations may act as notaries to draw a will for a Mexican, providing they draw it in accordance with the Civil Code of Mexico. (Arts. 3565, 3566, Civ. Code.) Said functionaries must send a copy of open wills drawn by them to the Minister of Foreign Relations.

LAWS OF MEXICO.

If the will is a closed one, the functionary will send to the Minister of Foreign Relations a copy of the act authorizing it. (Arts. 3567, 3568, Civ. Code.)

Mexican laws forbid the following persons to make a will: (1) Boys under fourteen years and girls under twelve years; (2) any person who is insane, but only while that state lasts. The following are requisites for the making of a will: (1) A perfect knowledge of what the word implies; (2) perfect liberty, that is to say, freedom from moral or physical force. (Arts. 3275, 3276, Civ. Code.)

SYNOPSIS OF LAWS

CONCERNING THE JURISDICTION AND PRACTICE OF THE DISTRICT AND CIRCUIT COURTS OF THE UNITED STATES IN CIVIL ACTIONS.

PREPARED EXPRESSLY FOR HUBBELL'S LEGAL DIRECTORY, DECEMBER 1, 1906, BY HORNBLOWER, BYRNE, KILLER, AND POTTER, OF THE NEW YORK BAR, NO. 24 BROAD STREET, NEW YORK CITY.

edies.

(a.) Ne exeat.

(b.) Injunctions.
(c.) Receivers.

5. Taking of testimony.

(a.) Depositions de bene esse and on commission.

(b.) Evidence taken on written inter-
rogatories.

(c.) Oral evidence before examiner.
(d.) Subpoenas for witnesses.

(e.) When testimony must be finished.

6. Hearing and decree.

(a.) Jury trial.

(b.) Trial by court.

(c.) Reference to master.
(d.) Final decree.

(e.) Decree pro confesso.

7. Enforcement of decree.

(a.) Execution.
(b) Attachment.
(c.) Sequestration.
(d.) Writ of assistance.
(e.) Sales of property.

8. Appeals.

IV. ADMIRALTY.

1. Admiralty jurisdiction of the courts of the United States.

2. Commencement of proceedings.

(a.) Process in personam.

(b.) Process in rem.

3. Appearance of parties and pleadings.

4. Taking of testimony.

5. Hearing and decree.

6. Enforcement of decree.

7. Appeals.

V. REMOVAL OF SUITS FROM STATE COURTS.
1. What suits are removable.

2. Who may remove.

3. When suits can be removed.

4. Method of removal.

5. Proceedings after removal.

6. Remanding causes. Forms on removal.

VI. POWERS OF UNITED STATES COMMISSIONERS.

The jurisdiction of the United States courts, as regards practice in civil matters, may be divided into five departments: 1st, common law; 2d, equity; 3d, admiralty; 4th, revenue proceedings in rem; and 5th, bankruptcy.

Proceedings in revenue cases in personam follow the practice in ordinary civil causes at common law; and proceedings in rem in these cases partake partly of the nature of civil causes at common law and partly of proceedings in admiralty; but as this branch of the subject is limited it may be omitted. As bankruptcy proceedings are of a special character, they will not be treated of in this synopsis, except incidentally. They are regulated by the bankruptcy law of 1898. (Act of July 1, 1898.) We have left, therefore, the three great departments, common law, equity, and admiralty. These will be treated separately; but before doing so the general subject of the constitution and jurisdiction of the courts of the United States will be considered.

I. COURTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

The United States is divided into judicial districts, each State constituting at least one, and many of the States being divided into two or more.

(1.) District Court. The lowest court is the district court, composed of a district judge

PRACTICE IN UNITED STATES COURTS.

alone. This is the court of admiralty and bankruptcy; it has also jurisdiction in revenue cases, but none in common law or equity suits except as hereafter stated.

(2) Circuit Court. - The next highest court is the circuit court. The United States is divided into nine circuits, each embracing a number of judicial districts. There are two or more circuit judges for each circuit, and one of the judges of the supreme court is assigned as circuit justice for each circuit. There is a circuit court in each judicial district composed of the justice of the supreme court assigned to that circuit, the circuit judges of the circuit, and the district judge of the district. Any one of these judges may sit alone at circuit, and the circuit court is ordinarily held by one judge. The jurisdiction of this court will be more fully explained hereafter. The full title of this court is "The Circuit Court of the United States for the District of in the Circuit."

(3.) Circuit Court of Appeals. In each circuit there is a circuit court of appeals consist ing of three judges, of whom two constitute a quorum. This court is composed of the justice of the supreme court assigned to the circuit and the circuit judges of the circuit. In case the full court at any time is not made up by the attendance of such justice and circuit judges, one or more of the district judges within the circuit is competent to sit, provided that no justice or judge shall sit on the trial or hearing of any cause or question in an appeal from his own decision in the district or circuit court. A judge who has once heard a cause upon its merits in the circuit court is disqualified from sitting in the circuit court of appeals on the hearing of any question in the same cause which involves in any degree matter on which he had occasion to pass in the circuit court. (174 U. S. 153.) This court sits in the first circuit in Boston; second circuit, New York; third circuit, Philadelphia; fourth circuit, Richmond; fifth circuit, New Orleans; sixth circuit, Cincinnati; seventh circuit, Chicago; eighth circuit, St. Louis; ninth circuit, San Francisco; and in such other places as the court may from time to time designate. This court has appellate jurisdiction over the district and circuit courts, as will be more fully stated hereafter. (Act of March 3, 1891, ch. 517, §§ 1, 2, 3.) As to such jurisdiction, and as to when the decision of the circuit court of appeals is final, see II. 9 ( Writs of Error).

(4.) The Supreme Court. The supreme court of the United States is composed of a chief justice and eight associate justices, and sits at Washington. It has original jurisdic tion in suits between States and in certain other cases, which will be more fully stated hereafter. It has appellate jurisdiction, by appeals and writs of error, in cases coming up from the circuit courts, and also in certain cases from the highest courts of the various States.

II. ACTIONS AT LAW.

1. Enumeration of Causes cognizable in the United States Courts. (1.) District Courts. United States, subject to the limitation stated in paragraph (4): (a.) Any suit by the The following cases may be brought in the district courts of the assignee of any debenture for drawback of duties, issued under any law for the collection of duties, against the person to whom such debenture was originally granted, or against any indorser thereof, to recover the amount of such debenture. (b) Suits for damages under what is commonly known as the Civil Rights Law of the United States. (100 U. S. 339; but see 109 U. S. 3.) (c.) Suits brought to redress the deprivation, under color of state law, of any right, privilege, or immunity secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States. (d.) Suits to recover possession of any office except that of elector of presiident or vice-president, representative or delegate in Congress or member of the state legislature, wherein it appears that the sole question touching the title to such office arises out of the denial of the right to vote to any citizen on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. (e.) Suits brought by an alien for tort only in violation of the law of nations or of a treaty of the United States. (f.) Suits against consuls or vice-consuls except for offenses above the description aforesaid. (U. S. Rev. St. § 563.) (g). All claims founded upon the Constitution of the United States, or any law of Congress, except for pensions; or upon any regulation of an executive department; or upon any contract, express or implied, with the government of the United States; or for damages, liquidated or unliquidated, in cases not sounding in tort, in respect of which claims the party would be entitled to redress against the United States either in a court of law, equity, or admiralty if the United States was suable, where suit is brought within six years after the right accrues, and where the amount of the claim does not exceed one thousand dollars; but this does not include claims growing out of the late civil war and commonly known as "war claims," or claims heretofore rejected or reported on adversely by any court, department, or commission authorized to hear and determine the same. (Act of March 3, 1887, ch. 359, §§ 1 and 2.) (h.) Suits for damages or mandamus under the "Interstate Commerce Law." (Act of February 4, 1887, ch. 104, §9; Act of March 2, 1889, ch. 382, § 10.)

(2.) Circuit Courts. The following classes of actions can be brought in the United States circuit court, subject to the limitations stated below in paragraph (4), viz.: (a.) Suits arising under the Constitution or laws or treaties of the United States. (Act of March 3, 1887, and Act of August 13, 1888, ch. 866.) This class of cases includes suits by or against receivers appointed by United States courts (145 U. S. 593), and suits by or against

corporations created under an act of Congress (9 Wheat. 738; 115 U. S. 1), except national banks. (Act of March 3, 1887, ch. 373, § 4.) * It must appear from plaintiff's statement of his own claim that the suit arises under the Constitution or laws or treaties of the United States. (152 U. S. 454; 173 U. S. 457; 188 U. S. 632.) (b.) Suits in which the United States are plaintiffs or petitioners. (Act of March 3, 1887.) (c.) Suits in which there is a controversy between citizens of different States. (Act of March 3, 1887.) All the plaintiffs must be citizens of different States from those of which all the defendants are citizens (100 U. S. 457; 101 U. S. 187, 289), though merely nominal parties may be joined as defendants, though citizens of the same State as one or more of the plaintiffs. (101 U. S. 577.) It is not necessary that all of the parties plaintiff or all of the parties defendant should be citizens of the same State. (199 U. S. 252.) Representatives, such as executors, administrators, guardians, trustees, and receivers stand on their own citizenship, irrespectively of the citi zenship of the persons whom they represent. (11 Wall. 172; 13 Wall. 66; 187 U. S. 429.) The citizenship of the parties must affirmatively appear on the record, and an allegation as to the residence of the parties is not sufficient. (120 U. S. 223; 198 Ú. S. 141.) A corporation is considered a citizen of the State which created it. (16 How. 314; 1 Black, 286.) Where a corporation is created under the laws of the State where the suit is brought, and also under the laws of another State, it will be deemed to be a citizen only of the State where the suit is brought (1 Black, 286), and the United States circuit court will have jurisdiction, where the opposite party is a citizen of the other State under which the corporation is created. (13 Wall. 270.) The circuit court has jurisdiction of a suit by a corporation originally created by the laws of a State other than that of which defendants are citizens, although plaintiff was afterwards and before the suit made a corporation of the State of which one of defendants is a citizen; but the court cannot, in such a suit, adjudicate upon the rights and liabilities, if any, of plaintiff, as a corporation of such latter State. (174 U. S. 552.) A national bank is deemed a citizen of the State in which it is located. (Act of March 3, 1887, § 4.) A citizen of the District of Columbia or of a Territory is not a citizen of a State within the meaning of this word as used in reference to the jurisdiction of the United States courts. (2 Cranch, 445; 1 Wheat. 91; 166 U. S. 395.) The jurisdiction of the circuit court, having once vested between citizens of different States, is not lost by a change in the citizenship of either party pending the suit (2 Wheat. 290: 174 U. S. 566), or by the death of one of the parties and a revival of the suit by his administrator or executor, who may be a citizen of the same State as the opposite party. (12 Pet. 164.) A proceeding for condemnation of land for a public use where the corporation seeking to condemn the land and the land-owner are citizens of different States is a suit involving a controversy of which the circuit court has original jurisdiction. (196 U. S. 239.) Matters of probate are not within the jurisdiction of courts of the United States. Where by state law, however, a suit may be brought inter partes to attack the probate of a will, the United States courts may enforce such remedy where the citizenship of the parties gives jurisdiction; but such suit must not be a mere contested probate or a mere method of procedure ancillary to the original probate. (92 U. S. 10; 109 U. S. 485; 149 U. S. 608; 199 U. S. 89.) (d.) Suits in which there is a controversy between citizens of the same State, claiming lands under grants of different States. (Act of March 3, 1887.) (e.) Suits in which there is a controversy between citizens of a State and foreign States, citizens or subjects. (Act of March 3, 1887.) A corporation created by a foreign government is considered a citizen or subject of that government. (106 U. S. 118.) (f.) Suits under the United States revenue and postal laws, or for penalties under laws regulating the carriage of passengers in merchant vessels. (U. S. Rev. St. § 629.) (9.) Suits by the assignee of a debenture for drawback of duties. (U. S. Rev. St. § 629.) (h.) Suits arising under the patent or copyright laws of the United States. (U. S. Rev. St. § 629.) (i.) Suits to recover damages for injury to person or property on account of an act done under the revenue laws, or laws to enforce the rights of citizens of the United States to vote. (U. S. Rev. St. § 629.) (j.) Various other classes of suits arising under various statutes, such as the Civil Rights Acts (U. S. Rev. Stat. § 629), including suits authorized by law to redress the deprivation, under color of any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage of any State, of any right, privilege, or immunity secured by the Constitution of the United States (Ibid.); and suits for damages under the "Interstate Commerce Act" (act of Feb. 4, 1887, ch. 104, § 8); or to enforce obedience to orders of the railroad commission under said act. (Ibid. §16; Act of March 2, 1889, ch. 382.) (k.) All claims founded upon the Constitution of the United States, or any law of Congress, except for pensions; or upon any regulation of an executive department; or upon any contract, express or implied, with the government of the United States; or for damages liquidated or unliquidated in cases not sounding in tort, in respect to which claims the party would be entitled to redress against the United States, either in a court of law, equity, or admiralty, if the United States was suable, where suit is brought within six years after the right accrues and where the amount of the claim exceeds one thousand dollars but does not exceed ten thousand dollars; but this does not include claims growing out of the late civil war and commonly known as "war claims," nor claims heretofore rejected or reported on adversely by any court, department, or commission authorized to hear and determine the same (act of March 3, 1887, ch. 359, §§ 1 and 2), nor claims for fees, salary, or compensation for official services of officers of the United Wherever the act of March 3, 1887, ch. 373, is referred to, it must be taken as amended by the act of August 13, 1888, ch 866.