fore me, J. S. H., esquire, a trial justice in and for said county, at my office in on the day of - at of the clock in the noon, to answer unto the said A. B. in a plea of replevin, for that the said E. D., on the day of, at said, unlawfully and without justifiable cause, took the goods and chattels of the said A. B., as aforesaid, and them unlawfully detained to this day, to the damage of the said A. B., as he says, the sum of dollars. Provided he, the said A. B., shall give bond to the said E. D., with sufficient sureties, in the sum of - dollars, being twice the value of said goods and chattels, to prosecute the said replevin to final judgment and pay such damages and costs as the said E. D. shall recover against him, and also to return and restore the same goods and chattels, in like good order and condition as when taken, in case such shall be the final judgment. And have you there this writ, with your doings therein, and the bond you shall take. Witness J. S. H., esquire, said trial justice at - the of —, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and day J. S. H. dol 3. Form of bond. Know all men by these presents, that we, A. B., of, &c., as principal, and O. P. and S. T., both of, &c., as sureties, are held and stand firmly bound unto E. D., of, &c., in the sum of lars; to be paid to the said E. D., to the payment of which we jointly and severally bind ourselves and our heirs firmly by these presents. Witness our hands and seals. Dated this day of, A. D.-. The condition of this obligation is such, that whereas the above bounden A. B., on the day of, sued out before J. S. H., a trial justice for said county of —, a writ of replevin against the said E. D., in due form of law, returnable on the day of ―, at o'clock, in the noon. Now if the above bounden A. B. shall prosecute his said action of replevin to final judgment, and shall pay all such costs and damages as the said E. D. shall recover against him, and shall also return the replevied in like good order and condition as when taken, in case such shall be the final judgment; then this obligation to be void and of none effect, otherwise to remain in full force and virtue. Signed, sealed, and delivered, in presence of W. X. A. B. [L. S.] The writ and bond are usually on the opposite inside pages of one sheet. 4. Return on writ of replevin. [Name of county], ss., [date]. By virtue of this writ, I took from the within-named [plaintiff, or from A. B., of, in behalf of the within-named plaintiff ], a bond to the within-named [defendant], with sufficient sureties, in double the value of the withinnamed property, with the conditions as set forth in this writ. And thereupon I replevied the- mentioned and described therein, and delivered the said to the said [plaintiff]; and on the same day I summoned the said [defendant] to appear at court as within directed, by giving to him [or leaving at the place of his last and usual abode] an attested copy of this writ. FEES, &c. 5. No goods found. [Official signature.] [Name of county], ss., [date]. By virtue of this writ, I have made diligent search therefor, but cannot find the goods and chattels within mentioned within my precinct. [Official signature.] 6. General issue. PLEADING. ~[Name of county], ss. in At a court holden before J. S. H., esquire, a trial justice in and for said county, at his office in said county, on the day of ―, A. D., at noon. A. B. v. E. D. o'clock in the And now the said E. D. comes and defends, &c., when, &c., and says that he did not take [here describe the articles replevied] in the declaration aforesaid above mentioned, in manner and form as the said A. B. has declared against him, and thereof puts himself on trial. By S. T. his Att'y. By A. E. D. his Att'y. And the plaintiff likewise. The form of judgment will be similar to that in assumpsit, p. 169 et seq. 7. Replevin of beasts, judgment for return. No. 4 will recite the plea and close as follows: "And upon the issue, &c., it appears to me that the said beasts were lawfully taken and distrained." No. 5. It is therefore considered by me, the said justice, that the same beasts be returned and restored to the said E. D., to be held by him irrepleviable by the plaintiff, and that the said E. D. recover dollars damages, and costs of suit, taxed at dol lars. 8. Writ of restitution. [Name of county, ss. STATE OF MAINE, To the sheriff of our county of, or his deputy. GREETING. [L. S.] Whereas A. B., of, &c., lately replevied the beasts following [here describe as in the writ of replevin] which E. D., of, &c. had unlawfully taken, and unjustly detained, as the said A. B. suggested, and caused the said E. D. to be summoned before J. S. H., one of our trial justices for said county, to answer unto the said A. B. for such supposed and unlawful taking and detaining at a day now passed; and whereas upon the day of — at aforesaid, upon a hearing of the cause of taking and detaining said beasts, before me, the said justice, it appeared that the same taking and detaining was lawful and justifiable; (whereupon it was then and there considered, that the same beasts be returned and restored to the said E. D. irrepleviable, and that the said E. D. recover against the said A. B. the sum of- dollars damages, for his taking the same, by the said process of replevin, and the further sum of for his costs, arisen in the defense of the said suit, as by the record of me, said justice, before him remaining appears, whereof execution remains to be done. You are commanded, therefore, that you forthwith return and restore the same beasts unto the said E. D.). You are commanded, further, that of the money of the said A. B., or of his goods or chattels within your precinct, at the value thereof in money, you cause to be levied, paid, and satisfied to the said creditor the aforesaid sums, being dollars and cents, in the whole; with- -cents more for this writ, together with your own fees. And for want of such money, goods, or chattels of the said debtor to be by him shown unto you, or found within your precinct, to the acceptance of the said creditor, for satisfying the aforesaid sums, you are commanded to take the body of the said debtor, and him commit unto our jail, in, in the said county of - the keeper thereof accordingly is commanded to receive the said debtor into our jail, and him safely keep, until he pay the sums above mentioned, with your fees, or that he be discharged by said creditor, or otherwise by order of law. Hereof fail not, and make return of this writ, with your doings therein, unto our said justice, within three months next coming. Witness said justice, at - the day of, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy - J. S. H. 9. Form of execution for damages instead of return. Instead of the clause in parentheses insert as follows: "Whereupon it was then and there considered by me, the said justice, that the said E. D. should recover against the said A. B. the sum of, being the amount due for the penalty or forfeiture on said beasts, and the further sum of -, being the legal fees, costs, charges, and expenses incurred by reason of said distress, and for charges of suit, as to us appears of record, whereof execution remains to be done." If the property cannot be found to be returned to the defendant in replevin, the officer will make a return to that effect, and the court will give him a writ of reprisal. This, however, is not the usual practice; the bond is ample security for the defendant in replevin, and he can recover his damages in a suit on the bond. CHAPTER XXI. REFERENCE OF DISPUTES BY CONSENT OF PARTIES. 1. All controversies which may be the subject of a personal action may be submitted to one or more referees, who shall have the same powers as those appointed by the court; and the parties personally, or by attorney, may sign and acknowledge an agreement before a justice of the peace, though he is one of the referees in substance, as follows: Know all men by these presents, that, of, in the county of -, and of, in the county of, have agreed to submit the demand made by said, against said, which is hereunto annexed (and all other demands between the parties, as the case may be), to the determination of—; and judgment rendered on their report, or that of a majority of them, made to the supreme judicial court for the county of -, within one year from this day, shall be final. And if either party neglects to appear before the referees, after proper notice given to him of the time and place appointed for hearing the parties, they may proceed in his absence. Dated this day of in the year ་ Such agreement shall not be revoked without mutual consent; but the parties may agree when the report shall be made, and vary the form accordingly.1 (a) A claim of damages occasioned by the making of a canal is within the authority of referees.2 (b) A submission following the statute form in every respect, except the omission of the clause requiring the report to be made to the court, is a good submission at common law;3 so it is a good statute submission if it contains a written stipulation as to when report shall be made, as by last clause of the section, Sa (c) A submission under the statute does not authorize a decision upon the title to real estate. But when the submission authorizes such a decision, equity will decree a specific performance. A claim for the specific performance of a contract for the purchase of real estate is not within the jurisdiction of referees acting under a statute submission, although formally submitted by both parties.6 1 R. S. c. 108, §1.-2 Propr's of F. Canal v. Frye, 5 Greenl. 38.-3 Tyler v. Dyer, 13 Me. 41. Sargent v. Hampden, 29 Me. 70.- Mc Near v. Bailey, 18 Me. 251.5 Philbrick v. Preble, 18 Me. 255.- Butler v. Mace, 47 Me. 423. (d) A statute submission of an action of trespass, then pending, "and all other demands and costs already accrued on, or growing out of said suit," is a reference of all demands between the parties.7 (e) When the submission provides that the matter in controversy is to be decided according to the principles of law," the law and facts are equally submitted to their decision, and makes them the final judges of both.8 (f) The course of proceedings upon a statute submission may be altered at the pleasure of the legislature.9 (g) A statute submission is an independent proceeding having no relation to the original action; it requires another entry, and is the subject-matter of an independent judgment and execution.10 (h) A married woman under R. S., c. 61, § 1, may submit to arbitration a question of damages for the flowage of her separate lands, and covenant to abide. (i) A submission of “all claims and demands of every name and nature between the parties, embracing all questions as to damages for flowing lands giving said referees power to fix and award a sum in full for said flowage, instead of the yearly damages established by the commissioners, and all claims, matters, and difficulties between them," cannot be construed as a submission of prospective damages.i1 (j) By R. S. of 1857, c. 140, § 20 (R. S. of 1871, c. 140, § 22), the warden of the State prison is authorized to submit to referees, approved by the inspectors, any claim on account of the prison respecting which a controversy has arisen.12 2. If all demands between the parties are so submitted, no specific demand need be annexed to the agreement; but if a specific demand only is submitted, it shall be annexed to the agreement and signed by the party making it, and so stated as to be readily understood.18 (k) The want of a signature to the specific demand will be error, and the judgment reversed, although it was not assigned in the writ of error. 14 (1) Where the parties to a suit submit the cause of action set forth in the writ, which is annexed to the submission, the declaration, setting out an action of trespass, will be deemed a sufficient specification of the claim submitted under the statute; and the attorney's name on the back of the writ will be considered a sufficient signing, although the words "from the office of" precede the attorney's name.15 1 Harmon v. Jennings, 22 Me. 240.-8 Latham v. Wilton, 23 Me. 125; Hatch v. Hatch, 57 Me. 283, and cases there cited.-9 Kendall v. Lewiston W. P. Co., 36 Me. 19.-10 Crooker v. Buck, 41 Me. 355.-11 Duren v. Getchell, 55 Me. 241.12 Allen v. Tinker, 52 Me. 278.-13 R. S. c. 108, § 2.-14 Woodsum v. Sawyer, 9 Me. 15.-15 Harmon v. Jennings, 22 Me. 240; Wood v. Holden, 45 Me. 375. |