case with some of the inferior magisterial jurisdictions-protecting a wife's earnings from her husband and his creditors in cases where the wife has been deserted; and in every case of a judicial separation the wife shall be considered as a feme sole with respect to property of every description which she may acquire, or which may come to, or devolve upon her.

A novel provision of the Act is that it allows the alleged adulterer to be made a co-respondent to the petition for a divorce; and the Court has the power to make such an order upon him as to the whole or part of the costs of the proceedings as it

may deem fit; and the Court has also power, in the case of a wife's petition, to make the woman with whom the husband is alleged to have committed adultery, a party to the suit, with a view to the costs.

By this Act no action in future will be maintainable in England for criminal conversation; but the husband may, in a petition for dissolution of marriage or for judicial separation, claim damages from the adulterer, and the suit will be heard and tried on the same principles as actions for crim. con. were formerly tried.

The court, in cases of dissolution of marriage, has the power to inquire into the terms of any marriage settlement which has been executed, and to make orders for the application of the whole or part of the fund, either for the benefit of the innocent party and of the children of the marriage, as it may think fit; or either or any of them.*

An appeal from the judgment of the court for a decree absolute, in a case of dissolution of marriage, may be made to the House of Lords. If no appeal be lodged within the prescribed time, either or both the parties may marry again as if the prior marriage had been dissolved by death.

* See 20 & 21 Vict., c. 85, s. 45; 23 & 24 Vict., c. 44, s. 6.

CHAPTER IV.

COURTS ECCLESIASTICAL, MILITARY, AND MARITIME. Besides the several Courts which have been treated of, in which all injuries are redressed that fall under the cognizance of the common law of England, or that spirit of equity which ought to be its constant attendant, there still remain other Courts of a jurisdiction equally public and general that require consideration.

What are these Courts, and explain them?

I. Courts Ecclesiastical.

The Ecclesiastical Courts at one time exercised a very extended jurisdiction; but the business of these courts, of which the principal are the Consistory Courts of the bishop of each diocese and the Court of Arches, are now mainly confined to inquiring into charges of heresy, of improperly conducting the services of the Church, and of immoral and scandalous conduct on the part of clergymen.*

These courts also entertain suits of a quasi-criminal nature against laymen for damaging the church, or the churchyard, or for not repairing the chancel, or aisle, when it is incumbent on them to do so; also against churchwardens for neglect of duty, and against any person for defacing, or removing the monuments, or pews, or otherwise interfering with the church or churchyard, without a power previously granted by the Ordinary.t

The COURT of ARCHES referred to is the court of appeal belonging to the Archbishop of Canterbury; whereof the judge is called the Dean of the Arches. His proper jurisdiction is only over the

* For former jurisdictions of the Ecclesiastical Courts, see Blackstone, vol. iii. † See 21 & 22 Vict., c. 77; 18 & 19 Vict., c. 41; 23 & 24 Vict., c. 32; also 32 & 33 Vict., c. 85.

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COURTS ECCLESIASTICAL, MILITARY, AND MARITIME. thirteen peculiar parishes belonging to the Archbishop in London; but the office of Dean of the Arches having been for a long time united with that of the archbishop's principal official, he now, in right of the last-mentioned office, receives and determines appeals from the sentences of all inferior ecclesiastical courts within the province, and from him the appeal now lies to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.

II. Courts-Martial:

A jurisdiction similar to that exercised over clergymen by the Ecclesiastical Courts is exercised over soldiers by courts-martial. Their proceedings are regulated by the provisions of the Annual Mutiny Act and the Articles of War founded upon that Act, signed by the Sovereign and promulgated annually, which is re-enacted with slight modification in each session of Parliament. Courts-martial are empowered to punish any officer or soldier who shall excite or join any mutiny, or knowing of it shall not give notice to the commanding officer; who deserts or enlists in any other regiment, or sleeps on his post, or leaves it before he is relieved, or holds correspondence with a rebel or enemy, or strikes or uses violence to his superior officer, and other similar offences. For such offences the offender suffers such punishment as a court-martial shall inflict, including judgment of death, provided for by the Articles of War.

This military code is administered by courts-martial with different degrees of authority, and in all of them the members are sworn to determine according to the evidence and to the best of their understanding.*

III. The High Court of Admiralty.

This court now exercises a jurisdiction, equitable as well as legal, and has a power of enforcing its decrees and orders similar to that possessed by courts of common law. By 24 Vict., c. 10, the High Court of Admiralty is constituted a court of record for all intents and purposes, and has power either to proceed in rem, or in personam; in personam, by calling upon the masters or owners of vessels to show cause why they should not appear and defend the suits instituted against them; and in rem, by

* See 29 & 30 Vict., c. 100.

arrest of the ship itself, which is only released upon bail being given to the full amount of the claim and the costs likely to be incurred in the suit.

The usual suits entertained by the court relate to bottomry or respondentia bonds; salvage; wages due to the crew; towage or pilotage services; and to cases of collision, damages, and breaches of contract in maritime affairs.*

The court also entertains questions of prize-money and booty of war, but it exercises this jurisdiction by virtue of a warrant, giving it special powers in that behalf.

Many of the powers exercised by the High Court of Admiralty have recently been conferred on certain county courts, to entertain maritime questions of a limited amount; and in cases of difficulty, the County Court may, at the request of either party, be assisted by two mercantile assessors.†

An appeal from the County Court in these cases may be made to the High Court of Admiralty, subject to security for costs; and an appeal from the High Court of Admiralty lies to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.

* See 3 & 4 Vict, c. 65.

† See 31 & 32 Vict., c. 71; and 32 & 33 Vict., c. 51.

COURTS OF SPECIAL JURISDICTION.

Having considered the several Courts whose jurisdiction is public and general, and in which redress for every possible injury is administered, let us now discuss those Courts whose jurisdiction is private and special, confined to particular spots, or instituted only to redress particular injuries.

Explain those Courts, and state their particular jurisdictions. I. Forest Courts.

The Forest Courts were originally instituted for the government of the King's forests in different parts of the kingdom, and for the preservation of, and punishment of injuries done to, the King's deer; or to the vert or greensward, and to the covert in which such deer were lodged. The forest laws gradually fell much into disuse. They are, however, administered in a mitigated form, but within very restricted limits. There are now only three Royal forests existing in England, viz., the New Forest in Hampshire, Dean Forest, and that of Waltham, called Epping Forest, in Middlesex. All the other Crown forests have been disafforested.

II. The Stannary Courts.

The Stannary Courts in Devonshire and Cornwall, for the administration of justice among the miners therein, are courts of record, but of a private and exclusive nature. They are held before the Lord Warden of the Stannaries or his deputy the vice-warden, in virtue of a privilege granted to the workers in the tin mines to sue and be sued only in their own courts, that they may not be drawn from their business by attending their law-suits in other courts. An appeal lies to the lord warden,