Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 5.djvu/402

390 source of difficulty and annoyance was the uncertainty in many cases whether the chancery or common law courts were the proper tribunal, so that a suitor often found at the close of an expensive and protracted suit that he had mistaken his court and must go elsewhere for relief. Attempts more or less successful were made to lessen those evils by giving the powers to both sets of courts ; but down to the consolidation effected by the Judicature Act, our judicial system justified the sarcasm of Lord Westbury, that we set up one tribunal to do injustice and another to stop it. In one of the last cases, the custody of an infant, which had been granted by the Queen s Bench to one claimant, was transferred by the Court of Chancery to another. The payment of a sum of money into court for the benefit of the child made her a ward of court, and enabled the judge in chancery to apply the principles of equity to the case. The equitable jurisdiction of chancery was commonly divided into exclusive, concurrent, and auxiliary. Chancery had exclusive jurisdiction when there were no forms of action by which relief could be obtained at law, in respect of rights, which ought to be enforced. Trusts are the most conspicuous example of this class, and are, in fact, the main staple of the business of the court. It also includes the rights of married women, infants, and lunatics. Chancery had concurrent jurisdiction when the common law did not give adequate relief, e.g., in cases of fraud, accident, mistake, specific performance of contracts, &c. It had auxiliary jurisdiction when the administrative machinery of the law courts was unable to procure the necessary evidence. The Judicature Act, 1873, enacts (24) that in every civil cause or matter commenced in the High Court of Justice, law and equity shall be administered by the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal respectively, according to the rules therein contained, which provide for giving effect in all cases to &quot;equitable rights and other matters of equity.&quot; The 25th section declares the law hereafter to be administered in England on certain points, and ordains that &quot; generally in all matters not hereinbefore particularly mentioned in which there is any conflict or variance between the rules of equity and the rules of the common law with reference to the same matter, the rules of equity shall prevail.&quot; Previous to being merged in the New Supreme Court of Judicature, the Court of Chancery consisted of the Lord Chancellor, the Master of the Rolls, two Lords Justices of Appaal, and three Vice-Chancellors. The Vice-Chancellors and Lords Justices of Appeal are comparatively recent creations. Notwithstanding the fusion of the courts the great division between common law courts and chancery is not obliterated. The chancery judges form a division by them selves, to which all the pending business of the old court has been transferred, and to which all causes and matters which, but for the Act, would have been within the exclusive jurisdiction of that court are assigned. The Chancery Division still is, and probably will for a long time be, distinguished from the others by the peculiar nature of its business, by the peculiar nature of its administrative arrangements, and by having a separate bar. Another distinction is making itself apparent, and will assume great importance if finally established. The Chancery Division seems to be unwilling to try cases by jury ; and in a recent case there has been a direct collision of opinion on this subject between the Chancery and the Common Law Judges.  CHÁNDÁ, a district of British India, in the Nagpur division of the Central Provinces, situated between 19 7 and 20 51 N. lat., and 78 51 and 80 51 E. long. It is bounded on the N. by the districts of Rdipur, Bhanddra, and Wardhd, on the E. by Bastar and Raipur, on the S. by Sironchd, and on the W. by the Wardha and Pranhlta rivers, which divide it from Berar and the Hyderabad territory. Excepting in the extreme west, hills are thickly dotted over the country, sometimes in detached ranges, occasionally in isolated peaks rising sheer out from the plain. Towards the east they increase in height, and form a broad table-land, at places 2000 feet above sea-level. The Wafngangd River flows through the district from north to south, meeting the Wardha River at Seonf, where their streams unite to form the Pranhita. The census of 1872 returns the total area of the district at 9700 square miles, and the population at 534,431 souls, residing in 2392 villages and townships, and dwelling in 108,258 houses. Of the total population, 397,540, or 74 39 per cent., are Hindus ; 8176, or l - 52 per cent., Muhammadans ; 648 or 12 per cent., Buddhists and Jains; 89, or 02 per cent., Christians ; and 127,978, or 23 95 per cent., aboriginal tribes and people returned in the census report under the heading of &quot; others.&quot; Two towns in the district are returned as containing a population of upwards of 5000 souls ; viz., Chdndd, population 16,233, and Armori, popu lation 5271. Of the total area of the district, 9700 square miles, only 988 were actually under cultivation in 1873-74, 5200 square miles being returned as cultivable, and 3509 as uncultivable waste. The principal crops are rice, wheat, oil-seeds, sugar-cane, and cotton. Within the last few years extensive coal and iron beds have been discovered, and 20 mines were in operation in 1873-74. A branch line of railway will shortly connect the Chdndd coal-measures with the Bombay railway system. Dense woods cover the country. Teak grows everywhere ; and in the Government forests, in the eastern part of the district, it attains a large size. The chief manufacture of the district is cotton cloths, both of coarse and fine quality, which are largely exported to Western India. Silkworm breeding is largely carried on, and silk or silk and cotton fabrics are woven. Iron smelting is an important branch of industry. The district trade is conducted at annual fairs, which are held at the towns of Chdndd, Bhandak, Chimur, Mdrkandf, and Warha, and are numerously attended by visitors from all parts of India. The sales effected at these fairs in 1868-69 amounted to 152,224. Chdndd is thickly studded with fine tanks, or rather artificial lakes, formed by closing the outlets of small valleys, or by throwing a dam across tracts intersected by streams. The broad clear sheets of water thus created are often very picturesque in their surroundings of wood and rock. The chief architectural objects of interest are the cave temples at Bhandak, Winjbdsauf, Dew aid, and Ghugus ; a rock temple in the bed of the Wardhd River below Ballalpur; the ancient temples at Mdrkandi, Ambgdon, and elsewhere ; the forts of Wairdgarh and Balldlpur ; and the old walls of the city of Chdndd, its system of water-works, and the tombs of the aboriginal Gond kings. The total revenue of the district in 1873-74 amounted to 38,922,10s., of which 24,402 or 62 7 per cent., was derived from the land For the education of the people, 67 schools, attended by 3347 pupils, were either entirely supported by the state, or were subsidized under the grant-in-aid rules. For the relief of the sick, 4 charitable dispensaries were maintained, at which 24,448 persons were treated, at a total cost of 660, of which 439 was contributed by Government. The annual rainfall at Chdndd town averages 44 67 inches, but in the hilly wooded region to the east it is considerably higher. The rainy season lasts from the middle of June to the end of September, From the middle of September to the close of 