Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 7.djvu/719

 ■IN BB WOODBUBY. 707 �for the seal. That the practice of the former clerks of this court was to doliver the requisition to the party leaving it with the clerk, with the clerk's oertificate thereon, which con- sisted of a brief reference to the liens, if any were found, and the words "none others found," or, in case no liens were found, the words "none found," with the name of the clerk or searcher affixed ; but that said clerk has introdueed the prac- tice of keeping to himself the requieition, and delivering a certificate of the character above set forth. On this petition the petitioner has applied to the court for an order that the clerk deliver to him the certificate required by him by the said requisition, on the payment of the sum of 15 cents. �In reply to this petition the clerk makes oath that, for searching the records of his office for liens upon real estate, the following charges and no others are ailthorized by him to be made: Piling requisition, 10 cents; for each person searched against, 15 cents; drawing return.to requisition, 15 cents per folio; affixing seal when required, 20 cents. That he believes the authority for charging those fees is contained in section 828 of the Revised Statutes; and that the payment of the fee of 20 cents for affixing the seal of the court was never exacted from the petitioner or from any one else, be- fore the return to a requisition would be delivered, but the seal and the charge therefor have been omitted in the case of the petitioner, as weli as all others who have stated that they did not wish the seal affixed. �The subject of the mode in which the clerk should certify the resuit of a search by him of the records of the court for judgments, deerees, or other instruments constituting a gen- erai lien on real estate, was brought to the attention of the circuit judge and the district judge some time ago, in view of the faet that the clerk of a United States court in an other district had been sued for damages for making a f aise certifi- cate in respect to a seareh for such liens, such certificate being made on the original requisition delivered to the clerk. It had turned out, in that case, that an additional name had been inserted in the requisition after the clerk had returned it with his certificate on it, so as to make it appear that the ��� �