Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 16.djvu/862

* BECOBBS. 762 BECOUPMENT. ished. The Charter liolls are records of charters, of fivaiits of ])rivileges to religious houses, towns, aud eorjiorutions. and creations of nobility from 11 Edward II. to Edward IV. The Patent Rolls are enrollments of instruments written on open {jjat elites) sheets of parchment, having pendent from them the great seal, and addressed to the liege lords of the kingdom. The Close Rolls are records of such letters under the great seal as were dispatched closed or sealed up — royal mandates to particular persons for particular )iurposes, and not intended for public inspection. The Liberate Rolls contain writs issued out of Chancery ordering the pa.yment of money from the treasury. The Fine Rolls contain accounts of lines paid to the King for licen.se to alienate lands, freedom from knight service, passing or renewal of charters, wardships, safe conduct, pardons, etc. The French Rolls, Xorman Rolls, and daseon Rolls relate to the affairs of France, Xormandy. and Gaseony. when held by the Eng- lish; and" the Rotuli Scotice. to transactions with the ancient Kingdom of Scotland. An important class of the records are those connected with Parliament, including Statute Rolls, Parliament Rolls, Rerords of Parliament, and litalutes from 1485 to the present time, with the Journals of the Lords and Commons from Henry VIII. to the present time, and the Writs of tiiimmoiises and returns to Parliament. The State papers origi- nally sprung from Privy Council and Chancery, and include the correspondence of the Pri'y Coimcil, Secretaries of State, and other public departments, with miscellaneous domestic papers from the time of Henry Vlll. to George II., a mass of correspondence with foreign powers, and an extensive collection relating to ecclesiastical aii'airs after the Eeformation. Since 18.55 the State Paper Office has become a part of the Public Record Oflice. Scotland. The ancient Parliamentary and ju- dioial records of Scotland were removed to the Tower of London by Cromwell, and after the restoration of Charles II. were ordered to be shipped back to Scotland, but the ship on which they were loaded foundered in a storm and they were lost. Many of the curious ancient records, however, have been preserved, and together with the modern and contemporary records are kept in the General Register House under the care of the Lord Clerk Register! There are district register houses in Scotland, and when a volume of records is completed in one of these, it is sent to the General Register House. Ibeland. !Many of the ancient records of Ire- land were destroyed during the wars which ended in the subjugation of the Irish people by the English. The system of keeping public records has never been so complete as in England, but the more important of the older records are now kept in repositories in Dublin. United St.vtes. Our Government started with the English methods of keeping public records from its beginning, and no nation pays more attention to the preservation of these muniments of ))rivate rights. In all States deeds, mort- gages, etc., are required to be recorded to pro- tect a title to land, and practically all instru- ments affecting property, real or personal, must be recorded in most States. .Judicial records are kept by the clerks of the various courts. The statutes, etc., are kept by the State officials, and are open for inspection. The Federal Govern- ment carefully preserves the Declaration of In- dependence and all Federal papers and doeu- ments. Each State, county, and municipality makes provisions for the safe-keeping of its own records. Law as to Public Records. By the common law the general public had no absolute right to examine records preserved by the govern- mental authorities. For example, a person could not demand to see a record of title to real estate simply because he desired to make an aljstraet thereof out of curiosity or for historical research. Only such persons as had an interest in the prop- erty, or expected to acquire an interest in it, could, as a matter of right, demand to see the records, and compel the custodian to allow in- spection in case of his' refusal. The theory of this rule was that the time of public officers should not be taken in showing records to per- sons having no actual interest in seeing them. This has been carried to the extent of refusing to allow title guaranty companies the privilege of examining records of titles to land tor the pur- pose of making abstracts thereof for use in their ollices. This rule is also true as to judicial and other public records by the common law, and it still obtains in some of the United States. However, in England and in most of the United States, the statutes provide that public records may be inspected by any one, with reasonable regulations as to time and manner of examina- tion. A public record is good evidence of the matter to which it relates, and most jurisdictions pro- vide that copies of a record, duly authenticated by the official custodian, shall be received in evi- dence with the same force and effect as the originals. This saves the public inconvenience of having records in daily use transported to the courts during a trial. The printed statutes of a State are deemed to be official, and must be accepted as such by the public. Consult: Cooper, An Account of the Most Im- portant Public Records of Great Britain (Lon- don, 1832); Thomas, Official Handbook to the Public Recoi-ds (ib., 1853); Ewald, Our Public Records (ib.. 1873); Scargill-Bird, A (luide to the Principal Classes of Documents Preserved in the Public Record Office; Reeve. History of Enij- lish Laic (ib., I860) ; and the Commentaries of Blackstone and Kent. See Conveyance; Judg- ment ; Lien ; Mechanics' Lien ; Recording of Deeds ; Record. Judicial. BECOUPMENT (OF., Fr. recoupcment. from rccoupcr, to rccouj), cut off, or again, from re-, back again, anew + conper, to cut, from coup, cut, from Lat. colpa. from Ok. K6Xa0os, kolnphos, blow with the iist, from KoKa-KTeiv, kolapiein, to strike). The right of a defendant in an action at law to reduce the amount of the plaintiff's recovery in the action by the amount of any damage which he has suffered by the act or omis- sion of the plaintiff growing out of the transac- tion or contract sued upon. The term originally signified a mere reduction of the amount of the recovery because of jiartial payment or former reco^•ery, but in modern practice it denotes any affuniative claim for damages growing out of the cause of action brought which the defend- ant asserts as a defense for the purpose only of reducing the anioimt of the jilaintiff's recovery, although he might at his option assert the claim in an independent action. Thus in an action