Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (1st ed, 1768, vol III).djvu/57

Ch. 4. thereof is an injury to his jura ficalia. But, as by a fiction almot all orts of civil actions are now allowed to be brought in the king's bench, in like manner by another fiction all kinds of peronal uits may be proecuted in the court of exchequer. For as all the officers and miniters of this court have, like thoe of other uperior courts, the privilege of uing and being ued only in their own court; o alo the king's debtors, and farmers, and all accomptants of the exchequer, are privileged to ue and implead all manner of perons in the ame court of equity, that they themelves are called into. They have likewie privilege to ue and implead one another, or any tranger, in the ame kind of common law actions (where the peronalty only is concerned) as are proecuted in the court of common pleas. gives original to the common law part of their jurif- didtion, which was eftablifhed merely for the benefit of the king's accomptants, and is exercifed by the barons only of the exche- quer, and not the treafurer or chancellor. The writ upon which all proceedings here are grounded is called a quo minus: in which the plaintiff fuggefts that he is the king's farmer or debtor, and that the defendant hath done him the injury or damage com- plained of; quo minus ufficiens exitit by which he is the lefs able, to pay the king his debt or. rent. And thefe fuits are ex- prellly directed, by what is called the ftatute of Rutland, to be confined to fuch matters only as fpecially concern the king or his minifters of the exchequer. And by the articuli uper cartas it is enacted, that no common pleas be thenceforth holden in the exchequer, contrary to the form of the great charter. But now, by the fuggeftion of privilege, any perfon may be admitted to fue in the exchequer as well as the king's accomptant. The fur- mife, of being debtor to the king, is therefore become matter of form and mere words of courfe, and the court is open to all the nation equally. The fame holds with regard to the equity fide of the court: for there any perfon may file a bill agajnft Rh

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