Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (1st ed, 1768, vol III).djvu/58

46 another upon a bare uggeftion that he is the king's accomptant; but whether he is o, or not, is never controverted. In this court, on the equity ide, the clergy have long ued to exhibit their bills for the non-payment of tithes; in which cae the urmie of being the king's debtor is no fiction, they being bound to pay him their firt fruits, and annual tenths. But the chancery has of late years obtained a large hare in this buines.

appeal from the equity ide of this court lies immediately to the houe of peers; but from the common law ide, in puruance of the tatute 31 Edw. III. c. 12. a writ of error mut be firt brought into the court of exchequer chamber. And from their determination there lies, in the dernier reort, a writ of error to the houe of lords.

high court of chancery is the only remaining, and in matters of civil property by much the mot important of any, of the king's uperior and original courts of jutice. It has it's name of chancery, cancellaria, from the judge who preides here, the lord chancellor or cancellarius; who, ir Edward Coke tells us, is o termed a cancellando, from cancelling the king's letters patents when granted contrary to law, which is the higheft point of his jurifdiction. But the office and name of chancellor (however derived) was certainly known to the courts of the Roman emperors; where originally it eems to have ignified a chief cribe or ecretary, who was afterwards inverted with everal judicial powers, and a general uperintendency over the ret of the officers of the prince. From the Roman empire it paed to the Roman church, ever emulous of imperial tate; and hence every bihop has to this day his chancellor, the principal judge of his conitory. And when the modern kingdoms of Europe were etablihed upon the ruins of the empire, almot every tate preerved it's chancellor, with different juridictions and dignities, according to their different contitutions. But in all of them he eems to have had the upervifion of all charters, letters, and Rh