4 July 1805

Evidence

Introd Jurisprud.

Ch. II. Vices

''.2 [...?]

On the subject of the power of a Court of Equity the following is the information given as by /from/ the highest living authority among methodical writers.

1. That it is difficult to discover by what means the Court of Justice in England, usually termed Courts of Equity, have obtained the jurisdiction which they now exercise. Accordingly no such discovery is there communicated.

2. That their authority and the extent of it have been subject of much question. Accordingly, for any thing that is here done to put an end to such question, so they do or may still continue.

3. That the limits on their duty seem now to be in a great degree, though perhaps not compleatly ascertained. "To indicate the limits of a man's power (if that be what is here meant by duty) is to show in respect of such and such prevents what he can not do: shewing what he can or does do indicates the course of the power, but does not indicate nay limits to it. Diverse the things which the Court do and therefore can do are spoken /[...?]/ of in the course of the book. But if any thing of which it is said that they can not do it, no mention is to be found.

4. That a cause is the cause which has tended to prevent the bounds between the line[?] jurisdictions from being compleatly ascertained ..." is "the liberality with which of late years the Courts of Common Law have noted and adopted the principles of decision established in the Courts of Equity." This /That by/ liberality the whatever limits may have been previously set to the power of the Courts of Common Law may have been proportionably enlarged will not here be denied that by the same liberality any limits have been set to the power of the Courts of Equity is not assisted nor could be (as it should seem) consistently with the truth of things. The number of the individual cases over which the Courts of Equity exercise their jurisdiction /power/ may be more or less reduced by this liberality, but not the number of sorts of causes. Courts of Equity do prohibit men from carrying their causes to Courts of Common Law: Courts of Common Law do not prohibit men from carrying causes to Courts of Equity.