GENERAL ABRIDGMENT OF Law and Equity, ALPHABETICALLY DIGESTED UNDER WITH NOTES AND REFERENCES. BY CHARLES VINER, ESQ. FOUNDER OF THE VINERIAN LECTURE IN THE UNIVERSITY FAVENTE DEO. THE SECOND EDITION. VOL. I. London: PRINTED FOR G. G. J. AND J. ROBINSON, T. PAYNE, E. AND R. BROOKE, AND L. WHITE, Dublin. M.DCC.XCI, L. Eng. Ht. 71 ADVERTISEMENT TO THE PRESENT EDITION, THE republication of this work has long been a defirable object, towards extending the ufeful purposes of it to the hands of a very numerous and refpectable part of the profeffion, who have hitherto been prevented making that acquifition from the great fcarcity of complete copies to be met with, even at the very enlarged price to which, from its acknowledged merit, it had gradually arrived. This New Edition has, however, been fufpended in deference to the interefts of the Univerfity of Oxford, (to whom the author had bequeathed the remaining copies of his work, as part of a fund for the inftitution of the Law Lecture in that University,) on the prefumption that the undertaking might have been deemed eligible, as conducive towards promoting the intentions of the founder of that learned inftitution. The prefent undertaking having accordingly been propofed to the Vice-Chancellor of Oxford, and referred to the delegates of the prefs, it was on the part of the Univerfity relinquifhed, as incompatible with the ftate of the Vinerian fund, which determination was obligingly communicated to the prefent proprietors, with the most liberal encouragement to proceed with their propofed republication. It remains only to explain the plan on which this work is intended to be executed: The GENERAL ABRIDGMENT OF LAW AND EQUITY of Mr. Viner, will be republished from the original edition in A 2 the the reduced form of the two first volumes now prefented to public notice, with fuch corrections as appear neceffary on a careful perufal, and by occafionally confulting the original authorities. The fubject matter which was extracted and tranflated from Lord Chief Juftice Rolle's Abridgment by Mr. Viner, and accordingly diftinguished in the original edition by the old English black letter, is in this edition also diftinguished without the ufe of that kind of letter, by placing brackets [ ] at the beginning and end of each placitum or paragraph which has been fo incorporated from the valuable work of Lord Rolle. The reduction of fize has made fome alteration neceffary in the mode of diftinguishing the pages of the original edition, to which all the references in the law books have hitherto of course been made: on that account, where the commencement of each page does not coincide with the former edition as ufual at the top of the leaf, it is pointed out by the figures in the margin, and in fome inftances more minutely by a mark of reference placed in the text; at the fame time the convenience is preserved of finding the number of the page where it is ufually looked for, in the corner of it, agreeable to a method which has been lately adopted and approved in fome other inftances. The Tables of Contents to each volume refpectively, which in the original edition referred the reader to the general head and fubdivifion only, are now improved by the addition of the numbers of the pages, by which the convenient use of the work will be much promoted. The like addition will be made to the general Indexes, in which several other neceffary improvements will alfo be made. On the completion of the prefent undertaking, it is proposed to compile a SUPPLEMENT from the books of Reports of Adjudged Cafes, which have taken place fince Mr. Viner's time, agreeable to the plan which the learned author appears to have recommended at a future period. Of this part of the undertaking, further information will be given in the course of the prefent publication. MESSRS. Abbott and Martin, Attorneys, New-Broad-Str. Charles Agar, Efq. Temple. Philip Ainflie, Efq. Temple. Henry Alcock, Efq. Lincoln's Inn. Mr. William Andrews, Attorney, Reading. Arthur Anftey, Efq. Lincoln's Inn. John Anftruther, Efq. Lincoln's Inn. James Aris, Efq. Lincolns Inn. Dr. Henry Arnold, Doctors Commons Samuel Baddeley, Efq. Temple. John Bagfhaw, Efq. Mr. Barlow. Henry Barlow, Efq. Temple. B Thomas Barnard, Efq. Gray's Inn. Jofeph Barrow, Efq. Lancaster. Thomas Barrow, Efq. Temple. James Bayard, Efq. Counsellor at Law in Delaware State. Mr. Beal, Stroud. John Beauclerc, Efq. Mr. Bedell, Attorney, Dartford. Mr. Bedford, Pershore. Mr. Ifaac Beers, Newhaven, Connecticut Thomas Berifon, Efq. Cockermouth. A Mr. |