Leaves from an English Solicitor's Note Book. Newbary in the county of Orring in Sept Last and I also prey your Honours, that sd cause may Be Continued to next term that I may be able to make all the nesecerv prepa ration for a defence whitch I Bellieve I can do soon after the Riseing of this Court if Sd plea is Received and sd Case Continued as I in duty bound shall ever prey. Dated at Chelsey this 30 day of August, 1797. Seth Burbank. Chelsey County of Oring Solicet August the 30: 1797 then Personally appeared Scth Burbank Siner to the foregoing Deption and
made Solemn Oath that the facts there in Contained are true before me. Tim Bartholomew. Justis of Peace." From the entries on the docket it would seem that this display of eloquence had the effect of obtaining leave for Burbank to file his plea, but he "could not prevaile" on the Court to continue his case. It was tried by jury Sept. 2. 1/97, with the following result: "In this action the jury say that the Plffs from having and maintaining their action thereof agt the Defendt. ought not to be barred and therefore find for the Plffs $81.33 Damages & their costs. Abner Chamberlin, Foreman.
LEAVES FROM AN ENGLISH SOLICITOR'S NOTE BOOK. XI. PERJURY: — IS IT EXCUSABLE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES? BY BAXTER BORRET. (Registered at Ottawa in accordance with the Canadian Copyright Act.)
OUR English marriage laws arc, I fancy, as good as those of any other country, perhaps better, yet I think I dare bet with perfect safety that I could (by way of a prac tical joke), present myself before the proper functionary in London, swear to an affidavit that I, Rawdon Crawley, of some fictitious address in some parish, desired to marry Re becca Sharp, of another fictitious address in another parish: that we were both of us of full age (or, in the alternative, that the parent or guardian of the said Rebecca Sharp consented to the marriage), and that she and I had been living in the two parishes named for the preceding fifteen days, and that on payment of the fees I could obtain a license from the Bishop of London to marry the aforesaid lady: and. further, that if I could induce any lady of my acquaintance to adopt the name of Rebecca Sharp for the occasion and proceed with me to the church
mentioned in the license, she and I could be married in those names with all the cere monies of the Church of England, and our names would thereupon be entered forever in the marriage register of that church, and a copy of the entry then made would, in due course, be transmitted to the General Regis try in Somerset House, and remain there on record forever; and that no one would hin der us on the way. or molest us at any time afterwards. It is true I should have to swear to the fact of full age (or the consent of the parent or guardian), but 1 have never heard or read of a case in which a person falsely swearing to those facts has been subjected to a prosecution for perjury; and in no case would a marriage be set aside as invalid on the sole ground that one. or both of the parties, was stated falsely to be of full age. The worst that could happen would be in the case of the infant being a ward of the
