ever, of the person or persons liable to pay the said debts, duties, or sums of money, or of any other person, for or upon pretence of such levying or collecting, except the sum of four pence only for an acquittance of such sum as shall be so levied or collected; which acquittance such officer is thereby required to give and deliver to the person upon or from whom such debt shall be levied, collected, or received; and the bailiff, or other person, receiving such debt or sum of money, shall, from time to time, answer and account for the same to the sheriff or his deputy, and may require an acquittance also from such sheriff or his deputy, for such sum, who are hereby required to give the same without any fee or reward; and of and from such debts or sums of money so levied, collected, or received as aforesaid, the said sheriffs, and every of them, shall effectually discharge the said debtors and persons respectively, by telling and answering the same to his Majesty, his heirs and successors, upon their respective accounts, in the Exchequer. And in case any sheriff, under-sheriff, or deputy-sheriff, shall nichil, or not duly answer to the Crown any debt or sum of money so levied, collected, or received, such sheriff, under-sheriff, or deputy-sheriff, for every such offence, shall forfeit treble damages to the party aggrieved, and double the sum so nichilled, or not duly answered as aforesaid; which said damages and penalty shall be ordered, decreed, and given to the person aggrieved, by the Court of Exchequer, upon complaint and proof of such abuse as aforesaid, made and exhibited before the Barons of the said Court, in such short and summary way and method as to them shall seem meet; and in case any sheriff, under-sheriff, deputy-sheriff, bailiff, or other person, person, shall presume to demand, take, or receive any sum or sums of money whatsoever, be the same more or less, of any person whatsoever, from whom any debt or sum of money is or shall be due and payable to the Crown, by process out of the Court of Exchequer, for or in respect, or upon pretence, of executing the said process, or for or in respect, or upon pretence, of fees due to them, or any of them, for collecting or receiving the same, contrary to the true intent and meaning of this Act; or if any of the officers, or persons aforesaid, shall demand, take, and receive, any sum or sums of money whatsoever, for not levying, or forbearing to levy, any debts, duties, or sums of money, due to his Majesty, his heirs and successors, and written out to them,

6

them, or any of them, by the process aforesaid; in all and every such case, every person so offending, and being thereof lawfully convicted, shall be adjudged, deemed, and taken to be guilty of extortion, injustice, and oppression; and all and every such person and persons, being thereof lawfully convicted, shall forfeit, for every such offence, treble damages and costs to the party aggrieved, and double the sum so extorted. All which damages and penalties shall be ordered, decreed, and given, by the Barons of the Court of Exchequer, upon complaint and proof of such extortion, made and exhibited before them, in such short and summary way and method as to them shall seem meet as aforesaid; provided such conviction be had and made within two years after such offence committed, and not otherwise."

Provided, by section 14, "that nothing in this Act contained shall be construed to deprive any sheriff of such poundage or allowance as is allowed and given to them by virtue of this Act; or of such poundage, allowance or reward, as may hereafter be made, allowed and given to them, or any of them, by warrant or order from the Lord High Treasurer or Commissioners of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer or Barons of the Court of Exchequer for the time being, for or in respect of any extraordinary service to the Crown that may happen to be performed by them, or any of them; but that the said sheriffs shall and may enjoy the full benefit and advantage of such poundage, allowance and reward, without any impeachment or molestation whatsoever; any thing in this Act contained to the contrary thereof in anywise notwithstanding." It will be observed that under this statute, which relates to a seizure under an extent in aid, as well as on an extent in chief (a), the poundage is claimable from, or falls on, the Crown or other prosecutor of the extent, and not the defendant, because the nett debt merely is to be levied; and as the poundage is not to be levied in addition thereto, it is payable out of the sum levied. If however the debt be secured by a penalty, poundage may be levied in addition to the debt, so that the levy do not exceed the penalty (b): and wherever the Crown is entitled to levy its costs and charges, as mentioned in the preceding section, and is bound by the statute 3 Geo. 1.

(4) Parker, 180.

(b) 2 Anstr. 369.

to

to allow the sheriff poundage; in such case poundage may be levied by the Crown as an item of such costs and charges (a). The statute 3 Geo. 1. does not however relate to the sale of land under an order of the Court, in pursuance of the 25 Geo. 3. and consequently the sheriff, not being entitled to poundage, the Crown cannot claim poundage as an item of its costs and charges, as against the defendant (b).

The poundage is claimable, though after the levy and before the venditioni exponas, the debt be paid to the prosecutor of the extent, or to the sheriff for him (c). But it seems from the wording of the statute, section 3, that though the whole debt be paid to the extent holder, the sheriff is entitled to poundage only on the amount levied.

With respect to the apportionment of poundage between different sheriffs, the 9th section of the statute (after reciting "that it frequently happens that the process issuing out of the Court of Exchequer, for levying debts and duties due to the Crown, may be in part executed by a sheriff before he be superseded, and afterwards in part by the subsequent sheriff; and that no provision had been made for settling and adjusting the distribution of the fees and poundage, claimed and demanded by them in such cases :) enacts, that when and so often as any sheriff shall, by process out of the Court of Exchequer, seize or extend any goods, chattles or personal estate, into the hands of his Majesty, his heirs or successors, for any debts or duties due to the Crown, and shall die or be superseded before a writ of venditioni exponas be awarded to him for sale of the same, or before such sheriff hath made actual sale thereof; and a writ shall afterwards be awarded to a subsequent sheriff, who by virtue thereof shall make sale or disposition of such goods, chattels and personal estate, so seized and extended by such preceding sheriff as aforesaid, in such case the Barons of the Court of Exchequer, if then sitting, and if not sitting the said Barons, or any one of them, being of the degree of the coif, shall order, settle and apportion the fees or poundage, due for such seizure and sale, between such preceding and subsequent sheriffs, in such manner and proportions as to him or them

(a) 3 Price, 280.

(5) West, 237.

(c) Parker, 180. 3 Anstr. 713, notes. 5 T. R. 470.

shall

shall seem meet, with regard to the expense and trouble each respective sheriff hath had, or shall have, in the execution of the said process."

Where two extents issue into different counties for the same debt, and both sheriffs seize goods, and the debt is paid to one of the sheriffs before a venditioni exponas to either, that sheriff to whom the money is paid shall have full poundage (a). But in such case where the debt is paid to the officers of the Crown immediately, the poundage shall be apportioned between the sheriffs (b).

Under the statute 3 Geo. 1. the sheriff may retain his poundage out of the sum levied under the extent, and need not wait for the allowance of it on his account (c). When, however, he makes his return to the venditioni exponas, it must be of the whole sum produced by the sale, when the Court will order it to be paid over, deducting poundage (d). And if the sheriff have paid over the money levied to the prosecutor of the extent, without having deducted poundage, he may obtain it by motion to the Court (e).

By statute 3 Geo. 1. c. 15. s. 14. as before observed, the Lord High Treasurer or Commissioners of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer or Barons, may give the sheriff“ any additional allowance or reward, in respect of any extraordinary service to the Crown. But the sheriff cannot deduct any extra expenses, but must apply to the Court on a rule nisi, for a reference to the deputy remembrancer for an allowance (f). And if poundage be improperly taken, the Court will on motion order it to be refunded.

(a) 1 Anstr. 279. 3 Anstr. 717. 1 Wightwick, 117.

(b) 3 Anstr. 718, note. West, 240, 1. (c) Parker, 180.

(d) 1 Price, 205.

(e) Parker, 180.

(S) 1 Price, 206. 4 Ibid. 131.

PART

PART II.-Of Extents in aid.

SECT. I.—In general.—The Course of Proceeding.

It has been before observed, that extents in aid owe their origin to the statute of extents 33 Hen. 8. c. 39., and are grounded on the principle, that the King is entitled to the debts due to its debtor. The main distinction between extents in chief and extents in aid is this, that the former issue at the suit of the Crown, the latter at the suit and instance of the Crown debtor, against his debtor. The prerogative process is called an extent in aid when the subject, being indebted to the Crown, avails himself of such process against his debtors.

In this case the writ is founded on a fiction. The fiction of an extent issuing against the Crown debtor at the suit of the Crown. The Crown debtor himself privately and pro formâ, procures his debt, if by simple contract, to be put upon record by means of a commission, and the inquisition taken under it. If the debt to the Crown be by bond, this first step is of course unnecessary. The Crown debtor then sues out an extent against himself, omitting all the words which direct the sheriff to seize his body, goods, and lands, leaving the words merely which direct the sheriff to seize his debts, specialties, and sums of money. Under this extent the debts due to the Crown debtor are found and seized into the Crown's hands; and on such finding an extent issues as in the other case against the debtor to the Crown debtor (a). By the 57 Geo. 3. c. 117. s. 1. the produce of the extent is by order of the Court to be paid over to his Majesty's use; but it seems the Crown debtor may procure the consent of the Crown to the sheriff's paying it over to himself.

(a) West, 264. 2 Manning, 568. Extents in aid may also be issued by the Crown debtor on an adverse extent, at

the suit of the Crown against himself. Ibid.

SECT.