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Oxford Studies in Social and Legal History
Oxford Studies in Social and Legal History Author:Paul Vinogradoff Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: came into the hands of his executors, one of whom was an obligee in the simple obligation. The executor brought suit against the defendant, who endeavoured to se... more »t up the condition. Then ensued the following dialogue: Spigurnel J.: Ou est le fet devenuz qe tesmoigne la con- dicion ? Malmerthorpe: Geoffrei 1'avoit en garde et nous avoms bille pendaunt vers ses executours, cesti Reynaud (theplaintiff) et altres, de eel escrit et des autres. Spigurnel J,: Ceo fut folie a lesser vostre bastoun hors de vostre main. The court refused to stay judgement till the defendant could recover his defeasance bond and put it in evidence, deciding rigidly on principle : ' pur ceo qe J. et R. mettent avaunt le fet Richard de E., q'est simple, et il allege une condicioun destourtre de la dette et de ceo ne moustre rien andc. ne nul autre chose qe luy peuse valer encountre l'obligacion q'est son fait, si agard la curt qe J. et R. recovere les C li vers Richard de E. et lour damages de C s. et Richard en la merci.' If one had an acquittance and lost it, he would be in the same unenviable position. It was his folly; the court turned a deaf ear to his plaint. In the end, we come back to the remark of Lord Bacon : ' The law will not couple and mingle matter of specialty, which is of higher account, with matter of averment, which is of inferior account in law.'J Section III. Debt And Detinue Debt and Detinue were intimately related, and may profitably be considered together. While it would be venturesome to say that the latter action descended from the former,2 there was a close connexion between them which was recognized after they had become distinct forms of action; for Detinue was held to be within the purview of a statute 3 which referred 1 Bacon, Maxims of the Law, Reg. 25 [cit...« less