case may be; and if the plaintiff shall desire the evidence to be adduced upon affidavit, and the defendant, or some or one of the defendants, if more than one, shall not, within such time as shall be prescribed in that behalf by any General Order of the Lord Chancellor, give notice to the plaintiff or his solicitor that he or they desire the evidence to be oral, the plaintiff and defendants respectively shall be at liberty to verify their respective cases by affidavit.

XXX. When any of the parties to any suit commenced by Bill desires that the evidence should be adduced orally, and gives notice thereof to the opposite party, as hereinbefore provided, the same shall be taken orally, in the manner hereinafter provided: provided, that if the evidence be required to be oral merely by a party without a sufficient interest in the matters in question, the Court may, upon application in a summary way, make such order as shall be just.

XXXI. All witnesses to be examined orally under the provisions of this Act shall be so examined by or before one of the examiners of the Court, or by or before an examiner to be specially appointed by the Court, the examiner being furnished by the plaintiff with a copy of the Bill, and of the Answer, if any, in the cause; and such examination shall take place in the presence of the parties, their counsel, solicitors, or agents, and the witnesses so examined orally shall be subject to cross-examination and re-examination; and such examination, cross-examination, and re-examination shall be conducted as nearly as may be in the mode now in use in courts of common law with respect to a witness about to go abroad, and not expected to be present at the trial of a cause.

XXXII. The depositions taken upon any such oral examination as aforesaid shall be taken down in writing by the examiner, not ordinarily by question and answer, but in the form of a narrative, and when completed shall be read over to the witness, and signed by. him in the presence of the parties, or such of them as may think fit to attend: provided always, that in case the witness shall refuse to sign the said depositions, then the examiner shall sign the same, and such examiner may, upon all examinations, state any special matter. to the Court as he shall think fit: provided also, that it shall be in the discretion of the examiner to put down any particular question or answer, if there should appear any special reason for doing so; and any question or questions which may be objected to shall be noticed or referred to by the examiner in or upon the depositions, and he shall state his opinion thereon to the counsel, solicitors, or parties, and shall refer to such statement on the face of the depositions, but he shall not have power to decide upon the materiality or relevancy of any question or questions; and the Court shall have

power to deal with the costs of immaterial or irrelevant depositions as may be just.

XXXIII. If any person produced before any such examiner as a witness shall refuse to be sworn, or to answer any lawful question put to him by the examiner, or by either of the parties, or by his or their counsel, solicitor, or agent, the same course shall be adopted with respect to such witness as is now pursued in the case of a witness produced for examination before an examiner of the said Court, upon written interrogatories, and refusing to be sworn, or to answer some lawful question: provided always, that if any witness shall demur or object to any question or questions which may be put to him, the question or questions so put, and the demurrer or objection of the witness thereto, shall be taken down by the examiner, and transmitted by him to the Record Office of the said Court, to be there filed; and the validity of such demurrer or objection shall be decided by the Court; and the costs of and occasioned by such demurrer or objection shall be in the discretion of the Court.

XXXIV. When the examination of witnesses before any examiner shall have been concluded, the original depositions authenticated by the signature of such examiner, shall be transmitted by him to the Record Office of the said Court, to be there filed, and any party to the suit may have a copy thereof or of any part or portion thereof, upon payment for the same in such manner as shall be provided by any General Order of the Lord Chancellor in that behalf.

XXXV. It shall not be necessary to sue out any commission for the examination of any witnesses within the jurisdiction of the said Court; and any examiner appointed by any order of the Court shall have the like power of administering oaths as Commissioners now have under commissions issued by the Court for the examination of witnesses.

XXXVI. Notwithstanding that the plaintiff or the defendant in any suit in the said Court may have elected that the evidence in the cause should be taken orally, affidavits by particular witnesses, or affidavits as to particular facts or circumstances, may, by consent, or by leave of the Court obtained upon notice, be used on the hearing of any cause, and such consent, with the approbation of the Court, may be given by or on the part of married women or infants or other persons under disability.

XXXVII. Every affidavit to be used in the said Court shall be divided into paragraphs, and every paragraph shall be numbered consecutively, and, as nearly as may be, shall be confined to a distinct portion of the subject.

XXXVIII. The evidence on both sides in any suit in the said Court, whether taken orally or upon affidavit, shall be closed within such time or respective times after issue joined as shall in that behalf be prescribed by any general order of the Lord Chancellor, but with power to the Court to enlarge the same as it may see fit; and after the time fixed for closing the evidence no further evidence, whether oral or by affidavit, shall be receivable, without special leave of the Court previously obtained for that purpose: provided always, that any witness who has made an affidavit filed by any party to a cause shall be subject to oral cross-examination within such time after the time fixed for closing the evidence as shall be prescribed in that behalf by any order of the Lord Chancellor, by or before an examiner, in the same manner as if the evidence given by him in his affidavit had been given by him orally before the examiner, and after such cross-examination may be re-examined orally by or on the part of the party by whom such affidavit was filed; and such witness shall be bound to attend before such examiner to be so cross-examined and re-examined, upon receiving due and proper notice, and payment of his reasonable expenses, in like manner as if he had been duly served with a writ of subpœna ad testificandum before such examiner; and the expenses attending such cross-examination and re-examination shall be paid by the parties respectively, in like manner as if the witness so to be cross-examined were the witness of the party cross-examining, and shall be deemed costs in the cause of such parties respectively, unless the Court shall think fit otherwise to direct.

XXXIX. Upon the hearing of any cause depending in the said Court, whether by Bill or by Claim, the Court, if it shall see fit so to do, may require the production and oral examination before itself of any witness or party in the cause, and may direct the costs of and attending the production and examination of such witness or party to be paid by such of the parties to the suit or in such manner as it may think fit.

XL. Any party in any cause or matter depending in the said Court may, by a writ of subpœna ad testificandum or duces tecum, require the attendance of any witness before an examiner of the said Court, or before an examiner specially appointed for the purpose, and examine such witness orally, for the purpose of using his evidence upon any claim, motion, petition, or other proceeding before the Court, in like manner as such witness would be bound to attend and be examined with a view to the hearing of a cause; and any party having made an affidavit to be used or which shall be used on any claim, motion, petition, or other proceeding before the Court shall be bound, on being served with such writ, to attend before an examiner, for the purpose of being cross-examined: provided always that the Court shall always have a discretionary power of acting upon such evidence as may be before it at the time, and of making such interim orders, or otherwise, as may appear necessary to meet the justice of the case.

XLI. In cases where it shall be necessary for any party to any cause depending in the said Court to go into evidence subsequently to the hearing of such cause, such evidence shall be taken as nearly as may be in the manner hereinbefore provided with reference to the taking of evidence with a view to such hearing.

XLII. It shall not be competent to any defendant in any suit in the said Court to take any objection for want of parties to such suit, in any case to which the rules next hereinafter set forth extend; and such rules shall be deemed and taken as part of the law and practice of the said Court, and any law or practice of the said Court inconsistent therewith shall be and is hereby abrogated and annulled.

Rule 1. Any residuary legatee or next of kin may, without serving the remaining residuary legatees or next of kin, have a decree for the administration of the personal estate of a deceased person.

Rule 2. Any legatee interested in a legacy charged upon real estate, and any person interested in the proceeds of real estate directed to be sold, may, without serving any other legatee or person interested in the proceeds of the estate, have a decree for the administration of the estate of a deceased person.

Rule 3. Any residuary devisee or heir may, without serving any co-residuary devisee or co-heir, have the like decree.

Rule 4. Any one of several cestuisque trust under any deed or instrument may, without serving any other of such cestuisque trust, have a decree for the execution of the trusts of the deed or instrument.

Rule 5. In all cases of suits for the protection of property pending litigation, and in all cases in the nature of waste, one person may sue on behalf of himself and of all persons having the same

interest.

Rule 6. Any executor, administrator, or trustee may obtain a decree against any one legatee, next of kin, or cestuisque trust for the administration of the estate or the execution of the trusts.

Rule 7. In all the above cases the Court, if it shall see fit, may require any other person or persons to be made a party or parties to the suit, and may, if it shall see fit, give the conduct of the suit to such person as it may deem proper, and may make such order in any particular case as it may deem just for placing the defendant on the record on the same footing in regard to costs as other parties having a common interest with him in the matters in question.

Rule 8. In all the above cases the persons who, according to the present practice of the Court would be necessary parties to the suit, shall be served with notice of the decree, and after such notice they shall be bound by the proceedings in the same manner as if they had been originally made parties to the suit, and they may by an order of course have liberty to attend the proceedings under the decree; and any party so served may, within such time as shall in that behalf be prescribed by the General Order of the Lord Chancellor, apply to the Court to add to the decree.

Rule 9. In all suits concerning real or personal estate which is vested in trustees under a will, settlement, or otherwise, such trustees shall represent the persons beneficially interested under the trust, in the same manner and to the same extent as the executors or administrators in suits concerning personal estate represent the persons beneficially interested in such personal estate, and in such cases it shall not be necessary to make the persons beneficially interested under the trusts parties to the suit; but the Court may, upon consideration of the matter, on the hearing, if it shall so think fit, order such persons, or any of them, to be made parties.

XLIII. The practice of the said Court of setting down a cause merely on an objection for want of parties to the suit shall be abolished.

XLIV. If in any suit or other proceeding before the Court it shall appear to the Court that any deceased person who was interested in the matters in question has no legal personal representative, it shall be lawful for the Court either to proceed in the absence of any person representing the estate of such deceased person, or to appoint some person to represent such estate for all the purposes of the suit or other proceeding, on such notice to such person or persons, if any, as the Court shall think fit, either specially or generally, by public advertisements; and the Order so made by the said Court, and any orders consequent thereon, shall bind the estate of such deceased person in the same manner in every respect as if there had been a duly constituted legal personal representative of such deceased person, and such legal personal representative had been a party to the suit or proceeding, and had duly appeared and submitted his rights and interests to the protection of the Court.

XLV. It shall be lawful for any person claiming to be a creditor or a specific pecuniary or residuary legatee, or the next of kin, or some or one of the next of kin, of a deceased person, to apply for and obtain as of course, without Bill or Claim filed, or any other preliminary proceedings, a summons from the Master of the Rolls or any of the Vice-Chancellors requiring the executor or administrator, as the case may be, of such deceased person, to attend before him at Chambers, for the purpose of showing cause why an order for the administration of the personal estate of the deceased should