The Express.
London, England, 1852-06-17 00:00:00

construction of the section of the set, U Geo. 111., e. BR.
The lUth section enacts " That in case any person shall, in
hie own name, or in the name of any other person, make,
do, act, exercise, or la:aorta any act, matter, or thing
whew's:Ter in soy way appertaioing or belonging to the
office, function, or practice of a proctor, for or in con-
sidci ation of any coin, fee, or reward, or with a view to
participation in the benefit to he derived from the office,
(unction, or practice of a proctor, without being ad•
mitted and enrolled, such person shall forfeit 601." The
Uth section enacts that if any " proctor" of the court it
refers to, "shall act as such, or permit or suffer his name to
be in any m used in any suit, the prosecution or de-
' fence of which shall sprertain to the office of a proctor, or
in obtaining probates of wills, letter' of administration or
marriage licenses to or for, or on account, or for the profit
and benefit of any person not entitled to act as a proctor, or
shall permit or suffer any such person to demand or partici-
pate in such profit or benefit" then on complaint
to the court in which he bad been enrolled, he
might be struck off the roll or suspended.
In construing an act of parliament of a penal nature every
word must be taken according to its legal meaning, unless
the legislature have expressly stated that it is used in •
larger sense. It was necessary to consider, in the next
place, what was the meaning of the word "proctor."
Domatt and other writers, cited in Burn's Ecclesiastical Law
defined a proctor to be an officer appointed to represent
parties in certain proceedings in the courts in which they
were admitted to practise, and to instruct in the case*. The
office was one recognised in various ways by the laws of
England. In 3 James 1., c. 6, it was penal for a recusant
to exercise the office; by 6 Oeorge 111., c. —, a proctor
while in practice cannot act as a justice of the peace; and
M George 111., c. 184, brings Proctors within the Stamp
laws. The general character of the duties of a proctor was
to represent parties in the court in which he woe admitted
to practise. fhe statute in question was for the
better regulation of ecclesiastical courts in Ireland.
What was the meaning of the phrase "appertaining to I"
It war not the subject, so far as he was aware, of any
special legal definition ; it must, therefore, be taken in the
common acceptation. In " Johnson's Dictionary," the
word appertain is defined, "To beiong to aa of right; to
belong to by nature." In this section it was, therefore, he
thought, used as synonymous with " belonging to," imply-
ing as belonging of right to the Alec of proctor. It seemed
to -him that the meaning was the exercise of any function
exclusively belonging to the office of proctor. In any action
brought for Densities for the infringement of the statute, it
was • matter of evidence whether the act averred did or did
not belong to the office. In his opinion the learned judge
was correct in receiving the evidence, and consequently the
court below was right in affirming thejudgment. The noble
and learned lord went at considerable length into the
arguments urged at the bar, and into a minute criticism of
the words of time 9th and 10th sections of the statutes, ob-
serving that it seemed to him that the legislature was',
cautious in excluding words which would lead to the con-
striction contended for on behalf of the plaintiff in error.
Is had, therefore, to submit to the house, that the evi-
dence was properly received, that the direction of the
learned judge was right, and that the judgment of the
Coed of Exchequer Chamber ought to be affirmed.
Lord Brougham entirely concurred in the opinion of his
noble and learned friend, not on account of the balance of
opinion by the learned judges, but on the merits of the
arguments.
The judgment of the Exchequer Chamber was conse-
quently affirmed.