The age-herald., 1898-07-31

delay and costs, and some lawyers have gone so far as to advocate that all plead- ings should be sworn to. We do not fa- vor this requirement for all cases but do think the list of pleas required to be veri- fled may well be increased while sworn pleas ought to be required in actions upon accounts and upon writings purporting to be executed by the defendant, if the plain tiff makes affidavit to the averments of the complaint. We submit a statute which is conservative and will prevent the filing of pleas solely for delay in that class of
 cases, wherein such pleas have been most
 frequently interposed; it requires the pleas of payment, Set-off, failure of considera- tion, want of consideration, the statute of frauds and the statute of limitations to ther, that in actions upon an account and upon written obligation purporting to be executed by the defendant. all pleas must be sworn to, provided the plaintiff makes affidavit to the justice of his claim
 when he brings the suit.
 '. The rule of law, making conveyances
 of land held adversely void as to the party in possession, or his privies, ought to be changed by statute, as it has been in most states of the union. Such conveyance is
 not only good between the parties, but ab- solutely confers upon the grantee the bene-
 ficial interest because the grantee has the right to use the grantor's name in suit
 to recover the land and the suit is not only beyond the grantor's control but he can- not convey the legal title to defendant
 so as to defeat the action. The result is
 that the existing rule has the anomalous effect of requiring suit by party who
 cannot enjoy its fruits and prohibiting
 suit by him who can; and the rule is also responsible for the continued exist ence of those venerable gentlemen-John Doe and Richard Roe-who ought to be all lowed to rest from their labors. We do not propose a destruction of the common law action of ejectment, but leave that action for the use of those who may prefer it. It is believed, however that the change of the principle of law referred to will re
 suit in the gradual disappearance of John Doe and Richard Roe from the dockets of our courts. Our statute as to the effect of a judgment in ejectment is peculiar. At
 common law an unlimited number of ac-
 tions of ejectment could be brought and
 our statute only goes so far as to pro-
 vide that two judgments in favor of the defendant are conclusive. We have never
 been able to discover any sound reason why judgment in eiectment should not be
 just as conclusive as to the right of pos session established as other judgments are conclusive of the rights determined. The
 Mississippi statute upon this subject is superior to ours and we report it for the consideration of the association, together with a statute changing the law as to conveyances of land held adversely by an- other. The M1ssissippi statute reIerreu to makes a judgment in ejectment conclusive as to the right of possession established upon the party against whom it is recov- cred and upon all persons claiming from through or under him within three years after the removal of his disability.
 8. Litigation in Alabama is too expensive;
 cost bills are too large. In criminal cases a witness may not claim mileage and att tendance in more than one case when he attends in several at the same time. The same rule should apply to civil cases. The