the same on oath, in the court of the county where the services were rendered, or (if the clerk of a court) in the court of which he is clerk, the same shall without fee, be entered, specifying the feebill particularly; and thereupon the same may be noted on each fee-bill respectively-whereupon the right of collection by distress (for non-payment) shall remain attached to such fee-bill, when sent out for collection, as though it had been annually sent out and endorsed agreeably to the provisions of the act aforesaid: Provided, however, That the oath, entry and noting aforesaid, shall be done within that year in which such fee-bill might first have been sent out for collection. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That whenever fees shall be due from and payable by any person or persons residing without the county in which the services shall have been rendered, the fee-bills may be sent out the second year for collection, with right of distress (for non-payment) although they may not have been sent out the first year and endorsed agreeably to the provisiens of the said act of assembly: Provided, however, That nothing in this section contained shall be construed to affect the before mentioned act, so far as it may be applicable to persons residing the whole of the first year within the county in which the services shall have been rendered. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That whenever fee-bills shall have been duly sent out for collection, and about to be returned as delinquents, it shall be the duty of the returning officer (if such is the truth of the case) to endorse thereon the insolvency of the person or persons against whom the fee-bill had issued, or that he, she or they do not reside within this Commonwealth; and in such case it shall not be incumbent on the officer claiming such fees, to send out the fee-bills from year to year, but may send out such fee-bills afterwards at discretion, for collection, with right of distress as in other cases. Right of distress retained. Proviso Fees against persons residing out of the county, right of dis tress retained. Proviso. Duty of re turning officer on delinquent fee bills. Right of distress retained. 1810. IN FORCE THREE MONTHS AFTER ITS PASSAGE. AN ACT concerning the Bonds of certain Officers, Guardians, Administrators and Executors: Approved January 23, 1810.-4 Litt. 123. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That every clerk of a court of this Commonwealth shall within the present year 1810, and within every fifth year thereafter, with two or more sufficient securities, to be approved of by the court of which he is clerk, execute a bond, in the penalty of ten thousand dollars, with condition for Clerks to ex ecute bond every five years in the penalty of $10,000. 392 To be recorded and trans mitted to clerk of court of appeals. the true and faithful discharge of the duties of his said office, (d) which bond shall be recorded in the order book of the court of that day, and within the same year transmitted by said clerk to the clerk of the court of appeals, to be by him registered and preserved among the papers of the court (except that the clerk of the court of appeals shall transmit his bond in like manner to the clerk of the general court, to be by him in like manner registered and preserved;) each of which bonds shall be in force to secure against every misconduct of the clerk while in office, or until another bond shall be duly executed, recorded and transmitted to the clerk of the court of appeals, or general court, as the case may be, according to the provisions of this act. IN FORCE FROM ITS PASSAGE. AN ACT to amend the several acts of Assembly concerning Clerks of Courts in SEC. 12. And be it further enacted, That if any clerk of any court of this Commonwealth, shall hereafter either charge or demand, or receive any greater or other fees than are now allowed by law, he shall be fined in a sum not less than one dollar, nor more than forty,' for each item, or any part thereof, illegally or improperly charged, the one half to the party against whom such charge is made, and the other half to the county levy, recoverable by motion before the court of which he is clerk, being first summoned to show cause to the contrary, or a rule of court to that effect, with reasonable time given, being first made subject to a continuance, for good cause shown, as other suits or motions. SEC. 14. And be it further enacted, That when a full and complete copy of a record shall be required, (e) the clerk whose duty it is, shall, by himself or his deputy, make out in a plain hand writing, with marginal notes, and paged, with the sheets fastened together; and in cases where he shall certify it to be full and complete, he shall take due care that neither improper additions or omissions hath taken place; and if any clerk shall fail in his duty herein, he shall lose the fee for making out the same, and be liable to pay to the party charged any sum not exceeding four times the amount of the fee or fees so charged, recoverable by motion to the court of which he is clerk, on giving the clerk reasonable notice of the time of making the motion; and in transcript filed in an appeal or writ of error, the court of appeals may, on application, cause their clerk to furnish their certificate of the amount of improper matter certified as record without being so, which may be used as evidence on motion against the clerk as aforesaid: Provided however, that nothing herein contained, or any proceedings under this act, shall be construed to take from any person or persons aggrieved, his, her or their action, for any injury he, she or they shall have sustained, saving a due deduction for any money recovered on motion as aforesaid. 1817. IN FORCE AFTER FIRST OF APRIL. AN ACT regulating Clerks' Fees, and for other purposes: Approved February 4, 1817.-5 Litt. 545. SEC. 5. Be it further enacted, That the clerks of courts shall be subject to an action or actions of trespass, for any distress made on >the goods, chattels or slaves of any individual or individuals, bodies politic or corporate, by virtue of any fec-bill which contains any illegal or improper item therein; and no clerk of any court in this State, in any such action of trespass, shall be allowed to justify under any fee-bill issued by him, if said fee-bill shall contain on its face a single illegal item or charge, or an item for which the services have not been actually performed, or shall omit the name or names of any of the parties legally chargeable therewith, or shall have been paid, or shall not strictly comport with the several laws in force on the subject of fee-bills; and in such actions of trespass, the finding of the jury, if for the plaintiff or plaintiffs, shall not be less than three times the amount of the illegal items contained in the fee-bill or fee-bills by virtue of which such distress was made. SEC. 6. Be it further enacted, That if any person or persons shall pay any fee-bill or fee-bills, in which he may suspect or believe that there are some erroneous charges or items, or that such fee-bill or fee-bills shall contain items for services not actually rendered, or that such fee-bill or fee-bills do not comport with the law in every respect, he, she or they may hand such fee-bill or fee-bills to the circuit judge, who presides in the county where the person or persons having paid said fec-hills reside, (ƒ) either in vacation or term time, as may be most convenient, and thereupon the said circuit judge shall inspect said fee-bill or fee-bills, and if there shall be any item or (f) The circuit court where the person resides against whom an illegal fee bill has issued, and who has paid it, has jurisdiction to inspect and quash the bill and fine the officer. This jurisdiction, however, is of a limited character, and VOL. I. 393 Clerks liable to an action for distressinade to satisfy an ille gal fee bill. Verdict of the jury shall not be less than 3 times the am'nt of the illegal charge. Manner of proceeding on an illegal fee bill. Circuit judge to inspect it. if the defendant do not appear, the record ought to show that the person against whom the fee bill issued actually resides in the county, in order to make out a case of which the court had jurisdiction.-Tevis v. Craig, 6 Mon. 7. 51 Quash the fee bill and fine the clerk. Fine. Proviso. charge contained in said fee-bill or fee-bills, or any of them, not authorized by law, or any item for services not actually rendered, or if the name or names of any of the parties chargeable with such fee-bill or fee-bills shall be omitted, or said fee-bill or fee-bills shall not comport with the law in every respect, the said circuit judge, at the next circuit court holden for said county, if he shall have received said fee-bill or fee-bills in vacation, or at the same court, if he shall have received them in term time, shall, without any notice to said clerk, proceed to quash such fee-bill or fee-bills, and to order the clerk to restore the money which has been paid for the whole of said fee-bill or fee-bills so quashed; and shall further proceed to fine the clerk who has issued such erroneous fee-bill or fee-bills, in favor of the party so having paid the same, in any sum not less than one dollar, nor more than four dollars for such item so improperly charged. (g) But if the said circuit judge shall be of opinion that thereis no error in such fee-bill or fee-bills, for which they ought to be quashed according to the provisions of this act, he shall restore it or them on application to the person or persons placing them in his hands, without any costs or expense. And to recover the money. so ordered to be restored, upon the quashal of any fee-bill or feebills, and also the fines by this act directed, the party shall be entitled to execution of fieri facias or capias ad satisfaciendum, as in other cases of judgments, on which executions shall be endorsed that "no security of any kind shall be taken;" and if any fee-bill or fee-bills shall be quashed in the court whose clerk has issued them, he shall not be entitled to any fees for the services, orders, entries or executions allowed by this act. But if such fee-bill or fee-bills Who shall be shall have been issued by the clerk of any other court, all fees for the orders, entries and executions allowed by this act, in the case of quashing such fee-bill or fee-bills, and inflicting the fines and recovering the money, shall be charged by the clerk who performs the services to the clerk who issued such erroneous fee-bill or fee-bills, charged with the fees in quashing such fee bills, &c. (g) A fee bill issued by a clerk against E, (B to pay,) will not authorize a distress upon B; the clerk would not be subject to a penalty at the suit of B.-Marshall v. Byram, 1 Bibb, 341. 2. A motion against a clerk for having issued an unlawful or erroneous fee bill, as given by the above act to the party aggrieved, is an action within the meaning of the act of 1796 limiting prosecutions on penal acts of assembly to one year. Chiles v. Harrison, 1 Litt. 151. See now, however, the act of December 1, 1823, which repeals the act of 1796 so far as relates to fee bills, and gives the time of five years, within which such motion may be made. See title LIMITATION, post. 3. Where the aggregate of fines imposed upon a clerk for having issued an illegal fee bill, amounts to a sum over five pounds, courts have the power in a summary way, without a jury, to give judgment for such sum, and a jury is not required by the constitution.-Harrison v. Chiles, 3 Litt. 196. 4. See the opinion of the circuit judge referred to in this case on the subject of clerks' fees.— Ibid, 206. 5. Clerks are entitled to the same fees for examining and certifying printed copies of a will furnished by the applicant for attestation, as for a manuscript copy made by himself. Morrison's Ex'rs. v. Rhodes, 7 Mon. 20. and shall be collected as other fees allowed to clerks by law in other cases. Distress of the dies politic for property of boillegal fee bills. Officer shall make out copy. SEC. 7. Be it further enacted, That if distress shall be made on the goods, chattels or slaves of any person or persons, bodies politic or corporate, by any officer authorized to collect fee-bills by distress, and the person or persons, bodies politic or corporate, whose property shall be so distrained, shall suspect that there are any illegal item or items in said fee-bill or fee-bills, or that they contain any of the illegalities for which said fee-bill or fee-bills may be liable to be quashed according to the provisions of the sixth section of this act, he, she or they may apply to the officer so making said distress for a correct copy of said fee-bill or fee-bills, and he shall make the same out in an accurate manner, and shall be entitled to a fee of twelve and one half cents for said copy, paid at the time of the delivery thereof; and thereupon the person or persons, bodics politic or corporate, against whom such fec-bill or fee-bills shall have issued, may lay said copy before the circuit judge who presides in the circuit court of his, her or their county; and if the said judge shall before judge. be of opinion that said fee-bill comes within the provisions of this act, he shall forthwith issue his order directing the officer making the distress to stop further proceedings till the matter is determined in court; and the officer making the distress shall obey said order, and restore the property so distrained; and the circuit judge, if he has issued said order in term time, shall proceed to quash said feebill or fee-bills, and fine the clerk issuing the same, as directed by the sixth section of this act; or if he shall issue his order of restraint in vacation, he shall proceed at the next circuit court holden in and for that county, to quash the said fee-bill or fee-bills, and fine the clerk who has issued the same, in the same manner as is heretofore directed by this act in case of fee-bills already paid. May lay it circuit • Shall restrain the officer from furtherproceed ings. Judge shall quash the fee bill, and fine the clerk as in other cases. Where parties in chancery sever in their pleadings, or for separate servi ces rendered, a fee bill shall is SEC. 8. Be it further enacted, That in all suits in chancery or at common law, where there are more complainants or plaintiffs, or more defendants than one, and such parties shall sever in their pleas, answers, replications or other pleadings, so that any one or more of them shall cause the clerk to render separate services, for which the rest ought not to be liable; or if in the progress of the causes, any sue separately. one or more of the parties, complainants or plaintiffs, or defendants, shall incur costs due to the clerk which are clearly severable from the preparations of other parties on the same side, the clerk shall charge such fees separately to those for whom the service was separately rendered, and shall not include the remaining parties on the same side in said fee-bill; and if any clerk shall otherwise issue his fee-bill or fee-bills, or in his fee-bill or fee-bills, shall omit the name of any person chargeable therewith, or shall insert the name of one not chargeable therewith, his fee-bill or fee-bills so wrongfully issued, shall |