A STUDY IN LEGAL ADMINISTRATION AND RECORDS SHARON ...

Chaffey for Plaintiff.
On motion of Chaffey the usual decree
on bill for sale under judgment.
Although not technically Equity records, two other volumes have certain
connections with suits commenced on Equity side. These are record books that
contain minutes of proceedings of Queen's Bench En Banc. Court of Queen's
Bench En Banc acted as the appellate court for suits appealed from County
Court, Surrogate Court. and Queen's Bench (including Equity).
Chambers and En Banc Record Book (1 872-74; 1883-88) is entitled Coud
of Queen's Bench, Manitoba, Term Book, [?]6 Victoria To . .. . As the dates
indicate, the volume records actions from two different periods of Queen's Bench
activity. The first section of the volume begins October 8, 1872, with Court of
Queen's Bench first hearing, and concludes June 29, 1874. Chief Justice Morris
heard the October terrn cases; Chief Justice Wood and Justices McKeagney and
Bétournay began hearings in January of 1873. Actions in this section appear to
be Chambers and En Banc cases and a few can be identified as having been
referred from Equity. Suit numbers are, oddly, rather high. Barber vs Dease,
heard at the first sitting of the court. October 8, 1872, is listed as case 189. Why
is the case number so high? Were suits carried over from General Quarterly
Court, retaining the numbers that they had in that court? Were suits filed and
did they accumulate between constitution of the Supreme Court in 1871 and first
court hearing in 1872? Were appeals suits assigned a higher block of numbers,
beginning perhaps at 150? These questions rernain unanswered at the tirne of