A STUDY IN LEGAL ADMINISTRATION AND RECORDS SHARON ...

The book was used until February 15, 1879 (case number 45) to record
prelirninary orders and orders that were incidental to actual proceedings in court.
Volume C, entitled (front cover) Queen's Bench DeCrees in Equify C and (spine)
BR. Decrees in E~uity Cl From Mar.3rd, 1875 To June ?, 1879, was used in
paraIlel with Volume B until August 14, 1878 (case number 45). Volume C,
however, recorded decrees ensuing from court proceedings and from
adjudication of the main points at issue.23 Following decree 45 this parallel
systern of record keeping was abandoned and Volume B temporarily fell into
disuse. Volume C continued in use for al1 types of decrees. At this juncture,
most of the cases were those of infants, and decrees generated from these filled
the remainder of the book. When the last page had been cornpleted, Volume B
was reclaimed. Decree 177 was entered, immediately following 45, and infantsJ
decrees, for the rnost part, completed Volume B. At that point Volume A was
brought into use.24 Its title is misleading for it reads: Minute Book A, From
Nov.ZBth, 7880 To February 2r4 1882. Contents, though, are like that of C and
the latter part of 6, and they reflect the dispensing of decrees during the period
when a large number of infants' cases passed through the court.
Volumes B and A are not indexed but C has a separate index in booklet
form. During the early years of Equity's functioning, most court registers and
ledgers were of the enormous variety (1 2 x 18 inches), thick and heavy. They
did not always have selfcontainad index sections, and, when they didn't,
separate, smaller indexes were prepared in booklet forrn. Sometimes these