A STUDY IN LEGAL ADMINISTRATION AND RECORDS SHARON ...

It was as a pari of the superior court that Equity had its constitution. The
act of 1871 created the Supreme Court of Manitoba with "jurisdiction over al1
matters of Law and Equity, al1 matters of wills and intestacy ...."" For reasons of
economy, Equity never became a separate court, as it had in ~ngland." It stmd
alongside Common Law, each as a "siden of Queen's Bench. Common Law
handled 'legal" matters and Equity handled 'equitable" matters. The act of 1880
deciared that "Queen's Bench shall have the like jurisdiction and powers ...
possessed and exercised by the court of chancery in Eng~and."~' These powers
were broad and extended to trusts, fraud, cases where common law did not
provide a remedy, where actions needed to be prevented, or where actions
needed to be compelled. The act specified the jurisdiction as follows:
1. In case of fraud and accident;
2. In al1 matters relating to trusts, executors and
administrators, co-partnerships and accounts,
mortgages, awards dower, infants, idiots, lunatics,
and their estates;
3.Staying of waste;
4. Compelling the specific performance of
agreements and wntracts;
5. Cornpelling the discovery of concealed papers or
evidence, or such as may be wtangfully withheld from
the party claiming the benefit of the same;
6. The preventing of the multiplicity of actions or
suits;
7. The staying of proceedings at law prosecuted
against equity and good faith;