The Lower House. 79

Obedience to those Laws & to Punish the Transgressors of them
under this Express proviso Provided Nevertheless that the said Laws
be Consonant to Reason and be not Repugnant or Contrary but as
near as Conveniently may be Agreable to the Laws Statutes Customs
& Right of this our Kingdom of England, It is Conceived that this
Act of Assembly is neither Consonant to Reason nor Agreable to the
Laws of England And it Cannot be pretended that the Circumstance
of the Country when the Act was made rendered it Necessary to
make that or any other Law Dissonant to Reason or repugnant or
Contrary to the Law of England nor were there any Complaints of
the Matters Suggested in the Preamble of the said Act that appears
by the Proceedings of the Assembly nor was any one Practitioner
of the Law Charged before them with Exacting more than the Law
Allowed or Called upon to Answer any Such Complaint
I Qu. Whether the Oath prescribed by this Act of Assembly is
not inconsistent in it Self (if Intelligible the former part of it being
an Absolute Negative as to the taking any thing at all for the
Services &c. in the Law tho the Latter part of it Mentions & Limitts
fees that may be taken).
The Intention of the Legislature in directing this Oath Appears
to be, that the Practisers of the Law should swear not to take any
Other fees Except Such as are Allowed by this Act of Assembly,
But it is penned in Such a manner as to be Liable to the Objection
Mentioned in this Query and is Insensible

L. H. J.

2 Qu^r Whether it is Just reasonable or Agreable to the Laws of
England to Oblige a Man to Swear he will not Receive the Value of
his Labour & Pains in his Lawfull Calling tho' his Employer thinks
he well deserves it & Offers it him.
Attornys being in the Nature of Ministers to Courts of Justice.
it may be reasonable to Limit & Settle their fees & to Prevent Secret
Methods of Extortion; if such were Growing up, it may not be
against reason to restrain them in Some Instances from taking more,
tho' it should be offered, But I Conceive that the Provision made for
that purpose by this Act is unreasonable, because it Directs one
Entire fee to be taken for Prosecuting or Defending any Suit from
the beginning to the End of it, Whereas the Labour and pains in
Attending a Suit will Differ according to the Length of it and the
Method and Practices Used by the Adversary, for which reason
the Reward Ought to Differ, it Seems to me that the Proper Provision
would have been to Establish Certain fees for the Particular Services
or part of Business to be done by an Attorney or Lawyer in any
Suit.
3 Qu^r Whether every British Subject has not a right to dispose
of his Own in what manner to whom and in What Proportion he
Pleases for any Lawful Services done him Whether it is not Incon-
sistent with that Right to put any Subject under a Restraint of
rewarding a Person that has Acted faithfully and honestly in his

p. 195