Provincial Court Proceedings, 1677/8.    347

        is said att which day to witt the seventeenth day of Octobr aforesaid, Liber N N
        which ought to have bin the thirteenth of June aforesaid, & the cause 2dly
        is then continued till the thirteenth of July following
         The proceedings in the said Court are undue illegall & erronious
        in this that the said Peca appearing att the tenth day of July
        ready with His Wittnesses to come to a tryall, the Court discontinues p. 580
        the cause, by reason of the Clerkes absence in June Court upon
        publick busines Whereas the Court may in the absence of the Clerke
        disabled by sicknes or any other (though never so legall) impedimt 3dIy
        depute another to officiate without any speciall Deputacon, or att
        least the cause ought to have bin continued till the next Court, & not
        the whole busines of the County to be delayed by any laches of the
        Clerk not attending his office, but they ought to have proceeded to
        tryall of the cause without putting the defendt to the trouble of a
        new Arrest which is vexatious & illegall twice for one & the same
        matter to Arrest any person
         Itt is said in the Record that the writt issued the tenth of July
        returnable the eighth of August, & the Defendt being arrested then
        appeared ready to defend himselfe & then the said eighth day of
        August the cause was continued till the next Court which was to be 4thly
        held the twelfth day of September next, & thence to be continued
        untill the seventeenth day of Octobr next, all which is illegall false &
        erronious in this, for that the reasons of the continuance & att whose
        request ought to have bin menconed, for if the Defendt was then
        ready with his Wittnesses & the plaintiffe not ready, he ought to
        have bin nonsuited, & the defendt not farther referred nor Could the
        Court on the eighth of August say that the cause should be continued
        till the twelfth of Septembr which should be continued till the seven
        teenth of Octobr & so the Defendt from Court to Court continued
        till the plaintiffe should be ready, & the defendt might be determined
        & concluded unheard or not haveing his Wittnesses ready as he twice
        before had them
         The Record & Judgemt aforesaid are manifestly erronious in this, 5thly
        that the accOn of the case is in the name of Henry Stocket gentt high
        Sheriffe &c who declares in trespas of the case agt the defendt for
        his supposed takeing away of two thousand six hundred pds of to
        bacco by the said Sheriffe by fleri facias levyed of the proper Goods
        & Chattels of Thomas Knighton, & by the said Sheriffe marked with
        the broad arrow for satisfaction of a debt & Judgemt recovered in
        the said County Court by Thomas Taillor Esqr agt the said Thomas
        Knighton for two thousand foure hundred pds of tobacco with costs
        of suite, whereas the said accon (if any ought to have bin) should
        have bin cothenced in the name of Thomas Taillor Esqr to whom
        the supposed wrong & trespas was done And itt is usuall for the
        plaintiffes to give the Sheriffe caution to indempnifle the Sheriffe
        upon the Levying of Goods by fieri facias, so that the plaintiffe