204 HANNAH K. CHASE'S CASE.—1 BLAND.

future accruing rents to which the defendants are entitled, may
be sequestered or placed in the hands of a receiver to be paid over
to her until she is satisfied; and generally, that she may have such
relief as is suited to the nature of her case.

The defendants Barney and wife, and Cole and wife, submit the
case to the justice of the Court. The defendant Williamson de-
clares, that he is totally ignorant of the plaintiff's pretensions; and,
therefore, leaves her to sustain them; but admits, that he holds
as tenant under some of the other defendants. The defendant
Richard M. Chase disclaims all interest in the matter in contro-
versy. And Hester Ann, Matilda, and Francis T. Chase, the
three infant children of the late Thomas Chase, who have been
made defendants as heirs of their father, who was a defendant
and died after he had answered, state their ignorance of the whole
affair, and pray to have their interests protected. But, their
rather does not seem to have had any interest in this property,
which could have been affected by the plaintiff's claim; or if he
had, it will be fully considered and disposed of in passing upon
the defence which he jointly made, before his death, with three
others of his co-defendants. Consequently, all these defendants
may be safely passed by without any further notice, and the case
may be at once disencumbered of every thing in relation to them.

The defendants Samuel Chase, Matilda Ridgely, and Ann Chase,
have put in a joint and several plea and answer. They alone
claim the property, called the Fountain Inn. They contest the
plaintiff's claim altogether and in every shape. The whole oppo-
sition and the entire brunt of the controversy rest with them.
They have couched their defence in the form of a pJea and answer.
The matter of their plea is extended over a wide surface in the
foreground; and sets out all that mass of particulars of which
their defence is composed. The matter of this plea amounts to
this, that the plaintiff filed a bill against them on the 5th of July.
1813, and another on the 14ch of February, 1814, in both of which
*she claimed dower in this same property; that the matter
217 of those suits was finally settled, and thus they were dis-
missed; and therefore, they plead those suits, the agreement, and
the dismissal of them in bar of the claim now made by the plain-
tiff.

But these defendants, not content with resting their case upon
the matter thus set out by way of plea, have gone on to repeat the
whole of the same matter, and to rely upon it by way of answer.
The bill always calls for an answer from the defendant as to all
the matters of fact therein set forth. But one of the peculiar and
proper offices of a plea is to present such a defence as shews, that
the defendant cannot be compelled to make, or may well be ex-
cused from making such an answer as the bill calls for; and there-
fore, upon the ground of inconsistency, the defendant cannot be