II.

AGREEMENTS OF COUNSEL.

All agreements of attorneys, touching the business of these courts shall be in writing, otherwise they will be considered of no validity.

III.

APPEALS AND WRITS OF ERROR.

1. Whenever an appeal to the Circuit Court has been made and perfected, from a final decree of the District Court, the appellant shall, within three days thereafter, file in the Circuit Court a certificate under the seal of the District Court: and upon such certificate being filed, the clerk of the Circuit Court shall enter the appeal upon the docket, and then receive and hold the moneys theretofore remaining in the District Court in the cause.

2. In case such certificate of appeal shall not have been filed the appellee may, at any time after the expiration of the said three days, receive from the clerk of the Circuit Court a certificate that no such appeal has been entered: and upon such certificate being filed in the District Court, the appeal shall be deemed abandoned, and the cause shall be thereby remitted for further proceedings in the District Court.

3. Appeals and writs of error shall be heard at the return term, and shall not be continued even by consent of counsel, but only for a legal reason assigned, or because the case is not reached. If when the case is reached, a legal reason be not assigned for putting it off, judgment of non pros shall be entered, with double costs, in case the plaintiff be the appellant or plaintiff in error, and in case the defendant be the appellant or plaintiff in error, judgment shall be entered against him for the same sum, or in the same way for which the District Court had rendered it with interest, double costs, and such damages for delay, as this court may deem just.

IV.

ATTORNEY AND COUNSEL.

1. No person shall be admitted to practice as counsel or attorney of these courts, unless he shall have previously been admitted in the Supreme Court of a State. Satisfaction of moral character will be required. He shall take the following oath, to wit: I do swear that I will demean myself as an attorney of this court uprightly and according to law, and that I will support the Constitution of the United States.

2. No attorney shall be accepted as security for costs, nor as bail of any kind, nor to testify in favour of his client, except as to matters which are proveable by the affidavit of a party.

V.

AUDITORS REPORTS.

No exception will be received to the report of any auditor, or to that of any master in chancery, unless the party excepting has filed the same with the auditor or master by whom the report has been made, whose duty it shall be, on such exception being filed, to re-consider the subject, and if deemed necessary by him to re-examine facts, and amend his report, if in his opinion such exceptions are in whole or in part well founded. And in order to give all parties in interest an opportunity of entering such exception, no auditor or master shall file his report until two weeks after he has notified to the parties or their counsel, his intention so to do on a day designated, and giving them an opportunity of having access to such report. And it is further ordered, that on the hearing of the question of confirming or setting aside any auditor's or master's report, the party excepting thereto shall be confined to the exception made by him before the auditor or master, according to the previous requisition of this rule; reserving to the court, however, the power of committing the report again, should justice require it.

VI.

BILL OF PARTICULARS.

call for a bill of par-

After appearance, the defendant may
ticulars, and until it be furnished, proceedings shall stay.
Should the plaintiff not furnish it for two calendar months, a
non suit may be entered by the clerk, on notice of two weeks.

VII.

COSTS.

In every action in which the plaintiff or complainant is
not at the time of suit brought a citizen of the District of
Pennsylvania, or being so then afterwards removes from
the District: and in every other case where a defendant, or
other person for him, shall make affidavit that he believes the
costs could not be recovered of the plaintiff by attachment or
execution, a deposit or other security for costs shall be given,
and proceedings shall be stayed until it is done.

VIII.

COMMISSIONS AND DEPOSITIONS.

1. A rule to take the depositions of ancient, infirm and
going witnesses, to be read in evidence on the usual terms, is
of course, and may be entered by either party, stipulating a
reasonable notice to the adversary: so of a rule for a commis-
sion to any of the United States or to foreign parts. Testimony
taken under a commission shall be by interrogatories and
cross interrogatories.

2. Depositions may be taken before the Examiner, or any
one of the commissioners of these courts: and commissions may
be executed in the same way or by any person qualified to take
testimony according to the laws of the State or county to
which it issues. The interrogatories must be filed in the
clerk's office at the time, and a copy thereof and written

notice of the rule and of the names of the commissioners, must be served on the adverse party or his attorney, at least two weeks before the commission issues, in order that he may file cross interrogatories or nominate commissioners on his own part, if he shall deem it eligible. To do which he shall have two weeks.

3. Exceptions to the interrogatories filed by either party must be taken before the commission is issued.

4. Notwithstanding a rule has been obtained for a commission, or for taking depositions of witnesses, and that they shall be read in evidence at the trial of the cause, in case of the death, absence, or other legal inability of such witness to attend; yet, in case the witness is resident within one hundred miles of the place of trial, it is ordered that the deposition shall not be read in evidence, unless the party offering it shall satisfy the court that a subpoena has been actually taken out, and that the witness has been duly subpoenaed or could not be found after reasonable pains taken for that purpose, or that the witness is physically unable to attend.

5. On the return and opening of any commission, or filing of any deposition, either party may give notice thereof to the opposite party, who shall within two weeks after service of such notice, file with the clerk a specification of his exceptions, if he have any, to the form or execution of the commission or taking of the deposition, or to the mode of swearing the witnesses, or to any of the acts or omissions of the commissioners, examiners or officers, or of any other person or persons, in or about the same. No exception to the admissibility of the evidence so returned or filed, not included in such specification, shall be taken on the trial of the cause, unless it be an exception that might be taken to the evidence, if the witness were offered for examination orally in court: Provided, that nothing herein be construed to permit or sanction the

reading on trial, in any case, of the answers or deposition of a witness resident within one hundred miles of the place of trial.

6. In all cases of exception filed as above, by either party, the other party may, before the trial of the cause, on motion, obtain a decision of the court upon the sufficiency or insufficiency of the exceptions; and such decision shall not be reconsidered upon the trial, but a bill of exceptions thereto shall be signed, if required, at the trial in the same manner as if the decision had taken place during the trial.

IX.

EJECTMENT.

The form of writs, service, and of the proceedings generally, in ejectment, may be as in the courts of the State, if the plaintiff's counsel should prefer to proceed in that form. But no ejectment shall be brought on an equitable title.

X.

EXCEPTIONS.

1. No bill of exceptions will be allowed which contains the charge of the court at large, upon any general exception to the whole of such charge. The party excepting must state distinctly, and in such a manner that the answer of the court will be full, direct and explicit, by a simple affirmation or negation,—the several matters of law, in the charge to which he excepts. Such matters of law and those only, will be inserted in the bill of exceptions, and allowed by the court.

2. In cases where an exception is taken to the ruling of the court on any question of evidence arising on the trial, or to the charge of the court on any matter of law, a motion for a new trial on such exceptions, shall be deemed a waiver thereof, unless with the leave of the court first had.

3. All exceptions to the charge of the court to the jury, shall be specified in writing immediately on the conclusion of