or fheet or piece of paper, on which fhall be written any letters of administration (except of common feamen or common foldiers flain or dead in the fervice) for any estate above the value of 201. fhall be paid a ftamp duty of 10s. By the ftatute 19 Geo. III. c. 66. if the eftate, for which the latter administration was taken, amounted to 100l. one pound for a ftamp duty was added to the 21. 10s. which made it 31. 10s. And if the eftate amounted to 300l. or upwards, another pound was added, whereby the administration amounted to 4l. 10s. And by the ftatute 23 Geo. III. c. 58. where the estate is of, or above the value of 100l. there is an additional stamp duty of 20s. which makes the above 31. 10s. to amount to 4l. 10s. And where the estate is of, or above the value of 300l. a further additional duty of 20s. which, added to the 21. laid on by the ftatute 19 Geo. III. and the firft additional 20s. laid on by this ftatute, make 41. and this being added to the above mentioned 21. 10s. caufes the adminiftration to amount to 61. 10s. And where the eftate is of, or above the value of 600l. there is a further additional duty of 20s. which makes the administration amount to 71. 108. And where the eftate is of, or above the value of 1000l. a further additional duty of 20s. which makes the administration amount to 81. Ios. And the fees and expence of proving a will in common form are about 7 or 8s. lefs than what is paid for letters of adminiftration; that is, provided the will be very fhort; but if it is of any confiderable length, the coft will be confiderably more, as in proportion to the length thereof. But what has been faid refpecting these fees, must be understood to be when the adminiftration iffues of course, or without being opposed, and on perfonal application made for the fame; for if the granting it is oppofed, the expence of obtaining it will be according to the effect of the oppofition, or the length fuch oppofition may be carried to after a caveat is entered, or suit commenced. And if perfonal application is not made for the adminiftration, but inftead thereof a commiffion is iffued for the adminiftrator to adminifter (as is ufual when the adminiftrator is ill, or lives at a great diftance from town), the

expence of a commiffion for an adminiftration or proving a will is confiderably more, concerning which we fhail make mention in a fubfequent part of this work, and there fhew, as propofed, what is now the expence of obtaining adminiftration, or proving a will, and that, either by personal application or commiffion ".

SECTION THE SIXTH.

HOW, AND FOR WHAT REASON, THE ADMINISTRATION MAY BE REVOKED.

F an administration is granted, and afterwards a will is produced and proved, the adminiftration fhall be revoked.—The ordinary cannot repeal an administration at his pleafure.In the cafe of Sir George Sands, the father administered to his fon, and afterwards a woman, pretending to be the fon's wife, fued for a repeal; but a prohibition was granted, because the ordinary had an election to grant it either to the father or wife, and by granting it to the father, had executed his power m. But where a femecovert, that is, a married woman, died inteftate, and the next of kin to her obtained adminiftration, and the husband fued for a repeal, a prohibition was denied; because in this cafe the ordinary had no power, or election, to grant it to any perfon but the husband".

THE rule feems to be, that an administration may be repealed, although not arbitrarily, except where there fhall be juft caufe for fo doing; as if the adminiftrator should

become lunatic, or the like; of which the temporal courts are to judge. So if the next of kin, at the death of the inteftate, happen to be uncapable of adminiftering, by reafon of attaint or excommunication, and the ordinary commits it to another; if he afterwards becomes capable, the ordinary may repeal the first administration, and commit it to the next of kin. And the fame is much more to be faid where the administration was undue ab initio, that is, from the beginning, whether as granted to any other than the next of kin, or granted by an incompetent authority, or in an irregular manner, without citing thofe who ought to have been cited P.

WHERE a man died inteftate, leaving a wife and a fifter, the fifter, upon the common oath, that fhe believed he died inteftate, without wife or children, obtained administration. And in a fuit to repeal it, as obtained. by furprife, it appeared to be the custom of the court, never to grant it to the next of kin, until the wife is cited. The fifter moved for a prohibition, and infifted that the ordinary had executed his authority. But the court held, that the ordinary could not be faid to have executed his authority, having never had an opportunity to make the election which the statute of the 21 Hen. VIII. c. 5. gives him; that it was incident to every court, to rectify the mistakes they were led into by mifrepresentation of the parties; that if there were no furprise (of which the court below was judge) there ought to be a prohibition, because then the adminiftration will have been. duly and regularly granted; but there was a plain surprise, and therefore they denied a prohibition .It is faid, that an administration may be repealed, without any fentence of revocation to be given in any spiritual court, or otherwise; as by granting a new administration 1.

WHERE the adminiftrator, after many goods administered, had his administration revoked, and it was committed to B. who fued the firft adminiftrator for goods unduly administered; it was held, that there was no remedy but in Chancery. But it is conceived in fuch a cafe as this, the second adminiftrator might maintain an action at law against the first, for money had and received, or trover for any goods remaining in his poffeffion.—See more concerning adminiftration revoked, p. 50.

HA

and of whom the fame is to be obtained; with an account of the fees and expence of obtaining it, and how the fame may be revoked; we may now confider the power the administrator has, by having the administration thus granted to him. Somewhat of this we have already feen, as that he cannot act before it is granted to him, and that after it is, he may bring actions as an executor may '.-We have feen alfo the reafon why adminiftration fhould be thus granted; as that the bishops were formerly the administrat Page 2.

Jac. Law Dict. 10 edit. tit. Ad. miniftrator.

tors

tors of the goods and chattels of perfons dying inteftate", and this continued to be the cafe till the ftatute of the 31 Edw. III. before mentioned was made. But now administrators are put upon the fame footing with regard to fuits, and to accounting, as executors appointed by will.Where there be two administrators, and one dies, the adminiftration furvives, and doth not ceafe: it not being like a letter of attorney to two, where by the death of one the authority ceaseth; but is rather an office; and adminiftrators are enabled to bring actions in their own names: they come in the place of executors, and therefore the office furvives. But if there is but one adminiftrator, and he dies, his executors are not adminiftrators, but it behoves the ordinary to commit a new administration ". When, an adminiftrator hath judgment, and dies, his executors (as fuch) may not fue execution of the judgment; for none fhall have execution of this judgment, but he who fhall be fubject to the payment of the debts of the first inteftate . -If there be two or more administrators, one of them cannot fell goods, or release debts, without the others joining; for they have but one authority given them by the bifhop over the goods which authority, being given to many, is to be executed by all of them joined together d. But it is otherwife in refpect to co-executors; these being in law but one perfon, therefore the act of one is the act of them all, and the poffeffion of one is accounted the poffeffion of all.

AN adminiftrator, by virtue of his administration, hath interest in all the chattels, real and perfonal, of the inteftate, and all the goods and chattels, either in poffeffion or action f, in like manner as an executor in the goods of the testator deceased. And all thofe goods and chattels which belonged