^wfaioh  it  readied  in  modem  timen.*  From
the  chaooerr  Iseued  those  writs  which  first
put  the  macoinery  of  law  in  motion  in  every
oasa  where  legal  redress  existed.  In  that
court  new  writs  were  framed,  when  it  was
fit  to  adapt  the  proceedings  to  the  circum-
stances ot  a  new  case.  When  a  case  arose
in  which  it  appeared  that  the  course  and
•order  of  the  common  law  could  hardly  be
adapted,  by  any  variation  in  the  forms  of
procedure,  to  the  demands  tif  justice,  the
« complaint  was  laid  by  the  chancellor,  before
the  king,  who  commanded  it  to  be  considered
in  council,— a  practice  which,  by  degrees,  led
to  a  reference  to  that  magistrate  b^  himself.
To  facilitate  an  equitable  determination  in
such  complaints,  the  writ  was  devised  called
the  writ  of  '^jtiApam^''  commanding  the
person  complained  of  to  wpipeax  before  the
•chancellor,  and  to  answer  the  complaint.
