The lay tribunals, however, resisted, with suc-
cess, the encroachments of the ecclesiastical
judges in England, and continually restricted
their jurisdiction more and more; but, in the
meantime, the English chancellors, who, in those
remote times, were always bishops, performing
at the same time the functions of almoners and
keepers of the king*s conscience, (titles whicli
they still preserve,) claimed a discretionary
power, which is descended to their lay success
SOTS in all cases in which the ordinary laws pro-
vide no remedy. They were considered to render
justice, not according to fixed laws, but accord-
ing to their conscience and natural equity:
hence the distinction always made in England
between law and equity. It may often happen
that the law following previous decisions, and
slow and certain forms, could not render perfect
justice to parties, and might even decide unjustly;

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in all such cases^ recourse is had to the cban-
cellor, and he provides a remedy : he has there-
fore the power, by particular writs, to suspend
all suits in the courts of law, and even to sus-
pend the execution of their decisions.. He can
never, however, take cognizance of a question
of fact, but when it presents itself, he must send
it before a jury in a court of law, which reports
to him the verdict, and he then decides on viewing
the whole. The chancellor proceeds alone,
without a jury, upon written depositions, taken
before commissioners : his power is considered
wholly discretionary ; but as the decisions
of his predecessors are preserved in books of
reports, he is obliged to conform to them, as well
as to the received forms of his court. He does
not give judgment, but grants orders or injunc-.
