ADMEASUREMENT ity, by which the doweress had received more than she was legally entitled to; 2 Bla. Com. 136; Gilbert, Uses, 379. The remedy is still subsisting, though of rare occurrence. See 1 Washb. R. P. 225, 226; 1 Pick. 314; 2 Ind. 336. that a drug was both given by the prisoner and taken by the woman with that intent, but that the taking was not in the presence of the prisoner. It was held, nevertheless, that the prisoner had caused the drug to be taken within the meaning of the statute; 1 Dears. & B. 127, 164. It is not sufficient that the defendant merely imagIn some of the states, the special proceed-ined that the thing administered would have the ing which is given by statute to enable the effect intended, but it must also appear that the widow to compel an assignment of dower, is drug administered was either a "poison" or a "noxious thing." termed an admeasurement of dower. See, generally, DOWER; Fitzherbert, Nat. Brev. 148; Bacon, Abr. Dower, K; Coke, Litt. 39 a; 1 Washb. R. P. 225, 226. ADMEASUREMENT OF PASTURE. In Practice. A remedy which lay in certain cases for surcharge of common of pas ture. It lay where a common of pasture appurtenant or in gross was certain as to number; or where one had common appendant or appurtenant, the quantity of which had never been ascertained. The sheriff proceeded, with the assistance of a jury of twelve men, to admeasure and apportion the common as well of those who had surcharged as those who had not, and, when the writ was fully executed, returned it to the superior court. la Ley. Termes de The remedy is now abolished in England; 3 Sharsw. Bla. Com. 239, n.; and in the United States; 3 Kent, 419. ADMINICLE. In Scotch Law. Any writing or deed introduced for the purpose of proof of the tenor of a lost deed to which it refers; Erskine, Inst. lib. 4, tit. 1, § 55; Stair, Inst. lib. 4, tit. 32, §§ 6, 7. In English Law. Aid; support; stat. 1 Edw. IV. c. 1. In Civil Law. Imperfect proof; Merlin, Répert. ADMINICULAR EVIDENCE. In Ecclesiastical Law. Evidence brought in to explain and complete other evidence; 2 Lee, Eccl. 595. ADMINISTERING POISON. An offence of an aggravated character, punishable under the various statutes defining the offence. The stat. 9 G. IV. c. 31, s. 11, enacts "that if any person unlawfully and maliciously shall administer, or attempt to administer, to any person, or shall cause to be taken by any person, any poison or other destructive thing," etc., every such offender, etc. In a case which arose under this statute, it was decided that, to constitute the act of administering the poison, it was not absolutely necessary there should have been a delivery to the party poisoned, but that if she took it from a place where it had been put for her by the defendant, and any part of it went into her stomach, it was an administering; 4 Carr. & P. 369; 1 Mood. Cr. Cas. 114. The statute 7 Will. IV. & 1 Vict. c. 85 enacts that "whosoever, with intent to procure the miscarriage of any woman, shall unlawfully administer to her, or cause to be taken by her, any poison, or other noxious thing," shall be guilty of felony. Upon an indictment under this section, it was proved that the woman requested the prisoner to get her something to procure miscarriage, and ADMINISTRATION (Lat. administrare, to assist in). Of Estates. The management of the estate of an intestate, or of a testator who has no executor; 2 Bla. Com. 494; 1 Wilto denote the management of an estate by an liams, Ex. 401. The term is applied broadly executor, and also the management of estates of minors, lunatics, etc. in those cases where trustees have been appointed by authority of law to take charge of such estates in place of the legal owners. At common law, the real estate of an intestate goes to his heirs; the personal, to his administrator. The fundamental rule is that all just debts shall be paid before any further disposition of the property; Coke, 2d Inst. 398. Originally, the king had the sole power of disposing of an intestate's goods and chattels. This power he early transferred to the bishops or ordinaries; and in England it is still exercised by their legal successors, the ecclesiastical courts, who appoint tion of estates; 4 Burns, Eccl. Law, 291; 2 Fonadministrators and superintend the administrablanque, Eq. 313; 1 Williams, Ex. 402. for collecting and preserving goods about to Ad colligendum. That which is granted these goods is under the form prescribed by perish (bona peritura). The only power over statute. Ancillary. That which is subordinate to the principal administration, for collecting the assets of foreigners. It is taken out in the country where the assets are locally situate; Kent, 43 et seq.; 1 Williams, Ex. [362], 6th Am. ed., note (u)-cases cited; 88 Penn. 131; 11 Mass. 256, 263; 44 Ill. 202; 32 Barb. 190; 57 Howard Pr. 208. Cæterorum. See CETERORUM. Cum testamento annexo. That which is granted where no executor is named in the will, or where the one named dies, or is incompetent or unwilling to act. Such an administrator must follow the statute rules of distribution, except when otherwise directed by the will; Willard, Ex.; 2 Bradf. 22; 4 Mass. 634; 6 Howard, 59, 60. The residuary legatee is appointed such administrator rather than the next of kin; 2 Phil. 54, 310; 1 Ventr. 217; 4 Leigh, 152; 2 Add. 352; 1 Williams, Ex., 6 Am. ed. (462), notes (h)(i). De bonis non. That which is granted when the first administrator dies before having fully administered. The person so appointed has in general the powers of a common administrator; Bacon, Abr. Executors, B, 1; Rolle, Abr. 907; 22 Miss. 47; 27 Ala. 273; 9 Ind. 342; 4 Sneed, 411; 31 Miss. 519; 29 Vt. 170; 11 Md. 412; 6 Metc. 197, 198. De bonis non cum testamento annexo. That eign state, but a suit cannot be brought withwhich is granted when an executor dies leav-out taking out letters in that state; 2 Ala. ing a part of the estate unadministered; 429; 18 Miss. 607; 2 Sandf. Ch. N. Y. 173. Comyns, Dig. Adm. B, 1; 3 Cush. 28; 4 See CONFLICT OF LAWS. Watts, 34, 38, 39. Durante absentia. That which subsists during the absence of the executor and until he has proved the will. In England, by statute, such an administration is raised during the absence of the executor, and is not determined by the executor's dying abroad; 4 Hagg. Eccl. 360; 3 Bos. & P. 26; see 5 Rawle, 264. Durante minori ætate. That which is granted when the executor is a minor. It continues until the minor attains his lawful age to act, which at common law is seventeen years; Godolph. 102; 5 Coke, 29. When an infant is sole executor, the statute 38 Geo. III. c. 87, s. 6 provides that probate shall not be granted to him until his full age of twentyone years, and that adm. cum test. annexo shall be granted in the mean time to his guardian or other suitable person. A similar statute provision exists in most of the United States. This administrator may collect assets, pay debts, sell bona peritura, and perform such other acts as require immediate attention. He may sue and be sued; Bacon, Abr. Executor, B, 1; Cro. Eliz. 718; 2 Bla. Com. 503; 5 Coke, 29; 35 N. H. 484, 493. Foreign administration. That which is exercised by virtue of authority properly conferred by a foreign power. The general rule in England and the United States is that letters granted abroad give no authority to sue or be sued in another jurisdiction, though they may be ground for new probate authority; 5 Ves. 44; 9 Cranch, 151; 12 Wheat. 169; 2 Root, 462; 20 Mart. La. 232; 1 Dall. 456; 1 Binn. 63; 27 Ala. 273; 9 Tex. 13; 21 Mo. 434; 29 Miss. 127; 4 Rand. 158; 10 Yerg. 283; 5 Me. 261; 35 N. H. 484; 4 McLean, C. C. 577; 15 Pet. 1; 13 How. 458. Hence, when persons are domiciled and die in one country as A, and have personal property in another as B, the authority must be had in B, but exercised according to the laws of A; Story, Confl. Laws, 23, 447; 15 N. H. 137; 15 Mo. 118; 5 Md. 467; 4 Bradf. 151, 249; and see DOMICIL. There is no legal privity between administrators in different states. The principal administrator is to act in the intestate's domicile, and the ancillary is to collect claims and pay debts in the foreign jurisdiction and pay over the surplus to his principal; 2 Metc. Mass. 114; 3 Hagg. Eccl. 199; 6 Humph. 116; 21 Conn. 577; 19 Penn. St. 476; 3 Day, 74; 1 Blatchf. & H. 309; 23 Miss. 199; 2 Curt. Eccl. 241; 1 Rich. 116. But some courts hold that the probate of a will in a foreign state, if duly authenticated, dispenses with the necessity of taking out new letters in their state; 5 Ired. 421; 2 B. Monr. 12; 18 id. 582; 4 Call, 89; 15 Pet. 1; 7 Gill, 95; 12 Vt. 589. So it has been held that possession of property may be taken in a for Pendente lite. That which is granted pending the controversy respecting an alleged will or the right of appointment. An officer of the court is appointed to take care of the estate only till the suit terminates; 2 P. Will. 589; 2 Atk. 286; 2 Lee, 258; 1 Hagg. Eccl. 313; 26 N. H. 533; 9 Tex. 13; 16 Ga. 13; 18 N. J. L. 15. He may maintain suits, but cannot distribute the assets; 1 Ves. sen. 325; 2 Ves. & B. 97; 1 Ball & B. 192; 7 Md. 282; 31 Penn. St. 465; 51 Mo. 193. Public. That which the public administrator performs. This happens in many of the states by statute in those cases where persons die intestate, without leaving any who are entitled to apply for letters of administration; 3 Bradf. 151; 4 id 252. Special. That which is limited either in time or in power. Such administration does not come under the statutes of 31 Edw. III. c. 11, and 21 Hen. VIII. c. 5, on which the modern English and American laws are founded. A judgment against a special administrator binds the estate; 1 Sneed, 430. Jurisdiction over administrations is in England lodged in the ecclesiastical courts, and these courts delegate the power of administering by letters of administration. In the United States, administration is a subject charged upon courts of civil jurisdiction. A perplexing multiplicity of statutes defines the powers of such courts in the various states. The public officer authorized to delegate the trust is called surrogate, judge of probate, registrar of wills, etc.; Williams, Ex. 237, notes; 8 Cranch, 536; 12 Gratt. 85; 1 Watts & S. 396; 11 Ohio, 257; 22 Ga. 431; 29 Miss. 127; 2 Gray, 228; 2 Jones (N. C.), 387. In some states, these courts are of special jurisdiction, while in others the power is vested in county courts; 2 Kent, 410; 9 Dana, 91; 4 Johns. Ch. 552; 4 Md. 1; 11 S. & R. 432; 7 Paige, Ch. 112; 1 Green, N. J. 480; 1 Hill, N. Y. 130; 5 Miss. 638; 12 id. 707; 30 id. 472. Death of the intestate must have taken place, or the court will have no jurisdiction. A decree of the court is prima facie evidence of his death, and puts the burden of disproof upon the party pleading in abatement; 3 Term, 130; 26 Barb. 383; 18 Ohio, 268. The formalities and requisites in regard to valid appointments and rules, as to notice, defective proceedings, etc., are widely various in the different states. Some of the later cases on the subject are these: 26 Mo. 332; 28 Vt. 819; 28 Ala. N. s. 164, 218; 29 id. 510; Bradf. 182; 2 id. 200; 16 N. Y. 180; 4 Ind. 355; 10 id. 60; 18 Ill. 59; 31 Miss. 430; 12 La. Ann. 44. If letters appear to have been unduly granted, or to an unfaithful person, they will be revoked; 9 Gill, 463; 12 Tex. 100; 18 Barb. 24; 14 Ohio, 268; 4 Sneed, 263; 6 Metc. 370. ADMINISTRATOR 119 ADMINISTRATOR The personal property of a decedent is ap- appointment.-The husband has his wife's propriated to the payment of his debts, so far personal property, and takes out administra as required, and, until exhausted, must be tion upon her estate. But in some states it is first resorted to by creditors. And, by cer- not granted to him unless he is to receive the tain statutes, courts may grant an adminis- property eventually. So the widow can orditrator power to sell, lease, or mortgage land, narily claim sole administration, though in the when the personal estate of the deceased is discretion of the judge it may be refused her, not sufficient to pay his debts; 1 Bradf. 10, or she may be joined with another; 2 Bla. Com. 182, 234; 2 id. 50, 122, 157; 29 Ala. N. s. 504; Williams, Ex. 342; 18 Pick. 26; 10 210, 542; 4 Mich. 308; 4 Ind. 468; 18 Ill. Md. 52; 56 Ala. 270. 519. The purchasers at such a sale get as full a title as if they had been distributees; but no warranty can be implied by the silence of the administrator; 2 Stockt. 206; 20 Ga. 588; 13 Tex. 322; 30 Miss. 147, 502; 31 id. 348, 430. And a fraudulent sale will be annulled by the court; 16 N. Y. 174; 2 Bradf. 200. See ASSETS. Insolvent estates of intestate decedents are administered under different systems prescribed by the statutes of the various states; 4 R. I. 41; 34 N. H. 124, 381; 35 id. 484; 1 Sneed, 351; 3 Johns. Ch. 58. See, generally, Raff; Redfield; Toller; Williams; Willard, on Executors; Blackstone; Kent; Story, Conflict of Laws; DOMICIL; CONFLICT OF LAWS. Of Government. The management of the executive department of the government. Second in order of appointment are the next of kin. Kinship is computed by the civil-law rule. The English order, which is adopted in some states, is, first, husband or wife; second, sons or daughters; third, grandsons or granddaughters; fourth, great-grandsons or great-granddaughters; fifth, father or mother; sixth, brothers or sisters; seventh, grandparents; eighth, uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces, etc.; 1 Atk. 454; 1 P. Will. 41; 2 Add. Eccl. 352; 24 Eng. L. & Eq. 593; 12 La. Ann. 610; 2 Kent, 514; 56 Ála. 539. In New York the order is, the widow; the children; the father; the brothers; the sisters; the grandchildren; any distributee being next of kin; 2 N. Y. Rev. Štat. 74; 1 Bradf. 64, 200, 259; 2 id. 281, 322; 4 id. 13, 173; 3 Redf. 512. When two or three are in the same degree, the probate judge or surrogate may decide between them; and in England he is usually Those charged with the management of the executive department of the government. ADMINISTRATOR. A person author-guided by the wishes of the majority of those ized to manage and distribute the estate of an intestate, or of a testator who has no ex ecutor. In English law, administrators are the officers of the Ordinary appointed by him in pursuance of the statute, and their title and authority are derived exclusively from the ecclesiastical judge, by grants called letters of administration. Williams, Ex. 331. At first the Ordinary was appointed administrator under the statute of Westm. 2d. Next, the 31 Edw. III. c. 11, required the Ordinary to appoint the next of kin and the relations by blood of the deceased. Next, under the 21 Hen. VIII., he could appoint the widow, or next of kin, or both, at his discretion. The appointment of the administrator must be lawfully made with his consent, and by an officer having jurisdiction. If an improper administrator be appointed, his acts are not void ab initio, but are good, usually, until his power is rescinded by authority. But they are void if a will had been made, and a competent executor appointed under it; 8 Cra. 23; 1 Dane, Abr. 556-561; 73 N. Y. 292. But, in general, anybody can be administrator who can make a contract. An infant cannot; a feme covert may, with her husband's permission; 4 Bac. Abr. 67; 3 Salk. 21. Improvident persons, drunkards, gamblers, and the like, are disqualified by statute; 6 N. Y. 443; 14 id. 449; 30 N. J. 106. interested. This discretion, however, is controlled by certain rules of priority concerning equigradal parties, which custom or statute has made. Males are generally preferred to females, though from no superior right. Elder sons are preferred to younger, usually, and even when no doctrine of primogeniture subsists. So solvent persons to insolvent, though the latter may administer. So business men to others. So unmarried to married women. So relations of the whole blood to those of the half blood. So distributees to all other kinsmen. The appointment in all cases is voidable when the court did not give a chance to all parties to come in and claim it. In Massachusetts an administrator cannot be appointed within thirty days, so as to deprive the widow and the next of kin. In general, see Williams, Ex. 251; 1 Salk. 36; 15 Barb. 302; 6 N. Y. 443; 5 Cal. 63; 4 Jones (N. C.), 274; 87 Penn. 163. Third in order of appointment.-Creditors (and, ordinarily, first the largest one) have the next right. To prevent fraud, a creditor may be appointed when the appointee of the two preceding classes does not act within a reasonable time. In the United States a creditor may make oath of his account to prove his debt, but no rule establishes the size of the debt necessary to be proved before apPersons holding certain relations to the in-pointment; 1 Cush. 525. After creditors, testate are considered as entitled to an ap- any suitable person may be appointed. Genepointment to administer the estate in estab- rally, consuls administer for deceased aliens; lished order of precedence; 3 Redf. 512. but this is by custom only, and in England Order of appointment.-First in order of there is no such rule. Co-administrators, in general, must be joined in suing and in being sued; but, like executors, the acts of each, in the delivery, gift, sale, payment, possession, or release of the intestate's goods, are the acts of all, for they have joint power; Bacon, Abr. Ex. C, 4; 11 Viner, Abr. 358; Comyns, Dig. Administration (B, 12); 1 Dane, Abr. 383; 2 Litt. (Ky.) 315; 56 Ala. 173. If one is removed by death, or otherwise, the whole authority is vested in the survivors; 6 Yerk. 167; 5 Gray, 341; 29 Penn. St. 265. Each is liable only for the assets which have come to his own hands, and is not liable for the torts of others except when guilty of negligence or connivance; 1 Strange, 20; 2 Ves. 267; 8 Watts & S. 143; 8 Ga. 388; 5 Conn. 19; 24 Penn. St. 413; 4 Wash. C. C. 186; 3 Sandf. Ch. 99; 3 Rich, Eq. (So. C.) 132. As to the several powers of each, see 10 Ired. 263; 9 Paige, Ch. 52; 35 Me. 279; 4 Ired. 271; 28 Penn. 471; 20 Barb. 91; 16 Ill. 329. The duty of an administrator is in general to do the things set forth in his bond; and for this he is generally obliged to give security; Williams, Ex. 439, Am. notes; 4 Yerg. 20; 5 Gray, 67. He must publish a notice of his appointment, as the law directs. Usually he must render an inventory. In practice, book accounts and unliquidated damages are not inventoried, but debts evidenced by mercantile paper, bonds, notes, etc., are; 1 Stockt. 572; 23 Penn. 223. He must collect the outstanding claims and convert property into money; 2 Kent, 415; 18 Miss. 404; Taml. 279; 1 Mylne & C. 8; 6 Gill & J. 171; 4 Edw. Ch. 718; 4 Fla. 112; 20 Barb. 100; 25 Miss. 422; 57 Ind. 198; 82 Penn. 193. As to what constitutes assets, see ASSETS. For this purpose he acquires a property in the assets of the intestate. His right is not a personal one, but an incident to his office; 9 Mass. 74, 352; 16 N. Y. 278. He owns all his intestate's personal property from the day of death, and for any cause of action accruing after that day may sue in his own name; Williams, Ex. 747; 4 Hill (N. Y.), 57; 17 Vt. 176; 4 Mich. 170, 132; 26 Mo. 76. This happens by relation to the day of death; 12 Metc. 425; 7 Jur. 492; 18 Ark. 424; 34 N. H. 407. An administrator is a trustee, who holds the legal property but not the equitable. If he is a debtor to the estate, and denies the debt, he may be removed; but if he inventories it, it is cancelled by the giving of his bond; 11 Mass. 268. may assign notes, etc. See '35 N. H. 421; 28 Vt. 661; 2 Stockt. 320; 29 Miss. 70; 3 Ind. 369; 18 Ill. 116; 28 Penn. St. 459; 2 Patt. & H. Va. 462; 1 Sandf. N. Y. 132. Nearly all debts and actions survive to the administrator. But he has no power over the firm's assets, when his intestate is a partner, until the debts are paid; 1 Bradf. 24, 165. He must pay the intestate's debts in the order prescribed by law. There is no universal order of payment adopted in the United States; but debts of the last sickness and the funeral are preferred debts everywhere; Bacon, Abr. Ex. L, 2; Williams, Ex. 679, 1213; 2 Kent, 416; 4 Leigh, 35; 10 B. Monr. 147; 7 Ired. Eq. 62; 23 Miss. 228; 28 N. J. Eq. 327. Next to these, as a general rule, debts due the state or the United States are privileged. This priority of the United States only extends to the net proceeds of the property of the deceased, and therefore the necessary expenses of the administration are first paid. The act of burial and its accompaniments may be done by third parties, who have a preferred claim therefor, if reasonable; 3 Nev. & M. 512; 8 Ad. & E. 348; 4 Sawyer, 199. But the amount is often disputed; 1 B. & Ad. 260; R. M. Charlt. 56. If the administrator pays debts of a lower degree first, he will be liable out of his own estate in case of a deficiency of assets; 2 Kent, 419. The statute prescribes a fixed time within which the administrator must ascertain the solvency of the estate. During this time he cannot be sued, unless he waives the right; 2 Nott & M'C. 259; 2 Duer, 160; 6 McLean, C. C. 443. And if the commissioner deems the estate insolvent, parties dissatisfied may resort to a court and jury. If the administrator makes payments erroneously, supposing the estate to be solvent, he may recover them, it being a mistake of facts; 3 Pick. 261; 2 Gratt. 319. In some states, debts cannot be brought in before due, if the estate is solvent. 3 The administrator may plead the statute of limitations, but he is not bound to, if satisfied that the debt is just; 15 S. & R. 231; 1 Atk. 526; 9 Dowl. & R. 40; 11 N. H. 208, Metc. Mass. 369; 9 Mo. 262; 28 Ala. N. s. 484; 10 Md. 242; 23 Penn. 95 8 How. 402; 10 Humphr. 301; 4 Fla. 481. He is, in some states, chargeable with interest, first, when he receives it upon assets put out at interest; second, when he uses them himself'; third, when he has large debts paid him which he ought to have put out at interest; 5 N. H. 497; 1 Pick. 530; 13 Mass. 232. In some cases of need, as to relieve an estate from sale by the mortgagee, he may lend the estate-money and charge interest thereon; 10 Pick. 77. The widow's support is usually decreed by the judge. But the administrator is not liable for the education of infant children, or for mourning-apparel for relatives and friends of the deceased; 11 Paige, Ch. 265; 11 S. & R. 16. He may declare, as administrator, wherever the money when received will be assets; and he may sue on a judgment once obtained, as if the debt were his own. He may summon supposed debtors or holders of his intestate's property to account, and has the right to an investigation in equity. In equity he may recover fraudulently-conveyed real estate, for the benefit of creditors. He may also bind the estate by arbitration; 4 Harr. (N. J.)| 457; 35 Me. 357; 38 Penn. St. 239. He He must distribute the residue amongst ADMINISTRATOR those entitled to it, under direction of the court and according to law; 6 Ired. 4; 86 Penn. 149, 363; 3 Redf. 461. The great rule is, that personal property is regulated by the law of the domicil. The rights of the distributees vest as soon as the intestate dies, but cannot be sued for till the lapse of the statute period of distribution. See 118th Novel of Justinian, Cooper's trans. 393; 2 P. Will. 447; 2 Story, Eq. Jur. § 1205; 20 Pick. 670; 12 Cush. 282; 31 Miss. 556. See DISTRIBUTION; CONFLICT OF LAWS. The liability of an administrator is in general measured by the amount of assets. On his contracts he may render himself liable personally, or as administrator merely, according to the terms of the contract which he makes; 7 Taunt. 581; 7 B. & C. 450. But to make him liable personally for contracts about the estate, a valid consideration must be shown; Yelv. 11; 3 Sim. 543; 2 Brod. & B. 460. And, in general, assets or forbearance will form the only consideration; 5 Mylne & C. 71; 9 Wend. 273; 13 id. 557. But a bond of itself imports consideration; and hence a bond given by administrators to submit to arbitration is binding upon them personally; 8 Johns. 120; 22 Miss. 161. In general, he is not liable when he has acted in good faith, and with that degree of caution which prudent men exhibit in the conduct of their own affairs; 2 Ashm. 437. part of it, when sold by a common auctioneer to pay debts; but he may when the auctioneer is a state officer, and the sale public and bona fide; 2 Patt. & H. 71; 9 Mass. 75; 4 Ind. 355; 6 Ohio St. 189. ADMIRAL (Fr. amiral). A high officer or magistrate that hath the government of the king's navy, and the hearing of all causes belonging to the sea; Cowel. See ADMIRALTY. By statute of July 25, 1866, the active lists of line-officers of the navy of the United States were divided into ten grades, of which the highest is that of admiral, and the next that of vice-admiral. By statute of Jan. 24, 1873, these grades will cease to exist when the offices become vacant, and the highest rank will then be rear-adıniral. ADMIRALTY. A court which has a very extensive jurisdiction of maritime causes, civil and criminal. On the revival of commerce after the fall of the Western empire, and the conquest and settlement by the barbarians, it became necessary that some and decide causes that arose out of maritime tribunal should be established that might hear commerce. The rude courts established by the conquerors had properly jurisdiction of controversies that arose on land, and of matters pertaining to land, that being at the time the only property that was considered of value. To supply by the government or the people at large, on the this want, which was felt by merchants, and not coast of Italy and the northern shores of the Mediterranean, a court of consuls was established in each of the principal maritime cities. ConAn administrator is liable for torts and for temporaneously with the establishment of these gross negligence in managing his intestate's courts grew up the customs of the sea, partly borrowed, perhaps, from the Roman law, a copy property. This species of misconduct is of which had at that time been discovered at called in law a devastavit; 2 Williams, Ex. Amalfi, but more out of the usage of trade and 1529; 4 Hayw. 134; 1 Dev. Eq. 516. Such the practice of the sea. These were collected is negligence in collecting notes or debts; 2 from time to time, embodied in the form of a code, Green. Ch. 300; an unnecessary sale of prop- and published under the name of the Consolato del Mare. The first collection of these customs erty at a discount; 8 Gratt. 140; paying undue funeral expenses; 1 B. & Ad. 260; 2 the earliest authentic evidence we have of their is said to be as early as the eleventh century; but Carr. & P. 207; and the like mismanage-existence is their publication, in 1266, by Alments. So he may be liable for not laying phonso X., King of Castile; 1 Pardessus, Lois out assets for the benefit of the estate, or for Maritimes, 201. turning the money to his own profit or advantage. In such cases he is answerable for both principal and interest. In England he may be charged with increased interest for money withheld by fraud; 2 Cox, Ch. 113; Ves. 620; and he is sometimes made chargeable with compound interest in this country; 10 Pick. 77. Finally, a refusal to account for funds, or an unreasonable delay in accounting, raises a presumption of a wrongful use of When this species of property came to be of them; 5 Dana, 70; 6 Gill & J. 186; Wil-sufficient importance, and especially when trade liams, Ex. 1567. An administrator receives no compensation in England, 3 Mer. 24; but in this country he is paid in proportion to his services, and all reasonable expenses are allowed him; 84 Penn. 303. An administrator cannot pay himself. His compensation must be ordered by the court; 58 Ind. 374. If too small a compensation be awarded him, he may appeal; 1 Edw. Ch. 195; 4 Whart. 95; 11 Md. 415; 3 Cal. 287; 7 Ohio St. 143; 3 Redf. 465. He cannot buy the estate, or any On Christmas of each year, the principal merchants made choice of judges for the ensuing year, and at the same time of judges of appeal, and their courts had jurisdiction of all causes that arose out of the custom of the sea, that is, of all maritime causes whatever. Their judg ments were carried into execution, under proper officers, on all movable property, ships as well as other goods, but an execution from these courts 1283, c. 1, §§ 22, 23. did not run against land; Ordonnance de Valentia, on the sea became gainful and the merchants began to grow rich, their jurisdiction in most maritime states was transferred to a court of admiralty; and this is the origin of admiralty jurisdiction. The admiral was originally more a military than a civil officer, for nations were then more warlike than commercial; Ordonnance de Louis XIV., liv. 1; 2 Brown, Civ. & Adm. Law, c. 1. The court had jurisdiction of all national affairs transacted at sea, and particularly of prize; and to this was added jurisdiction of all controversies of a private character that grew out of maritime employment and commerce; and this, as nations grew more commer |