An ,iappeal (which, strictly speaking, is nothing more than a re-hearing of the cans q ) may be made from any decision of t e Master of the Rolls or the Vice Chat to the Lord Chancellor, and theIcourt of the Lord Chancellor has been/ of late years much occupied with E suet appeals : original causes are gene ral' , confined to the courts of the Master f of the Rolls and the Vice•Chancellors. Th appeal from the decree of the Lord ,i Ch. ncellor is to the House of Lords.
here are officers of the Court of Chan cel by whom certain parts of the equit abl jurisdiction are exercised. These olers have however no original power for this purpose, but derive all their au dio ity from special delegation by one of judges in Chancery. The principal of hese officers are the Masters in Ordi nal y, and the Accountant•General. The Ma tens in Ordinary are eleven in num ber, besides the Master of the Rolls, who is il e chief of them, and the Accountant "' eral. The number of Masters was eased from ten to eleven when the It• ity jurisdiction of the Court of Ex chequer was abolished by 5 Viet. c. 5. They were formerly appointed by the Lord Chancellor, but are now appointed by the crown, and hold office during good behaviour. (3 & 4 Wm. IV. c. 94.) The salary is 2500/. a year. It is the duty of the Masters to execute the orders of the court upon references made to them, whether in exercise of its original juris diction, or under the authority of an act of parliament, and to make reports in writing upon the matters that are re ferred to them. The Masters' reports
must be confirmed by the court in order to make them effectual. The heads of refer ence to the Masters are almost as numerous as the subjects of the court's jurisdiction. The principal subjects of reference are, to examine into any alleged impertinence contained in pleadings, and into the suf ficiency of a defendant's answer ; to ex amine into the regularity of proceedings taken in any cause, or into alleged con tempts of court ; to take the accounts of executors, administrators, and trustees, or between anyparties whatsoever ; to inquire into, and decide upon, the claims of creditors, legatees, and next of kin ; to sell estates, and to approve of the invest ment of trust-money in the purchase of estates, and, for this purpose (or for any other, as the case may be), to investigate titles, and settle conveyances; to appoint guardians for infants, and to allow proper sums for their maintenance and educa tion ; to tax the costs of the proceedings in any suit, or under the orders of the court: and generally to inquire into and inform the equity judge upon all matters of fact, which are either disputed between the parties, or not so far ascertained by evi dence as to preclude all doubt on the subject.
The Accortntant-General is an officer created by the stat. 12 G. I. c. 32, which also regulates his duties. [ACCOUNTANT