1. No person shall practice Physic or Surgery within this Province, or demand or receive any fee or reward for the cure of any diseases, or the performance of any surgical operation, unless he shall have obtained a Diploma from some College, or other public institution of Great Britain, Ireland, or Canada, authorized to grant the same, or unless he shall have been carefully examined by competent judges, appointed by the Governor in Council, and upon their report receive a licence from the Governor for that purpose.

2. All persons licenced by the Governor since the eleventh day of March one thousand eight hundred and sixteen, shall be entitled to the benefits of this Chapter.

3. Every person duly qualified as aforesaid, shall be entitled to demand, sue for, and recover reasonable and customary fees for his services, and payment for medicines by him administered in the course of his practice in the capacity either of a Physician or Surgeon.

4. Nothing in this Chapter shall extend to any Physician or Surgeon appointed by Commission or Warrant to serve in any Garrison or Military Corps, being within the limits of this Province.

PART THIRD.

OF COURTS AND PROCEEDINGS IN CONNECTION THEREWITH.

TITLE XXXVI.

OF COURTS OF PROBATE.

CHAPTER 136.

OF PROCEEDINGS IN ESTATES OF DECEASED PERSONS.

Section.

1. Judges of Probate; power.

2. Registrar, appointment.

3. Judge and Registrac to be sworn, when.

4. When Judge shall not act.

5. When Judge interested, who shall act.
6. Who shall not be counsel, &c.
7. Jurisdiction, over what estates.

8. Application for letters testamentary, &c.
9. Objection to letters, &c., effect of.
10. Executor neglecting to prove will;
penalty.

11. Suppression of; penalty.

12. Executor of surviving executor may administration.

13. Appraisers, appointment of; fees. 14. Inventory, how made.

15. To be on oath, contents.

have

16. Claims, how affected by debtor being made executor, &c.

17. Property discovered after inventory, how dealt with.

18. Debts, order of payment.

19. Application of assets before notice of debt.
20. Suits against executors, pleadings in.
21. Time to plead, when granted.

22. Legacies recoverable at law. Remedy
by executors against each other.

31. Testimony reduced to writing, by whom.
Absent witness.

32. Who shall tax costs.
33. Appeal, where.

34. Judge of Probates may grant licence for
sale of real estate.

35. When executors may apply for; facts to
be stated.

36. If Judge satisfied, licence to issue.
37. When creditor may apply. Proceedings.
Executor neglecting to sell. penalty.
38. When Court may order lease instead
of sale.

39. Licence to be registered.

40. Before the granting of licence, bond to be
given. form of

41. Sale or letting, to whom; notice.
42. Conveyances, by wheir and how executed.
43. Judge of Probate may compel specific
performance of contracts, when.
44. When Judge may appoint guardian for

45.

infant.

Actions by and against executors for wrongs of testator.

46.

23. Executor within certain time to render account; penalty for neglect, &c.

Appeal from Judge of Probates. Preliminaries.

24. Proceedings on filing account.
25. Vouchers, &c., by whom to be produced.
26. What allowances may be made in passing

accounts.

27. Who shall not make profit by estate. 28. Probate Court may issue Subpoenas. 29. Citations, publication of.

47. When liable to process of contempt.
48. Who may direct a feigned issue, and
when.

49. Who may state a case, and for whose
opinion.

50. Administration bond, when put in suit;
as to recovery.
51. Forms.

Schedule.

1. The Judges of Probate already appointed, or hereafter to be so, by the Governor in Council, in the several Counties in this Province, shall have power to take the Probate of Wills and grant administration of the estates of deceased persons in the manner hitherto in use, subject to the rules and directions by this Chapter prescribed; and shall continue in office, and be in all respects authorized to act as such Judges of Probate,

until some other persons shall be appointed in their stead, without taking out any new Commission on the change of the person administering the government of this Province.

2. The Governor in Council may appoint a Registrar of Probates for each County, who shall have the keeping of all books and papers belonging to the Probate Court.

3. The Judges of Probates and Registrars shall respectively be sworn to the faithful performance of their duties, before they enter thereupon.

4. The Judge of Probates shall not grant probate or letters of administration on any estate in which he is interested as next of kin, executor, or legatee.

5. When the Judge of Probates is so interested, the Governor, on the application of the party entitled to probate or administration, may specially appoint some other person in the County in his stead, who shall have all the powers incidental thereto.

6. No Judge of Probate shall be counsel, attorney, or proctor, in any matter pending, or to be brought before him.

7. Any deceased person, being an inhabitant of any County, and dying at any place, or not being an inhabitant of this Province, leaving assets in any County thereof, the Judge of Probates of such County may take probate or grant administration, and shall in either case have exclusive jurisdiction over all the estate of such deceased person in the Province.

8. The application to the Judge of Probates for letters testamentary or of administration, shall be by petition of the party entitled by law, or of one or more of the creditors of the deceased, setting forth the time and place of the death of the deceased, and the amount of his estate, real and personal, and such other particulars as may be necessary, the same to be verified on oath before such Judge, and he may examine any other person upon oath relating to the allegations of the petition. If the petition be opposed, or there appear to be parties having prior or equal rights to such administration not assenting, or the claim thereto may be doubtful, a citation shall issue. Before granting letters of administration, the Judge of Probates shall take from the persons applying therefor, a Bond (A) with two sureties to be approved of by him according to the form in the Schedule or to the like effect, which shall be filed in the Registry of his Court.

9. If objection be made to letters testamentary being issued to any person without security, the Judge, after enquiry, may order a Bond (A) to be given for due administration of the estate, as in case of intestacy.

10. If any executor of the Will of any deceased person, knowing of his being named and appointed as such, shall not within thirty days next after the death of the testator, cause such Will to be proved and recorded in the Registrar's office of the same County where the deceased person last dwelt, or present the said Will and renounce the executorship thereof, every such executor shall (without just excuse for the delay) forfeit the sum of five pounds every month from and after the expiration of the said thirty days, until he shall cause Probate of such Will to be made, or present the same as aforesaid; every such forfeiture to be sued for and recovered in the Supreme Court, at the suit of any of the heirs, legatees, or creditors of the testator.

11. Whoever shall be found guilty of suppressing any Will shall be liable to the same penalty, recoverable in the same manner as in the next preceding Section.

12. The executor of a sole or surviving executor of any Will, shall not be the executor to the first testator's Will, but he may have administration with the Will annexed.

13. The Judge, on granting administration, or letters testamentary, may, as often as he thinks fit, appoint by Warrant (B) two or more disinterested persons to appraise all the estate of the deceased, and the appraisers shall cach receive for their services ten shillings per day.

14. One or more inventories shall, with the aid of the appraisers, who shall be sworn to perform their duty, be made and returned by the executor to the Registrar, within three months, unless further time be allowed, and if not returned, the same may be compelled by citation, on the application of any person interested.

15. The inventory shall be made on oath, and contain the particulars of all the real and personal estate of the deceased.

16. Any legal claim against any person shall not be discharged by his being appointed executor or administrator of the estate of the deceased; but such claim shall be assets of the estate.

17. Property discovered after the making of any inventory

shall be appraised in the manner aforesaid, and an inventory thereof be returned within three months after such discovery.

18. The executor shall pay the debts of the deceased according to their legal priority, in classes; debts of the same class in equal proportions, without preference for a debt due, or suit commenced, or judgment obtained on any debt, or a claim of the executor.

19. Where an executor has applied the assets to the payment of debts, or any proportion thereof, of which he had notice, and eighteen months have elapsed since the date of the letters testamentary or of administration, and a creditor shall afterwards bring an action for any demand against him, it shall be a good defence to such action that such assets have been applied before he had notice thereof; but such defence must be specially pleaded; the proof of such notice shall be on the plaintiff, but he may as in other cases, take judgment for such demand, or any part of it, to be levied of future assets, as is provided for in the next following Section.

20. In a suit against an executor, debts of a prior class, or debts unpaid of the same class with that for which the suit is brought, may be proved on notice by affidavit under the plea of fully administered, whereupon the executor shall only be charged with any assets in his hands after deducting the debts of a prior class, and a just proportion of the debts unpaid of the same class. The plaintiff may answer the notice by any evidence without replication, and may have judgment to be levied on future assets, according to the principle aforesaid.

21. Time may be granted to an executor, in an action brought against him, if it appear to the Court or a Judge thereof, that he require further information respecting the estate to enable him to plead.

22. Where any certain legacy is or shall be bequeathed by any person in his Will, and also when any residuary or uncertain legacy is or shall be by the account of any executor, reduced to a certainty, every such legacy and legacies may be sued for, and recovered, at common law; and co-executors, being residuary legatees, may have actions of account against each other.

23. Every executor shall render an account of his administration to the Judge of Probates, unless he otherwise allow,