Glossary and Abbreviations

Glossary and Abbreviations

This glossary contains often legal or technical words or expressions that are explained within the Commentary of each particular case.

General Note: the use of the apostrophe (‘) in spelling a word was an acceptable sign of the omission of a letter or letters.

animus furandi – the intent to steal – an essential element in crimes involving some form of Larceny (stealing)

Assessor – an ‘Assessor’ was a person who sat as an assistant to a Judge – in civil cases he was usually someone skilled in commercial practices and usages. He sometimes asked questions of a witness – (see Taylor v Rucker, heard on 5 November, 1841, Willis Civil Casebook No. 1, p. 20)

List of Assessors in the Willis Civil Casebook in Melbourne.

• Hawdon, probably John – was a Justice of the Peace living in Heidelberg; member of the Melbourne Club (see Billis. de Serville)
• Kemmis, Arthur – was a Justice of the Peace, landowner and squatter; he died in 1842
• McFarlane – James and Duncan McFarlane were squatters at Cheviot Hills about this time; Duncan was a founding member of the Melbourne Club (see Billis. de Serville)
• Manning – not identifiable
• Martin – not identifiable
• Mercer, George Duncan – was a Justice of the Peace and the manager of the Port Phillip Bank
• Verner, William – was a Justice of the Peace living in Heidelberg; he later became Commissioner of the Court of Insolvency (see Kerr. de Serville; Garryowen)
• Wills, Thomas – was a Justice of the Peace living in Little Collins St (see Kerr. de Serville; Garryowen)

Bar (1) – The Bar was a collective name for barristers.

Bar (2) – the counter in a public house over which liquor was supplied – often the whole of the room with such a counter was called “the bar”. Sometimes a distinction was drawn between the ‘bar’ and the ‘tap’ (see ‘tap’ below). Part of the one room might have been the ‘bar’ and another part the ‘tap’.

Bar (3) – see Prisoner at the bar (below).

Box – this was the description commonly given to the container in which most people kept clothing and personal property – it varied in size but was often the size of a suitcase and had been used during travel to the Colony. A Box could be locked using a specific key.

Bundle – to make it easier to carry them, clothing and small items of personal property were commonly wrapped and tied into a larger piece of cloth.

Case – Willis used this word in his notes to indicate the conclusion of the prosecution or defence evidence or that of the plaintiff or defendant.

Cask – a liquor container of cylindrical shape made of wooden staves bound by hoops, had flat ends – sometimes referred to as a barrel. (OED)

Cert’e of Freedom – Certificate of Freedom – issued to transported convict after the sentence had been served.

Check – this was an acceptable 19th century way of spelling “cheque”.

CRB – Criminal Record Book – This book was kept in the Supreme Court and contained details of those convicted and of the offences. It is now held by the Victorian Public Records office in VPRS 78.

Doe dem – Some headings (in Willis Civil Case Book in Melbourne) commence with the action entitled “Doe dem v”. The explanation is that such was the title in ejectment actions at that time. David M Walker in The Oxford Companion to Law (OUP 1980) has the entry.

Ejectment – in older English law a special form of trespass, de ejectione firmae, at the instance of a lessee against anyone who had ejected him from his term of years. Initially it gave him damages only, but from the fifteenth century it enabled him to recover his term also and later this enabled ejectment to be used instead of most of the old forms of real action to try a question of title – to the freehold of land. Thus when two persons had to try the title to a piece of land, one of them fictionally leased it to the imaginary John Doe and the other to the imaginary Richard Roe or William Styles. One lessee was said to have ejected the other and the court, in the guise of trying the rights of the lessees, determined the rights of the lessors. The real plaintiff appeared as lessor, and the action was entitled Doe d. Bloggs v. Snooks, i.e. Doe on the demise by Bloggs. In the seventeenth century the lessee replaced the fictitious Richard Roe or William Styles as defendant, having been fictitiously asked by Roe or Styles to defend his interest. In 1852 John Doe was abolished by statute and in 1875 the whole form of action was abolished. In the U.S. ejectment was a part of colonial law but was early reformed by statute in most states to make it an action for determining title which could be used by any landowner.

cross-examination – the evidence obtained by questions asked by or on behalf of the party not calling that witness.

evidence – in-chief – the evidence led from the witness by the party calling that witness.

ex’d – examined – sometimes used to indicate that the evidence being noted was “evidence-in-chief”.

F.S – Free by Servitude – had been transported to the Colonies and had completed the sentence imposed. ‘FS’ was commonly used in official documents.

Felony – all serious crimes were felonies.

Free – This word was used to record the status of prisoners not known to have previously been sentenced to transportation or imprisonment.

Information – this was the formal document setting out the detail of the crimes for which the prisoner was on trial. If there was more than one crime charged the detail of each crime was in a separate Count. On occasions the word ‘indictment’ is used to refer to the Information; ‘indictment’ was the UK equivalent.

Inter se – between themselves.

Larceny – stealing personal property – penalty could be transportation or imprisonment.

M P – Mounted Police.

Mark – people often put secret marks etc on their property so that they could later identify it. No evidence was ever given as to the detail of these marks.

Misdemeanour – lesser crimes.

mo’s – months.

Mo’y – money.

Mo’y Box – money box – the “till” and “cash register” were not then in use and publicans and shopkeepers secured cash in a box which could be locked and usually could be carried from the premises.

Nighest – nearest.

Non Suit – indicates that the plaintiff, in civil cases, was given leave to discontinue the case whilst it was before the court.

Per Cur – per curia, per curiam (by the court) – indicates that the evidence was given in response to a question by the Judge.

Per jury – indicates that the evidence was given in response to a question by a member of the jury.

Pocket Book – similar to a wallet.

Pris’r – prisoner – during the trial process the person charged with a felony was a prisoner of the Court and was commonly referred to as “the prisoner”.

Prisoner at the bar – the area, such as the dock, in which prisoners were placed in court was regarded as a barrier separating the prisoner from others in the courtroom; hence the expression “prisoner-at-the-bar”.

Prosecutor (Prosecut’r) – the person who made the original charge against the prisoner was commonly referred to as the ‘Prosecutor’. If that person was a female the word ‘Prosecutrix’ might be used.

Tap – used to refer to the area of a public house where liquor was taken from containers such as casks and barrels which were usually so constructed that a tap could be attached.

Traverser – this technical term was appropriate when an accused pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanour.

Unsworn statement – an accused person on trial could not give evidence on oath but could make or read a statement in defence. That document was often in the form of a Petition.

Wit’s – witness.

Witness – until 1843 persons with an interest in the outcome of proceedings could not be sworn as witnesses in civil cases. This explains why the parties to such actions are not recorded as giving evidence.

X – Xn – X’ex’d – may mean ‘evidence-in-chief’ or ‘cross-examined’.