"Most persons who have gone through a Conveyancer's chamber are in possession of a MS. Recital-Book; but to those who hav not this convenience, and who expect to be largely occupied i drafting, I cannot too strongly recommend to possess themselves if possible, of a book of this description. I often found, when first commenced practising, that the very frame of the draft itsel which is what most puzzles a young practitioner, would be suggeste by the related recitals in my Recital-Book; and I have repeatedl heard Equity Draftsmen, in an early stage of their practice, declar that the Recital-Book was the most useful book they had.”

[From the MS. Lectures of the late Professor J. J. PARK.

CONVEYANCERS'

Recital-Book;

WITH

EXPLANATORY

INTRODUCTION AND NOTES.

BY THOMAS MARTIN, Esq.

OF LINCOLN'S INN.

LONDON:

A. MAXWELL, LAW BOOKSELLER TO HIS MAJESTY;

S. SWEET; STEVENS AND SONS;

Law Booksellers and Publishers;

AND MILLIKEN and son, GRAFTON STREET, DUBLIN.

PREFACE.

THE design of the present Work is to lessen the difficulty of acquiring a knowledge of drafting, by suggesting, in the first place, such rules as may assist the student in determining what ought to be “recited;" and then by a methodical collection of various forms, to show how Recitals should be framed.

Important as is this subject, and perplexing as it often proves to the student and young practitioner, it has nevertheless been hitherto treated of so slightly and incidentally, that to the anxious and embarrassed inquirer, books afford little or no help.

True it is, that we already possess several voluminous collections of precedents, some of which

have obtained a deserved celebrity. They are guides, which no one who wishes to avoid being entangled in the cross-roads and bye-paths of practice, will hastily dismiss. And not the least of the advantages resulting from such works is, that they have given a sort of fixedness to the forms of conveyancing, producing an uniformity of practice that cannot be too highly prized. none of these collections, however, do "Recitals occupy the prominent place to which they are entitled: they are only subordinate to the main design, that of laying open the whole structure of established forms.

In

99

The materials of the present volume are principally derived from original sources; but it ought to be acknowledged, that, having the good fortune to possess the MS. collections of the late Professor J. J. Park, the labour of compilation was considerably lessened.

It can scarcely be necessary to apprise the reader, that he will not find in the following pages