Acton Burnell

An ancient English statute, so called because enacted by a It is otherwise known as statutum mercatorum or de mercatoribus, the statute of the merchants. It was a statute for the collection of debts, the earliest of its class, being enacted in 1283. A further statute for the same object, and known as De Mercatoribus, was enacted 13 Edw. I. c.

3.

See "Statute Merchant." ACTOR (Lat. agere).

In civil law

(1) A patron, pleader, or advocate.

Du Cange; Cowell; Spelman. Actor ecclesiae was an advocate for a church; one who protects the temporal interests of a church. Actor villae wa? the steward or head bailiff of a town or village. Cowell. (2) One who takes care of his lord's lands. Du Cange. (3) A guardian or tutor; one who transacts the business of his lord or principal; nearly synonymous with "agent," which comes from the same word. The word has a variety of closely related meanings, very nearly corresponding with "manager." Thus, actor dominae, manager of his master's farms; actor ecclesiae, manager of church property; actores provinciarum, tax gatherers, treasurers, and managers of the public debt. (4) A plaintiff; contrasted with reus, the defendant. Actores regis, those who claimed money of the king. Du Cange; Spelman; Cowell. ACTOR QUI CONTRA REGULAM QUID adduxit non est audrindus. A pleader ought not to be heard who advances a proposition contrary to the rules of law.