By Bill
The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary · Walter A. Shumaker and George Foster Longsdorf; ed. James C. Cahill · 1922
The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary
or BY BILL WITHOUT WRIT. of by original writ.
1 Archb. Pr. pp. 2, 337' 5 Hill (N. Y.) 213.
They were later used to denote actions commenced, by capias.