MASTER

One having authority; one who rules,. directs, instructs, or super in• tends; a head or chief; an instructor; an employer. Applied to several judicial officers. See infra. -Master and servant. The relation of ma■• ter and servant exists where one person for pay or o_ther valuable consideration, enters' into the service of another and devotes to him his personal labor for an agreed period. Sweet. -Master at common law. The title of of• fieers of the English superior courts of common law appointed to record the proceedings of the ~urt to which they belong; to superintend the 1Ssue of writs and the formal proceedings in an action; to receive and account for the fees· ~harged on legal proceedings, and moneys paid mto court. There are five to each court. They are appointed under St. 7 Wm. IV. and 1 Viet. c. 30, pa ed in 1837. Mozley. & Whitley.- Master in chancery. An officer of a court of chancery who acts as an a istant to the ~udge or chancellor. His office is to inquire mto such matters as may be referred to him by the court, examine causes, take testimony, take accounts, compute damages, etc., reporting his findings to the court in such shape that a decree may be made; also to take oaths and affidavits and acknowledgments of deeds. In modern practice, many of the functions of a master are performed by clerks, commi ioners, auditors, and referees, and in some jurisdictions the office has been superseded. See Kimberl;)' v. Arms, 129 U. S. 512, 9 Sup. Ct., 355, 32 L. IDd. 764; Schuchardt v. People, 99 Ill. 501, 39 Am. Rep. 34.-Ma.ster in lunacy. In Englrsh law. The masters in lunacy are judicial officers appointed by the lord chancellor for the purpose of conducting inquiries into the state of mind ot persons alleged to be lunatics. Such inquiries usually take place before a jury. 2. Steph. Comm. 511-513.-Master of a ■hip. In maritime law. The commander of a merchant ve el, who has the chief charge of her government and navigation and the command of the crew, as well as the general care and control of the ve el and cargo, as the representative and confidential agent of the owner. He is commonly called the ~•captain." See Martin v. Farnsworth, 33 N. Y. Super. Ct. 260; Hubbell v. Denison, 20 Wend. (N. Y.) 181.-Master of the crown office. The king's coroner and attorney in the criminal department of the court of king's bench, who prosecutes at the relation pf some private person or common informer, the crown being the nominal prosecutor. St. 6 & T Viet. c. 20; Wharton.-Master of the faculties. In English law. An officer under the archbishop, who grants licenses and dispensations, etc.-Master of the horse. In English law. The third great officer of the royal household, bein~ next to the lord steward and lord chamber lam. He has the privilege of making use of any horses, footmen, or pages belonging to the royal stables.-Master of the mint. In English law. An off)cer who receives bullion for coinage, and pays for it, and superintends everything belonging to the mint. He is usual• Jy called the "warden of the mint." It is provided by St. 33 Viet. c. 10, I 14, that the chan• cell or of the exchequer for the time being shall be the master of the mint.-Maste:r of the ordnance. In English law. A great officer, to whose care all the royal ordnance and artil• le:ry were committ~.-Ma■ter 0£ the zoolls. I»; English law. An ·a is.tant judce of the [s. 770]