Origin  of  concur      TKe  Concurrent  iurisdiction  of   courts   of   equity

rent  jurisdiction.  '  *       j

had  its  origin  in  this  way, — either  the  courts  of  law,
although  they  had  a  general  jurisdiction  in  the  mat-
ter, could  not  give  adequate,  specific,  or  perfect  re-
lief, or,  under  the  actual  circumstances  of  the  case,
they  could  not  give  relief  at  all.  It  often  happened,
e.  g.,  that  a  simple  judgment  for  plaintiff  or  for
the  defendant  did  not  meet  the  full  merits  and  exi-
gencies of  the  case,  but  a  variety  of  adjustments,
limitations,  and  cross  claims  had  to  be  introduced
and  worked  out,  and  a  decree  meeting  all  the  cir-
cumstances of  the  particular  case  between  the  very
parties  was  therefore  indispensable  to  complete  dis-
tributive justice.  And  it  also  often  happened  that
the  object  sought,  though  treated  as  generally  fall-
ing within  a  class  of  right  cognizable  by  courts  of
law,  was  in  the  special  instance,  from  special  circum-
stances, or  from  the  weakness  of  the  common  law,
practically  beyond  the  pale  of  its  jurisdiction  ;  as,


THE    CONCURRENT   JURISDICTION.  355

for  instance,  where  a  perpetual  injunction,  or  a  pre-
ventive process   to   restrain   trespasses,    nuisances,  Sf^^extendB^'
■waste,  was  wanted.     It  might,   therefore,    be    said  tgere^fl^t^a^
that  the  concurrent  jurisdiction  of  equity    extended  SJid"omp?5;e*'''
to  all  cases  of  legal  rights,  where,  under  the  circum- '^^°'*  ^*   "^"
stances,  there  was  not  an  adequate  and  complete
remedy  at  law.
