518 Extents in aid, [Ch.XILPt.II.Sec.III. SECT. 11. To *what degrees Debts may be seized on Extents in aid. It seems from the older authorities that the King may, on process of extent prosecuted at his instance, and for his benefit, seize the debts due to his debtor, &c. in irifinitum, i. e. to the remotest degree (a). It is not, however, so clear to what degree the Crown debtor may use the process by extent. According to the antient books, debts cannot in such case be seized beyond the third degree, counting the Crown debtor as one of them [b) ; and consequently only the debtor of the debtor to the Crown debtor could in such case be reached. But in the King v, Lushington (c), the Court of Exchequer held, that the Crown debtor is not to be counted as one of the degrees, and therefore the process may be used even to the fourth degree, counting him, or to the third, omit- ting him. In that case Austen and Co. were the original Crown debtors, Boldero and Co. were indebted to Austen and Co., the Lushingtons to Boldero and Co., and Miss Dehany to the Lushingtons ; and on an extent against the Lushing- tons, which had issued after extents against Austen and Co. and Boldero and Co., the debt due from Miss Dehany to the Lushingtons had been seized; and the Court held that this debt had been properly seized, and that on the ground that the Crown debtor was not to be counted in reckoning the de- grees^ SECT. III. What Cronrni Debtor may issue an Extent in aid. Before the statute 57 Geo. 3. c. 117., the doctrine of extents in aid for the benefit of the Crown debtor, had been carried to an almost unqualified length, and there were but few Crown debtors who were not entitled to convert to their own private (a) Hardr. 405. Com. Dig. tit. Dette, {b) Lane, 111, 12. Parker, 16,259. G. 15. (r) 1 Price, R. 95. benefit
