advisers as referees might advise reversal or affirmance, or it might advocate 
further hearings before commissioners in the islands. 102 A conciliar letter 
would then issue based upon the certificate. 103 If a rehearing before commissioners 
was advised and ordered, provision might be made for further conciliar 
action in the cause. This could be obtained by authorizing certification 
of the proceedings of the commissioners to the Council Board in case of inability 
to settle the cause, or by allowing an appeal to the Council from the 
commissioners' proceedings. 101 Our account necessarily oversimplifies the 
conciliar procedure and eliminates the procedural probability that ancillary 
points might be raised during the prosecution of an appeal with petitions, references, 
certificates, and orders thereon. 105 Receiving multifarious petitions, 
making references thereof, issuing orders upon advice of other groups, and 
holding few hearings on the merits, the Privy Council at this period assumed 
the function of an administrative rather than a judicial body. 
As to the procedure adopted by the legal advisers, there is no wealth of in- 
good to referre the examinasion of his cause 
unto you. In which, when you have enformed 
your selves throughlie of all pointes of substance 
or difficultie and considered what is 
fitt to be donne for his reliefe, we require 
you to certifie us of your opinions therein 
with convenient expedition (as in like cases 
you have used by our direction), diat we 
maie give order accordinglie in the same." 
See also Paine v. Fautrat (14 ibid., 31). 
102 In Perin v. Perin (19 ibid., 35), affirmance 
was advised. In de la March v. Gosselin 
(28 ibid., 36), re-examination was advised, if 
precedents permitted. Double references might 
occur, i. e., a certificate returned by Doctors 
Dale and Aubrey was referred to the Judge 
of the Admiralty to proceed thereon (11 ibid., 
14). 
103 It is difficult to determine how closely 
the Council followed the reports of its legal 
advisers—whether they were accepted in toto 
without further consideration, or whether 
suitors were afforded opportunity to "appeal" 
from the report of the legal advisers to the 
Council Table. See the language of a 1588 
conciliar entry: "This day John Carteret of the 
Isle of Jersey being heard before the Lords 
upon an appeale" (16 APC, Dom., 4). On 
December 15, 1589, we find the cryptic conciliar 
entry that, "In the after noone the 
Lordes did here Jerysshe cawses" (18 ibid., 
262). See die interpretation placed upon this 
sentence by Pollard (Council, Star Chamber, 
and Privy Council under the Tudors, 38 EHR, 
58). 
104 See de la Rocque v. de la Rocque (26 
APC, Dom., 32); Blundell v. de Soulement 
(28 ibid., 514); Journeaulx v. Hampton (28 
ibid., 538). In Beauvoir v. Beauvoir, in case 
either party refused to abide by the decision 
of the insular referees, bonds were to be 
taken for appearance of the parties before the 
conciliar legal advisers active in the cause 
(28 ibid., 546-47). Cf. supra, n. 95, where 
no preliminary reference to legal advisers was 
made. 
100 f/hg re gular course of appellate procedure 
was diverted by failure of respondents to appear 
(Paine v. Fautrat, 14 APC, Dom., 47; 
Rowse v. Gower, 19 ibid., 322; Bisson v. 
Stocall, 31 ibid., 342); jurisdictional objections 
(Paine v. Fautrat, 14 ibid., 31; Guillam v. 
Le Court, 32 ibid., 194; Sare v. Lempriere, 
31 ibid., 255); recalcitrance to commission 
jurisdiction (Gallie v. de la Rocque, 25 ibid., 
396; Guillam v. Le Court, 31 ibid., 401; Sare 
v. Lempriere, 31 ibid., 456); recalcitrance to 
referee orders (Dumaresq v. Guillam, 29 ibid., 
72); the recalcitrance of the courts below 
(Drake v. Macham, 28 ibid., 106; Beauvoir v. 
Beauvoir, 29 ibid., 251); failure of commissions 
to afford relief (Regina v. Beauvoir, 22 
ibid., 115; de Carteret v. Dumaresq, 29 ibid., 
67; Blundell v. de Soulement, 30 ibid., 699); 
conciliar change of opinion (de Carteret v. 
Dumaresq, 29 ibid., 684); death of parties 
to the appeal (de Carteret v. Dumaresq, 30 
ibid., 705).