The general arrangement is the same as that of the first printed edition of 1681 (except that titles 18 and 19 appear in reverse order) but the text is generally shorter and is illustrated by references to earlier case-decisions and most of the titles are divided into fewer paragraphs.

At folio i are a variety of jottings in a contemporary hand, or hands, and at folio i verso the style of an obligation. The name William Hay in an early 18th-century hand appears also at folio i and, together with the name John Hay in a similar hand, at folio 412 verso.

The title of the work has been written in an 18th-century hand at the top of folio 1, and together with inscription "Manuscript D" at the top of folio 15. A leaf has been cut out between folios 14 and 15.