ground of appeal the party may have:] of all which premises, you [and each and every of you] are hereby desired to take notice. Dated this day of Recognizance. 1836. C. D. Berkshire: Be it remembered, that on the day of in the said in the said county, in the ninth year of the reign of our sovereign lord William the Fourth, by the grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland King, defender of the faith, C. D. of in the said county, labourer, L. M. of county, yeoman, and J. K. of grocer, personally came before me, J. P., one of his Majesty's justices of the peace for the said county, and acknowledged themselves to owe to our said lord the King the sum of pounds each, to be made and levied of their goods and chattels, lands and tenements, respectively, to the use of our said lord the King, his heirs and successors, if default shall be made in the condition following: Whereas, by a certain conviction, under the hand and seal of -, one of his Majesty's justices of the peace for the county aforesaid, the said C. D. is convicted, for that he, on [&c. stating the offence ;] and whereas the said C. D. hath given notice unto [within three days after such conviction, and seven clear days before the next General Quarter Sessions of the Peace,] of his intention to appeal against the said conviction, and of the cause and matter thereof. Now the condition of this recognizance is such, that if [the above bounden C. D. shall personally appear at the next General Quarter Sessions of the Peace, to be holden at in and for the said county, and shall then and there try such appeal, and abide the judgment of the said Court of Quarter Sessions thereupon, and pay such costs as shall be by the said Court awarded,] then this recognizance to be void, Taken and acknowledged before me, J. P. Proceedings at the Hearing, &c.] The convicting magistrate must take care to return the conviction to the Sessions, in time for the appeal; see R. v. Eaton, 2 T. R. 285; otherwise the appellant, if prevented from going into his appeal, by any default of the magistrate in this respect, may maintain an action for damages against him. Prosser v. Hyde, 1 T. R. 414. As we have seen, (ante, p. 45, 70,) however, that the conviction returned may be very different in form from the copy which the appellant may have before obtained from the magistrate, it will be prudent for the appellant's counsel to examine the conviction before the case is at all gone into; and if, by reason of any variance between the one and the other, he be taken by surprise, he may apply for time, and the appeal may be adjourned. R. v. Allen, 15 East, 346. The Sessions may either quash the conviction, for defects appearing upon the face of it, or quash or confirm it upon the merits. If they go into the merits, the respondent's counsel always begins, and calls witnesses to prove the offence; the appellant's counsel is then heard; and if he call witnesses to facts, the respondent's counsel is entitled to the general reply. But if the appellant's counsel have any objection to make to the conviction, for any defect appearing upon the face of it, he may, with the leave of the Court, make his objections before the respondent goes into his case; the respondent's counsel is heard in answer; the appellant's counsel replies; and the Court decide. If they decide in favour of the appellant, they quash the conviction, and the case is at an end. But if they decide against the objections, then the respondent's counsel opens his case, and the parties proceed in the trial upon the merits, as above-mentioned. But where an appellant, relying upon an objection to the conviction, got the Sessions to quash it on that ground; and afterwards the order of Sessions and conviction being removed into the Court of King's Bench by certiorari, that Court, holding the objection to be unfounded, quashed the order of Sessions: the appellant then applied to have the case sent down to the Sessions, to be heard upon the merits; but the Court refused it, saying, that as the defendant had chosen to rely upon the formal objection, he was concluded by that election. R. v. Allen, 15 East, 333, 346. Sometimes however the statute, giving the appeal, (such for instance as the Excise Act, 7 & 8 G. 4, c. 53, s. 82,) directs the Sessions to amend the conviction for all defects in form. See also stat. 3 G. 4, c. 23, s. 3. When this is the case, the question then will be, whether the defect objected to be one of form or of substance. See on this subject, ante, p. 286-288. Upon the hearing of the appeal, neither the respondent nor the appellant are confined to the evidence given before the convicting magistrate; see ante, p. 286; unless it be otherwise ordered by the statute giving the appeal, as for instance in the Excise Act, 7 & 8 G. 4, c. 5, s. 84. See 4 & 5 W. 4, c. 51, s. 24. The judgment is merely that the conviction be confirmed or quashed. If confirmed, it is considered and treated as if it never had been appealed against; and the appellant may thereupon be proceeded against accordingly, unless there be some provision in the particular statute to the contrary. Costs.] Although justices out of Sessions may award costs to either party, in all cases in which a summons or warrant is issued; 18 G. 3, c. 19; yet there is no general Act, which enables the justices at Sessions to do so, in appeals before them against convictions; and their power to grant costs, in such cases, must depend entirely upon the statute giving or regulating the appeal. Where a statute gave authority to the Sessions to award costs against the party appealing or appealed against, a person laid an information under this statute against another, and the party was convicted; the latter (having given notice to the justices as required by the statute) appealed, and the informer not appearing at the Sessions, the conviction was quashed, and the informer ordered to pay the costs: afterwards, in the Court of King's Bench, it was contended that the Sessions had no authority to award costs against the informer, as he was no party to the appeal, the notice of appeal being given to the convicting magistrates and not to him: but the Court held that the informer was the party appealed against, within the meaning of the statute; it was true the statute directed the notice of appeal to be given to the convicting magistrates, and not to the prosecutor, but it would be a great anomaly to cause a Justice, who acts bona fide in the discharge of his judicial duty, to pay costs. R. v. JJ. of Hants, 1 B. & Adolph. 654. CHAPTER IV. The Practice of the Court of Quarter Sessions, in other Matters. SECTION 1.-Articles of the Peace. THE Commission of the peace runs thus: Know ye that we have assigned you jointly and severally, and every one of you our justices, to keep our peace in our county of B.; and to keep and cause to be kept all ordinances and statutes for the good of the peace and for preservation of the same &c. "And to cause to come before you or any of you, all those who, to any one or more of our people, concerning their bodies or the firing of their houses, have used threats, to find sufficient security for the peace or their good behaviour, towards us and our people; and if they shall refuse to find such security, then lodge them in our prisons, until they shall find such security, to be safely kept." On this clause it is, that the practice of finding securities to keep the peace is founded. Although by the terms of this clause, a single justice out of Sessions has as much authority to require sureties for the peace, as the justices at Sessions; and although it has been decided that a justice out of Sessions may require a party to find sureties to keep the peace for two years and longer, and may commit him in default of his doing so ; Willis v. Bridger, 2 B. & Ald. 278; yet it is much the safer and better course for a single justice to bind the party over until the next Sessions only, and let the justices at Sessions then, if applied to, bind him over to keep the peace for a specified time. The practice is thus: If a man, either from having received personal violence from another, or from threats of personal violence, has reasonable ground to fear that further violence will be offered to his person by the same party, he may apply to a justice out of Sessions, to cause the party to be bound over to keep the peace towards him until the next Sessions. This can be done by any person who can make oath or affirmation; even by a wife against her husband, or a husband against his wife. 1 Hawk. c. 60, s. 2. Against peers or peeresses, however, the proceeding must be either in the Court of King's Bench, or in Chancery. Upon the party making his complaint on oath, the justice issues his warrant to bring the other party before him; the latter accordingly appears, and if he can find sureties, he brings them with him; the complaint is then read over to him, and he and his sureties enter into a recognizance, conditioned for his appearance at the next Sessions, and that he shall keep the peace towards his Majesty and all his liege people, and especially towards the complainant, in the meantime. But if he cannot find sureties, the justice may then commit him till the next Sessions, unless he find sureties in the meantime. At the next Sessions, the party is called upon his recognizance, and if he do not answer, his recognizance may be estreated; but if he answer, then the complainant is called, and if he do not answer, the Court will order the recognizance to be discharged. But if both answer when called, then the complainant, having had articles of the peace previously engrossed upon parchment, may exhibit them, and be sworn to the truth of them. This is usually done by counsel, who first moves that the party complained of be called upon his recognizance; and upon his appearing, the counsel then hands the articles to the clerk of the peace, who reads them, and the complainant is then sworn to them; the counsel then moves the Court to declare for what time and in what sum the recognizance shall be taken, which the Court accordingly do. In ordinary cases the Court order him to be bound over until the next Sessions only, or until the next Sessions but one; but in serious cases, or where they think it advisable, from circumstances, that the party should be bound over for a longer time, they may order the recognizances to be taken for one or two years, or longer, if they will. The party complained against is not allowed to make any answer to this, or to controvert the facts stated in the articles. R. v. Doherty, 13 East, 171. Lord Vane's case, 2 Str. 1202, 13 East, 171, n. All he can do is, to enter into the recognizance, with two sureties, whereupon his former recognizance will be discharged; or if he cannot procure sureties, the Court, on the motion of counsel, will order him into custody until he do so. The following is the form of the Articles of the Peace: Michaelmas Sessions, 1836. Middlesex. Articles of the peace, exhibited by A. B. of cabinet-maker, on behalf of himself and Ann his wife, serve the lives of himself this exhibitant, and of the said This exhibitant on his oath saith, that &c. [stating some act of the party complained against, as forming a portion of the matter of complaint.] And this exhibitant upon his oath further saith, that &c. [stating in each article some distinct portion of the complaint, in such manner as to render the statement intelligible.] And this exhibitant upon his oath further saith, that [the said Ann, the wife of this exhibitant, is now so sick and weak, that she cannot be removed from her house, to attend this Honourable Court, to join in the exhibition of this complaint; and that] he this exhibitant, by means of the premises aforesaid, conceives himself and his said wife |