PART VI. CLASS XXIII. 1 Edw. III. stat. 2. c. 16. 4 Edw. III. c. 2. 18 Edw. III. stat. 2. c. 2. 31 Edw. III. c. 1. Justices of Peace. [No. I.] 1 Edward III. Stat. 2. c. 16.-Who shall be assigned Justices and Keepers of the Peace. ITEM, for the better keeping and maintenance of the peace the King will, That in every county good men and lawful which be no main'tainers of evil or barretors in the country shall be assigned to keep the peace.' [No. II.] 4 Edward III. c. 2.-The Authority of Justices of Assize, Gaol-delivery, and of the Peace. ITEM, it is ordained, That good and discreet persons other than of the places if they may be found sufficient shall be assigned in all the 'shires of England to take assizes juries and certifications and to deliver the gaols; and that the said justices shall take the assizes juries and ' certifications and deliver the gaols at the least three times a year and ' more often, if need be. Also there shall be assigned good and lawful 'men in every county to keep the peace. And at the time of the assign'ments mention shall be made that such as shall be indicted or taken by the said keepers of the peace shall not be let to mainprize by the sheriffs nor by none other ministers if they be not mainpernable by the law; 'nor that such as shall be indicted shall not be delivered but at the common law. And the justices assigned to deliver the gaols shall have power to deliver the same gaols of those that shall be indicted before the keepers of the peace; and that the said keepers shall send their indictments before the justices and they shall have power to inquire of sheriff's gaolers and other in whose ward such indicted persons shall be, if they 'make deliverance or let to mainprize any so indicted which be not mainpernable, and to punish the said sheriff's gaolers and others if they do 'any thing against this Act.' [No. III. 18 Edward III. Stat. 2. c. 2.-Justices of Peace shall be appointed, and their Authority. ITEM, That two or three of the best of reputation in the counties shall be assigned keepers of the peace by the King's commission, and at what time need shall be the saine with other wise and learned in the law shall be assigned by the King's commission to hear and determine felonies and trespasses done against the peace in the same counties, and to inflict punishment reasonable according to law and reason and the manner of the deed.' [No. IV. ] 34 Edward III. c. 1.-What Sort of Persons shall be Justices of Peace; and what Authority they shall have. FIRST, That in every county of England shall be assigned for the keeping of the peace one lord and with him three or four more of the most worthy in the county with some learned in the law, and they 'shall have power to restrain the offenders rioters and all other barators and to pursue arrest take and chastise them according to their trespass or offence; and to cause them to be imprisoned and duly punished according to the law and customs of the realm and according to that 'which to them shall seem best to do by their discretions and good ad'visement; and also to inform them and to inquire of all those that have 'been pillors and robbers in the parts beyond the sea and be now come again and go wandering and will not labour as they were wont in times past, and to take and arrest all those that they may find by indictment or by suspicion and to put them in prison; and to take of all them that 'be not of good fame where they shall be found sufficient surety and 'mainprize of their good behaviour towards the King and his people and 'the other duly to punish, to the intent that the people be not by such * rioters or rebels troubled nor endamaged nor the peace blemished nor No. IV. 34 Edw. III. c. 1. 'merchants nor others passing by the highways of the realm disturbed Justices of nor put in the peril which may happen of such offenders. And also to Peace may 'hear and determine at the King's suit all manner of felonies and tres- hear and deter" passes done in the same county according to the laws and customs afore- mine Felonies said: and that writs of Oyer and Terminer be granted according to the and Trespasses-, 'statutes thereof made, and that the justices which shall be thereto as'signed be named by the court and not by the party. And the King will that all general inquiries before this time granted within any seig- of general Inniories for the mischiefs and oppressions which have been done to the quiries shall people by such inquiries shall cease utterly and be repealed; and that cease. Commissioners 'fines which are to be made before justices for a trespass done by any Fine for Tresperson be reasonable and just, having regard to the quantity of the passes shall be trespass and the causes for which they be made.' [ No. V. ] 12 Richard II. c. 10.-How many Justices of Peace there shall be in every County, and how often they shall keep their Sessions. reasonable. ITEM, it is ordained and agreed, That in every commission of the jus- 12 Rich. II. tices of peace there shall be assigned but six justices with the jus • tices of assizes, and that the said six justices shall keep their sessions in every quarter of the year at the least, and by three days if need be, upon pain to be punished according to the discretion of the King's council at the suit of every man that will complain: and they shall inquire diligently amongst other things touching their offices if the said mayors 'Bailiffs stewards constables and gaolers have duly done execution of the 'said ordinances of servants and labourers beggars and vagabonds and 'shall punish them that be punishable by the said pain of an hundred shillings by the same pain; and they that be found in default and which 'be not punishable by the same pain shall be punished by their discre c. 10. 'tion. And every of the said justices shall take for their wages four The Wages of shillings the day for the time of their said sessions and their clerk two the Clerk of shillings of the fines and amerciaments rising and coming of the same the Peace. 'sessions by the hands of the sheriffs. And that the lords of franchises 'shall be contributory to the said wages after the rate of their part of 'fines and amerciaments aforesaid. And that no steward of any lord be assigned in any of the said commissions. And that no association shall No Associa'be made to the justices of the peace after their first commission. And tion of Justices it is not the intent of this statute that the justices of the one bench or of Peace. 'the other nor the serjeants of the law in case that they shall be named in The Judges and 'the said commissions shall be bound by force of this statute to hold the Serjeants of the 'said sessions four times in the year as the other commissioners the Law shall atwhich be continually dwelling in the country, but that they shall do it tend the Ses'when they may best attend it. sions but when they may.. No. VI. 13 Rich. II. stat. 1. c. 7. 13 Rich. II. c. 7. c. 11. The Justices Estreats shall be double. What Justices shall be allow ed no Wages. [No. VI. ] 13 Richard II. Stat. 1. c. 7.-What Sort of "ITEM, Whereas it is contained in the last statute made at Canter- [ No. VII. ] 14 Richard II. c. 11.-In every County there shall be Eight Justices of Peace. Their Estreats and Wages. 14 Rich. II. ITEM, That in every county be assigned eight justices of peace, as is contained in the statute of Canterbury, besides the lords assigned in this Parliament: and that the estreats of the said justices be doubled, ⚫ and the one part delivered by the said justices to the sheriff to levy the 'money thereof, rising and thereof to pay to the justices and their clerks their wages by the hand of the said sheriff by indenture betwixt them thereof to be made; and that the sheriffs have allowance in their account in the Exchequer by the same indenture: and that no duke earl baron or baneret, albeit they be assigned justices of the peace and hold their sessions with the other eight justices, shall take any wages for the said office. And that the justices who hold their sessions put ⚫ their names and the names of their clerks in the same estreats, together with the number of the days of their sessions, to the intent that the sheriffs may know to whom to pay the wages and to whom not; and the barons of the Exchequer to whom to allow and to whom not: and A Seal for Ser- that the seals be made for the servants and delivered to the keeping of 'some good man of the country after the purport of the said statute of Canterbury, which statute, with the modification of the same made at the last Parliament, and the statute of weights and measures and all other good statutes and ordinances made heretofore, and not repealed, ⚫ shall be holden and kept and put in due execution.' vants. stat. 2. c. 1. [ No. VIII. ] 2 Henry V. Stat. 2. c. 1.-What Sorts of Men shall be Justices of the Peace. 2 Henry V. FIRST, That the justices of the peace from henceforth to be made within the counties of England shall be made of the most sufficient persons dwelling in the same counties by the advice of the chancellor and of the King's council, without taking other persons dwelling in foreign counties to execute such office, except the lords and the justices of assizes now named and to be named by the King and his council, and except all the King's chief stewards of the lands and seigniories of the duchy of Lan caster in the north parts and in the south for the time being. 11 Henry VI. c. 9. [ No. IX. ] 11 Henry VI. c. 6.-No Suit pending before any Justices, &c. shall be discontinued by a new Commission. ITEM, Our lord the King considering the great losses and damages which oftentimes have come and be likely to come hereafter as well 'to himself as to many of his lieges, for that where as well divers indict ⚫ments and suits for our lord the King as other suits between party and · party have been taken before divers justices of the peace assigned by No. IX. ⚫ several commissions of our said Lord the King in divers counties of 11 Hen. VI. England, and divers pleas and processes upon those indictments have ⚫ often been made and hanging before the same justices not determined, the which pleas and processes have been often discontinued by making of new commissions of the peace in those counties to the great loss of our said Lord the King and of his subjects, in delay of the same pleas and suits and of the deliverance of his said subjects:' and upon that our Lord the King willing to provide remedy, of the assent and authority aforesaid hath ordained and established, That in all such pleas suits and processes in them to be taken and to be made before justices of the peace in any county of England, the said pleas and processes in such suits to be done shall not be discontinued by such new commissions of the peace to be made, but those pleas and processes shall stand in their force. And the justices in the same new commissions so assigned, after that they shall have the records of the same pleas and processes before them, shall have power and authority to continue the said pleas and processes; and the same pleas and processes and all that depend upon them to hear and finally to determine as the other justices might and ought to have done of and in the same if no new commission had been made. [ No. X. ] 1 Mary, Sess. 2. c. 8.-An Act that Sheriffs shall not be Justices of Peace during that Office. c. 6. WHERE in one Act of Parliament, intituled "An Act for the Conti- 1 Mary, sess. 2. nuance of Actions after the Death of any King," made in the first c. 8. year of our late sovereign Lord King Edward the Sixth, amongst other 12 Ed. 4. c. I. things it is ordained and enacted, That albeit any person or persons No Sheriff being justice of assize justice of gaol delivery or justice of peace within shall be Justice any of the King's dominions or being in any other of the King's com- of Peace where 'missions whatsoever, shall fortune to be made duke archbishop mar- or when he is quess earl viscount baron bishop knight justice of the one bench or of Sheriff. the other or serjeant at the law or sheriff, yet that notwithstanding he and they should remain justice and commissioner and have full power and authority to execute the same in like manner and form as he or they might or ought to have done before the same as in the said Act more plainly appeareth: (2) Sithence the making of which Act divers persons being in commission of the peace in one county have been made sheriffs ⚫ of the same county and have exercised either of the said offices, which 'seemeth not to be convenient :' II. Wherefore be it enacted by the authority of this present Parliament, That no manner of person or persons having using or exercising the office of the sheriff of any county or counties shall use or exercise the office of the justice of the peace by force of any commission or otherwise in any county or counties where he or they shall be sheriff during the time only that he or they shall use or exercise the said office of sheriffwick: any thing in the said former Act to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding. And that all and every act and acts to be done by any such sheriff and sheriffs by authority of any commission of the peace during the time abovesaid shall be void and of none effect; the said former Act notwithstanding. [ No. XI. ] 2 & 3 Philip and Mary, c. 18.-An Act touching Commissions of the Peace and of Gaol-delivery, in Towns Corporate not being Counties. WHERE the King and Queen's most excellent Highness and their noble progenitors, kings of this realm, have heretofore granted their Philip & Mary, ‹ several commissions directed as well unto the mayors recorders and ← other grave men, and inhabitants of certain ancient and famous cities and towns corporate within this realm of England not being counties in 2&3 c. 18. 19 H. 7. c. 7. |