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tioned: I do therefore authorize W. T., who bringeth to me this warrant, and all other persons to whom this warrant was originally directed or by whom the same may be lawfully executed, and also all constables and other peace officers of the said (county) of to execute the same within the said county of

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Given under my hand this

day of

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How Defendant to be dealt with pending Distress.]— When a warrant of distress thus issues in any case within the operation of the 11 & 12 Vict. c. 43, the justices are, by section 20, authorized either to let the defendant go at large, or verbally, or by a written warrant in that behalf, to order him to be kept and detained in safe custody until the return shall be made to such warrant of distress, unless the defendant shall give sufficient security, by recognizance or otherwise, to the satisfaction of the justice, for his appearance before him at the time and place appointed for the return of such warrant of distress, or before such other justice or justices for the same county, &c., as may be there. The following may be the form of the recognizance:

to wit. S of

Be it remembered, that on A. B. (labourer) and L. M., (labourer), personally came before me, the undersigned, (one) of Her Majesty's justices of the peace in and for the said (county) of and severally acknowledged themselves to owe to our Sovereign Lady the Queen the several sums following (that is to say): the said A. B. the sum of and the said L. M. the sum of of good and lawful money of Great Britain, to be made and seized of their several goods and chattels, lands and tenements respectively, to the use of our said lady the Queen, her heirs and successors, if he, the said A. B., shall fail in the condition indorsed.

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Taken and acknowledged the day and year first above mentioned

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The condition of the within-written recognizance is such, that if the said A. B. shall personally appear on the

o'clock in the forenoon, at

day of

instant, at before such justices of the

peace for the said (county) as may then be there, being the day appointed

for the return of a certain warrant of distress this day issued by me, the

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said justice, to levy on the goods and chattels of the said A. B., certain sums adjudged to be paid by him and to be so levied; and to be further dealt with according to law, then the said recognizance to be void, or else to stand in full force and virtue.

How, if no Goods found.]—If, after the warrant of distress has issued, the constable is unable to find any goods of the defendant whereon to make the levy, he will make his return of the fact, and the justice will thereupon issue his warrant of commitment, first ascertaining the amount of additional costs incurred by the abortive distress and of the commitment and conveying the defendant to prison.

Goods should not be distrained, if insufficient.]-When a warrant of distress has issued, and it is found that though there be some goods, there is not sufficient to satisfy the whole amount, the distress ought not to be levied, but the alternative commitment should be resorted to, since, should the goods be taken (though insufficient to satisfy the whole sum), the defendant cannot afterwards be committed in respect of the balance, as he cannot be made the subject of both punishments upon one conviction: (Rex v. Wyatt, 2 Ld. Raym. 1195, 1196.)

Commitment of Defendant, on no Distress found.]— With reference to committing the defendant upon the failure of the warrant of distress, section 21 of the 11 & 12 Vict. c. 43, enacts as follows:

That if, at the time and place appointed for the return of any such warrant of distress, the constable who shall have had the execution of the same shall return that he could find no goods or chattels, or no sufficient goods or chattels whereon he could levy the sum or sums therein mentioned, together with the costs of or occasioned by the levying of the same, it shall be lawful for the justice of the peace before whom the same shall be returned to issue his warrant of commitment, under his hand and seal, directed to the same or any other constable, reciting the conviction or order shortly, the issuing of the warrant of distress and the return thereto, and requiring such constable to convey such defendant

to the house of correction, or if there be no house of correction, then to the common gaol of the county, riding, division, liberty, city, borough or place for which such justice shall then be acting, and there to deliver him to the keeper thereof, and requiring such keeper to receive the defendant into such house of correction or gaol, and there to imprison him and keep him to hard labour, in such manner and for such time as shall have been directed and appointed by the statute on which the conviction or order mentioned in such warrant of distress was founded, unless the sum or sums adjudged to be paid, and all costs and charges of the distress, and also the costs and charges of the commitment and conveying of the defendant to prison, if such justice shall think fit so to order (the amount thereof being ascertained and stated in such commitment), shall be sooner paid.

If, therefore, the constable return that he has been unable to make a levy, the justice will proceed to commit the defendant.

CONSTABLE'S RETURN TO A WARRANT OF DISTRESS.

in the (county) of

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I, W. T., constable of do hereby certify to J. S., esquire, one of Her Majesty's justices of the peace for the said county, that by virtue of this warrant I have made diligent search for the goods and chattels of the within-named A. B., and that I can find no sufficient goods or chattels of the said A. B. whereon to levy the sums within mentioned.

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The following may be the form of commitment:

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Whereas (fc., as in the foregoing distress warrant (page 83), to the asterisk (*), and then thus:) and whereas afterwards, on the day of

in the year aforesaid, I, the said justice, issued a warrant commanding him to levy the said sums of

to the constable of

and

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by distress and sale of the goods and chattels of the said A. B.; and whereas it appears to me, as well by the return of the said constable to the said warrant of distress, as otherwise, that the said constable hath made diligent search for the goods and chattels of the

said A. B., but that no sufficient distress whereon to levy the sums above mentioned could be found: these are therefore to command you, the said constable of to take the said A. B. and him safely to

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convey to the (House of Correction) at

aforesaid, and there deliver precept; and I do hereby

him to the said keeper, together with this command you, the said keeper of the said (House of Correction), to receive the said A. B. into your custody in the said (House of Correction), there to imprison him (and keep him to hard labour) for the space of unless the said several sums, and all costs and charges of the said distress (and of the commitment and conveying of the said A. B. to the said House of Correction), amounting to the further sum of shall be sooner paid unto you, the said keeper; and for your so doing this shall be your sufficient warrant.

Given under my hand and seal this
year of our Lord

at

, in the

day of , in the (county) aforesaid. J. S. (L. s.)

Commitment in the first instance, where Defendant confesses he has no Goods, or a Distress would be ruinous.]-In cases where it is obvious that the defendant has no goods whereon to levy in the first instance, and where, therefore, it would be idle to issue a distress warrant, or where the issuing of a distress warrant would be ruinous to his family, the Legislature has provided for the issuing of a warrant of commitment in the first instance; the latter part of the 19th section of the 11 & 12 Vict. c. 43, thus enacts upon the subject:

Provided always, that whenever it shall appear to any justice of the peace to whom application shall be made for any such warrant of distress as aforesaid that the issuing thereof would be ruinous to the defendant and his family, or wherever it shall appear to such justice, by the confession of the defendant or otherwise, that he hath no goods or chattels whereon to levy such distress, then and in every such case it shall be lawful for such justice, if he shall deem it fit, instead of issuing such warrant of distress, to commit such defendant to the house of correction, or if there be no house of correction within his jurisdiction, then to the common gaol, there to be imprisoned, with or without hard labour, for such time and in such manner as by law such defendant

1

might be so committed in case such warrant of distress had issued and no goods or chattels could be found whereon to levy such penalty or sum, and costs, aforesaid.

The following may be the form of the warrant in such a case:

WARRANT OF COMMITMENT IN THE FIRST INSTANCE ON CONFESSION BY DEFENDANT OF THERE BEING NO GOODS, OR WHERE THE DISTRESS WOULD BE RUINOUS TO HIM.

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was on this day duly convicted before the undersigned, (one) of Her Majesty's justices of the peace in and for the said (county) of

for that he, the said A. B., did on the

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in the (county) of

day of

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at the parish

of aforesaid (here set out the offence), contrary to the form of the statute in such case made and provided; and it was thereby adjudged that the said A. B. should, for Buch his offence, forfeit and pay (here state the penalty, and compensation, if any), and should also pay to the said C. D. the sum of for his costs in that

behalf; and it was thereby ordered that if the said several sums should not be paid forthwith, then, inasmuch as it hath been made to appear to me that the issuing of a warrant of distress in this behalf would be ruinous to the said A. B. and his family (or that the said A. B. hath no goods or chattels whereon to levy the said sums by distress), it was thereby also adjudged that the said A. B. should be imprisoned in the (House of Correction) at in the said (county) of

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, (and

there kept to hard labour) for the space of unless the said several sums (and costs and charges of commitment and conveying of the said A. B. to the said House of Correction) should be sooner paid. And whereas the said A. B., being so convicted as aforesaid, and being now required to pay the said sums of hath not paid the same or any part thereof, but therein hath made default: these are therefore to command you, the said constable, to take the said A. B. and him safely convey to the (House of Correction) at aforesaid, and there

and

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to deliver him to the keeper thereof, together with this precept; and I do hereby command you, the said keeper of the said (House of Correction), to receive the said A. B. into your custody in the said (House of Correction), there to imprison him (and keep him to hard labour) for

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