If the house be not a bawdy-house, but be disorderly in other respects, it may equally be the subject of an indictment. And therefore where an indictment for keeping a disorderly house for the purpose of cock-fighting, boxing, &c., was in the ordinary form of an indictment for keeping a bawdy-house, except that instead of "drinking, tippling, whoring," it substituted the words "fighting of cocks, boxing, playing at cudgels:" it was holden to be good, upon motion in arrest of judgment. R. v. Higginson, 2 Burr. 1232.

Any person who shall appear, act, or behave him or herself as master or mistress, or as the person having the care, government, or management of any bawdy-house, gaming-house, or other disorderly house, shall be deemed and taken to be the owner thereof, and shall be liable to be prosecuted and punished as such, notwithstanding he or she shall not in fact be the real owner or keeper thereof. 25 G. 2, c. 36, s. 8.

Keeping a disorderly house is a misdemeanor, punishable with fine or imprisonment (with or without hard labour, 3 G. 4, c. 114), or both.

Prosecution.] By stat. 25 G. 2, c. 36, s. 5, in order to encourage prosecutions against persons keeping bawdy-houses, gaming-houses, or other disorderly houses, it is enacted that if any two inhabitants of any parish or place paying scot or bearing lot therein, give notice to any constable (or other peace officer of the like nature, where there is no constable) of such parish or place, of any person keeping a bawdy-house, gaminghouse, or any other disorderly house in such parish or place, such constable or other officer shall forthwith go with such inhabitants to a justice of the peace of the county, &c. in which such parish lies, and shall (upon such inhabitants making oath before such justices that they believe the contents of such notice to be true, and entering into recognizance in the penal sum of 201. each, to give or produce material evidence against such person for such offence) enter into a recognizance in the penal sum of 301., to prosecute with effect such person for such offence at the next general or quarter sessions of the peace, or at the next assizes to be holden for the county in which such parish or place lies, as to the said justice shall seem meet; and such constable or other officer shall be allowed all the reasonable expenses of such prosecution, to be ascertained by any two justices of the peace of the county, &c., where the offence shall be committed, and shall be paid the same by the overseers of the poor of such parish or place; and in case such person shall be convicted of such offence, the overseers of the poor of such parish or place shall forthwith pay the sum of 10l. to each of such inhabitants; (see Clarke v. Rice, 1 B. & A. 694;) and in case such overseers shall neglect or refuse to

pay to such constable or other officer such expenses of the prosecution as aforesaid, or shall neglect or refuse to pay upon demand the said sums of 10l. and 107., such overseers and each of them shall forfeit to the person entitled to the same double the sum so refused or neglected to be paid. Also a copy of the above notice shall be served on the overseers of the poor of the parish or place, as shall presently be noticed. See stat. 58 G. 3, c. 70, s. 7, infra.

Upon such constable or other officer entering into such recognizance, the justice shall forthwith make out his warrant to bring the party accused before him, and shall bind him or her over to appear at such general or quarter sessions or assizes, there to answer to such bill of indictment as shall be found against him or her for such offence; and such justice may, if he think fit, demand security for the party's good behaviour in the mean time, and until the indictment shall be found, heard or determined, or the grand jury have ignored the bill. 25 G. 2, c. 36, s. 6.

If the constable neglect or refuse to go before the justice, or to enter into the recognizance, or if he be wilfully negligent in carrying on the said prosecution, he shall forfeit the sum of 201. to each of such inhabitants so giving notice as aforesaid. Id. s. 7. Such inhabitants are notwithstanding competent witnesses for the prosecution. Id. s. 9.

And by stat. 58 G. 3, c. 70, s. 7, a copy of such notice shall also be served or left at the place of abode of the overseers of the poor of such parish or place, or one of them, and such overseer or overseers shall be summoned or have reasonable notice to attend upon such justice of the peace, before whom such constable shall have notice to attend; and if such overseers or overseer shall then and there enter into such recognizance to prosecute such offender as the constable is required to enter into by stat. 25 G. 2, c. 36, s. 5, then the constable need not enter into such recognizance: but if such overseers or overseer shall neglect to attend such justice, or shall attend and decline to enter into recognizance, then such constable shall enter into the same, and shall prosecute, and be entitled to his expenses, as in and by the said Act is directed.

Commitment.] The offence may be described thus in the commitment:-For that she the said C. B., on -at unlawfully did keep and maintain a certain common, ill-governed and disorderly house; and did cause certain persons, as well men as women, of evil name and fame and of dishonest conversation, to frequent and come together in the said house, and there to be and remain drinking, tippling, whoring, and misbehaving themselves. And you the said keeper, &c.

DISSENTERS.

Their chapels to be certified and registered.] No congregation or assembly for religious worship of Protestants shall be permitted, until the place of meeting be certified to the bishop of the diocese, or to the archdeacon of the archdeaconry, or to the justices of the peace at the general quarter sessions of the county, city, or place; and the registrar or clerk of the peace shall register or record the same, and give a certificate thereof to any person who shall demand the same. 55 G. 3, e, 155, 8,2, I W. & M. e. 18.

And by stat. 31 G, 3, c. 32, (the Act for the toleration of Roman Catholics,) s. 5, it is provided that no place or congregation or assembly for religious worship shall be allowed, until the place of such meeting shall be certified to the sessions of the county or place where the same shall be held, and be there recorded; and the clerk of the peace shall give a certificate thereof, if demanded,

Preaching in places not certified.] Every person who shall knowingly permit or suffer any congregation or assembly for religious worship of protestants to meet in any place occupied by him, until the same shall have been so certified as aforesaid, shall forfeit for every time such congregation or assembly shall meet contrary to the provisions of this Act, a sum not exceeding 201., nor less than 208. 55 G. 3, c. 155, s. 2.

Also, every person who shall teach or preach in any congregation or assembly as aforesaid, in any place, without the consent of the occupier thereof, shall forfeit for every such offence any sum not exceeding 301., nor less than 40s, Id. s. 3.

Disturbing their congregations.] If any person “do and shall wilfully and maliciously or contemptuously disquiet or disturb any meeting, assembly or congregation of persons assembled for religious worship, permitted or authorized by this Act or any former Act of parliament, or shall in any way disturb, molest or misuse any preacher, teacher or person officiating at such meeting, assembly or congregation, or any person or persons there assembled: such person or persons so offending, upon proof thereof before any justice of the peace by two or more credible witnesses, shall find two sureties, to be bound by recognizances, in the penal sum of 50%., to answer for such offence, and in default of such sureties shall be committed to prison, there to remain until the next general or quarter sessions; and upon conviction of the said offence at the said general or quarter sessions, shall suffer the pain and penalty of 400? 52 G. 3, e. 155, s. 12. And see i W. & M. <, 18, 8, 18, A congregation of foreign Lutherans, has been

holden to be within the protection of the Act. R. v. Hube et al., 5 T. R. 542, Peake, 132. And it is no defence to show, that the violence complained of was committed by the defendant in asserting his right to the office of clerk to the chapel, Id., or the like. If two or more be jointly indicted, each is subject to the full penalty. Id.

There is a similar provision, as to Roman Catholic congregations, in stat. 31 G. 3, c. 32, s. 10.

Commitment:-On at did willingly, and of purpose, maliciously and contemptuously come into a certain congregation of Protestant Dissenters, then and there assembled for the worship of Almighty God, in a certain meeting-house, there situate, then and long before certified, registered and recorded, according to the direction of the statute in that case made and provided, and did then and there wilfully, willingly, and of purpose, maliciously and contemptuously disquiet and disturb the said congregation, the doors of the said meeting-house, where the said congregation were so assembled, not being then locked, barred, or bolted. And you the said keeper, &c.

DISTRESS.

1. Fraudulently removing goods, to avoid a distress for rent. 2. Costs of a distress, p. 429.

3. Distress upon a conviction ;-see

p. 376, 379.

Conviction," ante,

1. Fraudulently removing goods, to avoid a Distress for Rent.

Landlord's remedy.] "If any tenant, lessee for life or years, at will, sufferance or otherwise, of any messuages, lands, tenements or hereditaments, upon the demise or holding whereof any rents are reserved, due or made payable, shall fraudulently or clandestinely convey away, or carry off or from such premises, his goods and chattels, to prevent the landlord or lessor from ditraining the same for arrears of rent so reserved, due or made payable": the landlord within thirty days may seize them as a distress wherever he shall find them, 11 G. 2, c. 19, s. 1, unless they have been bonâ fide sold, Id. s. 2, or given to a creditor for a bona fide debt; Bach v. Meats, 5 M. & S. 200; and if it be necessary to break open any door, in order to seize them, the landlord in the day time may do so, first calling to his assistance the constable or other peace officer of the hundred, parish or place where the goods are concealed, and, in the

case of a dwelling-house, oath being first made before a justice of the peace, of a reasonable ground to suspect that such goods are therein. 11 G. 2, c. 19, s. 7. Also the landlord may, in an action of debt, recover from the tenant, or any persons who may have wilfully and knowingly assisted him, double the value of the goods carried off or concealed. Id. s. 3.

The statute does not apply to cases, where the removal or concealment is before the rent becomes due, although done evidently for the purpose of defeating the landlord's remedy by distress. Watson v. Main, 3 Esp. 15, Farneaux v. Fotherby, 4 Camp. 136. Nor does it apply to the removal of the goods of a stranger. Thornton v. Adams, 5 M. & S. 38. But where the goods or chattels of the tenant are removed off the premises after any rent becomes due and is unpaid, the statute attaches, if the removal were either fraudulent or clandestine. Opperman v. Smith, 4 D. & R. 33. What removal is fraudulent or clandestine, is matter of evidence: fraud may be implied, from proof that the goods were removed with the intent of depriving the landlord of his remedy by distress, no sufficient quantity of goods for that purpose being left upon the premises. See Parry v. Duncan, 7 Bing. 243. John v. Jenkins, 3 Tyr. 170.

The statute also extends only to cases where the landlord would be entitled to his remedy by distress at common law, independently of all covenant or stipulation upon the subject: and therefore where a man having a term in lands, parts with the whole of it to a tenant, reserving a rent, he is not within the protection of the statute, although by the deed between them a power of distress be expressly given to him. See Pluck v. Digges, 2 Dowl. N. C. 180.

How, where the goods do not exceed 501.] But where the value of the goods and chattels, so fraudulently or clandestinely carried off or concealed, shall not exceed 501., the landlord, or his bailiff, servant or agent, may exhibit a complaint in writing, before two justices of the peace of the county, &c., and residing near the place from which such goods were removed. or where they were found, (See R. v. Morgan, Cald. 156,) not being interested in the lands or tenements from which the same were removed; who may summon the parties concerned, examine the fact, and all proper witnesses upon oath, and in a summary way determine whether the party complained of be guilty of the offence, and may in like manner inquire into the value of the goods; and upon full proof of the offence, such justices, by order under their hands and seals, shall adjudge the offender or offenders to pay double the value of the said goods and chattels to such landlord, his bailiff, servant or agent, at such time as the said justices shall appoint; and in default of payment, the justices may cause the same to be levied by distress; or for want of distress they may commit