party sufficient to put him upon his trial, and shall discharge him without holding him to bail, every such recognizance so taken by the said first-mentioned justice or justices as aforesaid shall be null and void. FORMS. (R1) Warrant to convey the accused where committed. To W. T., constable of said [county] of -. and to all other peace officers in the Whereas A. B. of [labourer], hath this day been charged before the offence was the undersigned, [one] of her Majesty's justices of the peace in and for the said county of for that [&c., as in the warrant to apprehend]: And whereas [1] have taken the deposition of C. D., a witness examined by [me] in this behalf; but inasmuch as [I] am informed that the principal witnesses to prove the said offence against the said A. B. reside in the [county] of C., where the said offence is alleged to have been committed: These are therefore to command you the said constable, in her Majesty's name, forthwith to take and convey the said A. B. to the said [county] of C, and there carry him before some justice or justices of the peace in and for that [county], and near unto the [ parish of D ], where the offence is alleged to have been committed, to answer further to the said charge before him or them, and to be further dealt with according to law; and [1] hereby further command you the said constable to deliver to the said justice or justices the information in this behalf, and also the said deposition of C. D. now given into your possession for that purpose, together with this precept. Given under my hand and seal, this day of in the year of our Lord in the [county] aforesaid. J. S. (L. s.) (R2) Order for payment of the constable's expenses. at To R. W. esquire, treasurer of the said county of C. Whereas W. T., constable of in the county of A., hath by virtue of and in obedience to a certain warrant of J. S., esquire, [one] of her Majesty's justices of the peace in and for the said county of A., taken and conveyed one A. B., charged before the said J. S. with having [&c., stating shortly the offence], from in the said county of A. to in the said county of C., a distance of miles, and produced the said A. B. before me S. P., one of her Majesty's justices of the peace in and for the said county of C., and delivered him into the custody of - by [my] direction, to answer to the said charge, and further to be dealt with according to law: And whereas the said W. T. hath also delivered to [me] the said warrant, together with the information in that behalf, and also the deposition of C. D. in the said warrant mentioned, and hath proved to [me] upon oath the handwriting of the said J. S. subscribed to the same: And whereas [1] have ascertained that the sum which ought to be paid to the said W. T. for conveying the said A. B. from the said county of A. to the said county of C., and taking him before [me], is the sum of and that the reasonable expenses of the said W. T. in returning will amount to the further sum of —, making together the sum of - : These are therefore to order you, as such treasurer of the said county of C., to pay unto the said W. T. the said sum of according to the form of the statute in such case made and provided, for which payment this order shall be your sufficient voucher and authority. Given under my hand, this 184-. day of J. P. Justice to bind over prosecutor and witnesses by SECT. 6. OF Binding over PROSECUTOR AND WITNESSES, &c. Sect. 20 enacts, that it shall be lawful for the justice or justices before whom any such witness shall be examined as aforesaid to bind by recognizance (O 1) the prosecutor and recognizance. every such witness to appear at the next court of oyer and terminer or gaol delivery, or superior court of a county palatine, or court of general or quarter sessions of the peace, at which the accused is to be tried (a), then and there to prosecute, or to prosecute and give evidence, or to give evidence, as the case may be, against the party accused, which said recognizance shall particularly specify the profession, art, mystery or trade (a) What cases are triable at the assizes and what at the quarter sessions are shown in the fourth column of Chap. II. containing the tabular view of the offences: the jurisdiction of the quarter sessions as to the trial of offenders is regulated principally by the 5 & 6 Vict. c. 38. Sect. 1 of that statute enacts, "That, after the passing of this act, neither the justices of the peace acting in and for any county, riding, division or liberty, nor the recorder of any borough, shall, at any session of the peace, or at any adjournment thereof, try any person for any treason, murder or capital felony, or for any felony which when committed by a person not previously convicted of felony is punishable by transportation beyond the seas for life; or for any of the following offences, (that is to say,) 1. Misprision of treason; 2. Offences against the queen's title, prerogative, person or government, or against either house of parliament; 3. Offences subject to the penalties of præmunire; 4. Blasphemy, and offences against religion; 5. Administering or taking unlawful oaths; 6. Perjury, and suborn. ation of perjury; 7. Making or suborning any other person to make a false oath, affirmation or declaration, punishable as perjury or as a misdemeanor ; 8. Forgery; 9. Unlawfully and maliciously setting fire to crops of corn, grain or pulse, or to any part of a wood, coppice or plantation of trees, or to any heath, gorse, furze or fern; 10. Bigamy, and offences against the laws relating to marriage; 11. Abduction of women and girls; 12. Endeavouring to conceal the birth of a child; 13. Offences against any provision of the laws relating to bankrupts and insolvents; 14. Composing, printing or publishing blasphemous, seditious or defamatory libels; 15. Bribery; 16. Unlawful combinations and conspiracies, except conspiracies or combinations to commit any offence which such justices or recorder respectively have or has jurisdiction to try when committed by one person; 17. Stealing, or fraudulently taking or injuring or destroying, records or documents belonging to any court of law or equity, or relating to any proceeding therein; 18. Stealing, or fraudulently destroying or concealing, wills or testamentary papers, or any document or written instrument being or containing evidence of the title to any real estate, or any interest in lands, tenements or hereditaments." This is, however, not to affect the jurisdiction of the Central Criminal Court, which was established by 4 & 5 Will. 4, c. 36. Sect. 2 defines the limits of that jurisdiction, and sect. 17 describes the offences which are not to be tried at quarter sessions by the justices of the peace acting in and for the cities of London and Westminster, the liberty of the tower of London, the borough of Southwark, and the counties of Middlesex, Essex, Kent and Surrey, and which are also shown by the letters "C. C. C." in the 4th column of Chap. II.: the recognizances in these cases must be to prosecute or give evidence at the Central Criminal Court; in all other cases where any of those offences are committed elsewhere in Essex, Kent or Surrey, and in cases of offences not enumerated in sect. 17, committed within those counties and the limits, the prosecutor and witnesses are bound over to the assizes or sessions, according to 5 & 6 Vict. c. 38, s. 1, above. (Archbold's edition, p. 55.) * P. 329. Depositions, recognizances, &c. to be transmitted to the court in which trial is to be had. Witnesses re fusing to enter into recog⚫ nizances may be committed. * P. 330. If accused discharged, witness also to be discharged. * P. 330. of every such person entering into or acknowledging the same, together with his christian and surname, and the parish, township or place of his residence, and if his residence be in a city, town or borough, the recognizance shall also particularly specify the name of the street, and the number (if any) of the house in which he resides, and whether he is owner or tenant thereof or a lodger therein; and the said recognizance, being duly acknowledged by the person so entering into the same, shall be subscribed by the justice or justices before whom the same shall be acknowledged, and a notice (O2)* thereof, signed by the said justice or justices, shall at the same time be given to the person bound thereby; and the several recognizances so taken, together with the written information (if any), the depositions, the statement of the accused, and the recognizance of bail (if any) in every such case, shall be delivered by the said justice or justices, or he or they shall cause the same to be delivered, to the proper officer of the court in which the trial is to be had, before or at the opening of the said court on the first day of the sitting thereof, or at such other time as the judge, recorder or justice who is to preside in such court at the said trial shall order and appoint: Provided always, that if any such witness shall refuse to enter into or acknowledge such recognizance as aforesaid it shall be lawful for such justice or justices of the peace, by his or their warrant (P 1),* to commit him to the common gaol or house of correction for the county, riding, division, liberty, city, borough or place in which the accused party is to be tried, there to be imprisoned and safely kept until after the trial of such accused party, unless in the meantime such witness shall duly enter into such recognizance as aforesaid before some one justice of the peace for the county, &c., in which such gaol or house of correction shall be situate: Provided nevertheless, that if ́ afterwards, from want of sufficient evidence in that behalf or other cause, the justice or justices before whom such accused party shall have been brought shall not commit him or hold him to bail for the offence with which he is charged, it shall be lawful for such justice or justices, or any other justice or justices of the same county, &c., by his or their order (P 2)* in that behalf, to order and direct the keeper of such common gaol or house of correction where such witness shall be so in custody to discharge him from the same, and such keeper shall thereupon forthwith discharge him accordingly. FORMS. Be it remembered, that on the day of in the year of (01). Recogour Lord "" C. D., of in the township of - in the said county, nizances: farmer, [or "C. D., of No. 2, street, in the parish of —, in the borough of , surgeon, of which said house he is tenant,"] personally came before me, one of her Majesty's justices of the peace for the said county, and acknowledged himself to owe to our sovereign lady the Queen the sum of of good and lawful money of Great Britain, to be made and levied of his goods and chattels, lands and tenements, to the use of our said lady the Queen, her heirs and successors, if he the said C. D. shall fail in the condition indorsed. Taken and acknowledged, the day and year first above mentioned, at before me, J. S. The condition of the within-written recognizance is such, that whereas To prosecute; one A. B. was this day charged before me, J. S., justice of the peace within mentioned, for that [&c., as in the caption of the depositions], if therefore he the said C. D. shall appear at the next court of oyer and terminer or general gaol delivery [or "at the next court of general quarter sessions of the peace"] to be holden in and for the [county] of prefer or cause to be preferred a bill of indictment for the offence aforesaid against the said A. B., and there also duly prosecute such indictment, then the said recognizance to be void, or else to stand in full force and virtue. -,* and there Same as the last form to the asterisk *, and then thus: "and there pre- To prosecute fer or cause to be preferred a bill of indictment against the said A. B. for and give evithe offence aforesaid, and duly prosecute such indictment, and give evi- dence; dence thereon as well to the jurors who shall then inquire of the said offence as also to them who shall pass upon the trial of the said A. B., then the said recognizance to be void, or else to stand in full force and virtue." Same as the last form but one to the asterisk*, and then thus: " and To give evithere give such evidence as he knoweth upon a bill of indictment to be dence. then and there preferred against the said A. B. for the offence aforesaid, as well to the jurors who shall there inquire of the said offence as also to the jurors who shall pass upon the trial of the said A. B. if the said bill shall be found a true bill, then the said recognizance to be void, or else to stand in full force and virtue." Take notice, that you, C. D., of ——, are bound in the sum of (O 2). Notice to wit. to appear at the next court of [general quarter sessions of the said reof the peace] in and for the county of, to be holden at —, in the cognizance. said county, and then and there [prosecute and] give evidence against A. B.; and unless you then appear there, and [prosecute and] give evidence accordingly, the recognizance entered into by you will be forthwith levied on you. Dated this 184-. day of J. S. (P1). Commitment of witness refusing to enter into recognizance. (P2). Subsequent order to discharge the witness. To the constable of and to the keeper of the [house of correc —, in the said [county] of for tion] at Whereas A. B. was lately charged before the undersigned [one] of her Majesty's justices of the peace in and for the said [county] of that [&c., as in the summons to the witness], and it having been made to appear to [me] upon oath that E. F., of was likely to give material evidence for the prosecution, [I] duly issued [my summons to the said E. F., requiring him to be and appear] before [me] on ——, at - or before such other justice or justices of the peace as should then be there, to testify what he should know concerning the said charge so made against the said A. B. as aforesaid; and the said E. F. now appearing before [me], [or "being brought before [me] by virtue of a warrant in that behalf, to testify as aforesaid,"] hath been now examined by [me] touching the premises, but being by [me] required to enter into a recog nizance conditioned to give evidence against the said A. B., hath now refused so to do: These are therefore to command you the said constable to take the said E. F., and him safely to convey to the [house of correc tion] at in the [county] aforesaid, and there deliver him to the said 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 E. F. into your custody in the said [house of correction], there to imprison and safely keep him until after the trial of the said A. B. for the offence aforesaid, unless in the meantime such E F. shall duly enter into such recognizance as aforesaid in the sum of — pounds, before some one justice of the peace for the said [county], conditioned in the usual form to appear at the next court of ["oyer and terminer or general gaol delivery," or general quarter sessions of the peace,"] to be holden in and for the [county] of and there to give evidence before the grand jury upon any bill of indictment which may then and there be preferred against the said A. B. for the offence aforesaid, and also to give evidence upon the trial of the said A. B. for the said offence, if a true bill should be found against him for the same. 66 Given under my hand and seal, this day of our Lord in the year of To the keeper of the [house of correction] at, in the [county] of day of [instant], reciting Whereas by [my] order dated the that A. B. was lately before them, charged before [me] for a certain offence therein mentioned, and that E. F. having appeared before [me], and being examined as a witness for the prosecution in that behalf, refused to enter into a recognizance to give evidence against the said A. B., and [1] therefore thereby committed the said E. F. to your custody, and required you safely to keep him until after the trial of the said A. B. for the offence aforesaid, unless in the meantime he should enter into such recog nizanee as aforesaid: And whereas for want of sufficient evidence against the said A. B. the said A. B. has not been committed or holden to bail for the said offence, but on the contrary thereof has been since discharged, and it is therefore not necessary that the said E. F. should be detained longer in your custody: These are therefore to order and direct you the said keeper to discharge the said E. F. out of your custody as to the said commitment, and suffer him to go at large. Given, [&c. as (P 1).] |