3 Geo. 4, c. 23, s. 1, gave a general form which was Note to made applicable to all cases where a particular form was Sect. 17. not prescribed by the statute creating the offence, uniformity was not thereby secured, for, owing to the prolixity of the form given in that statute, it came to be the practice in new Acts of parliament to insert the form of conviction which was to be used. These forms, however, were for the most part extremely defective. Now one general form is to be used in all cases where the statute does not otherwise direct (I. 1-3), and so also when an order is to be made (K. 1-3). The conviction must set out the adjudication of the justices, and when a penalty is inflicted, for what length of time the defendant is to be imprisoned if it be not paid, or cannot be levied by distress. And when an order is made, before a warrant of commitment or distress can issue, a copy of the minute of the order must be served on the defendant, which, however, is not to form any part of the warrant of commitment or of distress. Where by a statute giving justices a power to convict summarily they are empowered to commit the offender to prison for a certain period, with or without hard labour, and in their warrant of commitment nothing is said about hard labour, it is to be taken that they do not mean to give hard labour; and the warrant would not be objectionable for omitting to state whether the imprisonment is to be with or without hard labour. Ex parte Thompson, 3 L. T. (N.s.) 318; 24 J. P. 805. order, &c. It is not necessary that an order of justice should be sealed Sealing with wax. An impression made in ink with a wooden block in the usual place of a seal is sufficient when the document purports to be given under the hands and seals of the justices, and is in fact signed and delivered by them. Reg. v. St. Paul, Covent Garden, 7 Q. B. 232; 9 J. P. 441. As to the latter part of this section see section 14, ante, p. 45, and Ratt v. Parkinson, cited in note thereon, ante, p. 51. Power to justice to costs, which specified 18. And be it enacted, that in all cases of summary conviction or of orders made by a justice or award justices of the peace it shall be lawful for the justice shall be or justices making the same, in his or their discre- in conviction, to award and order in and by such conviction order of or order that the defendant shall pay to the prose- and may cutor or complainant respectively such costs as to be resuch justice or justices shall seem just and reason- by distress. tion or dismissal covered Sect. 18. able in that behalf; and in cases where such justice or justices, instead of convicting or making an order as aforesaid, shall dismiss the information or complaint, it shall be lawful for him or them, in his or their discretion, in and by his or their order of dismissal, to award and order that the prosecutor or complainant respectively shall pay to the defendant such costs as to such justice or justices shall seem just and reasonable, and the sums so allowed for costs shall in all cases be specified in such conviction or order of dismissal aforesaid, and the same shall be recoverable in the same manner and under the same warrants as any penalty or sum of money adjudged to be paid in and by such conviction or order is to be recoverable; and in cases where there is no such penalty or sum to be thereby recovered, then such costs shall be recoverable by distress and sale of the goods and chattels of the party, and in default of such distress by imprisonment, with or without hard labour, for any time not exceeding one calendar month unless such costs shall be sooner paid. Sufficiency of conviction. The forms of conviction given in the schedule to this Act apply to all cases; and convictions drawn up in such of the forms as are applicable to the case are sufficient. Therefore, where a conviction under the Game Acts, 1 & 2 Will. 4, c. 32, and 5 and 6 Will. 4, c. 20, s. 21, adjudged a pecuniary penalty to be paid and applied according to law, following the words of Form I. 2, the latter Act providing that one moiety of the penalty should be paid to the informer, and the other moiety to go to the overseers of the poor, and to be paid to one of the overseers or to some parish officer appointed by the justices, it was held that the conviction was sufficient by virtue of sections 17 and 32 of this Act. Reg. v. Hyde, 21 L. J. R. (N.S.) M. C. 94; El. & Bl. 859; 16 Jur. 337; 16 J. P. 67. See also Reg. v. Barton, 18 L. J. (N.s.), M. C. 56; 13 J. P. 120, which related to a conviction under 29 Car. 2, c. 7. In drawing up a conviction, it should be borne in mind Note to that where an Act of parliament gives summary proceedings Sect. 18. for the various offences, the conviction, though formally drawn, will not support a complaint, if it leaves it uncertain under which section of the Act the conviction actually took place. Charter v. Græme, 18 L. J. (N.s.) M. C. 73; 13 J. P. 232. justice to rant of 19. And be it enacted, that where a conviction Power to adjudges a pecuniary penalty or compensation to be issue warpaid, or where an order requires the payment of a distress sum of money, and by the statute authorizing such conviction or order such penalty, compensation, or sum of money is to be levied upon the goods and chattels of the defendant by distress and sale thereof, and also in cases where by the statute in that behalf no mode of raising or levying such penalty, compensation, or sum of money, or of enforcing the payment of the same, is stated or provided, it shall be lawful for the justice or justices making such conviction or order, or for any justice of the peace for the same county, riding, division, liberty, city, borough, or place, to issue his or their warrant of distress (N. 1, 2) for the purpose of levying the same, which said warrant of distress shall be in writing under the hand and seal of the justice making the same; and if after delivery of such How warwarrant of distress to the constable or constables backed. to whom the same shall have been directed to be executed sufficient distress shall not be found within the limits of the jurisdiction of the justice granting such warrant, then, upon proof alone being made on oath of the handwriting of the justice granting such warrant before any justice of any other county or place, such justice of such other county or place shall thereupon make an indorsement (N. 3) on rant to be Sect. 19. such warrant, signed with his hand, authorizing the Where the issuing a warrant would be ruinous to defendant, or where there are no goods, justice execution of such warrant within the limits of his jurisdiction, by virtue of which said warrant and indorsement the penalty or sum aforesaid, and costs, or so much thereof as may not have been before levied or paid, shall and may be levied by the person bringing such warrant, or by the person or persons to whom such warrant was originally directed, or by any constable or other peace-officer of such last-mentioned county or place, by distress and sale of the goods and chattels of the defendant in such other county or place: 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 may commit family, or wherever it shall appear to such justice, him to prison. Penalty. 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 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. This enactment applies to cases in which the particular statute under which the proceedings are taken, is silent on the subject of levying the penalty or compensation, as well as to other statutes in which the mode of enforcing the Note to penalty, &c., is expressly directed. The warrant may be Sect. 19. signed by any one justice having jurisdiction, whether he made the order or not (see section 29); and it must be under seal. The statute also provides for the backing of the warrant, so that the constable may be enabled to follow the goods of the defendant; and following 33 Geo. 3, c. 55, s. 3, it enables the justices to issue a warrant of commitment at once, if upon the confession of the defendant it appear that he has no goods whereon to levy, or that a distress warrant would be ruinous to the defendant and his family. See also section 23. As to the procedure on the execution of warrants of dis- Levy by tress, see section 43 of the Summary Jurisdiction Act, 1879, distress. post. The penalty of five shillings, including costs for breach of bye law mentioned in 33 & 34 Vict. c. 75, s. 74 (Elementary Education Act), does not include the costs of distress warrant following thereon under 11 & 12 Vict. c. 43, s. 19. Cook v. Plasket, 47 J. P. 265; 46 L. T. (N.s.), 383. A conviction under 35 & 36 Vict. c. 94, ss. 3 and 50, for Imprisonselling beer by retail without being duly licensed and which ment. proceeded to adjudge that if the penalty were not paid forthwith, inasmuch as it appeared that the defendant had no goods or chattels whereon to levy the same by distress the defendant should be imprisoned for six calendar months unless the money should be sooner paid, was held to be invalid in so far as it awarded imprisonment because the justices did not make an order, in the words of section 51, sub-section 2, that a distress shall be made in default of payment, notwithstanding the proviso to section 19 of 11 & 12 Vict. c. 43. Reg. v. Newcastle-upon-Tyne JJ., ex parte Brown, 38 L. T. (N.s.) 682. Further, with regard to warrants of distress, see section 39 of Summary Jurisdiction Act, 1879, post. See also 47 & 48 Vict. c. 24, s. 5, post, as to this section, and s. 21 infra. after issu rant, may defendant 20. And be it enacted, that in all cases where a Justice justice of the peace shall issue any such warrant of ing wardistress, it shall be lawful for him to suffer the de- suffer fendant to go at large, or verbally or by a written to go at warrant in that behalf, to order the defendant kept and detained in safe custody until return be made to such warrant of distress, unless such return be large, or to be order him shall tody, until into cus |