your custody in the said gaol, there to remain till he be delivered from your custody by the law and custom of England. Given under my hand and seal, at in the said county, the day of

in the

County of

year of the reign of our said lord

Another.

J.P. (L. S.)

of}J. P. esquire, &c. To the keeper of the common gaol

at

in the said county, or to his deputy

in

there; These are in his majesty's name to charge and command you that you receive into your said gaol the body of A. O. late of in the said county, yeoman, taken by A. C. constable of the said county, and by him brought before me for suspicion of felony, that is to say, for stealing. And that you safely keep the said A. O. in your said gaol, until the next general gaol delivery for the said county [if he be not bailable, or, if bailable, then thus], until he shall thence be delivered by due course of law. And herein fail you not, &c. Given, &c.

County of

Another.

J. P. (L. S.)

To the keeper of

in

P. esquire, &c. I send on herewithal the body of A. O. late of in the said county, labourer, brought before me this present day, and charged upon the oath of A. B. ofthe said county, with the felonious taking and carrying away forty sheep, the property of· which also he hath confessed upon his examination before me [by which he is not bailable] : Therefore these are on the behalf of our said lord the king to command you that immediately you receive the said A. O., and him safely keep in your said gaol until he be thence delivered by the due order of law. Hereof fail you not, as you will answer for your contempt at your peril. Given under my hand and seal &c.

at

Or thus, in the King's Name.

J. P. (L. S.)

County of WILLIAM the Fourth, by the grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland king, defender of the faith. To the keeper of our gaol at in our said county of or to his deputy, greeting: Whereas A. O. late of in our said county, yeoman, is arrested for suspicion of felony, by him, as it is said, committed, in feloniously taking and carrying away. of the value of the property ofWe therefore command you and each of you, that you receive him the said A. O. into your custody in our said gaol, or that one of you do receive him, there to remain till he be delivered from your custody, according to the law of our kingdom of England. Witness J. P. esquire, one of the justices assigned to keep the peace in our said county, and also to hear and determine divers felonies, trespasses, and other misdemeanors in our said county committed, at in the said county, the day ofin the

Form of a Warrant of Commitment in general.

County of

of}J.

P. esquire, one of the justices of our lord the king, assigned to keep the peace within the said county. To the constable of in the said county, and to in the said county.

the keeper of

at

These are to command you the said constable, in his majesty's name, forthwith to convey and deliver into the custody of the said keeper of the said the body of A. O. charged upon the in the said county,

eath of A. P. of

before me, with [here specify the offence]. And you the said keeper are hereby required to receive the said A. O. into your custody in the said and him there safely to keep [here set forth the time], or until he shall be thence delivered by due course of law. Herein fail you not. Given under my hand and seal the

of

in the

king William the Fourth.

day year of the reign of his said majesty

J. P. (L.S.)

Form of Commitment of a Person for further Examination.

County of J.

P. esquire, one of the justices of our lord the king, assigned to keep the peace within the said county, in the said county, and to the keeper of in the said county.

To the constable of the common gaol at

day of

These are to command you the said constable, in his said majesty's name, forthwith to convey and deliver into the custody of the said keeper of the said common gaol, the body of A. O., charged this day before me, the said justice, on the oath of A. I., on suspicion of having in the night of the instant, at the parish of in the said county, burglariously broken and entered the dwelling-house of the said A. I. [or, as the case may be], but inasmuch as A. W., a material and necessary witness against the said A. O. for the burglary and felony aforesaid, resides at Chester [or, as the case may be], a distance of miles from the said dwelling-house of the said A. I. [or, as the case may be], and he the said A. I. hath not been able to procure the attendance of the said A. W., but will use his best endeavour so to do on the day of- instant.

next, the

You the said keeper are hereby required to receive the said A. O. into your custody in the said common gaol until day of instant, when you are hereby required to bring the said A. O. at in the said county, before me or before such others of his majesty's justices of the peace for the said county as shall be then and there present, to be re-examined and further dealt with according to law. Hereof fail you not. Given under my hand and seal the day of in the year of

our Lord one thousand eight hundred and

J. P. (L. S.)

The following important case shows, that if a magistrate, in sending back a prisoner for re-examination, commit him for longer than a reasonable time, he will be doing an illegal act, and be subject to an action for false imprisonment.

Magistrate

for an unreasonable time, though bonâ

In a case of trespass brought against a magistrate for false imcommitting for prisonment, it appeared that the plaintiff (a woman) had been re-examination brought before him on a charge of felony, and that the magistrate had committed her for re-examination for a period of fourteen days. Verdict for plaintiff, the jury finding that the commitment was bond fide, and not from any improper motive, but that it was for an unreasonable time. The court refused to enter a nonsuit, holding that it was the duty of the magistrate to commit for a reasonable time only, and that in going beyond it he was doing an illegal act, and the commitment was therefore void. Davis v.

fide, held liable to trespass for false imprison

ment.

Capper, 10 B. & Ad. 28.

The usual practice is stated to be to commit from three days to three days. 1 Chit. Crim. L. 7. See tit. Examination.

Order on Overseers (if in Middlesex), or Treasurer of the
County (if in any other county), to reimburse Expenses
of conveying a Prisoner to Gaol by Stat. 27 G. 2. c. 3.
§ 1. p. 172.

To the treasurer of the county of
of the poor of the parish or place of
Middlesex).

(or to the overseers in the county of

County of WHEREAS application hath been this day made to me, one of his majesty's justices of the peace to wit. in and for the said county, by A. B. one of the constables of the parish of in the said county, to allow the reasonable expenses of his conveying C. D. to the common gaol at in the county aforesaid, who was by me committed to the said gaol, for [state the offence].

It having been duly made appear to me, the said justice, that the said C. D. hath not money nor goods within the said county, sufficient to bear the charges of himself and those who conveyed him to the said gaol; and I having, upon oath, examined into the expenses thereof, and made due inquiry into the premises, do hereby ascertain and allow the reasonable expenses thereof, at the sum ofwhich I hereby order and require you the treasurer of the said county [or, overseers] forthwith to pay the said A. B. Given under my hand and seal this in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and

-

day of

Warrant of Distress for Expenses
mitted to Gaol. See stat. 3 J.

To the constable of

County of}
} To

J. P. (L. S.)

WHEREAS by warrant under the hand and seal of me, J. P. esquire, one of his majesty's justices of the peace in and for the said county of -, bearing date the

day of

in

A. O.,

the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and
late of
in the said county, labourer, was committed to the
common gaol [or, as the case may be (a)], of the said county of
for [here state the offence or misdemeanor], he the said

(a) See Ex parte Evans, 8 T. R. 172.

A. O. having means or ability to bear his own reasonable charges
for so conveying or sending him to the said gaol [or, as the case
may be], and the charges of those appointed to guard him thither;
and whereas A. C., constable of the parish of in the said
county, who in obedience to such warrant conveyed the said A. O.
to the said common gaol [or, as the case may be] of the said county
of —, hath made oath before me the said justice, that the said
A. O. refused at the time of his commitment and sending to the
said common gaol [or, as the case may be], to defray the said
charges of conveying him as aforesaid, and did not then pay nor
hath since paid the same, which said charges amount to the sum of
These are, therefore, to command you to sell such and so
much of the goods and chattels of the said A. O. as shall satisfy and
pay the said sum of being the charges of such his conveying
to the said gaol [or, as the case may be], the appraisement to be
made by four of the honest inhabitants of the parish where such
goods and chattels shall be; and I do hereby order and direct the
goods and chattels so to be distrained to be sold and disposed of
at the expiration of four days from the time of taking such distress,
unless the said sum of- for which such distress shall be made,
together with the reasonable charges of taking and keeping such dis-
tress, shall be sooner paid, returning the overplus upon demand to
him the said A. O., the reasonable charges of taking, keeping, and
selling the said distress being first deducted. And if sufficient dis-
tress cannot be found of the goods and chattels of the said A. O.,
whereon to levy the said sum of- that then you certify the
same to me, together with this warrant. Given under my hand and
seal at
in the said county of
the
day of
in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and

J. P. (L. S.)

See the form of commitment for non-payment of costs on complaints before magistrates, as given by 18 G. 3. c. 19. See tit. Costs.

For commitments upon particular cases, see the several titles in this book: and particularly title agrants.

Conspiracy.

I. What it is.

[6 G. 4. c. 129.]

II. How punishable.

I. What it is.

THE conspiring by two or more to obstruct, pervert, or defeat General printhe course of public justice, to injure the public health, or ciple.

generally to effect any public mischief, are offences punishable by indictment. 2 Russ. 553. and the authorities there cited.

So, when two or more combine together to execute some act for the purpose of injuring a third person.

By the common law there can be no doubt, but that all confederates whatsoever, wrongfully to prejudice a third person, are highly criminal; as where divers persons confederate together by indirect means to impoverish a third person, or falsely and maliciously to charge a man with being the reputed father of a bastard child, or to maintain one another in a matter, whether it be true or false. 1 Haw. c. 72. § 2.

Not only those who actually cause an innocent man to be indicted, and also to be tried upon the indictment, whereupon he is lawfully acquitted, are properly conspirators, but those also are guilty of this offence who barely conspire to indict a man falsely and maliciously, whether they do any act in prosecution of such conspiracy or not. 1 Haw. c. 71. § 2. 2 Ld. Raym.

1169.

So, it is indictable where the conspiracy is to effect a legal purpose by the use of unlawful means. 2 Russ. 553.

But an action will not lie for the conspiracy unless it be put in execution; for in such case, the damage is the ground of the action. 1 Ld. Raym. 378.

A conspiracy to prevent a prosecution for a felony, is an offence. 14 Ves. 65.

Every confederacy to injure individuals, or to do acts which are unlawful or prejudicial to the community, is a conspiracy. 4 Blac. Com. 137. (n.) Thus, journeymen confederating and refusing to work unless for certain wages, may be indicted for a conspiracy, notwithstanding the statutes which regulate their work and wages do not direct this mode of prosecution; for the offence consists in the conspiring, and not in the refusal, and all conspiracies are illegal, although the subject-matter of them may be lawful. R. v. Journeymen Tailors of Cambridge, 8 Mod. 11. 320.

By 6 G. 4. c. 129. (relating to combinations among journeymen, &c.) § 4., the act is not to extend to subject to punishment persons who shall meet together for the sole purpose of consulting upon and determining the rate of wages which they shall require for their work, or the hours for which they shall work, &c., or who shall enter into any agreement, written or verbal, for such purposes, and that they shall not be liable to any prosecution or penalty for so doing.

And by § 5. the act is not to extend to persons meeting for the purpose of consulting about the rate of wages which they shall pay to their journeymen, &c., or the hours, &c., or who shall enter into any agreement, verbal or written, for such purposes, and that such persons shall not be liable to any prosecution or penalty for so doing.

A bare conspiracy to do a lawful act to an unlawful end is a crime, though no act be done in consequence thereof. Suppose there is a conspiracy to let lands of 10l. a-year value to a poor man, in order to get him a settlement, or to make a certificate man a parish officer, or a conspiracy to send a woman big of a bastard child into another parish, to be delivered there, and so to charge that parish with the child; certainly these are