Member's oath tion is lease SCHEDULE (E.) Oath to be taken by a member before taking his seat in the I, A. B., do swear, that I truly and bona fide have such a when qualifica- leasehold estate on this Island, to and for my own use and benefit, over and above all incumbrances affecting the same, of the value of fifty pounds, as doth qualify me to serve as a member for the town, common and royalty of hold. or the electoral district (as the case may be), in the according to the true intent and meaning of the statute in such case made and provided. So help me God. For what of of the Peace mons to cause a him. CAP. XXII. An Act to facilitate the performance of the duties of Justices of the Peace in this Island, with respect to persons charged with indictable offences. [Passed April 14, 1856.] HEREAS it would conduce much to the improvement of the administration of criminal justice in this Island, if the duties of Justices of the Peace therein, with respect to persons charged with indictable offences, were clearly defined by positive enactment: I. Be it therefore enacted, by the Lieutenant Governor, Council and Assembly, That in all cases where a charge or fences a Justice complaint (A) is made, before any one or more of Her Mamay grant a jesty's Justices of the Peace for any County in this Island, warrant or sum- that any person has committed or is suspected to have comperson charged mitted any treason, felony, or other indictable misdemeanor therewith to be or offence, within the limits of the jurisdiction of such Jusbrought before tice or Justices of the Peace, or that any person, guilty or suspected to be guilty of having committed any such crime or offence elsewhere out of the jurisdiction of such Justice or Justices, is residing, or being, or is suspected to reside or be within the limits of the jurisdiction of such Justice or Justices, then and in every such case, if the person so charged or complained against shall not then be in custody, it shall be lawful for such Justice or Justices of the Peace to issue his or their warrant (B) to apprehend such person, and to cause him to be brought before such Justice or Justices, or any other Justice or Justices for the same County, to answer such charge or complaint, and to be further dealt with according to law: provided always, that in all cases it shall be lawful for such Justice or Justices to whom such charge or complaint shall be preferred, if he or they shall so think fit, instead of issuing, in the first instance, his or their warrant to apprehend the person so charged or complained against, to issue his or their summons (C), directed to such person, requiring him to appear before the said Justice or Justices, at the time and place to be therein mentioned, or before such other Justice or Justices of the same County as may be there; and if, after being served with such summons in manner hereinafter mentioned, he shall fail to appear at such time and place, in obedience to such summons, then and in every such case the said Justice or Justices, or any other Justice or Justices of the Peace for the same County, may issue his or their warrant (D) to apprehend such person so charged or complained against, and cause such person to be brought before him or them, or some other Justice or Justices of the Peace for the same County, to answer to the said charge or complaint, and to be further dealt with according to law: provided, nevertheless, that nothing herein contained shall prevent any Justice or Justices of the Peace from issuing his warrant, herein before first mentioned, at any time before or after the time mentioned in such summons for the appearance of the said accused party: it shall be lawful for any Justice or Justices of the Peace to grant or issue any warrant as aforesaid, or any search warrant, on a Sunday, as well as any other day. formation, &c., II. In all cases when a charge or complaint for any indictable offence shall be made before such Justice or Justices &c. is made, if When charge, aforesaid, if it be intended to issue a warrant in the first in- a warrant is to stance against such party or parties so charged, an informa- be issued, intion and complaint thereof (A) in writing, on the oath or af- must be laid firmation of the informant, or of some witness or witnesses on oath. in that behalf, shall be laid before such Justice or Justices: provided always, that in those cases only when it is intended to issue a summons, instead of a warrant, in the first instance, it shall not be necessary that such information and complaint shall be in writing, or be sworn to or affirmed in manner aforesaid; but in every such case, such information and complaint may be by parol merely, and without any oath or affirmation whatsoever to support or substantiate the same: provided also, that no objection shall be taken or allowed to any such information or complaint, for any alleged defect therein in substance or in form, or for any variance between it and the evidence adduced on the part of the prosecution, before the Justice or Justices who shall take the examination of the witnesses on that behalf, as hereinafter mentioned; and if any credible witness shall prove, upon oath, (E), before a Justice of the Peace, that there is reasonable cause to suspect that any property whatsoever, in or with respect to which any Upon complaint being laid, Justice receiving same may issue sum mons or war rant for appearance of How summons to be served. larceny or felony shall have been committed, is in any dwelling house, out-house, yard, craft, ship, vessel, boat, or other place or places, the Justice may grant a warrant (E-2) to search such dwelling house, out-house, garden, yard, craft, ship, vessel, boat, or other place or places, for such property. III. Upon such information and complaint being so laid as aforesaid, the Justice or Justices receiving the same may, if he or they shall think fit, issue his or their summons or warrant respectively, as herein before directed, to cause the person charged as aforesaid to be and appear before him or them, or any other Justice or Justices of the Peace for the person charged. same County, to be dealt with according to law; and every summons (C) shall be directed to the party so charged in and by such information, and shall state shortly the matter of such information, and shall require the party to whom it is directed to be and appear, at a certain time and place therein mentioned, before the Justice who shall issue such summons, or before such other Justice or Justices of the Peace for the same County as may then be there, to answer to the said charge, and to be further dealt with according to law; and every such summons shall be served by a constable or other peace officer, upon the person to whom it is so directed, by delivering the same to the party personally, or if he cannot conveniently be met with then, by leaving the same for him with some person at his last or most usual place of abode; and the constable or other peace officer who shall have served the same, in manner aforesaid, shall attend at the time and place, and before the Justice or Justices, in the said summons mentioned, to depose, if necessary, to the service of such summons; and if the person so served shall not be and appear before such Justice or Justices, at the time and place mentioned in such summons, in obedience to the same, then it shall be lawful for such Justice or Justices to issue his or their warrant (D) for apprehending the party so summoned, and bringing him before such Justice or Justices, or before some other Justice or Justices for the same County, to answer the charge in the said information and complaint mentioned, and to be further dealt with according to law: provided always, that no objection shall be taken or allowed to any such summons or warrant for any alleged defect therein, in substance or in form, or for any variance between it and the evidence adduced on the part of the prosecutor, before the Justice or Justices who shall take the examination of the witness in that behalf, as hereinafter mentioned; but if any such variance shall appear to such Justice or Justices to be such that the party charged has been thereby deceived or misled, it shall be lawful for such Justice or Justices, at the request of the party so charged, to adjourn the hearing of the case to some future day, and in the meantime to remand the party so charged, or admit him to bail in manner hereinafter mentioned. warrant to apprehend parties to be under hand and seal of Justice. How and where warrant may be executed. IV. Every warrant (B), hereafter to be issued by any Justice or Justices of the Peace, to apprehend any person charged with any indictable offence, shall be under the hand and seal or hands and seals of the Justice or Justices issuing the same, and may be directed to all or any of the constables or other peace officers of the district within which the same is to be executed, or to such constable and all other constables or peace officers in the County within which the Justice or Justices issuing the same has or have jurisdiction, or generally to all the constables or peace officers within such last mentioned County; and it shall state shortly the offence on which it is founded, and shall name or otherwise describe the offender; and it shall order the person or persons to whom it is directed to apprehend the offender, and bring him before the Justice or Justices issuing such warrant, or before some other Justice or Justices of the Peace for the same County, to answer to the charge contained in the said information, and to be further dealt with according to law; and it shall not be necessary to make such warrant returnable at any particular time; but the same may remain in force until it shall be executed; and such warrant may be executed by apprehending the offender at any place within the County within which the Justice or Justices. issuing the same shall have jurisdiction; and in all cases where such warrant shall be directed to all constables or other peace officers within the County within which such Justice or Justices shall have jurisdiction, it shall be lawful for any constable or other peace officer for any place within such County to execute the said warrant, at any place within the jurisdiction for which the said Justice or Justices shall have acted when he or they granted such warrant, in like manner as if such warrant were directed specially to such constable by name, and notwithstanding the place within which such warrant shall be executed, shall not be within the place for which he shall be constable or peace officer: provided always, that No objection no objection shall be taken or allowed to any such warrant for any defect therein, in substance or form, or for any variance between it and the evidence adduced on the part of the prosecution, before the Justice or Justices who shall take the examination of the witnesses in that behalf, as hereinafter mentioned; but if any such variance shall appear to any such Justice or Justices to be such that the party charged has been thereby deceived or misled, it shall be lawful for such Justice or Justices, at the request of the party so charged, to adjourn the hearing of the case to some future day, and in the meantime to remand allowed for alleged defect in form, &c. to the backing of warrants. the party so charged or to admit him to bail in manner hereinafter mentioned. V. If the person, against whom any such warrant shall be Regulations as issued as aforesaid, shall not be found within the jurisdiction of the Justice or Justices by whom the same shall be issued, or if he shall escape, go into, reside, or be or be supposed or suspected to be in any place within this Island, out of the jurisdiction of the Justice or Justices issuing such warrant, it shall and may be lawful for any Justice of the Peace, within the jurisdiction of whom such person shall so escape or go, or in which he shall reside or be, or be supposed or suspected to be, upon proof alone being made on oath of any credible person, that he knows or believes it to be the handwriting of the Justice issuing the same, and without any security being given, to make an endorsement (F) on such warrant, signed with his name, authorizing the execution of such warrant within the jurisdiction of the Justice making such endorsement, it shall be sufficient authority to the person bringing such warrant, and to all other persons to whom the same was originally directed, also to all constables and other Peace officers of the County where such warrant shall be so endorsed, to execute the same in such other County, and to carry the person against whom such warrant shall have issued, when apprehended, before the Justice or Justices of the Peace, who first issued the said warrant, or before some other Justice or Justices of the Peace for the same County, or before some Justice or Justices of the County, where the offence in the said warrant mentioned appears therein to have been committed: provided always, that if the prosecutor or any of the witnesses on the part of the prosecution shall then be in the County where such person shall have been so apprehended, the constable or other person or persons who shall have so apprehended such person, may, if so directed by the Justice backing such warrant, take and carry him before the Justice who shall have so backed the said warrant, or before some other Justice or Justices for the same County; and the said Justice or Justices may thereupon take the examination of the prosecutor or witness, and proceed in every respect in manner hereinafter directed, with respect to persons charged before a Justice or Justices of the Peace with an offence alleged to have been committed in another County than that in which such persons have been apprehended. Proviso. tices to summon VI. If it shall be made to appear to any Justice of the Peace, Power of Jus by the oath or affirmation of any credible person, that any witnesses to at- person within the jurisdiction of such Justice is likely to give tend and give material evidence for the prosecution, and will not voluntarily appear for the purpose of being examined as a witness, at the time and place appointed for the examination of witnesses evidence. |