Property ordered for the use of the poor of parishes, &c may be laid in the overseers. Materials, &c. for repairing highways may be laid to be the property of the surveyor of highways. Property of part at the expense of any county, riding, or division, or on or with respect to any goods or chattels whatsoever, provided for at the expense of any county, riding, or division, to be used for making, altering, or repairing any bridge, or any highway at the ends thereof, or any court or other such building as aforesaid, or to be used in or with any such court or other building, it shall be sufficient to state any such property, real or personal, to belong to the inhabitants of such county, riding, or division; and it shall not be necessary to specify the names of any of such inhabitants. XVI. And, with respect to the property of parishes, townships, and hamlets, be it enacted, That in any indictment or information for any felony or misdemeanor committed in, upon, or with respect to any workhouse or poorhouse, or on or with respect to any goods or chattels whatsoever, provided for the use of the poor of any parish or parishes, township or townships, hamlet or hamlets, place or places, or to be used in any workhouse or poorhouse in or belonging to the same, or by the master or mistress of such workhouse or poorhouse, or by any workmen or servants employed therein, it shall be sufficient to state any such property to belong to the overseers of the poor for the time being of such parish or parishes, township or townships, hamlet or hamlets, place or places, and it shall not be necessary to specify the names of all or any of such overseers; and in any indictment or information for any felony or misdemeanor committed on or with respect to any materials, tools, or implements provided for making, altering, or repairing any highway within any parish, township, hamlet, or place, otherwise than by the trustees or commissioners of any turnpike road, it shall be sufficient to aver that any such things are the property of the surveyor or surveyors of the highways for the time being of such parish, township, hamlet, or place, and it shall not be necessary to specify the name or names of any such surveyor or surveyors. XVII. And, with respect to property under turnpike trusts, be it enacted, That in any indictment or information for any felony or misdemeanor committed on or with respect to any house, building, gate, machine, lamp, board, stone, post, fence, or other thing, erected or provided in pursuance of any Act of Parliament for making any turnpike road, or any of the conveniences or appurtenances thereunto respectively belonging, or any materials, tools, or implements provided for making, altering, or repairing any such road, it shall be sufficient to state any such property to belong to the trustees or commissioners of such road, and it shall not be necessary to specify the names of any such trustees or commissioners. Section XVIII. relates to indictments for offences committed on sewers. XIX. And for preventing abuses from dilatory pleas, be it enacted, That no indictment or information shall be abated by reason of any dilatory plea of misnomer or of want of addition, or of wrong addition of the party offering such plea, if the Court shall be satisfied by affidavit or otherwise of the truth of such plea; but in such case the Court shall forthwith cause the indictment or information to be amended according to the truth, and shall call upon such party to plead thereto, and shall proceed as if no such dilatory plea had been pleaded. XX. And that the punishment of offenders may be less frequently intercepted in consequence of technical niceties, be it enacted, That no judgment upon any indictment or information for any felony or misdemeanor, whether after verdict or outlawry, or by confession, default, or otherwise, shall be stayed or reversed for want of the averment of any matter unnecessary to be proved, nor for the omission of the words as appears by the record," or of the words "with force and arms," or of the words " against the peace," nor for the insertion of the words "against the form of the statute" instead of the words "against the form of the statutes," or vice versa, nor for that any person or persons mentioned in the indictment or information is or are What shall cient to stay or reverse judgment after the verdict. designated by a name of office or other descriptive appellation instead of his, her, or their proper name or names, nor for omitting to state the time at which the offence was committed, in any case where time is not of the essence of the offence, nor for stating the time imperfectly, nor for stating the offence to have been committed on a day subsequent to the finding of the indictment or exhibiting the information, or on an impossible day, or on a day that never happened, nor for want of a proper or perfect venue, where the Court shall appear by the indictment or information to have had jurisdiction over the offence. XXI. And be it further enacted, That no judgment not be suffi- after verdict upon any indictment or information for any felony or misdemeanor shall be stayed or reversed for want of a similiter, nor by reason that the jury process has been awarded to a wrong officer upon an insufficient suggestion, nor for any misnomer or misdescription of the officer returning such process, or of any of the jurors, nor because any person has served upon the jury who has not been returned as a juror by the sheriff or other officer; and that where the offence charged has been created by any statute, or subjected to a greater degree of punishment, or excluded from the benefit of clergy by any statute, the indictment or information shall after verdict be held sufficient to warrant the punishment prescribed by the statute if it describe the offence in the words of the statute. Courts may order pay expenses of prosecutions in all cases of felony. XXII. And, with regard to the payment of the ment of the expenses of prosecutions for felony, be it enacted, That the Court before which any person shall be prosecuted or tried for any felony is hereby authorised and empowered, at the request of the prosecutor or of any other person, who shall appear on recognizance or subpœna to prosecute or give evidence against any person accused of any felony, to order payment unto the prosecutor of the costs and expenses which such prosecutor shall incur in preferring the indictment, and also payment to the prosecutor and witnesses for the prosecution, of such sums of money as attending on recog nizance, bill is pre where no ferred. to the Court shall seem reasonable and sufficient to reimburse such prosecutor and witnesses for the expenses they shall have severally incurred in attending before the examining magistrate or magistrates and the grand jury, and in otherwise carrying on such prosecution, and also to compensate them for their trouble and loss of time therein; and although no bill of indictment be pre- Allowance ferred, it shall be lawful for the Court, where any person to persons shall, in the opinion of the Court, bona fide have attended the Court in obedience to any such recognizance or subpœna, to order payment unto such person of such sum of money as to the Court shall seem reasonable and sufficient to reimburse such person for the expenses which he or she shall have bona fide incurred by reason of attending before the examining magistrate or magistrates, and by reason of such recognizance or subpœna, and also to compensate such person for trouble and loss of time; and the amount of the expenses of attending before the examining magistrate or magistrates, and the compensation for trouble and loss of time therein, shall be ascertained by the certificate of such magistrate or magistrates, granted before the trial or attendance in Court, if such magistrate or magistrates shall think fit to grant the same; and the amount of all the other expenses, and compensation, shall be ascertained by the proper officer of the Court, subject nevertheless to the regulations to be established in the manner herein-after mentioned. XXIII. And whereas for want of power in the Court Courts may to order payment of the expenses of any prosecution for a misdemeanor, many individuals are deterred by the expense from prosecuting persons guilty of misdemeanors, who thereby escape the punishment due to their offences; for remedy thereof, be it enacted, That meanor. where any prosecutor or other person shall appear before any Court on recognizance or subpoena, to prosecute or give evidence against any person indicted of any assault with intent to commit felony, of any attempt to commit felony, of any riot, of any misdemeanor for receiving any stolen property knowing the same to have been pay order expenses of prosecu tain cases of misde Order for payment to be made out by clerk aaspad by of assize, &c. county treasurer. stolen, of any assanlt upon a peace officer in the execution of his duty, or upon any person acting in aid of such officer, of any neglect or breach of duty as a peaceofficer, of any assault committed in pursuance of any conspiracy to raise the rate of wages, of knowingly and designedly obtaining any property by false pretences, of wilful and indecent exposure of the person, of wilful and corrupt perjury, or of subornation of perjury, every such Court is hereby authorised and empowered to order payment of the costs and expenses of the prosecutor and witnesses for the prosecution, together with a compensation for their trouble and loss of time, in the same manner as courts are herein before authorised and empowered to order the same in cases of felony; and although no bill of indictment be preferred, it shall still be lawful for the Court where any person shall have bona fide attended the Court, in obedience to any such recognizance, to order payment of the expenses of such person, together with a compensation for his or her trouble and loss of time, in the same manner as in cases of felony: Provided, that in cases of misdemeanor the power of ordering the payment of expenses and compensation shall not extend to the attendance before the examining magistrate.* XXIV. And be it further enacted, That every order for payment to any prosecutor or other person as aforesaid shall be forthwith made out and delivered by the proper officer of the Court unto such prosecutor or other person, upon being paid for the same the sum of one shilling for the prosecutor and sixpence for each other person, and no more; and, except in the cases hereinafter provided for, shall be made upon the treasurer of the county, riding, or division in which the offence shall have been committed, or shall be supposed to have been committed, who is hereby authorised and required, upon sight of every such order, forthwith to pay to the person named therein, or to any one duly authorised to receive *This proviso is repealed by 14 & 15 Vict. cap. 55, s. 1. |