opposite a plea of not guilty has been refused, it not being proved to have been in the plea. (Forman v. Dawes, 1 C. & M. 76.) The fee of 6s. 8d. to the judge's marshal at the assizes, and all other payments upon the circuits to or to the use of the judges, are abolished by 14 & 15 Vict. c. 73, s. 28 (The Nisi Prius Officers Act); and by sect. 31 the fees heretofore received on the circuit by the marshal's man and the judge's bailiff respectively are also abolished; and no fee, gratuity, or reward whatsoever is to be demanded or accepted by any one exercising or claiming to exercise either of the said offices, or by any servant or other person attending the circuit in any subordinate office or employment (a). Jury process abolished. Precept,to summon jurors for XIX. JURY AND JURY PROCESS. "And with respect to juries and jury process, be it enacted as follows: 104. "The several writs of venire facias juratores and distringas juratores, or habeas corpora juratorum, and the entry jurata ponitur in respectu, shall no longer be necessary or used. 105. "The precept issued by the judges of assize to the sheriff to summon jurors for the assizes shall direct that civil as well the jurors be summoned for the trial of all issues, whether civil or criminal, which may come on for trial at the assizes; and the jurors shall thereupon be summoned in like manner as at present. as criminal trials. A printed panel to be prepared, and annexed to the record. Common juries. cept. 106. "A printed panel of the jurors summoned shall, seven days before the commission day, be made by the sheriff, and kept in the office for inspection; and a printed copy of such panel shall be delivered by the sheriff to any party requiring the same, on payment of one shilling, and such copy shall be annexed to the nisi prius record." There has been much confusion as to the mode of summoning juries for civil trials (see Appendix to Commissioners' Report, pp. 119, 122, 131); but the course will now be for Judge's pre- the judges of assize to issue a precept fifteen days before the assizes (see Report, p. 119) for the sheriff to summon jurors for the trial of all issues, whether civil or criminal; and they should be summoned ten days at least before the day on which they are to attend (see 6 Geo. IV. c. 50, s. 25); and the other provisions of that act as to summoning two sets, &c. will also (a) The other sections of this statute, so far as they are material, will be found at the end of the volume. apply. The panel of those summoned will be made out by the sheriff seven days before the commission day, and placed in the undersheriff's office for inspection of the parties or their attornies without fee. (See sect. 19.) A copy of such panel is afterwards to be annexed to the record. (Sect. 106.) sizes. 108. "The precept issued by the judges of assize as Special juries aforesaid shall direct the sheriff to summon a sufficient for the asnumber of special jurymen, to be mentioned therein, not exceeding forty-eight in all, to try the special jury causes at the assizes; and the persons summoned in pursuance of such precept shall be the jury for trying the special jury causes at the assizes, subject to such right of challenge as the parties are now by law entitled to; "and a printed panel of the special jurors so summoned shall be made, kept, delivered and annexed to the nisi prius record, in like time and manner and upon the same terms as herein before provided with reference to the panel of common jurors; "and upon the trial the special jury shall be balloted for, and called in the order in which they shall be drawn from the box, in the same manner as common jurors: provided that the court or a judge, in such case as they or he may think fit, may order that a special jury be struck according to the present practice, and such order shall be a sufficient warrant for striking such special jury, and making a panel thereof for the trial of the particular cause. tained in country 109. "In any county, except London and Middlesex, How obthe plaintiff in any action, except replevin, shall be entitled to have the cause tried by special jury, upon causes. giving notice in writing to the defendant, at such time as would be necessary for a notice of trial, of his intention that the cause shall be so tried; "and the defendant, or plaintiff in replevin, shall be so entitled, on giving the like notice within the time now limited for obtaining a rule for a special jury: provided that the court or a judge may at any time order that a cause shall be tried by a special jury, upon such terms as they or he shall think fit. trial by 112. "Where notice has been given to try by special Notice to jury, either party may, six days before the first day of sheriff of the sittings in London or Middlesex, or adjournment day special jury. in London, or commission day of the assizes, give notice to the sheriff that such cause is to be tried by a special jury; and in case no such notice be given no special jury need be summoned or attend, and the cause may be tried Cause, when to be tried by common jury. Special jury how obtained. by a common jury, unless otherwise ordered by the court or a judge. 113.In all cases where notice is not given to the sheriff that the cause is to be tried by a special jury, and by reason thereof a special jury is not summoned or does not attend, the cause may be tried by a common jury, to be taken from the panel of common jurors, in like manner as if no proceedings had been had to try the cause by a special jury.” The precept therefore must also in future specify the number of special jurors to be summoned by the sheriff, and, according to the literal construction of sect. 108, taken together with sect. 106, the panel of the special jurors summoned is to be made out by the sheriff, and kept in like time and manner as the panel of the common jurors, i. e. seven days before the commission day. But sect. 112 enacts, that either party may give notice to the sheriff six days before the commission day, and in case no such notice (i. e. six days) be given, no special jury need be summoned or attend. What notice to the sheriff is referred to in sect. 113 is not apparent: and as the sections stand, it seems that, although the jurors may not be liable to fine for not attending, if the sheriff has not had the six days' notice, yet the sheriff must in all cases summon them; for otherwise he will be unable to make out a panel of the special jurors summoned, in like time and manner. Formerly the special jurors were to be summoned three days at least; but this cannot now be sufficient without disregard to the plain language of sect. 108. Moreover, the object of the panel is to enable the parties to ascertain whether the jurors are open to challenge. The provision in sect. 112 as to trial by a common jury for the non-attendance of the special jury is limited to such non-attendance, by reason of the six days' notice being given to the sheriff; so that if none of the special jury attended, although the notice had been given, the cause would go over (Holt v. Meddowcroft, 4 M, & Sel. 467), or, if tried, the verdict would be set aside, even although the defendant appeared, if he did so under protest. (Ib.) Sect. 113 does not appear to refer to country causes at all, unless it can be inferred from it that, prior to the sheriff making out the panel of the jurors summoned, he is to receive a notice from one or other of the parties. The only condition precedent imposed upon the plaintiff's obtaining a special jury in a country cause is notice in writing to the defendant at such time as would be necessary for a notice of trial, which, if it means the ordinary notice, would be ten days. The defendant or plaintiff in replevin must give the notice to the plaintiff or defendant in replevin either before notice of trial has been given, or more than six days before the day for which the notice of trial has been given. (R. G. T. 1 Vict. r. 3.) No rule or affidavit will be required. Either party may give the six days' notice to the sheriff under sect. 112; but the difficulty of understanding what is meant by that section has already been noticed. The proviso at the end of sect. 109 would apply to particular cases where the defendant wished for a special jury, but, being under terms to take short notice, would require an order for a special jury before issue joined. (Sayer v. Dufaur, 9 Q. B. 800.) juries in 107. "The sheriffs of London and Middlesex respec- Common tively shall, pursuant to a precept under the hand of a London and judge of any of the said superior courts, and without any Middlesex. other authority, summon a sufficient number of common jurors for the trial of all issues in the superior courts of common law, in like manner as before this act; and seven days before the first day of each sittings a printed panel of the jurors so summoned for the trial of causes at such sittings shall be made by such sheriffs, and kept in their offices for public inspection; and a printed copy of such panel shall be delivered by the said sheriffs to any party requiring the same, on payment of one shilling, and such copy shall be annexed to the nisi prius record; and the said precept shall and may be in like form as the precept issued by the judges of assize, and one thereof shall suffice for each term, and for all the superior courts; and it shall be the duty of the sheriffs respectively to apply for and procure such precept to be issued in sufficient time before each term to enable them to summon the persons in manner aforesaid, and it shall be lawful for the several courts, or any judge thereof, at any time to issue such precept or precepts to summon jurors for disposing of the business pending in such courts, and to direct the time and place for which such jurors shall be summoned, and all such other matters as to such judge shall seem requisite." and Middle sex, how 110. "In London and Middlesex special jurors shall Special juries be nominated and reduced by and before the under-sheriff in London and secondary respectively, in like manner as by the master before this act, upon the application of either struck. party entitled to a special jury, and his obtaining a rule for such purpose; and the names of the jurors so struck shall be placed upon a panel, which shall be delivered and annexed to the nisi prius record, in like manner and upon the same terms as herein before provided with reference to the panel of common jurors; and upon the trial the special jury shall be balloted for, and called in the order in which they shall be drawn from the box, in the same manner as common jurors." This is the only section at all relating to the mode of obtaining a special jury in London and Middlesex, and the words "his obtaining a rule for such purpose" seem to imply that the present practice must be followed, except that the master will have nothing to do with the striking the jury. It will be obtained by a side-bar rule taken out in term, upon a motion paper signed by counsel (sect. 85 only referring to pleadings), except in vacation, when there must also be a judge's order, except in the Exchequer. Either party may obtain this rule, except that under H. T. 1 Vict. r. 3, it will not be granted on behalf of any defendant or plaintiff in replevin, without an affidavit, either stating that no notice of trial has been given, or, if it has been given, then stating the day for which such notice has been given; and, in the latter case, no such rule is to be granted unless such application is made for it more than six days before that day. An appointment will then be obtained from the under-sheriff or secondary respectively, and a copy of the rule and appointment then served upon the opposite attorney. And where the cause is to be tried at the sittings after term this rule must be served, and the cause marked as a special jury cause on or before the day preceding the adjournment day in Middlesex and London respectively. (See Chitty's Archb. i. 347.) The rule should be served early enough to enable the other party, by using ordinary diligence in the due course of business, to insure the attendance of the special jury, and, if not so served, the rule might be set aside upon motion. (Phelps v. Kirby, 1 D. N. S. 501.) So also, if the defendant will not proceed to nominate the special jury (Devanoge v. Borthwick, 2 L. M. & P. 277), the under-sheriff or secondary will, on the day appointed, have the jurors' book, and the special jurors' list, and numbers written on pieces of parchment or card corresponding with the names on such list, and which will be put into a box, and forty-eight drawn out one after the other, and as each number is drawn he will refer to the corresponding number in the special jurors' list, and read aloud the name designated by the number. Either party may object to such person as incapacited from serving on the jury, and if the under-sheriff or secondary allows the objection, another number will be drawn, and so on until forty-eight are nominated. A list may then be made out of their names, additions, and abode, and given to each party, and the forty-eight reduced to twenty-four, by the under-sheriff or secondary respectively, as formerly by the master, that is, by striking out twelve names for each party, beginning with the plaintiff. There seems no reason, if the parties pleased, why this should not now be done at the same appointment, or another appointment might be made, in which case, if either side were absent, the under-sheriff or secondary might proceed ex parte. Another appointment might reasonably be required to give an opportunity of inquiring as to the |