"tithe, office, benefice or what else) as doth qualify me to act "as a justice of the peace for the county, riding, or “division of—according to the true intent and σε meaning of an act of parliament, made in the 18th year of the reign of his majesty king George the se"cond, intitled, "an act to amend and render more ef"fectual an act passed in the 5th year of his present ma

T

jesty's reign, intitled, " an act for the further quali"fication of justices of the peace." And that the same "(except where it consists of an office, benefice, or eccle"siastical preferment, which it shall be sufficient to ascer"tain by their known and usual names) is lying or "being, or issuing out of lands, tenements, or hereditaર ments, being within the parish, township, or precinct ofor in the several parishes, townships, or prein the county of or in the se

cincts of "veral counties of (as the case may be)" which oath shall be kept by the clerk of the peace amongst the records of the sessions; and such clerk of the peace shall upon demand deliver, an attested copy thereof (fee 2s.); which being proved to be a true copy of such oath, shall be evidence thereof in any action or information brought upon this act.-And by s. 3. any person who shall act as a justice, &c. without having taken and subscribed said oath, shall for every such offence forfeit £100-one moiety to the use of the poor of the parish in which he usually resides, and the other to the use of such person as shall sue for the same, to be recovered with costs by action of debt, &c. in any court of record at Westminster; and in every such action the proof of his qualification shall lie on such person against whom such action is brought. By s. 4. if the defendant in any such action intend to insist upon any lands, &c. not contained in such oath, as his qualification to act at the time of the supposed offence, he shall, at or before the time of his pleading, deliver to the plaintiff or informer or his attorney, a notice in writing, specifying such lands, &c. (other than those contained in the oath,) and the parish, township, precinct, or place, and the county wherein the same are, (offices and bene

S. 3.

S. 4.

s. 5.

5. 6.

s. 7.

fices excepted, which it shall be sufficient to ascertain by their usual names) and if the plaintiff, &c. shall thereupon not proceed any further, he may with the leave of the court discontinue any such action, &c. on payment of such costs as the court shall award: but by s. 5. upon the trial of the issue in any such action, &c. nó lands, &c. not contained in such oath and notice, or one of them, shall be allowed to be insisted on by the defendant as a part of his qualification. By s. 6. when the lands contained in the said oath or notice are together with other lands, &c. belonging to the person taking such oath, or delivering such notice, liable to any charges, rents, or incumbrances, the lands, &c. contained in said oath or notice, shall be deemed chargeable only so far as the other lands, &c. so jointly charged are not sufficient to pay the same and by s. 7. when the qualification or any part thereof consists of rents, it shall be sufficient to specify in such oath or notice, so much of the lands, &c. out of which such rent is issuing, as shall be of sufficient value to answer such rent. By s. 8. in case the nulties and their plaintiff or informer shall discontinue, or be nonsuited, or judgment be given against him, the person against whom such action, &c. is brought, shall recover treble costs. By s. 9. only one penalty of £100 shall be recovered from the same person by virtue of these acts, for the same or any other offence committed by such person, before the bringing of the action, &c. upon which such penalty shall have been recovered, and due notice given to the defendant of the commencement of such action, &c. And by s. 10. when an action, &c. is brought and due notice given thereof, no proceedings shall be had upon any subsequent action, &c. againt the same person, for any offence committed before the time of giving 'such notice, but the court where such subsequent action, &c. is brought, may, upon the defendant's motion, stay proceedings therein, so as such first action be prosecuted with effect and without fraud; but no action, &c, not so prosecuted, shall be deemed an action, &c. within the meaning of this act. By s. 11. every action, &c. given by these acts, shall be commenced within 6 calendar

Actions for pe

incidents.

s. 8.

S. 9.

s. 10.

s. 11.

months

4

s. 12.

$. 13.

s. 14.

months after the fact upon which the same is grounded has been committed. But by s. 12. this act shall not extend to cities or towns, being counties of themselves, or to any other city, &c. having justices of the peace within its respective limits, by charter, commission, or otherwise. And by s. 13. nothing in this act, or in the 5 Geo. 2. c. 18. shall extend to any peer or lord of parliament, or to the lords or others of the privy council, or to the justices of either bench, or barons of the exchequer, or to the attorney or solicitor general, or to the justices of great sessions for Chester and the counties of Wales, or to the eldest son or heir apparent of any peer or lord of parliament, or of any person qualified to serve as a knight of a shire by 9 Ann, c. 5. And by s. 14. these acts shall not extend to incapacitate the officers of the board of green cloth, the commissioners and principal officers of the navy, or the 2 under secretaries in each of the offices of the principal secretary of state, or the secretary of Chelsea college, from being justices of the peace for such counties or places where they usually have been justices of the peace. And by s. 15. this act is also declared not to extend to the heads of colleges or halls in Oxford and Cambridge, or to the vice chancellor of either of the universities, or to the mayor of Oxford or Cambridge. The 23 and 24 Geo. 3. c. 30. Ir. contained similar provisions; but this Irish statute, which was explained and amended by the 25 Geo. 3. c. 59. was afterwards repealed by the 27 Geo. 3. c. 40. Ir. The 23 and 24 Geo. 3. was a temporary statute, and the 27 Geo 3. was, as to some of its provisions, also temporary, but has been since continued to the year 1811, &c. by the 44 Geo. 3. c. 90. I. So that the 18 Hen. 6. c. 11. is the only statute in force, which Antepoge241. prescribes the qualification as to property for justices of peace in Ireland,

s. 15.

giance, &c. te

Justices of peace were expressly required to take Oaths of allethe oath of allegiance by the 7 Jac. 1. c. 6. Eng. and be taken. the oath of supremacy by the 1 Eliz. c., 1. Eng.; and they were of course included amongst those who were required by the 13 W. 3c. 6. Eng. to take the oath of

abjuration,

Ir.

abjuration, and by the 25 Car. 2. c. 2. Eng. to make the declaration against transubstantiation, and receive the sacrament according to the usage of the church of England, as a qualification for bearing civil offices. And by this last mentioned statute, and the 1 Geo. 1. st. 2. c. 13. Eng. (which amends the several other acts, and is itself amended by subsequent statutes) justices of peace in England are still bound to qualify themselves for holding this office by taking these several oaths, &c. In Ireland the same qualifications for this and other civil offices are 7 Geo. 2. c. 6. required by the 2 Ann, c. 6. Ir.* And the 7 Geo. 2. c. 6. Ir. enacts, that no person converted from the Popish to the Protestant religion, shall be capable of being or acting as a justice of peace whose wife shall be a papist, or who doth educate in the Popish religion, any of his children who shall be under the age of 16 years, on pain of one year's imprisonment, and of forfeiting £100, one moiety to the king, and the other to any person suing for the same, to be recovered by bill, &c. in any court of record; and such person on conviction shall be incapable of being an executor, administrator, or guardian. Catholics and other non-conformists were therefore in effect excluded by these statutes from being justices of peace in England or Ireland: But these disabilities have been removed or relaxed in respect to Protestant dissenters in Ireland by the 19 & 20 Geo. 3. c. 6. Ir. and in respect to Irish catholics by the 33 Geo. 3. c. 21. Ir. which several statutes will come more particularly under consideration in the next chapter,

§ Vide Burn's Justice.

+within + of

The oath of office admininistered to justices in Englands is in the following words: "Ye shall swear that as justice of "the peace [in] the county of, in all articles

[in] the king's commission to you directed, you shall "do equal right to the poor and to the rich, after your 66 cunning, wit and power, and after the laws and cus"toms of the realm, and statutes thereof made; and with any per-"ye shall not be of counsel [of] any quarrel hanging "before you; and that ye hold your sessions after the "form of the statutes thereof made; and the issues, fines, and amerciaments that shall happen to be made, and

son in

"all

The oath of abjuration is not annexed to the dedimus in Ireland, which seems to be incorrect.

"all forfeitures that shall fall before you, ye shall

cause to be entered without any concealment or em"bezzlement, and truly send them to the king's exchequer; ye shall not let, for gift or any other cause, but "well and truly ye shall do your office of justice of the

peace in that behalf; and that you take nothing for

your office of justice of the peace to be done, but of "the king, and fees accustomed, and costs limited by† †the "statute; and ye shall not direct, nor cause to be directed,

any warrant by you to be made, to the parties, but ❝ ye shall direct them to the bailiffs of the said couuty, "or other the king's officers or ministers, or other in"different persons, to do execution thereof. So help you "God." This oath, with a few trivial variations, which are noted in the margin, corresponds with the form of oath administered to justices in Ireland. No statute pre-.

scribes this form of oath; but the 13 Ric. 2. st. 1. c. 7. 13 Ric. 2. st. L. E. & I. enacts, that the justices shall be sworn duly and c. 7. E. & L. without favour, to keep and put in execution all the statutes and ordinances touching their offices. The form of the commission for justices of the peace is nearly similar in England and Ireland.

26 Geo. 2. c.27.

The 26 Geo. 2. c.27.Eng. recites, that authority was given Justices of the by divers acts of parliament, to 2 or more justices of the quorum. peace, whereof one or more were to be of the quòrum; Eng. and enacts, that no act, order, adjudication, warrant, indenture of apprenticeship, or other instrument, made or executed by 2 or more justices of the peace, which doth not express that one or more of such justices is or are of the quorum, shall be impeached for that defect only.

And the 7 Geo. 3. c. 21. Eng. in like manner provides 7 Geo. 3. c. 21. in respect to cities, boroughs, towns corporate, franchises Eng. and liberties, that all acts, orders, &c. which shall be made done or executed by virtue of any act of parliament, by two or more justices qualified to act within such cities, &c. though neither of such justices be of the quorum, shall be as valid and effectual as if one of the said justices had been of the quorum. These statutes are peculiar to England.

Attornies, &c.

By the 5 Geo. 2. c. 18. s. 2. Eng. attornies, solici- incapacitated to tors, and proctors, are incapacitated from being justices of

be justices. 5 Geo. 2. c. 18. the s. 2. Eng.