the purposes of examination. If such magistrates be satisfied by the confession of the offender, or competent testimony that such person is a vagrant, within the description aforesaid, he is to make up and sign a record of conviction thereof, which shall be filed in the office of the clerk of general sessions; and he shall, by warrant under his hand, commit such vagrant, if not a notorious offender, and he be a proper object of such relief, to the alms house of the said city, for any time not exceeding six months, there to be kept at hard labor; or if the offender be an improper person, to be sent to the alms house, then he is to be committed for the like time to the penitentiary.1

SECTION XXIII.

PERSONS HAVING THEIR FACES PAINTED OR BEING OTHERWISE

may

DISGUISED.

Every person who having his face painted, discolored, covered or concealed, or being otherwise disguised in a manner calculated to prevent him from being identified shall appear in any road or public highway, or in any field, lot, wood or inclosure, be pursued and arrested in the manner hereinafter provided, and upon being brought before any judge or other officer hereinafter designated of the same county where he shall be arrested, and not giving a good account of himself, shall be deemed a vagrant within the purview of the provisions of the Revised Statutes mentioned in the last preceding section, and on conviction, as provided in said section, shall be committed to and imprisoned in the county jail of the county where such person shall be found, for a term not exceeding six months; and the fol lowing magistrates, justices of the supreme courts, judges of the superior court of law of the city and county of New York, the justices of the justices' court, and police justices for the said city and county, judges of county courts, mayors, recorders and aldermen of cities, police justices and justices of the peace appointed for any city or elected in any town, who are authorized to issue process for the apprehension of persons charged with any offence, are authorized and required to execute the powers and duties in

Laws 1833, ch. 11, §§ 1, 2, 3.

relation to the offence herein named, which are conferred and imposed upon justices of the peace by the provisions of the stat ute mentioned in the last section in relation to beggars and vagrants.1

Every sheriff, deputy sheriff, constable, marshal of a city, or other public peace officer, or other citizen of the county where such person or persons shall be found disguised as aforesaid, may, of his own authority and without process, arrest, secure and convey to any such magistrate residing in the county where such arrest shall be made, any person who shall be found having his face painted, discolored, covered or concealed, or being otherwise disguised as aforesaid, to be examined and proceeded against in the manner prescribed in the last section in relation to beggars and vagrants; and it is further made the duty of such officers to immediately pursue, arrest, secure and convey such persons before such magistrate.2

In the execution of such duties by such officer he is authorized to command as many male inhabitants of his county to assist him as he may think proper, and any inhabitant so commanded may be provided with such means and weapons as the officer giving such command shall designate.3 The refusal or neglect of a person so commanded to obey such command, without lawful cause, makes him guilty of a misdemeanor, and subjects him to fine and imprisonment.4

Power is also given by the same statute to any magistrate, to whom complaint shall be made of the violation of any of the above provisions, to issue a warrant under his hand for his arrest, and, if the name of such person be not known, it is sufficient to describe the offender by some fictitious name.5

1 R. S., 633, § 5; Laws 1845, ch. 3, § 1; 2 R. S., 704, § 1.

1

SECTION XXIV.

PROFANE CURSING AND SWEARING.

Every person who shall profanely curse or swear shall forfeit one dollar for every offence; if the offence be committed in the presence of any justice of the peace, mayor, recorder, or aldermen of a city, while holding a court, a conviction of the offender shall be immediately made by such magistrate without any other proof whatever.1

And if at any other time the offence be committed in the presence and hearing of such justice, mayor, recorder or alderman under such circumstances as, in the opinion of the magistrate, to amount to a gross violation of public decency, such magistrate may, in his discretion, convict the offender without other proof.2 If the offender do not forthwith pay the penalties incurred, with the costs, or give security for their payment within six days, he shall be committed by warrant to the common jail of the county for every offence, or for any number of offences whereof he was convicted at one and the same time, for not less than one day nor more than three days, there to be confined in a room separate from all other prisoners.3

SECTION XXV.

THE DISTURBANCE OF RELIGIOUS MEETINGS.

No person shall willfully disturb, interrupt or disquiet any assemblage of people, met for religious worship, by profane discourse, by rude and indecent behavior, or by making a noise, either within the place of worship, or so near it as to disturb the order and solemnity of the meeting; nor shall any person within two miles of the place, where any religious society shall be actually assembled for religious worship, expose to sale or gift any ardent or distilled liquors, or keep open any huckster shop, in any other place, inn, store or grocery, than such as shall have been duly licensed, and in which such person shall have usually

' 1 R. S., 674, § 55.

Id., § 56.

• Id., § 57.

resided, or carried on business; nor shall any person, within the distance aforesaid, exhibit any shows or plays, unless the same shall have been duly licensed by the proper authority; nor shall any person, within the distance aforesaid, promote, aid or be engaged in any racing of animals, within the distance aforesaid, or in any gaming of any description; nor shall any person obstruct the full passage of any highway, to any place of public worship, within the distance aforesaid.1

Whoever shall violate either of the provisions of the statute above referred to, may be convicted summarily before any justice of the peace of the county, or any mayor, recorder, alderman or other magistrate of any city, where the offence shall be committed, and on such conviction, shall forfeit a sum not exceeding twenty-five dollars, for the benefit of the poor of the county.2

It is by statute, made the duty of all sheriffs and their deputies, coroners, marshals, constables and other peace officers, who may be present at the meeting of any assembly for religious worship, which shall be interrupted or disturbed in the manner above provided, to apprehend the offender, and take him before some justice of the peace, or other officer, authorized to convict as aforesaid, to be proceeded against according to law.3

All judges, mayors, recorders, aldermen and justices of the peace, within their respective jurisdictions, upon their own view of any person offending against the provisions above mentioned, may order the offender into the custody of any officer above specified, or of any official member of the church or society so assembled and disturbed, for safe keeping, until he shall be let to bail, or a trial for such offence be had.4

If any person convicted of any of the offences above prohibited, shall not immediately pay the penalty incurred, with the costs of the conviction, or give security, to the satisfaction of the officer before whom the conviction shall be had, for the payment of the said penalty and costs, within twenty days thereafter, he shall be committed, by warrant, to the common jail of the county until the same be paid, or for such term, not exceeding thirty days, as shall be specified in the warrant."

It has been held, under this section of the statute, that security given for the payment of the fine, in the name of the clerk of the court in which the conviction is had, is valid, and that it need not be in the name of the people.1

By the act of 1834, it is provided that it shall and may be lawful, for any person who may be complained of for a violation of any of the provisions of the statute above mentioned, before the court shall proceed to investigate the merits of the cause, to demand of such court that he may be tried by a jury. Upon such demand, it shall be the duty of such court to issue a venire to any constable of the county, or marshal of the city, where the offence is to be tried, commanding such officer to summon the same number of jurors, and in the same manner as is provided for the summoning of jurors before courts of special sessions. The said court shall proceed to empannel a jury for the trial of said cause, in the same manner, and shall be subject to all the rules and regulations prescribed in the act providing for trials by jury in courts of special sessions.2

In addition to the costs allowed by law for prosecution, under the provisions of the statute above referred to, all the costs consequent upon a trial by jury shall be added and paid by the party offending, in case of conviction, and shall be the same as is allowed by law in civil cases.3

SECTION XXVI.

THE OBSERVANCE OF SUNDAY.

Among the provisions of the Revised Statutes in which summary convictions are authorized to be had, are those in relation to the observance of Sunday. The main sections of the article are given below.5

The first section of the article provides that certain writs,

R. S., art. 7, tit. 8, ch. 20, part 1.

For a discussion of the origin and history of the legal sanctions of the Sab

bath vide People v. Hoym, 20 How. Pr. R., 445; also, 8 Cow., 27.