from the plague of robbers, by making in some places the villages, in others the officers of justice, responsible for all the robberies committed within their respective districts. Hue and cry' may be raised either by precept of a justice of the peace, or by a peace-officer, or by any private man that knows of a felony. The party raising it must acquaint the constable of the vill with all the circumstances which he knows of the felony, and the person of the felon; and thereupon the constable is to search his own town, and raise all the neighbouring vills, and make pursuit with horse and foot; and in the prosecution of such hue and cry, the constable and his attendants have the same powers, protection, and indemnification, as if acting under the warrant of a justice of the peace. But if a man wantonly or maliciously raises a hue and cry, without cause, he shall be severely punished as a disturber of the public peace.

In order to encourage further the apprehending of certain OF REWARDS. offenders, rewards may be bestowed on such as bring them to justice. 'Rewards and immunities of various kinds were formerly secured to such persons' by divers Acts of Parliament. Thus, the statute 4 & 5 W. & M. c. 8, enacted that such as apprehended a highwayman, and prosecuted him to conviction, should receive a reward of 407. from the public; to be paid to them (or, if killed in the endeavour to take him, their [295] executors) by the sheriff of the county; besides the horse, furniture, arms, money, and other goods taken upon the person of such robber; with a reservation of the right of any person from whom the same might have been stolen: to which the statute 8 Geo. II. c. 16, superadded 107. to be paid by the hundred indemnified by such taking. By statutes 6 & 7 Will. III. c. 17, and 15 Geo. II. c. 28, persons apprehending and convicting any offender against those statutes, respecting the coinage, should (in case the offence were treason or felony) receive a reward of forty pounds; or ten pounds if it only amounted to counterfeiting the copper coin. By statute 10 & 11 Will. III. c. 23, any person apprehending and prosecuting to conviction a felon guilty of burglary, housebreaking, horsestealing, or private larceny to the value of 58. from any shop,

* Mod. Un. Hist. vi. 383; vii. 156. y 2 Hal. P. C. 100-104. 1 Hawk. P. C. 75.

warehouse, coach-house, or stable, was excused from all parish offices. And by statute 5 Ann. c. 31, any person so apprehending and prosecuting a burglar, or felonious housebreaker (or, if killed in the attempt, his executors), was entitled to a reward of 401. By statute 6 Geo. I. c. 23, persons discovering, apprehending, and prosecuting to conviction, any person taking reward for helping others to their stolen goods, was entitled to forty pounds. By statute 14 Geo. II. c. 6, explained by 15 Geo. II. c. 34, any person apprehending and prosecuting to conviction such as stole or killed with intent to steal, any sheep or other cattle specified in the latter of the said Acts, for every such conviction received a reward of ten pounds. Lastly, by statute 16 Geo. II. c. 15, and 8 Geo. III. c. 15, persons, discovering, apprehending, and convicting felons and others found at large during the term for which they had been ordered to be transported, received a reward of twenty pounds.

'All these enactments have been so far repealed;a and now by the statute 7 Geo. IV. c. 64, s. 28, courts of oyer and terminer or gaol delivery, may order the sheriff of the county to pay to any person who appears to have been active in or towards the apprehension of any person charged with murder, or with maliciously shooting or attempting to discharge loaded arms at any person, or with stabbing, cutting, poisoning, or administering anything to procure miscarriage, or with rape, or with burglary or housebreaking, or with robbery, or with arson, or with horse-, bullock-, or sheep-stealing; or with being accessary before the fact to any of those offences; or with knowingly receiving stolen property, such sum as shall seem reasonable and sufficient to compensate him for his expenses, exertions, and loss of time in or towards such apprehension; which sum is to be repaid by the Treasury. By the statute 14 & 15 Vict. c. 55, s. 8, this power is extended to courts of quarter-sessions to the amount of 51. to any one person; while by the first-mentioned Act, it is expressly provided that if any man is killed in endeavouring to apprehend any person charged with any of the offences above enumerated, the court may order the sheriff to pay to his widow, or children, or parents, such sum of money as to the court seems meet.'

* 58 Geo. III. c. 70; 7 Geo. IV. c. 64; 7 & 8 Geo. IV. c. 27.

CHAPTER XXII.

OF COMMITMENT AND BAIL.

WHEN a delinquent is arrested for an indictable offence' by any of the means mentioned in the preceding chapter, he ought regularly to be carried before a justice of the peace: and how he is there to be treated, I shall next show, under the second head, of commitment and bail.

The justice before whom such prisoner is brought, is bound Examination. immediately to examine the circumstances of the crime alleged : and to this end by statute 2 & 3 Ph. & M. c. 10, he was directed to take in writing the examination of such prisoner, and the information of those who bring him: which, Mr. Lambard observes," was the first warrant given for the examination of a felon in the English law. For, at the common law, nemo tenebatur prodere seipsum: and his fault was not to be wrung out of himself, but rather to be discovered by other means, and other men.

The statute of Philip and Mary was repealed in the reign of George IV., and other provisions introduced, but the course of proceeding before the justices is now regulated by the statute 11 & 12 Vict. c. 42, referred to in the preceding chapter; and although these proceedings are still spoken of as the “examination" of the accused, in point of fact there is no examination in the sense above referred to.'

Whether the person charged with any offence appears Depositions. voluntarily upon summons, or has been apprehended with or without warrant, or is already in custody for the same or any other offence, the justice, before committing him to prison for trial, or admitting him to bail, is in his presence to take the statement on oath (or affirmation) of those who know the facts

Statement of accused.

of the case, for which purpose the attendance of witnesses may be compelled. The accused has a right to put questions to the witnesses, and is in general allowed the assistance of an attorney or counsel; but this is in the discretion of the magis trate, for the room or building where the examination takes place, is not an open court, and every person may be excluded therefrom, if it appears that such a course will conduce to the ends of justice.'

The statement of the witnesses being put into writing, are next to be read over to and signed by them, and also by the magistrate, and are then termed the "depositions" of the witnesses.'

If, from the absence of witnesses, or other reasonable cause, it becomes necessary or advisable to adjourn the examination, this may be done, the accused being remanded to prison by warrant of the magistrate, for such time as he thinks reasonable, not exceeding eight clear days; or if the remand be for a period not exceeding three days, the justice may verbally order the detention of the prisoner for that time. Instead of being detained in custody during the intervening period, the accused may be discharged upon his entering into a recognizance, with or without a surety or sureties, at the discretion of the magistrate, conditioned for his appearance at the time to which the examination shall have been adjourned.'

'After the examination of the witnesses for the prosecution has been completed, the depositions are to be read to the accused, and he is then to be asked, whether, having heard the evidence, he wishes to say anything in answer to the charge, and warned at the same time that he is not obliged to do so, but that whatever he does say will be taken down in writing, and may be given in evidence against him upon the trial. If it appear that some inducement or threat has previously been held out to the accused, the magistrate should further give him clearly to understand that he has nothing to hope from any promise of favour held out, and nothing to fear from any threat made to him, as an inducement to make any admission or confession of his guilt; but that whatever he shall then say may be given in evidence, notwithstanding any such promise or threat.'

с

Reg. v. Sansome, 1 Den. C. C. 545; Reg. v. Bond, 3 Car. & Kir. 337.

Whatever the prisoner then says in answer, is to be taken down in writing, and after being read over to him, to be signed by the magistrate, and transmitted with the depositions to the court before which the prisoner is sent for trial.'

If, however, upon inquiry in the manner above pointed out, the justice or justices then present are of opinion that the evidence is not sufficient to put the accused party upon his trial for any indictable offence, he or they may forthwith order him, if in custody, to be discharged.'* Otherwise 'or if the evidence given raise a strong or probable presumption of his guilt,' he must either be committed to prison, or give bail: that is, put in securities for his appearance, to answer the charge against him. This commitment, therefore, being only for safe custody, wherever bail will answer the same intention, it ought to be taken; as in most of the inferior crimes but in felonies and other offences of a capital nature, no bail can be a security equivalent to the actual custody [297] of the person. For what is there that a man may not be

induced to forfeit to save his own life? and what satisfaction or indemnity is it to the public to seize the effects of them who have bailed a murderer, if the murderer himself be suffered to escape with impunity? Upon a principle similar to which the Athenian magistrates, when they took a solemn oath never to keep a citizen in bonds that could give three sureties of the same quality with himself, did it with an exception to such as had embezzled the public money, or been guilty of treasonable practices. What the nature of bail is, has been shown in the preceding volume of these Commentaries, viz., a delivery, or bailment, of a person to his sureties, upon their giving (together with himself) sufficient security for his appearance: he being supposed to continue in their friendly custody, instead of going to gaol. In civil cases we have seen that every defendant is bailable;

d 'The course of proceeding with respect to juvenile offenders, and in cases of larceny where either the property stolen is under the value of five shillings, or the accused confesses the charge, has been mentioned in a previous chapter.'

e

'If, however, the offence with which the accused is charged was committed

in any county or place in England and
Wales wherein the examining justice
has no jurisdiction, if the evidence is
not sufficient in his opinion to put the
accused on his trial, instead of being
discharged, he is to be taken before a
justice of such county or place where
the offence was committed.'

Pott. Antiq. b. 1, c. 18.