so as they abuse not this liberty to the civil injury the actual disturbance of the public peace on their this liberty be not extended to popery or prelacy, nor t the profession of Christ, hold forth and practice licen

XXXVIII. That all laws, statutes, and ordinan in any law statue or ordinance to the contrary of the a shall be esteemed as null and void.

XXXIX. That the acts and ordinances of Parlia the sale or other disposition of the lands, rents, and of the late king, queen, and prince, of archbishops an deans and chapters, the lands of delinquents and fores of them, or of any other lands, tenements, rents, and belonging to the Commonwealth, shall nowise be impe invalid, but shall remain good and firm; and that the by act and ordinance of Parliament for any sum or s by any of the said lands, the excise, or any other publi also the securities given by the public faith of the n engagement of the public faith for satisfaction of debts shall remain firm and good, and not be made void an any pretense whatsoever.

XL. That the articles given to or made with th afterwards confirmed by Parliament, shall be perform good to the persons concerned therein; and that such a depending in the last Parliament for relief concerning delinquents' estates, may be heard and determined th ment, anything in this writing or otherwise to the withstanding.

XLI. That every successive Lord Protector over shall take and subscribe a solemn oath, in the presence and such others as they shall call to them, that he will s quiet, and welfare of these nations, cause law and justice administered; and that he will not violate or infringe and things contained in this writing, and in all other t his power and to the best of his understanding, govern according to the laws, statutes, and customs thereof.

XLII. That each person of the council shall, befor

a limit on the amount of bail to be demanded, was rem few years later by the Bill of Rights, which declared th cessive bail ought not to be required." The Act in its form applied only to the detention of persons charge crime, but by a statute passed in 1812 it was made app to other cases of unjust imprisonment. As thus modifi Habeas Corpus Act has become the basis of all legislat the subject throughout the English-speaking world. T dent should at least read articles I, II, V, and X.

HABEAS CORPUS ACT, 1679

An Act for the better securing the Liberty of the Subject and for Prevention of Imprisonments beyond the Seas

I. Whereas great delays have been used by sheriffs, gaole other officers, to whose custody any of the king's subjects hav committed for criminal or supposed criminal matters, in mak turns of writs of habeas corpus to them directed, by standi an alias and pluries habeas corpus,2 and sometimes more, a other shifts to avoid their yielding obedience to such writs, co to their duty and the known laws of the land, whereby many king's subjects have been and hereafter may be long detai prison, in such cases where by law they are bailable, to their charges and vexation:

1 Statutes of the Realm, v, 935-938 (31 Charles II, c. 2).

? An alias writ is a second writ issued after a previous writ has been issue out effect. A pleuries writ is one issued after the first writ and an alias wr failed of effect.

long been recog79 it was, under ified. The celerles II made the rt, certain, and , in failing to fix was removed a clared that "exct in its original s charged with nade applicable is modified, the 1 legislation on ›rld. The stu

with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritu Commons, in this present Parliament assembled ity thereof, that whensoever any person or per habeas corpus directed unto any sheriff or sher or other person whatsoever, for any person in and the said writ shall be served upon the said gaol or prison with any of the under-officers, und of the said officers or keepers, that the said off their under-officers, under-keepers or deputies days after the service thereof as aforesaid (unl aforesaid were for treason or felony, plainly o in the warrant of commitment), upon payme charges of bringing the said prisoner, to be asce or court that awarded the same and endorsed not exceeding twelve pence per mile, and upon own bond to pay the charges of carrying back th be remanded by the court or judge to which he sh ing to the true intent of this present act, and t any escape by the way, make return of such wri to be brought the body of the party so committ or before the Lord Chancellor, or Lord Keeper England for the time being, or the judges or ba from whence the said writ shall issue, or unto a person or persons before whom the said writ is cording to the command thereof; and shall the true causes of his detainer or imprisonment, ur of the said party be in any place beyond the dis from the place or places where such court or residing; and if beyond the distance of twenty one hundred miles, then within the space of ter the distance of one hundred miles, then within days, after such delivery aforesaid, and not long

III. And to the intent that no sheriff, gaole pretend ignorance of the import of any such w the authority aforesaid that all such writs sha manner, per statutum tricesimo primo Caroli se

1 "According to the statute of the thirty-first year

(other than persons convict or in execution by legal one on his or their behalf, to appeal or complain to th lor or Lord Keeper, or any one of his Majesty's justi one bench or of the other, or the barons of the exchequ of the coif; and the said Lord Chancellor, Lord Ke barons or any of them, upon view of the copy or copie or warrants of commitment and detainer, or other made that such copy or copies were denied to be giv son or persons in whose custody the prisoner or pr detained, are hereby authorized and required, upon writing by such person or persons or any on his, her, attested and subscribed by two witnesses who were delivery of the same, to award and grant a habeas a seal of such court whereof he shall then be one of t directed to the officer or officers in whose custody th mitted or detained shall be, returnable immediate Lord Chancellor or Lord Keeper, or such justice, bar justice or baron of the degree of the coif of any of and upon service thereof as aforesaid, the officer o their under-officer or under-officers, under-keeper or u their deputy, in whose custody the party is so commit shall, within the times respectively before limited, bri or prisoners before the said Lord Chancellor or Lord justices, barons, or one of them, before whom the sa returnable, and in case of his absence before any of return of such writ and the true causes of the comm tainer; and thereupon within two days after the party before them, the said Lord Chancellor or Lord Keeper or baron before whom the prisoner shall be brought as discharge the said prisoner from his imprisonment, ta recognizance, with one or more surety or sureties, in a ing to their discretions, having regard to the quality and nature of the offense, for his or their appearance King's Bench the term following, or at the next assi general gaol-delivery of and for such county, city, or