THE OATH OF ALLEGIANCE, BY 1 GEO. 1. ST. 2. c. 13. I, A. B. do sincerely promise and swear, that I will be faithful Of Allegiance. and bear true allegiance to his Majesty, King George. So help me God. THE OATH OF SUPREMACY, BY 1 GEO. 1. ST. 2. c. 23. I, A. B. do swear, that I do from my heart abhor, detest, and Of Supremacy. abjure, as impious and heretical, that damnable doctrine and position, that princes excommunicated, or deprived by the authority of the See of Rome, may be deposed or murdered by their subjects, or any other whatsoever. And I do declare that no foreign prince, person, prelate, state, or potentate, hath, or ought to have, any jurisdiction, power, superiority, pre-eminence, or authority, ecclesiastical or spiritual, within this realm. So help me God. THE OATH OF ABJURATION, BY 6 GEO. 3. c. 53. I, A. B. do truly and sincerely acknowledge, profess, testify, Of Abjuration. and declare, in my conscience before God and the world, that our Sovereign Lord, King George, is lawful and rightful King of this realm, and all other his Majesty's dominions, thereto belonging. And I do solemnly and sincerely declare, that I do believe in my conscience, that not any of the descendants of the person who pretended to be Prince of Wales, during the life of the late King James the Second, and since his decease pretended to be, and took upon himself the style and title of, King of England, by the name of James the Third, or of Scotland, by the name of James the Eighth, or the style and title of King of Great Britain, hath any right or title whatsoever to the crown of this realm, or any other the dominions thereunto belonging. And I do renounce, refuse, and abjure, any allegiance or obedience to any of them. And I do swear that I will bear faith and true allegiance to his Majesty, King George, and him will defend to the utmost of my power against all traiterous conspiracies and attempts whatsoever, which shall be made against his person, crown or dignity. And I will do my utmost endeavours to disclose and make known to his Majesty and his successors, all treasons and traiterous conspiracies which I shall know to be against him, or any of them. And I do faithfully promise, to the utmost of my power, to support, maintain, and defend, the succession of the crown against the descendants of the said James, and against all other persons whatsoever, which succession, by an act entitled, 'An act for the further limitation of the crown, and better securing the rights and liberties of the subject,' is, and stands limited, to the Princess Sophia, Electress and Dutchess Dowager of Hanover, and the heirs of her body being protestants. And all these things I do plainly and sincerely acknowledge and swear, according to the express words by me spoken, and according to the D Declaration against tran plain and common sense and understanding of the same words without any equivocation, mental evasion, or secret reservation whatever. And I do make this recognition, acknowledgement, abjuration, renunciation, and promise, heartily, willingly, and truly, upon the true faith of a Christian. So help me God. THE DECLARATION AGAINST TRANSUBSTANTIATION. I, A. B. do declare, that I do believe that there is not any transubstantiation in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, or in substantiation. the elements of bread and wine, at, or after, the consecration thereof by any person whatever. To be registered. Receiving the Sacrament. This declaration is to be subscribed by the Justice qualifying, at the same time that he takes the oaths, and the like register is to be kept of it.* The last test, which is imposed on the Justice qualifying, respects also his conformity, and requires that, within six months after admittance into, or receiving of, his office, he shall receive the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, according to the usage of the Church of England, in some public church, upon some Lord's day, immediately after divine service and sermon; a certificate of which, under the hands of the minister and churchwardens, he shall first deliver to the court where he takes the oaths, and make proof of the truth thereof by two witnesses on oath, all of which must also be put on record. And every such person that shall neglect to take the oaths or the sacrament, as aforesaid, and after such neglect shall execute his office, and being thereupon convicted, upon information, presentment, or indictment, in any of the King's courts at Westminster, or at the assizes, such person shall be disabled to sue any action or information in course of law, or to prosecute any suit in equity, or to be guardian of any child, or executor or administrator of any person, or capable of any legacy or deed of gift, or to bear any office, or to vote at any election for members of parliament, and shall forfeit 100, to be recovered by him that shall sue for the same in any of his Majesty's courts at Westminster.† * 25 Car. 2. c. 2. 1 Geo. 1. st. 2. c. 13.-2 Geo. 2. c. 31.-9 Geo. 2. c. 26.16 Geo. 2. c. 30. FORM OF THE CERTIFICATE. We the minister and churchwardens of the parish of...... Certificate. in the county of.... ..do hereby certify, that on Sunday the.... day of. in the year of our Lord.... .... in the parish church of...... aforesaid, immediately after divine service and sermon, C. L. of... ... in the county of... esquire, did receive the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, according to the usage of the church of England. Witness our hands the day and year above written. ........ nity. It is to be observed, however, that an act occasionally Act of Indempasses, whereby persons, who have omitted to qualify themselves in due time, are indemnified, provided they qualify themselves within a time in such act limited, and provided judgment hath not been given against them for the penalty incurred by their neglect. a second time. But no Justice is obliged to take and subscribe the oaths Not to qualify more than once in one king's reign. For it is enacted by statute," that all persons who have been or shall be appointed Justices by any commission granted by his present Majesty, and have taken, or who shall take, THE OATHS OF OFFICE of a Justice of the Peace before the clerk of the peace or his deputy, and who shall have taken and subscribed, or shall take and subscribe at some session, THE OATH required by 18 Geo. 2. c. 20.* and all persons who shall be appointed Justices by any commission which shall be granted after his majesty's demise by any of his successors, and shall have, after the issuing the first commission whereby such persons shall be appointed Justices in the reign of any succeeding king, taken and subscribed the said oaths-shall not be obliged during the reign of his present majesty, or during any future reign, in which such oaths shall have been so taken and subscribed as aforesaid, to take and subscribe the same oaths by reason of such persons being again By which statute it was, that the qualification was raised to its present standard; for, by the previous statute upon that subject, viz. 18 Hen. 6. c. 11. 201. per annum was the qualification. Prohibition. Sheriff. Coroner. Attorneys, Solicitors and Death, &c. of New commission. Discharge under great seal. Promotion no discharge. appointed Justices by any subsequent commission granted during any such reign." * Having noticed the qualifications and observances necessary to enable persons to act as Justices of the Peace, it only remains also to notice the prohibitions against particular persons from acting in that capacity. Sheriffs cannot act as Justices during the continuance of their shrievalty.† Nor can the Coroner, in the county for which he is elected such, according to the better opinions. The same reason operates in both instances, viz. that a man shall not be both a judge, and an officer of the court, at the same time; but there is no special statute to prohibit the last mentioned officer. I Also no "Attorney, Solicitor, or Proctor, while he acts in that capacity, shall be a Justice of Peace for any county." But this does not extend to Justices by charter. § The death or abdication of the King puts an end to the authority of all the Justices named by him in the commission; but by special statutes they are enabled to act for six months after, unless sooner prohibited by the successor. || Which of course is done by a new commission; for every new commission supersedes the former.* * But these rules do not apply to Justices by charter, nor by commission. Any Justice may also be discharged from the commission by writ under the great seal. "Formerly," says Blackstone, "it was thought that if a man were named in any commission of the peace, and had afterwards a new dignity conferred upon him, that this determined his office; he no longer answering the description of the commission."++ But now by statute," although any Justice of the Peace be made duke, archbishop, marquis, earl, viscount, baron, bishop, knight, justice of one bench or the other, or ser 7 Geo. 3. c. 9. $5 Geo. 2. c. 18. +1 Mar. sess. 2. c. 8. Dalt, c. 3. 1 Black, Com. 353. ↑↑ Ib. jeant at law, yet he shall remain Justice, and have autho rity to execute the same.' sessions for non The court of session has no authority to amerce any Justices not to Justice of the Peace for non-attendance, as the Justices of be amerced by assize may for the absence of any such Justices at the gaol- attendance. delivery; for it is a general rule that inter pares non est polestas; it being reasonable rather to refer the punishment of persons in a judicial office, in relation to their behaviour in such office, to other Judges of a superior station, than to those of the same rank with themselves. + If a mayor, or other chief officer under a charter, without whose presence the session cannot be holden, voluntarily absent himself without sufficient cause, it is a misdemeanor, for which he may be punished by the Court of King's Bench on information. I tendance. "Justices shall have for their wages 4s. the day, for their Wages for attime of attendance in session, and their clerk § 28. of the fines and amerciaments rising and coming of the said sessions, by the hands of the sheriffs; and the lords of franchises shall be contributory to the said wages, after the rate of their part of the fines and amerciaments. || And the escheats of the Justices shall be doubled, and the one part delivered by them to the sheriff, to levy the money thereon arising, and thereof to pay the Justices their wages by the hand of the sheriff, by indenture betwixt them, thereof to be made. But no duke, earl, baron, or banneret, shall take any wages." Although Justices, as we have seen, are prohibited from taking any thing for the execution of their office, except "of the King, and fees accustomed, and costs limited by statute," their respective clerks are entitled to certain fees Clerks' fee. to be settled in sessions from time to time, and approved and confirmed by the Judges of assize at the next assizes for the county.tt "But such table of fees shall be of no authority till it have received the confirmation of the said Judges of assize; and if any such clerk, at any time after |