... Worship-street aforesaid, in the said parish of St. Leonard, Shoreditch, in the county aforesaid, proceed to examine into the truth of the said charge and accusation so made by the said J. H. as aforesaid; and thereupon on the said day of ......, in the 53d year aforesaid, at the parish last aforesaid, in the county aforesaid, T. H., J. H., W. F., T. T., D. W. H., and T. A. credible witnesses in that behalf, on their corporal oath, upon the Holy Gospel of God, now here duly administered to them, respectively by me the said J. M. the justice aforesaid, in the presence and hearing of the said W. J., depose and say: and first the said T. H. deposes and says, &c., and the said J. H. says, &c., and the said W. F. says, &c., and the said R. F. says, &c., and the said W. J. having heard the said evidence, and being now asked by me the said J. M., the justice aforesaid, if he can say any thing in his defence, or shew any cause before me, why he should not be convicted of the premises aforesaid, and adjudged to be a rogue and vagabond, and also an incorrigible rogue, he the said W. J. doth not offer or say any thing in his defence, or produce any evidence in answer to the said charge; wherefore it manifestly appears to me the said justice, that the said W. J. is guilty of the premises above charged upon him in manner and form aforesaid; and that the said W. J. is a rogue and vagabond, and also an incorrigible rogue, within the intent and meaning of the said statute made in the seventeenth year aforesaid, he having been before convicted, adjudged, punished, and discharged as a rogue and vagabond in manner and form aforesaid; whereupon I the said J. M., the justice aforesaid, upon full and mature consideration of the premises, do hereby convict the said W. J. of the premises aforesaid, above charged upon him in manner and form aforesaid; and he is hereby convicted thereof* accordingly. And I do deem and ad * See ante, p. 516, as to certain conflicting authorities on justices out of court being entitled to convict of this specific offence. The better opinion seems to be that they are not, but that this description of vagrants (incorrigible rogues,) are to be committed, and tried by the judge the said W. J. to be, and he is hereby deemed and adjudged to be a rogue and vagabond, and also an incor rigible rogue, within the intent and meaning of the said statute: and I do order and adjudge the said W. J. to be committed, and the said W. J. is now, by me the said jus tice, committed to the house of correction, at Clerkenwell, in and for the said county, there to remain until the next general sessions of the peace, to be holden in and for the said county, to be further dealt with according to the law; unless he the said W. J. shall be sooner discharged by du course of law. In testimony thereof I the said J. M. the justice aforesaid, to this record of Conviction, have set my hand and seal, at the public office in Worship-street aforesaid, in the said parish of St. Leonard, Shoreditch, in the said county of Middlesex, this ...... day of ... ... ... ... ... ..., in the 53d year aforesaid, and in the year of our Lord 1803. sessions on these commitments, the justices in Session acting in such case, as observed by Mr. Justice Aston in another, (see ante, p. 645), as jurymen with respect to the fact, and as judges with respect to the decision. * Whether the justice out of court have authority to convict, or not, these words ought to be omitted in the commitment of an incorrigible rogue, because such an offender is committed to the sessions absolutely, not conditionally. See ante, p. 516. 831 CHAP. VI. THE TERMINATION OF SESSIONS. Of the Duration, and Termination, of their Authority; with some Observations on other Matters connected with, or arising out of, their Duties; not only while the Courts are sitting, but subsequent to their Adjournment, and even to Expiration. ALL sessions are of course terminated by the departure Termination. of the justices, the constituted authorities by whom they are holden, unless they be previously prolonged by adjourn ment. But such adjournment ought not to be beyond the Adjournment. time of meeting of the next quarterly session. to the next statute. An indictment was found before the justices for the county Cannot be to a of Lincoln against a constable for refusing to obey an order. day subsequent The defendant was tried, convicted, and had judgment session by given against him at a general session holden the 3d day of May (which was after the Easter session began) by the adjournment of the Epiphany session. The judgment was reversed by the court of B. R. "because the justices cannot continue one general session to a day subsequent to the time appointed by the stat. of Hen. 5, for the holding another original session." * But though they may not adjourn a matter over the next original session, they may, in certain cases, adjourn it to then; as where a statute giving an appeal to the session within a certain number of months after the cause of complaint shall arise, direct the justices at the said session to hear and determine the matters of such appeal, &c.; yet it seems they have an incidental power of adjourning it to another session upon lawful cause;-of the sufficiency of which cause they are the sole judges. But where the session 19 Viner, 358. Judgments is adjourned, the style of it must not run "at such session held by adjournment," but the original meeting of the session ought to be set forth, and that it was "continued from thence to such further time by adjournment.' It has been observed in a preceding page, that the whole may be altered. session being considered as one day, the justices may alter their judgments at any time before its expiration, and may therefore make any order to annul a former order made during its continuance; † but this is a power to be exercised with delicacy and discretion; for if it were to be done by a fresh accession of justices in the spirit of party, or other wise in an unbecoming manner, it would be visited by the court of B. R. in the shape of an information against the justices who concurred in the transaction.‡ Cannot be a subsequent session. It follows necessarily, from what has been already adreviewed by vanced, that, as the power of the court expires with the conclusion of its sitting, if a question be not kept open by adjournment of the session, or respite of the particular subject, it cannot be reviewed, or placed in any new siteation, by any subsequent session.§ May be referred to a superior authority. But beside these means, by which the justices may, purely of their own authority, procrastinate their decision on all subjects, there are other modes, by means of which any particular question of legal difficulty may be referred to the opinion of a superior tribunal; or by which the subject matter may be altogether taken out of their hands, at the instance of a party interested. These are, 1st, By the reference of the whole case, of any particular point, to the judge of assize. 2dly, By stating the special circumstances of a case for the consideration of the Court of King's Bench, and, 3dly, By a writ of certiorari. Of these respectively.I Nol. 449. * 2-Str. 832, 265, and ante, 20, & 163, in note. After what has been said (p. 101.) respecting the division of the business of a quarter session of the peace into “criminal, and civil,” and the exposition of what has been designed to be comprehended under the A reference to the judge of assize, either of the whole Reference to judge of case, or of some point of legal difficulty involved in it, assize. used formerly to be a common practice, but is, of late, fallen much into disuse. For this change many reasons might be adduced, but they are unnecessary here. If any particular circumstances should make this mode eligible, the right still continues; but it has generally given place to a more eligible one, which is that of stating a special case for Special case. the determination of the court of king's bench. This is carried into effect by the counsel agreeing to a statement of facts, which are usually corrected and settled by a reference to the chairman's notes. The case so settled is to be signed by the junior counsel on each side. If no counsel are employed, or if they cannot agree upon a case, even with the assistance of the chairman, the latter may, with the concurrence of a majority of the justices on the bench, state and sign a special case himself. There is no specific form or precedent, according to Form of the which a special case must be drawn; but nevertheless, there case, are certain rules to be collected from a long succession of determinations, which are, in substance, as follow: The justices, with regard to the civil business of the court, by the summary jurisdiction which is given to them, it has been observed, are placed in the situation of jurors, and judges, conjointly. They are to elicit the facts from the The law of the evidence, as jurors would do, and they are to judge of the case. law arising out of those facts in the common course, if they think fit. Out of this position arise two conclusions; viz. latter description, (p. 487.) it may be almost unnecessary to observe, in this place, that the subjects we are now considering as referable to a higher authority for determination, are such only as are treated of in Chap. 5; viz. what have been noticed is coming under the civil jurisdiction of the court. Although the mode of obtaining advice and authority on difficult points, as well on the criminal, as on the civil, business of a session, must be equally through the medium of an adjournment, what is now immediately under review must be understood to relate exclusively to the latter division; what respects the former being the subject of future discussion in a more advanced portion of this chapter. |