THE WHOLE LAW RELATIVE TO THE DUTY AND OFFICE OF A Justice of the Peace. COMPRISING ALSO THE AUTHORITY OF PARISH OFFICERS. BY THOMAS WALTER WILLIAMS, ESQ. SECOND EDITION, CONSIDERABLY IMPROVED, including tHE STATUTES AND IN FOUR VOLUMES. VOL. II. LONDON: PRINTED FOR W. CLARKE AND SONS; J. WALKER; VERNOR, I. Of the excise in general. II. Importation of foreign exciseable commo-. dities. III, The duties of excise and inland regula tions. IV. Exportation of exciseable commodities, : V. Permits for the removal of exciscable commoditics. VI. Recovery of penalties under the excise laws. VII. Precedents of proceedings under the excise laws. I. Of the excise in general. ONE head office shall be in London, or within 10 miles there- Chief office of, unto which all other offices shall be subordinate, which office established. shall be managed, by officers appointed by the king. 12 Car. 2. c. 23. s. 32. 12 Car. 2. c. 24. s. 46. 5 Will. & Mur. c. 20, Its limits. Country offices. Office hours. Gagers. And the cities of London and Westminster, with the borough of Southwark, and the parishes within the weekly bills of mor tality, and also the parish of St. Mary-le-bone, shall be under the immediate care of the head office; and so many subordinate commissioners and subcommissioners, and other officers, shall be appointed by his majesty in other places, as his majesty shall think fit. 12 Car. 2. c. 23. s. 34. 12 Cur. 2. c. 24. s. 48, And the commissioners shall depute under their hands and seals, such persons as they shall think needful in cach market, town, to be there every market-day, in some public place, for the receiving the entries and duties of excise; which persons (and the place where they intend to keep such office, being on the next market-day after such deputation published in open market) shall attend such office on every market-day. And in case such office shall not be so kept, the commissioners or other persons neglecting, shall for every market day forfeit 10.; the one half to the king, and the other half, to him that will sue for the same, in any court of record: and such person as shall come to such market-town to make entry or payment of the dutics, and shall tender the same, and be able to prove such tender by the oath of one witness, shall not be liable to any penalty for such weekly or monthly entries or payments. 15 Car. 2. c. 11. s. 10. And the excise office, in all places where it shall be appointed, shall be kept open from eight in the morning till two in the after 23 Geo. 2. c. 26. s. 12. noon. And the commissioners and their sub-commissioners shall have power to constitute, under their hands and seals, such gagers as they shall find needful *. 12 Car. 2. c. 23. s. 19. 12 Car. 2. c. 24. s. 33. * It may not be improper to subjoin in this place, some account of the officers employed in the excise; and of the method of charging and collecting the duties, taken from the Appendix to Gilbert's History of the Exchequer. He who would be an excise officer must produce a certificate that he is above twenty-one, and under thirty years of age;-that he understands the first four rules of arithmetic;-that he is of the communion of the church of England ;-how he has been employed, and what business he followed;-that he is not incumbered with debts; whether single or married; how many children he has, for if he has above two, he cannot by the rules of the office be admitted. He must also nominate two persons to be bis sureties, and it must be certified, that they are of sufficient ability; and that the said certificate is of his own hand writing: such certificate written by him, must be signed by the supervisor of excise, where the party applying lives. At the bottom of this certificate, must be his affidavit, that neither he, nor any else, to his knowledge, have, directly or indirectly, given |