made in the first year of the reign of our said lady, the now queen of England, &c. entitled, "An Act for granting an Aid to her Majesty by divers Subsidies and a Land-tax," the said I. A. and W. B. on, &c. in the borough aforesaid, by colour of the office aforesaid, unlawfully, extorsively, and deceitfully, and of their own wrong, exacted, received, and had, of one T. C. then of Leeds aforesaid, in the borough aforesaid, (being not assessed at all by virtue of the act of parliament aforesaid,) the sum of four shillings (2), and that the said i. A. and W. B. the same sum of four shillings, so as aforesaid, of the said T. C. unlawfully, extorsively, and deceitfully exacted, received, and had, and to the proper use of them the said I. A. and W. B. then and there unlawfully, injuriously, and deceitfully converted, to the great damage of him the said T. C. and against the peace, &c. (¿). 196. Indictment against a constable for extorting money of a person apprehended by him on a bench warrant, to let her go without carrying her before any justice of the peace. (k) That A. F. late of, &c. yeoman, on, &c. at, &c. then being one of the constables of the same parish, at the parish aforesaid, in the county aforesaid, did take and arrest one N. L. spinster, by colour of a certain warrant, commonly called a bench warrant, which he the said A. B. then and there had, to apprehend the said N. L. to answer to a certain trespass and assault, whereof the said N. then stood indicted, as the said A. B. then and there alleged and pretended, and the said A. B. her the said N. then and there had in his custody; and that the said A. B. afterwards, to wit, on the same day and year aforesaid, at the parish aforesaid, in the county aforesaid, unlawfully, corruptly, deceitfully, and extorsively, for the sake of gain, and contrary to the duty of his (i) Qu. whether it would not be safer to aver, "under pretence that he the said T. C. had been assessed under the said act, and was then and there liable, by virtue of such assess ment, to pay to them the said sum." (k) An indictment for extortion may be laid in any county, 31 Eliz. c. 5. See 2 Ins. 210. Com. Dig. Ext. C. The indictment may be joint, Str. 73. Ld. Ray. 1248. office, did extort, receive, and take of and from the said. N. the sum of five shillings, of lawful money of Great Britain, for discharging the said N. out of the custody of him the said A. B. without conveying her before any justice of the peace for the said county, to answer to the said trespass and assault, whereof she was supposed to stand indicted as aforesaid, to the great damage, &c. and against the peace, &c. 197. Indictment against a tipstaff of the Court of King's Bench for extortion. That A. L. late of, &c. gentleman, on, &c. at, &c. unlawfully, unjustly, and extorsively, did exact and receive of and from one R. H. two pieces of gold coin, of the proper coin of this kingdom, called guineas, of the value of forty-two shillings, under colour and pretence of being tipstaff to the Right Honourable W. Earl of M. then chief justice of our said lord the king, assigned to hold pleas in the court of our lord the king, before the king himself, under colour and pretence of a fee due to him the said A. for not carrying the said R. H. to prison, after he had taken and arrested him the said R. H. by virtue of a warrant under the band and seal of the said W. Earl of M. chief justice aforesaid, issued forth against the said R. H. to answer to an indictment then before found against the said R. H. at the general quarter session of the peace held for the county aforesaid, for an assault upon A. A, as the said A. L. then and there alleged to the said R. H. whereas in truth and in fact no such fee was then due to the said A. L. in that behalf, to the great damage of the said R. H. and against the peace, &c. 198. Indictment against the servant of a clerk of a market for extortion. That E. R. late of, &c. yeoman, on, &c. at, &c. under colour of being servant and agent to T. R. and C. P. esquires, clerk of the market of the household of our said lord the king, unlawfully, unjustly, and extorsively, did demand, receive, and have, of one W. C. the sum of fourteen pence, of lawful money of Great Britain, for and as a fee for examining, marking, and sealing of five quart pots made of pewter, seven pint pots made of pewter, and two half-pint pots made of pewter; whereas, in truth and in fact, there was then no such fee due to the said T. R. and C. P. the said clerk of the market of the household of our said lord the king, in that behalf, to the great damage and oppression of the said W. C. and against the peace, &c. 199. Indictment against a coroner for extortion (l). That W. N. late of the parish of S. in the county of Gloucester, gent. (the said parish of S. being the usual place of abode of him the said W. N.) on, &c. then being one of the coroners of our said lord the king for the county of Gloucester, at, &c. by colour of his said office, unlawfully and unjustly did demand, extort, receive, and take of and from one R. S. the sum of fifty shillings, of lawful money of Great Britain, for and as his fee for executing and doing of his office aforesaid, to wit, upon the (1) By stat. 3 Edw. 1. c. 10. no coroner shall take any thing to do his office, upon pain of great forfeiture to the king. But by stat. 3 Hen. 7. c. 1. upon an inquisition taken upon view of the body murdered, he shall have thirteen shillings and four-pence of the goods of the murderer, and if he hath nothing, of the amerciaments of the township for the escape of the murderer. And by stat. 1 Hen. 8. c. 7. s. 1. the coroner shall have nothing where the inquisition is taken upon view of one slain by misadventure. Penalty forty shillings. Justices of assize, and justices of the peace within the county where any such default of the coroner be, have power and authority to inquire thereof, and determine the same as well by examination as presentment. 1 Hen. 8. c. 7. s. 2. But by stat. 25 Geo. 2. c. 29. s. 1. the fees are now settled, that the coroner be paid twenty shillings, and also nine pence for every mile he is obliged to travel from his usual place of abode, to be paid out of the county rates. And by s. 4. of the same statute, it is enacted, that no coroner to whom any benefit is given by that act shall, by colour of his office, or upon any pretext whatsoever, take for his office doing, in case of the death of any person, any fee or reward, other than the said fee of thirteen shillings and fourpence, limited as is aforesaid by the said act made in the third year of the reign of king Henry the seventh, and other than the recompense limited and appointed by this statute, upon pain of being deemed guilty of extortion. By s. 6. a coroner, convicted of extortion, or wilful neglect of his duty, or misdemeanor in office, may be removed from office by judgment of the court in which he is convicted, unless such office be annual, or annexed to some other office. view of the body of one J. C. late of Stow in the Wold, in the said county of Gloucester, glazier, who at the parish of S. aforesaid, in the county aforesaid, on the day and year above mentioned, was slain by misadventure, and there lay dead in contempt of our said lord the king and his laws, to the great damage of the said R. S. against the form of the statutes, &c. in such case made and provided, and against the peace, &c. 200. Against a headborough for extortion. That A. B. late of, &c. yeoman, on, &c. with force and arms, at, &c. then being one of the headboroughs of the same parish, by colour of his said office, unlawfully, unjustly, and extorsively did exact, extort, receive, and have of and from one E. F. the sum of five shillings, of lawful money, as and for a pretended fee of him the said A. B. for taking and arresting the said E. F. by virtue of a warrant of B. H. esquire, (one of the justices of our said lord the king, assigned to keep the peace of our said lord the king in and for the said county, and also to hear and determine divers felonies, trespasses, and other misdemeanors committed in the same county), directed to, &c. (as in the warrant,) and for the obtaining and discharging of the same warrant, as the said A. B. did then allege; whereas, in truth and in fact, no fee whatever was then due to the said A. B. from the said E. F. in that behalf, to the great damage of the said E. F. and against the peace, &c. 201. Against a gaoler for extortion in office (m). That A. B. late of, &c. and continually afterwards, until the day of exhibiting this information (or until the day of the taking this inquisition if by indictment,) was and yet is keeper of the prison of our said lord the king, of at, &c. in the county of and the office of keeper of the said prison, at the parish aforesaid, in the county aforesaid, during the whole of the time aforesaid, took upon himself, exercised, and had, and still undertakes, exercises, and has; yet the said A. B. not regarding the duty of the said office, but abusing the trust in him reposed, and contriving and intending the liege subjects of our said lord the king, for his private gain, to oppress, impoverish, and greatly harrass, and the (m) R. v. Broughton, Trem. P. C. 111. due execution of justice, as much as in him lay, to retard and obstruct, on, &c. (n) at, &c. under colour of his office, as keeper of the said goal, unlawfully, unjustly, and extorsively, did exact, obtain, and have, and into his hands and custody receive from one E. O. the sum of 2s. 4d. for charging one A. H. esquire, then a prisoner in the said prison, and in the custody of him the said A. B. with an action for 2007. prosecuted at the suit of him the said E. O. (9); and that he the said A. B. on, &c. at, &c. * under colour of his office, as keeper of the said gaol, unlawfully, unjustly, and extorsively, did exact, receive, and have, and into his hands and possession obtain, from one H. M. two pieces of gold, commonly called guineas, each piece thereof being lawful money, &c. and of the value, &c.** for ease and favour to and for relieving and releasing one B. D. from his irons, he the said B. D. then and there being a prisoner in the said gaol, and in the custody of the said A. B. detained for a felony and murder before then by the said B. D. supposed to have been committed; and that the said A. B. on, &c. at, &c. (as before, from * to **,) for the discharging of the said P. P. from the said prison, out of the custody of the said A. B. although, in truth and in fact, no such sum was due to the said A. B. upon such discharge; and whereas also one J. T. and T. K. on, &c. at, &c. in the night of the said day, had been taken and apprehended by one T. H. then constable of the said last-mentioned parish, then and there being upon his watch, as malefactors, night walkers, and suspicious persons, and by the said constable had been there taken and conveyed to the said prison, and committed and delivered into the custody of the said A. B. by him in the same prison to be safely kept, until the said persons so taken and committed, at a convenient time the next day, could be taken before some justice, assigned to keep the peace of our said lord the king, within the county aforesaid, to be examined and dealt with according to law; and that he the said A. B. then and there had and detained the said J. T. and T. R. in the said prison, in his custody, and then and there un (n) In the original this and several other offences are laid to have been committed in the interval between the day first named and the day of exhibiting the information, but it is more technical to allege a day certain. (0) As to the necessity for alleging that nothing was due, see p. 142. |