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s. 12.

s. 13.

s. 14.

months after the fact upon which the same is grounded has been committed. But by s. 12. this act shall not extend to cities or towns, being counties of themselves, or to any other city, &c. having justices of the peace within its respective limits, by charter, commission, or otherwise. And by s. 13. nothing in this act, or in the 5 Geo. 2. c. 18. shall extend to any peer or lord of parliament, or to the lords or others of the privy council, or to the justices of either bench, or barons of the exchequer, or to the attorney or solicitor general, or to the justices of great sessions for Chester and the counties of Wales, or to the eldest son or heir apparent apparent of any peer or lord of parliament, or of any person qualified to serve as a knight of a shire by 9 Ann, c. 5. And by s. 14. these acts shall not extend to incapacitate the officers of the board of green cloth, the commissioners and principal officers of the navy, or the 2 under secretaries in each of the offices of the principal secretary of state, or the secretary of Chelsea college, from being justices of the peace for such counties or places where they usually have been justices of the peace. And by s. 15. this act is also declared not to extend to the heads of colleges or halls in Oxford and Cambridge, or to the vice chancellor of either of the universities, or to the mayor of Oxford or Cambridge. The 23 and 24 Geo. 3. c. 30. Ir. contained similar provisions; but this Irish statute, which was explained and amended by the 25 Geo. 3. e. 59. was afterwards repealed by the 27 Geo. 3. c. 40. Ir. The 23 and 24 Geo. 3. was a temporary statute, and the 27 Geo 3. was, as to some of its provisions, also temporary, but has been since continued to the year 1811, &c. by the 44 Geo. 3. c. 90. I. So that the 18 Hen. 6. c. 11. is the only statute in force, which Anteprge241. prescribes the qualification as to property for justices of peace in Ireland.

s. 15.

take Oaths of alle

giance, &c. to

and be taken.

and

Justices of peace were expressly required to the oath of allegiance by the 7 Jac. 1. c. 6. Eng. the oath of supremacy by the 1 Eliz. c. 1. Eng.; they were of course included amongst those who were required by the 13 W. 3. c. 6. Eng. to take the oath of abjuration,

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abjuration, and by the 25 Car. 2. c. 2. Eng. to make the declaration against transubstantiation, and receive the sacrament according to the usage of the church of England, as a qualification for bearing civil offices. And by this last mentioned statute, and the 1 Geo. 1. st. 2. c. 13. Eng. (which amends the several other acts, and is itself amended by subsequent statutes) justices of peace in England are still bound to qualify themselves for holding this office by taking these several oaths, &c, In Ireland the same qualifications for this and other civil offices are 7 Geo. 2. c. 6. required by the 2 Ann, c. 6. Ir.* And the 7 Geo. 2. c. 6. Ir, enacts, that no person converted from the Popish to the Protestant religion, shall be capable of being or acting as a justice of peace whose wife shall be a papist, or who doth educate in the Popish religion, any of his children who shall be under the age of 16 years, on pain of one year's imprisonment, and of forfeiting £100, one moiety to the king, and the other to any person suing for the same, to be recovered by bill, &c. in any court of record; and such person on conviction shall be incapable of being an executor, administrator, or guardian. Catholics and other non-conformists were therefore in effect excluded by these statutes from being justices of peace in England or Ireland: But these disabilities have been removed or relaxed in respect to Protestant dissenters in Ireland by the 19 & 20 Geo. 3. c. 6. Ir. and in respect to Irish catholics by the 33 Geo. 3. c. 21. Ir, which several statutes will come more particularly under consideration in the next chapter,

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8 Vile Burn's. The oath of office admininistered to justices in England§ is in the following words: "Ye shall swear that as justice of "the peace [tin] the county of, in all articles [in] the king's commission to you directed, you shall "do equal right to the poor and to the rich, after your cunning, wit and power, and after the laws and cus"toms of the realm, and statutes thereof made; and ye shall not be of counsel [of] any quarrel hanging before you; and that ye hold your sessions after the "form of the statutes thereof made; and the issues, fines, "and amerciaments that shall happen to be made, and

with any person in

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*The oath of abjuration is not annexed to the dedimus in Ireland, which

secuns to be incorrect.

"all forfeitures that shall fall before you, ye shall "cause to be entered without any concealment or em"bezzlement, and truly send them to the king's exchequer; ye shall not let, for gift or any other cause, but "well and truly ye shall do your office of justice of the

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peace in that behalf; and that you take nothing for your office of justice of the peace to be done, but of

"the king, and fees accustomed, and costs limited by↑ ↑the statute; and ye shall not direct, nor cause to be directed,

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any warrant by you to be made, to the parties, but "ye shall direct them to the bailiffs of the said couuty,

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or other the king's officers or ministers, or other in"different persons, to do execution thereof. So help you "God." This oath, with a few trivial variations, which are noted in the margin, corresponds with the form of oath administered to justices in Ireland. No statute prescribes this form of oath; but the 13 Ric. 2. st. 1. c. 7. 13 Ric. 2. st. 1. E. & I. enacts, that the justices shall be sworn duly and without favour, to keep and put in execution all the statutes and ordinances touching their offices. The form of the commission for justices of the peace is nearly similar in England and Ireland.

26 Geo. 2. c.27.

The 26 Geo. 2. c.27.Eng. recites, that authority was given Justices of the by divers acts of parliament, to 2 or more justices of the quorum. peace, whereof one or more were to be of the quorum; Eng. and enacts, that no act, order, adjudication, warrant, indenture of apprenticeship, or other instrument, made or executed by 2 or more justices of the peace, which doth not express that one or more of such justices is or are of the quorum, shall be impeached for that defect only.

And the 7 Geo. 3. c. 21. Eng. in like manner provides 7 Geo. 3. c. 21. in respect to cities, boroughs, towns corporate, franchises Eng. and liberties, that all acts, orders, &c. which shall be made done or executed by virtue of any act of parliament, by two or more justices qualified to act within such cities, &c. though neither of such justices be of the quorum, shall be as valid and effectual as if one of the said justices had been of the quorum. These statutes are peculiar to England.

Attornies, &c.

By the 5 Geo. 2. c. 18. s. 2. Eng. attornie, solici- incapacitated to tors, and proctors, are incapacitated from being justices of

be justices. 5 Geo. 2. c. 18. the s. 2. Eng.

s. 3.

the peace in England or Wales, during such time as they shall continue in practice. And by s. 3. any person who shall not be qualified according to this act, and shall take upon himself to act as a justice of the peace, shall forfeit £100 for every such offence, one moiety to the king, and the other to such as shall sue for the same, by 2 Geo. 1. c. 11. action of debt, &c. at Westminster. The 2 Geo. 1.

s. 12. Ir.

determined by

7 & 8 W. 3.

c. 27. s. 21. Fng.
Apn. st. 1.
c. 8. Eng.

c. 48. s. 3. Ir.

s. 1. Eng.

e. 11. s. 12. Ir. prohibits attornies from practising in any causes for the recovery of small debts in a summary way, (ie, by civil bill) in any county where they shall be justices of peace: but no Irish statute contains any such general provision as that of the 5 Geo. 2. above mentioned.

Commissions not. By virtue of the 7 & 8 W. 3. c. 27. s. 21. Eng. as exdeath of king, plained by the 1 Ann, st. 1. c. 8. Eng. commissions of the peace continue in force until 6 months after the demise of the king: the latter of these statutes having enacted, (s. 2.) that no patent or grant of any office or employment, civil or military, shall cease or be void, by reason of the death or demise of the king, but that every such patent, &c. shall be in force for 6 months after such demise, unless in the mean time superseded, determined, or made void by the next successor. This act was by s. 6. declared to extend to Ireland; and 21 & 22Gen. 3. has been recognized by the 21 & 22 Geo. 3. c. 48. Ir. 1 Geo. 3. c. 13. The 1 Geo. 3. c. 13. s. 1. Eng. as explained by the 7 Geo. 3. c. 9. Eng. enacts, that all persons who have been or shall be appointed justices of the peace, by any commission granted by his present majesty, or any of his successors, and who shall take the oath of office of a justice, for any county, &c. before the clerk of the peace of such county, &c. or his deputy, and who shall have taken and subscribed at some general or quarter sessions of the peace, the oath prescribed by the 18 Geo. 2. (ante page 242) shall not be obliged, during the reign in which such oath shall have been so taken, to take and subscribe again said oath, by reason of such person being again appointed a justice by any commission during such reign, and shall not incur any penalty or forfeiture for the .not taking or subscribing the said oath. And by the 1 Geo. 3. c. 13. s. 2. no person who

7 Geo. 3. c. 9. Eng.

1 Gen. 3. c. 13. 8. 2. Eng.

hath

hath taken or shall take the usual oaths under a writ or commission of dedimus potestatem, shall be obliged to sue out any other dedimus, to authorize any person therein named to administer again to any such justice, on any new commission of the peace being issued, the oaths usually annexed to such dedimus; but the clerk of the peace or his deputy of every county, &c. for which any such justice hath acted and qualified, or before the issuing of any such new commission of the peace shall act and qualify, shall, on every such new commission of the peace being issued, prepare a parchment roll with the oaths, annexed to and usually taken under said writ or commission, ingrossed in such roll, and shall administer, without fee, the said oaths to every such justice, and such justice shall subscribe his name on said parchment roll, and the said roll shall be kept by the respective clerks of the peace amongst the records of the sessions. By the 7 Geo. 3. c. 16. s. 4. & 6. Ir. no justice of peace who shall 7 Geo. 3. c. 16. s. 4. & 6. Ir. have taken the oaths, &c. shall be obliged to qualify again on any subsequent commission during the same reign, unless left out of some renewed commission, and afterwards inserted in one for the same place.

1 Edw. 6. c. 7.

10 Car. 1. st. 2.

14. Ir.

The clause of the 1 Edw. 6. c. 7. s. 4. Eng. which Commission not was expressly adopted or followed by the 10 Car. I. st. 2. being created superseded by c. 14. Ir. enacts, that albeit any person being (justice of duke, &c. assize or gaol delivery or) justice of peace within any of s. 4. Eng. the king's dontinions, or being in any other of the king's c. commissions, shall be made or created duke, archbishop, marquis, earl, viscount, baron, bishop, knight, justice of the one bench or the other, serjeant at law, (or sheriff) yet he shall remain justice and commissioner, and have full power to execute the same: but this clause, so far as it extended to authorize sheriffs to act as justices, was altered by the 1 Mar. st. 2. c. 8. Eng. and 7 W. 3. c. 13. Ir. which respectively prohibit sheriffs from exercising the office of justices in the counties of which they shall be sheriffs, as already stated ante-page 216.

As in most corporation towns, there are quarter sessions kept before justices of their own, within their respective limits, the 2. & 3. Ph. & M. c. 18. Eng. may 2&3.Ph.&M.

*Blackstone's Comment. vol. 4. p. 272.

be

c. 18. Eng.

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