the shire where the inquisition is taken, the same Justices to proceed against such murderers, if they be in the gaol, or else the same Justices to put the same inquisitions afore the King in his bench. 23. And forasmuch as Coroners had not nor ought to have anything by the law for their office doing, which oft time hath been the occasion that Coroners have been remiss in doing their office. 24. It is ordained that a Coroner have for his fee, for every inquisition taken upon the view of the body slain, xiii.s. iv.d. of the goods and chattels of him that is the slayer and murderer, if he have any goods, and if he have no goods, then the Coroner have for his said fee, of such amerciaments as shall fortune any township to be amerced for escape of such murderer as is aforesaid. 25. And if any Coroner be remiss, and make not inquisitions upon view of the body dead, and certify not according as is afore ordained, that the Coroner for every default forfeit to the King one hundred shillings. This Act was in part repealed by 25 Geo. II. c. 29 (1752).

By I Henry VIII. c. 7 (1509), "For Coroners," it is set forth as follows:

Whereas by a stat. made at Westminster in the 3 Henry VII. it was enacted, That a Coroner shall have for his fee, upon every inquisition taken upon the view of the body slain and murdered, 138. 4d. of the goods and chattels of him that is the slayer and murderer. 2. Where by the common law a Coroner had not or ought not to have anything for their office doing, as by the same stat. more plainly doth appear. 3. Sith which stat. so made the Coroners have used, that if any person hath happened to be slain by misadventure, and not by no man's hand, that they will not inquire upon the view of the body so by misadventure slain, except that they have for their labour 13s. 4d., which is contrary to the common law; and also the stat. afore rehearsed: Whereby great inconvenience doth daily grow to the King's subjects, forasmuch as oftentimes the person that is so by misadventure slain lyeth long above the ground unburied, to the great noyance of the King's liege people. 4. Wherefore the King our Sovereign Lord, by the assents of the Lords spiritual and temporal, and the Commons, in the present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same ordaineth, That upon a request made to a Coroner to come and inquire upon a view of any person slain, drowned, or otherwise dead by misadventure, the said Coroner diligently shall do his office, upon the view of the body of every such person or persons, without taking any thing therefor. 5. Upon pain to every Coroner that will not endeavour himself to do his office, as afore is said, or that he taketh anything for doing of his office upon any person dead by misadventure, for every time forty shillings.

II. And that the Justices of Assizes and Justices of Peace within the county where such default of the Coroners be, have authority and power to inquire thereof, and determine the same, as well by examination as by presentment.

That is the entire enactment, which however was repealed by 25 Geo. II. c. 29 (1752). The 33 Henry VIII. c. 12 (1541)—The Bill for the Household-sets forth in its preamble as follows:

Where treasons, misprisons of treasons, murders, manslaughters, and other malicious strikings, by reason whereof blood is or shall be shed, against the King's peace, have been often and many times done and committed within the limits of the King's palace or house, or other house or houses, where and when His Majesty is there demurrent and abiding in his own most royal person, which offences, when they be done, be best known by His Highness' officers and ministers of his most honourable household, and by His Majesty's servants of the Chequer-roll. 2. And if His Majesty shall happen to remove from such his palace or house, or other house or houses where such offences were done, before the trial or determination thereof, then such offences might not lawfully be tried, heard, and determined by and before the said officers, but be remitted to be tried and determined by the order of the common laws of this realm. 3. By reason whereof the punishment of the said offenders in such cases hath been long delayed, and sometimes their offences forgotten and not remembered, and so escape unpunished.

For remedy whereof the different officers before whom such offences may be tried are enumerated and appointed; and it is provided (sec. 3) that all inquisitions upon persons slain within the said palaces or houses shall be had and taken hereafter for ever by the Coroner for the time being of the household of our Sovereign Lord the King, without the aid of any other Coroner. The jury to consist of 12 or more yeomen, officers of the King; "which Coroner of our said Sovereign Lord the King's household shall be from time to time named, appointed, and assigned by the said Lord Great Master or Lord Steward for the time being. The said Coroner to certify his inquisition before the same officer. It was further recited (sec. 22) that one Richard Staverton, of Lincoln's Inn, gentleman, had then for 16 years or more been Coroner of the Household. It was then enacted that he remain in his office; and that on his death his successor be appointed under the provisions of this present Act.

The 34 & 35 Henry VIII. c. 26 (1542-3)—An Act for certain Ordinances in the King's Dominion and Principality of Wales-recites in its preamble:

Our Sovereign Lord the King's Majesty, of his tender zeal and affection that he beareth towards his loving and obedient subjects of his dominion, principality, and country of Wales, for good rule and order to be from henceforth kept and maintained within the same, whereby his said subjects may grow and arise to more wealth and prosperity, hath devised and made divers sundry good and necessary ordinances, which His Majesty of his most abundant goodness, at the humble suit and petition of his said subjects of Wales, is pleased and contented to be enacted, etc., etc.

It is then provided as follows:

LXVIII.-Item. There shall be two Coroners to be elected in every of the said twelve shires, as is used in England, by virtue of the King's writ De Coronatore eligendo, to be awarded out of the King's Chancery of England; (2) and that the said Coroners shall have like power and authority to do and exercise their offices and have like fees as is limited by the laws and statutes of England. LXIX. Provided always, That the writ De Coronatore eligendo, to choose the Coroners within the said county of Flint, shall be directed out of the Exchequer of Chester.

The 1 & 2 Philip and Mary c. 13 (1554), provides :

V. And that every Coroner upon any inquisition before him found, whereby any person or persons shall be indicted for murder or manslaughter, or as accessory or accessories to the same before the murder or manslaughter committed, shall put in writing the effect of the evidence given to the jury before him, being material. 2. And as well the said Justices as the said Coroner shall have authority by this Act to bind all such by recognizance or obligation as do declare anything material to prove the said murder or manslaughter, offences or felonies, or to be accessory or accessories to the same as is aforesaid, to appear at the next general gaol-delivery, to be holden within the county, city, or town corporate, where the trial thereof shall be, then and there to give evidence against the party so

indicted, at the time of his trial. 3. And shall certify, etc.

5. And in case any Justice of the

Peace, or Quorum, or Coroner shall, after the 1st day of April, offend in anything contrary to the true intent and meaning of this present Act, that then the Justices of the gaol-delivery of the shire, city, town, or place where such offence shall happen to be committed, upon due proof thereof by examination before them, shall for every such offence set such fine on every of the same Justices of Peace and Coroner as the same Justices of gaol-delivery shall think meet.

This Act appears to have been repealed by 7 Geo. IV. c. 64, s. 32 (1826).

By Act of the Parl. of Ireland, 6 Anne, c. 7 (1707)—An Act for Lessening Sheriffs' Fees on Execution it is recited that "through the great corruption and partiality of subsheriffs and their bailiffs, it had become very difficult to have any mesne process or execution duly executed, but that returns were made that the party against whom such process or execution issued was not to be found, and that he had no lands and goods, although the contrary was true," etc.; and it was enacted therefore that any such mesne process or execution might be directed to "all or any of the Coroners of the said county, who should and might execute the same without any further direction or regard to the said sheriffs," and that the Coroners should and might take such fees therefor as in this Act was appointed,

This provision, it will be seen, was repealed by an Act of the Parl. of the U.K. in 1822 (3 Geo. IV. c. 115), but was restored by the 10 Geo. IV. c. 37 (1829).

The 25 Geo. II. c. 29 (1752)—An Act for giving a Proper Reward to Coroners for the due Execution of their Office; and for the Removal of Coroners upon a Lawful Conviction of Certain Misdemeanors-recites; "Whereas the office of Coroner is a very ancient and necessary office," and then, after reviewing the preceding provisions for payment of Coroners, asserts that they do not afford "an adequate reward for the general execution of the said office." Coroners after 24th June, 1752, to be paid 20s. for every inquisition taken in any township contributing to the county rates (except on bodies dying in goal), and 9d. for every mile he shall be obliged to travel, to be paid out of the county rates; and for every inquisition on bodies dying in goal, as the Justices shall think fit; and for inquisition on view of body slain or murdered, 135. 4d. in add. Any Coroner taking more than these rewards to be deemed guilty of extortion. Then :

V. Provided likewise, and be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that no Coroner of the King's household, and of the verge of the King's palaces, nor any Coroner of the Admiralty, nor any Coroner of the County Palatine of Durham, nor any Coroner of the City of London and borough of Southwark, or of any franchise belonging to the said city; nor any Coroner of any city, borough, town, liberty, or franchise which is not contributory to the rates directed by the said Act [12 Geo. II. c. 29],. shall be entitled to any fee, recompense, or benefit given to or provided for Coroners by this Act; but that it shall and may be lawful for all such Coroners as are last mentioned to have and receive all such fees, salaries, wages, and allowances as they were entitled to by law before the making of this Act, or as shall be given or allowed to them by the person or persons by whom they have been or shall be appointed.

Coroner convicted of misdemeanor in his office to be removed by order of Court before whom he shall be so convicted. This Act in part repeals the 3 Henry VII. c. 1 (1486), which prohibited remuneration to Coroners.

The same care which was shown at home in regard to the destruction of human life was apparently extended to our colonial dependencies; thus the Act for regulating the affairs of the East India Co.-the 33 Geo. III. c. 52 (1793)—recites (sec. 157): "And whereas it is expedient that Coroners should be appointed for the settlements in India for taking inquests upon view of the bodies of persons coming, or supposed to have come, to an untimely death." It is then provided that the several Presidencies may appoint Coroners, who may exercise the same powers as Coroners in England.

The 58 Geo. III. c. 95(1818)—An Act to Regulate the Election of Coroners for Counties -recites: "Whereas there are no sufficient regulations for the election of Coroners for counties," and then provides that on any election of Coroner to be made, sheriffs of counties are to hold county courts at usual place. A poll may be taken. Freeholders, if required by candidates, to take oath of qualification. Expenses of sheriffs and poll clerks to be paid by candidates.

By 3 Geo. IV. c. 115 (1822)—An Act to Regulate the Qualification of Persons holding the Office of Coroner in Ireland-it is recited: "Whereas anciently none were chosen Coroners but persons of an estate sufficient to maintain the dignity of the office, and to answer all demands which might be made upon them for misbehaviour: and whereas for many years past the office of Coroner in Ireland has been suffered to fall into disrepute, and get into low and indigent hands." For remedy whereof it was enacted that from and after the passing of this Act, "no person shall be capable of being elected or chosen to the office of C. for any co. in Ireland, who shall not have an estate of inheritance of the ann. value of £200, or an estate of freehold for his own life, or the life or lives of some other person or persons, either at law or in equity, to and for his own use and benefit, of or in lands, tenements, or hereditaments, over and above what will satisfy and clear all incumbrances that may affect the same, lying and being within the county for which such person shall be elected or chosen Coroner, of the ann. value of £400." And if such person be not so qualified, then election to be void. This Act not to apply to Coroners for any county if a city, or county if a town in Ireland; or to the town and liberties of Kinsale, nor to interfere with any right of appointment of Coroner given by charter to any corp. in Ireland." Coroner lawfully convicted of any extortion, or wilful

neglect of duty, or misdemeanor in his office, to be removed. This Act was in part repealed by 10 Geo. IV. c. 37 (1829) and wholly repealed by 9 & 10 Vict. c. 37 (1846). By the 4 Geo. IV. c. 52 (1823)—An Act to alter and amend the Law relating to the Interment of the remains of persons found Felo de se-it is provided that it should not be lawful thereafter "for any Coroner, or other officer having authority to hold inquests, to issue any warrant or other process directing the interment of the remains of persons, against whom a finding of Felo de se shall be had, in any public highway; but that such Coroner or other officer shall give directions for the private interment of the remains of such person Felo de se, without any stake being driven through the body of such person," etc., etc. [FELO DE SE.]

The 7 Geo. IV. c. 64 (1826)—An Act for improving the administration of Criminal Justice in England-repeals the provisions of the Act of Philip and Mary (1554), and provides as follows, in its stead :

IV. And be it further enacted, that every Coroner, upon any inquisition before him taken, whereby any person shall be indicted for manslaughter or murder, or as an accessory to murder before the fact, shall put in writing the evidence given to the jury before him, or as much thereof as shall be material; and shall have authority to bind by recognizance all such persons as know or declare any thing material touching the said manslaughter or murder, or the said offence of being accessory to murder, to appear at the next Court of Oyer and Terminer, or gaol-delivery, or superior Criminal Court of a County Palatine, or great sessions, at which the trial is to be, then and there to prosecute or give evidence against the party charged, and every such Coroner shall certify and subscribe the same evidence, and all such recognizances, and also the inquisition before him taken, and shall deliver the same to the proper officer of the Court in which the trial is to be, before or at the opening of the Court.

V. And be it further enacted, that if any Justice or Coroner shall offend in any thing contrary to the true intent and meaning of these provisions, the Court to whose officer any such examination, information, evidence, bailment, recognizance, or inquisition ought to have been delivered, shall upon examination and proof of the offence, in a summary manner, set such fine upon every Justice or Coroner as the Court shall think meet.

VI. And be it further enacted, that all these provisions relating to Justices and Coroners shall apply to the Justices and Coroners not only of counties at large, but also of all other jurisdictions. By 10 Geo. IV. c. 37 (1829)—An Act to amend the Laws relating to Coroners in Ireland-certain provisions of the 3 Geo. IV. c. 115 (1822), regarding special functions of Coroners in Ireland, were repealed: and those functions were to be executed as defined in 6 Anne, c. 7 (1707) [Irish Acts], already quoted. It was further enacted that no person was to be entitled to vote at election of Coroner in Ireland unless entitled to vote for knights of the shire. Power was also given to Coroners to remunerate witnesses attending inquests, as the Coroner should think fit. No such payment to exceed £5. This Act was repealed by 9 & 10 Vict. c. 37 (1846).

The 6 & 7 Wm. IV. c. 86 (1836)—An Act for Regis. Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England-provides (sec. 25): "That in every case in which an inquest shall be held on any dead body, the jury shall inquire of the particulars herein required to be regis. concerning the death, and the Coroner shall inform the Regis. of the finding of the jury, and the Registrar shall make the entry accordingly." Coroner may give the necessary certificate to the undertaker or officiating minister for burial (sec. 27).

The 6 & 7 Wm. IV. c. 89 (1836)—An Act to provide for the Attendance and Remuneration of Medical Witnesses at Coroners' Inquests-recites: "Whereas it is expedient to provide for the attendance of medical witnesses at Coroners' inquests, also remuneration for such attendance, and for the performance of post-mortem examinations at such inquests," and then proceeds to enact, that Coroners be empowered to summon medical witnesses, and to direct the performance of post-mortem examinations. A majority of the Coroner's jury may require the Coroner to summon additional medical evidence, if the first be not satisfactory. Fees to medical witnesses [viz. 1 Is. for attending to give evidence; and £2 25. for post-mortem], to be paid out of poor-rates. No fee to be paid for post-mortem when made without order of Coroner. Medical officers of hospitals, public institutions, etc., in which death occurs not to be entitled to above fees. Medical officers neglecting to attend any inquest when summoned, to be fined £5. Act not to

extend to Scotland.

In 1837 was enacted 7 Wm. IV. & 1 Vict. c. 64—An Act for Regulating the Coroners of the County of Durham. The then Coroners were to continue in office; powers for electing future Coroners. Coroners to be entitled to usual fees and emoluments. That part of 25 Geo. II. c. 29 (1752) relating to non-payment of Coroners of County Palatine of Durham repealed.

The 7 Wm. IV. & 1 Vict. c. 68-An Act to provide for Payment of the Expenses of Holding Coroners' Inquests-recites: "Whereas the holding of Coroners' inquests on dead bodies is attended with divers necessary expenses, for the payment whereof no certain provision is made by law, and such expenses have usually been discharged without any lawful authority for that purpose out of the moneys levied for the relief of the poor, and it is expedient to make adequate legal provision for the payment of such expenses.' It is then enacted that the Justices of the Peace for every county, riding, division, or district of E. and W. prepare a schedule of fees payable on holding inquests. The Coroner to pay fees to medical witnesses under 6 & 7 Wm. IV. c. 89. Coroners to lay their accounts before the sessions, and in boroughs before the town council, within four months of holding inquest. Same to be paid out of county rates or borough fund.

An add. fee of 6s. 8d. allowed under this Act. This Act is partly repealed by 9 & 10 Vict. c. 37 (1846).

By 6 & 7 Vict. c. 12 (1843)—An Act for the more convenient Holding of Coroners' Inquests-it is recited: "Whereas it often happens that it is unknown where persons lying dead have come by their deaths, and also that such persons may die in other places than those in which the cause of death happened. And then it is enacted that the Coroner only within whose jurisdiction the body is lying dead shall hold the inquest. Detached parts of counties to be included in their counties for the purposes of this Act. Then :

IV. And be it declared and enacted, that if a verdict of accidental death shall be found by the jury at any such inquest, the Coroner and jury, and the Sheriff and Court of Exchequer, and all other persons whosoever, shall have the same powers respectively with regard to the finding, returning, and levying of Deodands as they now possess in cases where the death and the cause of death happened within the same jurisdiction.

In 1843 was passed the 6 & 7 Vict. c. 83-An Act to Amend the Law respecting the Duties of Coroners. The preamble says: "Whereas the Coroners of boroughs and liberties are empowered and directed by law to appoint deputies to act in their stead in certain cases; and whereas the Coroners of counties have no sufficient authority of the law for making such appointments; and whereas it is expedient to prevent unnecessary expense and delay in holding of inquests in counties." It is then enacted that Coroners of counties may appoint deputies to act during illness, or absence, subject to the approval of the Lord Chancellor. Inquisitions not to be quashed on account of technical defects.

Act to extend to E. and W.

The county Coroners are chosen by the vote of all the freeholders of the county. By 7 & 8 Vict. c. 92-An Act to Amend the Law respecting the Office of County Coronerenacted 1844, Coroners may be appointed for districts within counties instead of the county at large.

By 9 & 10 Vict. c. 37 (1846)—An Act to Amend the Law relating to the Office of Coroner and the Expenses of Inquests in Ireland-it is recited: "Whereas it is expedient to amend the laws now in force in Ireland relating to the election, qualification, and payment of Coroners, and to the proceedings at coroners' inquests, and to the payment of expenses at such inquests: and whereas it is expedient that the several Acts and parts of Acts hereinafter mentioned, relating to the several matters and things aforesaid should be repealed." The Acts then repealed, wholly or partly, were 1 Geo. IV. c. 28; 3 Geo. IV. c. 115; 4 Geo. IV. c. 43; 5 Geo. IV. c. 93; 6 Geo. IV. c. 52; 10 Geo. IV. c. 37; 6 & 7 Wm. IV. c. 116; 7 Wm. IV. & 1 Vict. c. 2 (1837); 7 & 8 Vict. c. 106 (in part). Power is then given to the Lord Lieutenant to direct a special session to be holden in each county for dividing the same into Coroners' districts. Present Coroners to be assigned to such districts. The qualifications for office of Coroner named in 3 Geo. IV. c. 115 (1822), were reduced to £50 and £100 respectively. Coroners to reside within their districts (s. 21). Coroners at any post-mortem inquest to make abstract of inquisition and finding of jury, and annex account of money paid in connexion with such inquest (s. 24). Grand juries to pass accounts. In other respects the regulations for Coroners resemble those in England. A provision of 7 & 8 Vict. c. 106, for the grand jury of the county of Dublin to allow Coroners any sum not exceeding 100 p.a., is retained (s. 47). Coroners to make ann. returns of inquests held.

By the 22 & 23 Vict. c. 21 (1859), s. 40, it is provided that recognizances forfeited at Coroners' inquests be returned to clerks of the peace, as in the case of fines imposed by Coroners.

In 1860 there was enacted the 23 & 24 Vict. c. 116-An Act to Amend the Law relating to the Election, Duties, and Payment of County Coroners [E. and W.]. The Act of 7 & 8 Vict. c. 92, extended to all counties, whether divided into districts or not. County Coroners to be paid by salary, instead of by fees as theretofore. The salary to be agreed upon between the Justices in Quarter Sessions and the Coroners, and may be modified:

V. If any Coroner shall refuse or neglect to hold an inquest in any case, when such inquest ought to be held, it shall be lawful for Her Majesty's Attorney-General to apply to the Court of Queen's Bench, or, during vacation, to a Judge of any one of Her Majesty's superior Courts of Law at Westminster, for a rule calling on such Coroner to show cause why he should not hold such inquest; and if, after due service of such rule, good cause shall not be shown against it, it shall be lawful for the Judge to make such rule absolute, with or without payment of costs, as to such Judge shall seem meet; and the Coroner, upon being served with such rule absolute, shall obey the same and hold such inquest, upon pain of being liable to attachment in case of refusal or neglect.

VI. It shall be lawful for the Lord Chancellor, if he shall think fit, to remove, for inability or misbehaviour in his office, any such Coroner already elected, or hereafter to be elected or appointed. The county of Chester to be henceforth subject to the general law (s. 7).

By 23 & 24 Vict. c. 74 (1860)—An Act to Amend the Provisions of an Act for the Regulation of Municipal Corporations in Ireland with Respect to the Appointment of Coroners for Boroughs-it is provided that the town councils of certain boroughs therein named may respectively appoint a Coroner. There is nothing altering the duties or functions of this office.

By the 23 & 24 Vict. c. 151 (1860)—An Act for the Regulation and Inspection of Mines-it is provided (sec. 20) that an inquest upon the body of any person whose death may have been caused by an accident, within the scope of the provisions of that Act,

shall be adjourned, unless the inspector of the district, or some person on behalf of the Sec. of State, be present to watch the proceedings at such inquest.

The first impression which must occur to the mind-after pausing to reflect that all this mass of legislation might very readily be reduced into one simple enactment-is the evidence which is here manifested, from the earliest period of our hist., of a sacred regard for human life. This is a characteristic feature of our country, if not of our race; and even the known licentiousness of our Courts was curbed at least in this one particular, as shown by the Act of Henry VIII., 1541.

We now proceed to notice some points of practice.

The Coroner and his jury can only conduct their inquiry into the cause of death in view of the body (super visum corporis). This was very clearly expressed some six centuries ago in the Stat. of Westminster (1276). The Coroner is to inquire upon oath, and his information is to be based upon actual examination of the body, the piace, and the surrounding persons. The inspection of the body is the leading idea; and wisely and properly so for the body has in every case to be buried before legal proceedings can be developed into form. The Coroner and his jury view the body, and record their impression of its appearance so far as the cause of death may be indicated thereby. To make this portion of the Coroner's functions thoroughly efficient-and we regard it as the most important of his functions-we consider that in every case a medical practitioner should view the body, and then and there record his view of the cause of death, leaving it to be supplemented or otherwise by the finding of the Coroner's jury.

Blackstone says:-"The court of the Coroner is a court of record to inquire when any one dies in prison, or comes to a violent or sudden death, by what manner he came to his end."

The late Mr. Justice Jervis, in his excellent Practical Treatise on the Office and Duty of Coroners (1829), says:

The Coroner's inquest is to ascertain truly the cause of the party's death, and is rather for information of the truth of the fact, than for accusation. It is not so much an accusation or an indictment as an inquest of office, to inquire truly how the party came to his death. On this account it is the duty of the Coroner to receive evidence on oath, as well on behalf of the party accused, as for the Crown; although formerly, with the exception of cases of Felo de se, a contrary practice prevailed.

The Coroner should have it always in his mind that the criminal aspect of the case is only one of many material points which may arise out of a death by violence, or indeed out of any sudden death. Where the finding of the Coroner's jury has been honestly arrived at, the certificate of the cause of death, as returned to the Registrar of the district (under the General Regis. Act, 1836), is sometimes of the greatest value in the case of disputed pol. of ins.

The Coroner may, if he thinks it conducive to justice, sit with closed doors, and this is the less open to objection, as he can only sit with a jury. In Scotland, the Procurator Fiscal can conduct his inquiries secretly, and this is often of immense importance in examining many parties implicated or suspected; for in Scotland, again, not only the suspected, but the accused may be examined, as in foreign countries; and we may well imagine that this is a very powerful engine to be employed in getting at the truth. Its efficiency, however, depends a great deal upon one person not knowing what another may have admitted. As Mr. Jardine has shown, this system of secretly interrogating the accused or suspected used to exist in this country, at all events in State prosecutions (Criminal Trials, vol. i.). It was grossly abused, and has long been abolished in this country, where the tendency from a natural reaction has been so strongly in favour of publicity that the advantages of secrecy are very little realized. Nevertheless, it is always in the power of a Coroner to examine witnesses in the presence of the jury with closed doors, and it is always in the power of a magistrate to examine witnesses separately, if not secretly.-Finlason, 1872.

We may add, by way of completing this part of our subject, that if the body be not found, the Coroner cannot sit, except by virtue of a special commission issued for that purpose. The jurisdiction of the Coroner extends to all deaths occurring on the water within a line drawn from one headland to another. It would be well for our sailors if some searching inquiry could be instituted into the causes of ships so frequently sinking within sight of land, and not from the ordinarily recognized "Perils of the Sea."

Regarding the origin of the Criminal Jurisdiction of our Coroners, an able writer in the Times, 5 Oct. 1872, offers the following interesting and learned surmise:

It was a fundamental principle of the law of this country that no man could be put upon his trial for a criminal offence until there was the presentment upon oath of a jury-that is, of 12 sworn men. Originally at common law a man could not even have been arrested until there had been such a presentment or indictment, which originally must have been by a "grand jury," probably the most primitive form of the jury and the origin of trial by jury. This species of presentment can be traced back to the Saxon laws, and it is one of the most striking instances of the force and tenacity of tradition in our institutions that the very terms of the oath administered in our own day to the grand jury can be found in the laws thus handed down by oral tradition from age to age for a thousand years. The Sheriff in those ancient times was the great criminal judge, and his power continued until after the Conquest. But in the mean time, as we all know, trial by ordeal existed as a common mode of trial in criminal cases, and it is one of the most difficult points in our legal history how the jury was used in such trials. It is beyond a doubt, however, that grand juries were used