Persons wilfully neglecting to deliver writ, guilty of a misde meanor. directed, or to his or their deputy or deputies, who are hereby respectively required to give to such postmaster or deputy-postmaster, a memorandum in writing, under his or their hand or hands, acknowledging the receipt of every such writ, and setting forth the day and hour the same was delivered by such postmaster or deputy-postmaster, which memorandum shall also be signed by such postmaster or deputy-postmaster, who are hereby required to transmit the same by the first or second post afterwards, to the said postmaster or postmasters-general, or their respective deputies at the said general post-office in London, who are hereby required to make an entry thereof in a proper book for that purpose, and to file and keep such memorandum along with the duplicate of the said acknowledgment, signed by the said messenger as aforesaid, to the intent that the same may be inspected or produced upon all proper occasions, by any person interested in such elections. II. [Provides that sheriffs and others to whom the writs are usually directed, shall give notice to the postmastersgeneral of the place where they shall hold their offices.] III. [Where sheriffs hold their office in or near the capital, such notice to be sent to the messenger of the great seal.] VI. And be it further enacted, that every person concerned in the transmitting or delivery of any such writ as aforesaid, who shall wilfully neglect, or delay to deliver, or transmit, any such writ, or accept any fee, or do any other matter or thing in violation of this act, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and may, upon any conviction, upon any indictment or information, in his majesty's Court of King's Bench, be fined and imprisoned, at the discretion of the court, for such misdemeanor. Note. By the third and fourth sections of this act, the fees of the messenger are abolished and new regulations made for his remuneration. It may here be remarked, that by 7 & 8 Geo. 4, c. 37, a pe nalty of ten pounds is inflicted upon candidates who shall give to any voter, or to any inhabitant of the county, city, town, borough, port, or place, any cockade, riband, or other mark of distinction. COSTS. 3 Jac. 1, c. 10. Be it enacted, &c., that all and every person and persons whatsoever, that from and after the end of this present session of parliament, shall be committed to the common or usual gaol within any county or liberty within this realm, by any justice or justices of the peace, for any offence or misdemeanor, to any such gaol, that the said person or persons so to be committed as aforesaid, having means or ability thereunto, shall bear their own reasonable charges for so conveying or sending them to the said gaol, and the charges also of such as shall be appointed to guard them to such gaol, and shall so guard them thither; and if any such person or persons so to be committed as aforesaid, shall refuse, at the time of their commitment and sending to the said gaol, to defray the said charges, or shall not then pay or bear the same, that then such justice or justices of the How the peace shall and may, by writing under his or their hand charges and seal, or hands and seals, give warrant to the constable shall be or constables of the hundred, or constable or tithing-man the prisoner levied, if of the tithing or township, where such person or persons refuse to shall be dwelling and inhabit, or from whence he or they pay them. shall be committed as aforesaid, or where he or they shall have any goods within the county or liberty, to sell such and so much of the goods and chattels of the said persons so to be committed, as by the discretion of the said justice or justices of the peace shall satisfy and pay the charges of such his or their conveying and sending to the said gaol, the appraisement to be made by four of the honest inhabitants of the parish or tithing where such goods or chattels shall remain and be, and the overplus of the money which shall be made thereof to be delivered to the party to whom the said goods may belong. Note. By this act, if the offender had no goods, the parishoners were liable to the costs. But this regulation was abolished by the following statute of Geo. 2, which repeals the act of James in this respect. It has not, however, been thought necessary to state the terms of the repeal, but only the substituted provision. 27 Geo. 2, C. 3. defray the expenses of Justices to grant a Be it enacted, &c., that from and Offenders after the 24th day of June, 1754, when any person, not not having having goods or money, within the county where he is sufficient to taken, sufficient to bear the charges of himself, and of those who convey him, is committed to gaol or the house of cor- them to rection by warrant from any justice or justices of the peace, goal, &c. then, on application by any constable or other officer who conveyed him, to any justice of the peace for the same warrant on county or place, shall upon oath examine into and ascertain the treathe reasonable expenses to be allowed such constable or surer of the county for other officer, and shall forthwith, without fee or reward, by payment warrant under his hand and seal, order the treasurer of the of the county or place to pay the same, which the said treasurer charges. is hereby required to do, as soon as he receives such warrant; and any sum so paid shall be allowed in his accounts. IV. Provided always, and it is hereby declared and In Middle sex, the overseers of enacted by the authority aforesaid, that nothing in this act the poor of contained shall extend to empower such court, or any the parish justice or justices of the peace, to make warrants or orders on the treasurer of the county of Middlesex for the payment of the expenses of the constable or other officer in conveying any person to gaol, where the charges. but that within the said county of Middlesex the expenses of the constable or other officer, occasioned by his conveying of any person to gaol by virtue of a warrant from any justice or justices of the peace, shall (after such expenses have been examined into upon oath, and allowed by such justice or justices, and for which no fee or reward shall be taken) be paid by the overseer or overseers of the poor of the parish or place where the said person was apprehended, who is and are hereby authorized and required to pay the same: and the sum or sums so paid shall be allowed in his or their accounts. Nete. The words omitted in the fourth section are repealed. When spe. cial consta bles shall be ap pointed in England to execute 41 Geo. 3, c. 78. [After reciting the act of Geo. 2.] And whereas it is expedient, in certain cases, that constables specially appointed by justices of the peace to execute any warrant or warrants, should be paid the reasonable charges and expenses incurred by them, as well in respect of searching for and apprehending offenders, as in conveying such offenders to gaol; and whereas it is also expedient that high constables should, in certain cases, be allowed the extraordinary charges and expenses by them incurred: may it therefore please, &c., and be it enacted, &c., that from and after the passing of this act, it shall and may be lawful to and for any two justices of the peace for any county, city, division, riding, or place, within that part of the united kingdom called England, when any person or persons shall have been nominated or appointed a special constable or special constables, for the purpose of executing any warrant or warrants in any case or cases of felony, to order, by any writing or writings under their hands, such proper allowances to be made to such special constable or special constables, for his or their expenses, trouble, and loss of time, in executing or endeavouring to execute such warrant or warrants, as to him or them shall seem reasonable and necessary; which orders shall be afterwards laid before loss of time, and submitted, on the oath of such special constable or conshall be sub- stables, to the consideration of the justices assembled at the next general sessions of the peace, to be holden for such county, city, division, riding, or place, as the case may be; and justices so assembled at such general quarter sessions, may allow or disallow the whole or any part or parts of such allowance so ordered by such justices issuing warrants in cases of felony, two justices may order proper allow ances to be made for their expenses, and which order mitted to quarter sessions. such warrant or warrants, and shall and may thereupon then order and direct the treasurer for such county, city, division, riding, or place, to pay such sum or sums of money to such special constable or special constables, as to the said justices so assembled shall seem reasonable and necessary; and such treasurer shall, and he is hereby authorized and required forthwith to pay the sum and sums of money so ordered and directed to be paid to the person or persons empowered to receive the same; and such treasurer shall be allowed the same in his accounts. manner may stables in curred in duties in II. And be it further enacted, that it shall and may be Two juslawful to and for any two justices of the peace, within their tices in like respective jurisdictions, to order and direct, by any writing order allow or writings under their hands, such reasonable and neces- ances to be sary allowances to be made to any high constable or high made to constables for any county, city, division, riding, hundred, high conor place, within that part of the united kingdom called England for England, for any extraordinary expenses incurred by him extraordior them in the execution of their respective duties, in any nary excase or cases of tumult, riot, or felony; and such orders penses inshall be laid before and submitted, on the oath of such high the execu constable or constables, to the consideration of the justices tion of their assembled at the next general quarter sessions of the peace cases of riot to be holden for such county, city, division, riding, or place, or felony, as the same may be; and the justices so assembled at such &c. general quarter sessions may allow or disallow the whole, or any part or parts of such allowance so ordered, and shall and may then order and direct the treasurer for such county, city, division, riding, or place, to pay such sum or sums of money to such high constable or high constables as to the said justices so assembled shall seem reasonable; and such treasurer shall, and he is hereby authorized and required forthwith, to pay the sum or sums of money so ordered and directed to be paid, to the person or persons empowered to receive the same, and such treasurer shall be allowed the same in his accounts. 7 Geo. 4, c. 64. expenses of XXII. With regard to the payment of the expenses of Courts may prosecutions for felony, be it enacted, that the court before order pay which any person shall be prosecuted or tried for any felony, ment of the is hereby authorized and empowered, at the request of the prosecu. prosecutor, or of any other person, who shall appear on re- tions, in all cognizance or subpoena to prosecute, or give evidence cases of against any person accused of any felony, to order payment felony. unto the prosecutor of the costs and expenses which such prosecutor shall incur in preferring the indictment, and also payment to the prosecutor and witnesses for the prosecution, of such sums of money as to the court shall seem reasonable and sufficient to reimburse such prosecutor and witnesses on recogni zance, where no bill is preferred. for the expenses they shall have severally incurred in attending before the examining magistrate or magistrates, and the grand jury, and in otherwise carrying on such prosecuAllowance tion, and also to compensate them for their trouble and to persons loss of time therein; and, although no bill of indictment be attending preferred, it shall still be lawful for the court, where any person shall, in the opinion of the court, bona fide have attended the court in obedience to any such recognizance or subpoena, to order payment unto such person, of such sum of money as to the court shall seem reasonable and sufficient to reimburse such person for the expenses which he or she shall have bona fide incurred, by reason of attending before the examining magistrate or magistrates, and by reason of such recognizance or subpoena, and also to compensate such person for trouble and loss of time; and the amount of the expenses of attending before the examining magistrate or magistrates, and the compensation for trouble and loss of time therein, shall be ascertained by the certificate of such magistrate or magistrates, granted before the trial or attendance in court, if such magistrate or magistrates shall think fit to grant the same; and the amount of all the other expenses, and compensation, shall be ascertained by the proper officer of the court, subject nevertheless to the regulations to be established in the manner hereinafter mentioned. Courts may ment of the prosecutions, in certain cases of misdemeanor. XXIII. And whereas, for want of power in the court to order pay order payment of the expenses of any prosecution for a expenses of misdemeanor, many individuals are deterred, by the expense, from prosecuting persons guilty of misdemeanors, who thereby escape the punishment due to their offences; for remedy thereof be it enacted, that where any prosecutor or other person shall appear before any court on recognizance or subpoena, to prosecute or give evidence against any persons indicted of any assault with intent to commit felony, of any attempt to commit felony, of any riot, of any misdemeanor for receiving any stolen property, knowing the same to have been stolen, of any assault upon a peace-officer in the execution of his duty, or upon any person acting in aid of such officer, of any neglect or breach of duty as a peaceofficer, of any assault committed in pursuance of any conspiracy to raise the rate of wages, of knowingly and designedly obtaining any property by false pretences, of wilful and indecent exposure of the person, of wilful and corrupt perjury, or of subornation of perjury, every such court is hereby authorized and empowered to order payment of the costs and expenses of the prosecutor and witnesses for the prosecution, together with a compensation for their trouble and loss of time, in the same manner as courts are hereinbefore authorized and empowered to order the same in cases of felony; and, although no bill of indictment be preferred, it shall still be lawful for the court where any per |