treafury, revenue, cuftoms, and fines, are here tried and determined.-Befide the officers already mentioned, there belong to the Exchequer, the king's remembrancer, who takes and ftates all accounts of the revenue, customs, excife, parliamentary aids and fubfidies, &c. except the accounts of the theriffs and their officers. The lord treafurer's remembrancer, whose business it is to make out proceffes against fheriffs, receivers of the revenue, &c.

For putting the laws effectually in execution, an high fheriff is annually appointed for every county (except Weftmorland and Cumberland) by the king; whofe office is both minifterial and judicial. He is to execute the king's mandates, and all writs directed to him out of the king's courts of justice; to impannel juries, to bring caufes and malefactors to trial, to fee the fentences both in civil and criminal affairs, executed. And at the affize to attend on the judges, and guard them all the time they are in his county. It is alfo part of his office to collect all public fines, diftreffes, and amerciaments, into the Exchequer, or where the king fhall appoint, and to make fuch payments out of them as his majefty fhall think proper.

As his office is judicial, he keeps a court, called the county court, which is held by the fheriff, or his under-fheriffs, to hear and determine all civil causes in the county under forty fhillings; this however is no court of record; but the court, formerly called the fheriff's turn, was one; and the king's leet, thro' all the county for in this court, enquiry was made into all criminal offences against the common law, where by the ftatute law there was no reftraint. This court, however, has been long fince abolished.

Under the fheriff are various officers, as the underfheriff, clerks, ftewards of courts, bailiffs, (in London called ferjeants) conftables, gaolers, beadles, &c.

The next officer to the fheriff, is the juftice of peace, feveral of whom are commiffioned for each county and to them is intrufted the power of putrine creat part of the ftatute law in execution in rela

tion to the highways, the poor, vagrants, treafons, felonies, riots, the preservation of the game, &c. &c. and they examine and commit to prifon all who break or difturb the peace, and difquiet the king's fubjects. In order to punish the offenders, they meet every quarter at the county-town, when a jury of 12 men, called the grand inqueft of the county, is fummoned to appear. This jury, upon oath, is to enquire into the cafes of all delinquents, and to prefent them by bill guilty of the indictment, or not guilty: the juf tices commit the former to gaol for their trial at the next affizes, and the latter are acquitted. This is called the quarter-feffions for the county. The juftice of peace ought to be a perfon of great good fenfe, fagacity, and integrity, and to be not without fome knowlege of the law; for as much power is lodged in his hands, and as nothing is fo intoxicating, without thefe qualifications he will be apt to make mistakes, and to ftep beyond his authority, for which he is liable to be called to an account at the court of king's bench.

There are alfo in each county two coroners, who are to enquire by a jury of neighbours, how and by whom any perfon came by a violent death, and to enter it on record as a plea of the crown.

The civil government of cities is a kind of fmall independent policy of itfelf; for every city hath, by charter from the king, a jurifdiction within itfelf to judge in all matters civil and criminal; with this reftraint only, that all civil caufes may be removed from their courts to the higher courts at Weltminiter; and all offences that are capital, are committed to the judge of the affize. They are conftituted with a mayor, aldermen, and burg. ffes, who together make the corporation of the city, and hold a court of judicature, where the mayor prefides as judge. They likewife, when affembled in council, can make laws, called bye-laws, for the government of the city. And here the mayor, aldermen, and cor non-council refemble the king, lords and communs in parliament.

The

The government of incorporated boroughs is much after the fame manner; in fome there is a mayor, and in others two bailiffs. All which, during their mayoralty or magiftracy, are justices of the peace within their libervies, and confequently efquires.

For the better government of villages, the lords of the foil or manor (who were formerly called barons) have generally a power to hold courts, called courtsleet, and courts baron, where their tenants are obliged to attend and receive juice. The bufinefs of courtsleet is chiefly to preint and punish nuifances; and at courts baron, he conveyances and alienations of the copyhold tenants are enrolled, and they are admitted to their eftares on a defcent or purchase.

There are alfo high conftables appointed for the divifions called hundreds, and petty conflables in every parish; whole bufinefs it is to keep the keep the peace, and in cafe of quarrels to fearch for and take up all rioters, felons, &c. and to keep them in the prifon or in fafe cuftody, till they can be brought before a juttice of the peace; and in this he is affifted by another officer, called the tithing-man. It is likewise the business of thefe officers to put in execution within their district, all warrants that are brought them from the juftice of the peace.

Befide thefe, there are courts of confcience fettled in many parts of England for the relief of the poor, in the recovery or payment of fmall debts, not exceeding forty fhillings.

The rights of individuals are fo attentively confidered under the British government, that the fubject may, without the leaft danger, fue his fovereign, or thole who act in his name, and under his authority; he may do this in open court, where the king may be Caft, and be obliged to pay damages to his fubject. He cannot take away the liberty of the leaft individual, unless he has by fome illegal act forfeited his right to liberty, or except when the ftate is in danger, and the reprefentatives of the people think the public

fafety

fafety makes it neceffary that he fhould have the power of confining perfons, on a fufpicion of guilt: but this power is always given him only for a limited time. The king has a right to pardon, but neither he nor the judges, to whom he delegates his authority, can condemn a man as a criminal, except he be first found guilty, by twelve men, who must be his peers or his equals. That the judges may not be influenced by the king, or his minifters, to mifreprefent the cafe to the jury, they have their falaries for life, and not during the pleasure of their fovereign. Neither can the king take away, or endanger the life of any fubject, without trial, and the perfons being firft chargeable with a capital crime, as treafons, murder, felony, or fome other act injurious to fociety: nor can any fubje&t be deprived of his liberty for the highest crime, till fome proof of his guilt be given upon oath before a magiftrate; and he has then a right to infift upon his being brought, the firft opportunity, to a fair trial, or to be reftored to liberty on giving bail for his appearance. If a man is charged with a capital offence, he muft not undergo the ignominy of being tried for his life, till the evidences of his guilt are laid before the grand jury of the town or county in which the fact is alleged to be committed, and not without twelve of them agreeing to a bill of indictment againft him. If they do this, he is to ftand a fecond trial before twelve other men, whofe opinion is definitive. In fome cafes, the man (who is always fuppofed innocent till there is fufficient proof of his guilt) is allowed a copy of his indictment, in order to help him to make his defence. He is alfo furnished with the pannel, or lift of the jury, who are his true and proper judges, that he may learn their characters, and difcover whether they want abilities, or whether they are prejudiced against him. He may in open court peremptorily object to twenty of the number*, and to as many more as he can give The party may challenge thirty-five in cafe of treafon.

reafon

reafon for their not being admitted as his judges; till at laft twelve unexceptionable men, the neighbours of the party accused, or living near the place where the fuppofed fact was committed, are fworn, to give a true verdict according to the evidence produced in court. By challenging the jury, the prifoner prevents all poffibility of bribery, or the influence of any fuperior power: by their living near the place where the fact was committed, they are fuppofed to be men who know the prisoner's course of life, and the credit of the evidence. Thefe only are the judges, from whose sentence the prifoner is to expect life or death, and upon their integrity and understanding, the lives of all that are brought in danger ultimately depend; and from their judgment there lies no appeal: they are therefore to be all of one mind, and after they have fully heard the evidence, are to be confined without meat, drink, or candle, till they are unanimous in acquitting or condemning the prifoner. Every juryman is therefore invested with a folemn and awful truft: if he without evidence fubmits his opinion to that of any of the other jury, or yields in complaifance to the opinion of the judge; if he neglects to examine with the utmost care; if he queftions the veracity of the witneffes, who may be of an infamous character; or after the most impartial hearing has the least doubt upon his mind, and yet joins in condemning the perfon accufed; he will wound his own confcience, and bring upon himself the complicated guilt of perjury and murder. The freedom of Englishmen confifts in its being out of the power of the judge on the bench to injure them, for declaring

"Some jurymen, fays Mr, Clare, in his Fnglish Liberties, may be apt to fay, that if we could not find as the judge directs, we may come into trouble, the judge may fine us, &c.. I an-. fwer, no judge dares offer any fuch thing; you are the proper judges of the matters before you, and your fouls are at itake; you ought to act freely, and are not bound, though the court de

"mand