82

reased into the parish of

the

To the constable of , in the said county, and to the keeper of the house of correction, [or common gaol,] at in the said county. WHEREAS A. M. late of, &c. [tailor,] was on the of last, duly convicted before me [or us] J. P. [and S. P.] esquires, one [or two] of her Majesty's justices of the peace in and for the said county, upon the oath of A. O. overseer of the poor of the said parish of ,[or as the case is,] for that A. P. a poor child of the parish of aforesaid, in the county aforesaid, was put apprentice by the churchwardens and overseers of the poor of the said parish of by and with the consent of two of her Majesty's justices of the peace in and for the said county, unto the said A. M., then of the parish of [tailor,] and that the said A. M. afterwards in the county aforesaid, [or as the case is,] with the said A. P. his apprentice, and where he left him and wilfully abandoned him on removing his residence more than forty miles from the parish where the sume was when the said A. P. was bound apprentice as well as from the said parish of [or as the case is,] where he so wilfully abandoned him, without giving a written notice thereof to the churchwardens and overseers of the poor of the parish where the said apprentice then resided and was legally settled, fourteen days previous to mich removal, according to the directions of an act passed in the fifty-sixth year of the reign of his late Majesty King George the Third, intituled "An Act to regulate the Bucing of Parish Apprentices," whereby the said A. M. has forfeited the sum of 10 to be paid to the overseers of the poor of the said parish in which such offence has been emitted: And whereas on the day of, &c. we, [or the said justices,] did are our [or their] warrant to the constable of to levy the said sum of 101. by distress and sale of the goods and chattels of the said A. M. and to pay the same according to the direction of the said statute; and whereas it duly appears unto us J. P. and S. P. esquires, two (or me, J. P. esquire, one] of her Majesty's justices of the peace in and for the said county, as well upon the oath of the said constable of

has used his best endeavours to levy

atherwise, that he, the said constable of
thest sum of 101 on the goods and chattels of the said A. M. as aforesaid, but that
ficient distress can be found whereon to levy the same. These are therefore to re-
are you the constable of
aforesaid to convey the said A. M. to the said house of

and deliver him to the

ction common gaol] of the said county of
keeper thereof, together with this precept. And you the said keeper are hereby
ded to receive into your custody in the house of correction [or common gaol] him
4. M. and there safely to keep him for the space of
And for your so
Given under our hands and seals, [or my
in the said county, the day of
in the year of

thall be your sufficient warrant. band and seal, at

Lard one thousand eight hundred and

J. P.
S. P.

for discharging

The 56 Geo. III. c. 139, s. 15, gives the formal part of the conviction, (ante, No. (45.) Conviction 42), and states the offence thus:] in the county aforesaid, did put away and transfer parish apprentices 4. B., [or did discharge and dismiss from his service] a parish apprentice named G. H. then bound to the said C. D. as apprentice, without the consent of two justices of the peace in that behalf; contrary to the form of the statute made in the fifty-sixth year &e. [as in the form, ante, (No. 42), to the end.]

County of BE it remembered, that on the day of

in the

without consent of
two justices, on
. 10. (b)

56 Geo. 3, c. 139,

year (46.)Recognizance

of the reign of our Sovereign Lady Victoria, of the United Kingdom of appeal, on 56 Geo.

on giving notice of in the 3, c. 139, s. 17.(c) [carpen

Great Britain and Ireland Queen, Defender of the Faith, A. M. of
canty aforesaid, [yeoman,] and A. S. of [weaver,] and B. S. of
ter, personally came before me J. P. esquire, one of her Majesty's justices of the peace
for the said county, and acknowledged themselves to owe to our said Lady the Queen,
that is to say, the said A. M. the sum of 201., and the said A. S. and B. S. the sum of
164 each, of good and lawful money of Great Britain, to be made and levied of their
goods and chattels, lands and tenements respectively, to the use of our said sovereign Lady
the Queen, her heirs and successors, if the said A. M. shall make default in the condi-
tion following:

7. Forms.

Whereas the above bounden A. M. was on the

day of , instant, duly convicted before J. P. and K. P. esquires, two of her Majesty's justices of the peace in and for the said county, upon the oath of O. P. overseer of the poor of the parish of in the said county, [or, as the case may be,] for that A. P. a poor child of the parish of in the county aforesaid, was put apprentice by the churchwardens and overseers of the poor of the said parish of by and with the consent of two of her Majesty's justices of the peace in and for the said county, unto the said A. M. then of the said parish of and that the said A. M. afterwards removed into the said pa rish of W. with the said A. P. his apprentice, and where he left her and wilfully abandoned her on the , removing his residence more than forty miles from the parish where the same was when the said A. P. was bound apprentice, as well as from the said parish of W. where he so wilfully abandoned her without giving notice thereof to the churchwardens and overseers of the poor of the parish, where the said apprentice the resided and was legally settled, fourteen days previous to such removal: Now the condi tion of this recognizance is such, that if the above bound A. M. shall well and truly ap pear at the next general [or quarter] session of the peace to be holden in and for the said county, and then and there enter and prosecute an appeal against the said con viction, and abide the judgment of the Court upon such appeal, and pay the costs which may be awarded thereon, and not depart without leave of the Court, then this recogni zance to be void.

Acknowledged before me,

(47.) Register of a Parish Apprentice, under 42 Geo. III. c. 46.(a)

J. P.

(48.) Conviction

c. 46, s. 2. (b)

under 42 Geo. 3, thousand eight hundred and BE it remembered, that on the day of in the year of our Lord one , A. B. is convicted before us, two of her Majesty's justices of the peace for the [specifying the offence and the time and place when and where committed, as the case may be,] contrary to an act made in the forty second year of the reign of King George the Third, intituled [here set forth the title of the act.] Given under our hands and seals the day and year above

mentioned.

(b) Ibid.

Apprehension of Offenders, see post, "Arrest."

Approver.

AN Approver (probator) is a person indicted of treason or felony, and in Who is, &c.
prison for the same, who, upon his arraignment, before any plea pleaded, doth
confess the indictment, and takes a corporal oath to reveal all treasons and
felonies that he knoweth of, and therefore prays a coroner, before whom he is
to enter his appeal or accusation against those that are partners in the crime
contained in the indictment. (3 Inst. 129.)

This accusation of himself and oath makes his accusation of another person of the same crime to amount to an indictment; and if his partners are conricted, he shall have his pardon of course. (Id. 129, 130.)

But justices of the peace cannot take cognizance hereof, because they have

no anthority by their commission to assign a coroner. (Id. 130.)

And besides, as it is in the discretion of the Court whether they will suffer Practice as to, obone to be an approver, this method of late hath been seldom practised; and solete.

in many cases we have what seems to amount to the same by statute, where pardon is assured to offenders, on discovering and convicting their accomplices (4 Bla. Com. 330; statutes 4 & 5 Will. III. c. 8; 6 & 7 Will. III.

c. 17; 10 & 11 Will. III. c. 23, s. 5; 5 Anne, c. 31, s. 4; 29 Geo. II. c.

30.) The rewards given by these statutes were abolished by 58 Geo. III. c. Reward to. 70; but by 7 Geo. IV. c. 64, s. 32, the Court have now a discretionary

power of rewarding those who have been acting in the apprehension of offend

. See post, "Rewards," Vol. V.

mitted to bail.

It is the duty of magistrates, in all cases, to commit an accomplice, and not Should not be adto admit him to bail, notwithstanding it may be intended to call the accomplice as a witness on the trial. (Rex v. Beardmore, 7 Car. & P. 497.)

The practice of the London police-offices is in conformity to this principle, for it is not their custom to release an accomplice who proposes to give evidence as a witness against his associates, but to commit him for the felony; in which case, upon his fully disclosing the facts upon the trial, he will probably receive his pardon; in order, however, to avoid collusion in the testimony between the parties suspected, the accomplice is usually committed to the house of correction and the others to the county prison. (See 1 Chit. C. L. 83; Rudd's case, 1 Leach, 120; 1 Cowp. 336, S. C.)

The engagement of a magistrate to an accomplice, that if he will give his Accomplice's evidence he will experience favour, is merely in the nature of a recommen- evidence. dation to mercy, for no authority is given to a justice of the peace to pardon an offender, and to tell him that he shall be a witness against others. He is not therefore assured of his pardon, but gives his evidence in vinculis, in custody, and it depends upon his behaviour whether he shall or shall not be admitted to mercy. A justice has no authority to select whom he pleases to pardon or to prosecute; and a prosecutor himself has even less power or rather pretence to select than a justice of the peace. It is merely an equitable claim to the mercy of the crown, from the magistrate's express or implied promise of an indemnity upon certain conditions of a most candid dis

closure.

An accomplice admitted as king's evidence, and performing the condition on which he is admitted as a witness, is not entitled as matter of right, to be exempt from prosecution for other offences with which he is charged, but it will be matter in the discretion of the judge whether he will recommend him for a pardon or not. (R. v. Lee, Russ. & Ry. C. C. R. 361; R. v. Brunton, Russ. & Ry. C. C. R. 454; R. v. Duce, 1 Burn's Just. by Chetwynd, 212.) But the judges will not, in general, admit an accomplice as king's evidence, although applied to for that purpose by the counsel for the prosecution, if it appear that he is charged with any other felony than that on the trial of which he is to be a witness. (2 C. & P. 411.)

The confirmation of an accomplice ought to be as to some matter which Confirmation of goes to connect the prisoner with the transaction, and it would be highly dan

gerous to act on the evidence of an accomplice unconfirmed with respect to

Approver.

the party accused. (Reg. v. Dyke, 8 Car. & P. 261; S. P. Reg. v. Farlar, 8 Car. & P. 106; R. v. Noakes, 5 C. & P. 526.)

But it seems that in strict law a jury may if they please act upon the evidence of an accomplice, without any confirmation of his statement. (R. v. Hastings, 7 C. & P. 152.) And if an accomplice be confirmed in his evidence against one prisoner, but not confirmed with respect to another, both may be convicted, if the jury think the accomplice worthy of credit. (R. v. Dawber and others, 3 Stark. N. P. C. 34; and see R. v. Jones, 2 Camp. 131.) It has been held that if an accomplice be confirmed as to the particulars of the story, he does not require confirmation as to the person charged. (R. v. Birkett, R. & R. 252.) But this doctrine no longer prevails, as such confirmation proves only the participation of the accomplice. (R. v. Webb, 6 C. & P. 595; R. v. Wilkes, 7 C. & P. 172; R. v. Dyke, 8 C. & P. 261; R. v. Farlan, 8 C. & P. 108.) But where upon an indictment against principal and accessaries, the case against the principal was proved by an accomplice, who was confirmed as to the accessaries, but not as to the principal, the jury were ordered to acquit the prisoners. (R. v. Wells & al. M. & M. 326; R. v. Moore, 7 C. & P. 270.) In the case of felony the testimony of the wife of an accomplice is not such evidence as a jury ought to rely upon as confirmation of the statement of the accomplice. (R. v. Neale, 7 C. & P. 168.) A prisoner who employed another person to harbour a felon, may be convicted on the uncorroborated testimony of the person who harboured him. (R. v. Jarvis, 2 M. & Rob. 40.)

Arbitration, see post, “ Award.”

Armour and Arms, see ante, "Affray;" "Fire Arms," Vol. III.; "Stores," Vol. V.

Armorial Bearings, see "Taxes, Vol. VI.

Army, see "Military Law," Vol. V.

Arrack, see "Excise," Vol. II.

What.

Standing in irons.

Arraignment.

IN felonies it is absolutely necessary the prisoner should attend his trial personally, though it is not so in misdemeanors. See ante, 177.

When an offender comes into Court, or is brought in by process, sometimes of capias, and sometimes of habeas corpus directed to the gaoler of another prison, the first thing that follows thereupon is his arraignment. (2 Hale, 216.)

Now arraignment is nothing else but calling the offender to the bar of the Court, to answer the matter charged upon him. (Id.)

The prisoner, on his arraignment, though under an indictment of the highest crime, must be brought to the bar without irons and all manner of shackles and bonds, unless there be a danger of escape, and then he may be brought with irons. (2 Hale, 219; 4 Bla. Com. 323; 2 Hawk. c. 28, s. 1.) But at this day they usually come with their shackles upon their legs, for fear of an escape, but stand at the bar unbound, till they receive judgment. (2 Hale, 219.)

A distinction, however, has been taken as to the standing in irons, &c. between the time of the arraignment and the trial, and it seems to be the better opinion that the prisoner is not entitled to have his fetters taken off until after he has pleaded. (Layer's case, 16 St. Trials, 94, 99; R. v. Waite, 1 Leach, 26; 2 East's P. C. 570; 2 Hale, 219, n. b.; 4 Bla. Com. 322, n. 2, Chit. Ed.)

Arraignment.

There is no necessity that a prisoner, at the time of his arraignment, Holding up hand, should hold up his hand at the bar, or be commanded so to do; for this is only a ceremony for making known the person of the offender to the Court; and if he answer that he is the same person it is all one. (2 Hawk. c. 28, 2; R. v. Radcliffe, 1 Bla. Rep. 3; Fost. 40, S. C.; 4 Bla. Com. 323; Lord Stafford's case, T. Raym. 408.)

It is not usual at all to require this of a peer. (2 Hale, 219, n. a. ; 2 Hawk. Peers.

c. 28, s. 2.)

A peeress, when about to be tried by her peers, may be arraigned kneeling,

and rise after joining issue. (1 Leach, 146.)

After this the indictment should be read to the prisoner distinctly in English, Reading indictthat he may understand the charge. (2 Hale, 219; Dalt. c. 185.)

The indictment is, it seems, to be read, although the defendant has had a copy delivered to him. (R. v. Hensey, 1 Burr. 643.) The mode in which it is read is, after saying "A. B. hold up your hand," to proceed, "You stand indicted by the name of A. B., late of, &c., for that you, on, &c." and then to go through the whole of the indictment. (Dalt. c. 185; post, "Sessions," Vol. V.; Trial," Vol. VI.; Cro. C. C. 7.) The indictment is to be slowly read if defendant wish it. (2 Leach, 711.)

ment.

Deaf and dumb prisoner.

if guilty, &c.

As to the arraignment of a deaf and dumb prisoner, see " Mute," Vol. V. After the indictment is read, the clerk of the arraigns says, "How say you, A. B. are you guilty or not guilty?" (2 Hale, 119; R. v. Hensey, 1 Burr, Asking defendant 613; C. C. C. 7.) Upon this, if the prisoner confesses the charge the confession is recorded, and nothing is done till judgment. (4 Harg. St. Trials, 779; Dalt, c.185.) But if he denies it, he answers, "Not guilty," upon which the derk of assize, or clerk of the arraigns, replies, that the prisoner is guilty, and that he is ready to prove the accusation. (Id.; 4 Bla. Com.

3-39)

Affer issue is thus joined, the clerk usually proceeded to ask the prisoner "How will you be tried?" to which the prisoner replied, "By God and my country;" to which the clerk, in the humane presumption of the prisoner's innocence, rejoins, "God send you a good deliverance." (2 Hale, 219; 4 Ble. Com 341; Cro. C. C. 7.)

Though the prisoner persists in saying he will be tried by his King and his country, and refuses to put himself on his trial in the ordinary way, it not invalidate a conviction. (R. v. Davis, Gow, C. N. P. 219, and notes there.)

And these unnecessary forms after the plea of not guilty are abolished by 7 & 8 Geo. IV. c. 28, s. 1, which directs that when a prisoner shall plead not guilty, he shall by such plea, without any further form, be deemed to have put himself on the country for trial, and the Court shall, in the usual manner, order a jury for the trial of such prisoner accordingly.

This being done, he writes on the indictment "po. se," for ponit se, meaning that the defendant put himself upon the country, and thus the form of

the arraignment concludes. (2 Hale, 119; Cro. C. C. 7.)

As to standing mute and allowing the plea of not guilty to be entered Standing mute. thereon, see 7 & 8 Geo. IV. c. 28, s. 2, post, " Mute," "Plea," Vol. V.

In prosecutions for treason, as the defendant cannot be tried immediately Postponement of after arraignment, he is remanded by rule to be brought up again at some

fixed period to take his trial. (4 Hurg. St. Trials, 778.)

trial.

It was usual to postpone the arraignment of the prisoner on an indictment Postponement of for murder, at common law, until a year and a day had elapsed, unless the arraignment. evidence were very clear against him, and no appeal depending. (2 Hawk. c. 28, s. 1.) But now, by 3 Hen. VII. c. 1, the justices shall proceed to try

A