and Quorum, in the County wherein he has his office; but he has nevertheless been generally considered rather in the light of a minister, than a Judge, on account of the special charge in the commission-" Quod ad dies, et loca predicta, brevia, præcepta, processus, et indictamenta predicta coram te, et dictis socüs tuis venire facias." No person shall be appointed to the office How apof custos rotulorum within any shire, but such pointed. as shall have a bill signed with the King's hand for the same; which shall be a warrant to the Lord Chancellor to make a Commission, assigning the same person to be Custos Rotulorum, until the King hath by another bill appointed one other person to have the office; and the Custos Rotulorum shall exercise the office by himself, or his deputy, learned in the laws, according to the tenor of their commission-"* But the Archbishop of York, the Bishop of Durham, the Bishop of Ely, and all to whom the King or his progenitors, by letters patent, have granted any liberty to make any of the said officers Custos Rotulorum, shall enjoy the same liberty.† The Custos Rotulorum, by virtue of his To attend place, having the custody of the rolls of Ses- the Sessions. sions, ought to attend the Sessions by him * 37. Hen. 8. c. 1.-1. Wm. & Ma, Stat. 1. c. 21. † 37. Hen. 8. c. 1. self, or his Deputy, who is the Clerk of the Peace.* He is directed by Statute" to appoint a sufficient person residing within the County, to execute the office of Clerk of the Peace, by himself or sufficient Deputy, such Deputy being admitted by the Custos Rotulorum, so of ten as the office of Clerk of the Peace shall be vacant.† But he shall not sell the said place, directly or indirectly, under the penalty of losing his said place of Custos Rotulorum, and forfeiting double the value of what he shall have taken for the same, to be recovered by him that will sue, to his own use, in any of the Courts of Westminster."‡ ་ The Justices THE JUSTICES, by whom the Session is to be holden, are, of course, the next persons, after the Custos Rotulorum, to be noticed. How many Session. rum. It requires at least two Justices to compose necessary to a Session, whereof one must be of the QuoThis appears from the very words of their Commission, which are, so far as they relate to the present subject of consideration, as follows. “We have also assigned you, and 66 66 every two, or more, of you, of whom any one (Quorum unus) of you the said A. B. "C. D. &c. we will shall be one, our Jus * Cro. Cir. Com. 34. † 37. Hen. 8. c. 1. tices to enquire the truth more fully, by the "oath of good and lawful men of the afore" said County, by whom the truth of the matter shall be better known, of all and "all manner of felonies, poisonings, enchant"ments, sorceries, trespasses, forestallings, "regratings, engrossings, and extortions, "whatsoever; and of all, and singular,, other "crimes and offences of which the Justices "of our Peace may or ought lawfully to enquire, &c. &c.-And to hear and determine all, and singular, the felonies, poisonings, "&c. &c. aforesaid, &c. &c. according to the "laws and statutes of England, &c.-And the "same offenders, and every of them for their "offences, by fines, ransoms, amerciaments, forfeitures, and other means, as according "to the law and custom of England, or forin "of the ordinances and statutes aforesaid, it "has been accustomed, or ought to be done, "to chastise and punish. "And therefore we command you and every "of you, that to keeping the peace, ordinances, statutes, and all and singular other the 66 premises, you diligently apply yourselves ; "and that at certain days and places, which 'you, or any such two or more of you as "aforesaid, shall appoint for these purposes, "into the premises ye make enquiries; and "all and singular the premises hear and de"termine, aud perform and fulfil them in the "aforesaid form, doing therein what to justice 66 or more of you, as aforesaid, shall make "known to him, he cause to come before you, or such two or more of you, as aforesaid, "so many and such good and lawful men of "his Bailiwick, (as well within liberties as without) by whom the truth of the matter in "the premises shall be the better known and inquired into." • Such then is the foundation of the authority by which any two Justices of a County, Division, Riding, or Liberty, one being of the quorum, may hold a Session of the Peace. Justices of Formerly it was customary to appoint only the Quorum. a select number of Justices, eminent for their skill and discretion, to be of the quorum; but now the practice is to advance almost all of them to that dignity, naming them all over again in the quorum clause, except perhaps only some one inconsiderable person for the sake of propriety.* Indeed the advancement of learning in modern times, made any distinction of this kind unnecessary, long before it was removed in any *Black. Com. 351. ་ instance by legislative provision, or even by the extension just noticed in the Commissions. The first statute which recognized this alteration, was in the 26th of Geo. 2.* which enacted that no act, order, adjudication, warrant, indenture of apprenticeship, or other instrument, done or executed by two or more Justices, which doth not express that one or more of them is of the quorum (although the Statutes respectively require that one of the Justices shall be of the quorum) shall be impeached, set aside, or vacated for that defect only. And by a subsequent statute. In cities, boroughs, towns corporate, franchises, and liberties, which have only one Justice of the quorum, all acts, orders, adjudications, warrants, indentures of apprenticeship, or other instruments, done or executed by two or more Justices, qualified to act therein, shall be valid, although neither of the said Justices shall be of the quorum. It may therefore now be fairly admitted, that any two, or more, of the persons named in the Commission of the peace for any County, Division, Riding, or Liberty, are competent to hold a Session for the same, respectively, having complied with the requisite forms prescribed by divers statutes, all of which are directed to secure three objects; viz, that the * 26. Geo. 2. c. 27. † 7. Geo. 3. c. 21. |