hue and cry against murderers, manslayers, thieves, and robbers.

Of this office of constable there were high constables and petty constables; high constables, two of every hundred; petty constables, one in every village. They were in ancient time all appointed by the sheriff of the shire yearly, in the court called the Sheriff's Turn, and there they received their oath. But at this day they are appointed and sworn either in the Law-day of that precinct wherein they serve, or else the high constables in the sessions of the peace.

The Sheriff's Turn is a court very ancient, incident to his office, and began upon this occasion.

At the first the Conqueror taking upon him to do justice in his own person, found that he could not attend to it, and hereupon erected his Court called the King's Bench, appointing men studied in the knowledge of his laws to execute justice as substitutes to him in his name; which men are to be named Justiciarii ad placita coram Rege tenenda assignati: one of them being Capitalis Justiciarius called to his place by the King's writ; the rest in number as pleaseth the king, (of late but three Justiciarii,) holding by patent.

In this court every man above twelve years old was to take his oath of allegiance to the King were he Norman or Saxon: also, if he were a freeman and not bond,2 he was to put in pledges for his allegiance to the King: if he were bond, then his lord was to answer for him. In this court constables were appointed and

1 The printed text has: "it was erected by the Conqueror and called the King's Bench."

2 "bound" in MSS.; but I take the meaning to be bondsman, and have adopted the modern spelling.

sworn; breakers of the peace punished by fine and imprisonment; the parties beaten or hurt recompensed upon complaints with damages; all appeals of murder, maim, or robbery, decided; contempts against the crown, public annoyances against the people, treasons and felonies, heard and determined; and all other matters of wrongs for lands or goods between party and party.1

But the King seeing the realm grow daily more populous and that this one court could not dispatch all, did first ordain that his marshal should keep a court for controversies arising within the verge, which is within twelve miles of the chief tunnel2 of the court.

But this Court did but ease the King's Bench in matters only concerning debts, covenants, and such like, of those of the King's household only, never dealing in breaches of the peace or concerning the crown by any other persons, or any pleas of lands. Insomuch as the King, for farther ease, having divided this kingdom into counties, and committing the charge of every county to a count, comes, or earl, did direct that those earls, within their limits, should look to the matters of the peace, and take charge of the constables, and reform public annoyances, and swear the people to the crown, and take pledges of the freemen for their allegiance. For which purpose the count did once every year keep a court, at which all the people of the county except women, clergy, children under twelve, and aged above sixty, did appear to give or renew their pledges

1 The Sloane MS. in this place shows the hand of a corrector who was aware the Sheriff's Turn was not a substitute for the King's Bench, by making sundry clumsy additions to the text as it stands in Harl. MS.

2" tenell is the word used in 2 stat. 13 Rich. II. c. 3., and the translation in Ruffhead's Statutes is "lodging."

of allegiance. And that court was called Visus franci plegii, a View of the Pledges of Freemen, or, Turna Comitatus.

At which meeting or court there fell, by occasion of so great assemblies, much bloodshed, scarcity of victuals, mutinies, and the like mischiefs which are incident to the congregations of people; by which the King was moved to allow a subdivision of every county into hundreds, and every hundred to have a court, whereunto the people of that hundred should be assembled

twice a year for survey of pledges, and use of that justice that was exercised in the former grand court for the county and the count or earl appointed a bailiff under him to keep these hundred courts.

But in the end, the Kings of this realm found it necessary to have all execution of justice immediately from themselves, by such as should be more bound than earls were to that service and readily subject to correction for their negligence or abuse, and therefore took to themselves the appointing of sheriffs yearly in every county, calling them vicecomites, and to them directed such writs and precepts for executing justice in the county as fell out needful to have dispatched, committing to the sheriff custodiam comitatus; by which the earls were spared of their toil and labour, and it was laid upon the sheriffs. So as now the sheriff doth all the King's business in the county; that is to say, he is judge of this grand court for the county, and it is now called the Sheriff's Turn; and also of all hundred courts not given away from the crown.

He hath another court, called the County court belonging to his office, wherein men may sue monthly for debts or damages under forty shillings, and may have

writs to replevy their cattle distrained and impounded by others, and there try the cause of the distress; and by a writ called justicies, a man may sue for any sum; and in this court the sheriff, by the King's writ called an exigent, doth proclaim men sued in courts above to render their bodies, or else they be outlawed.

The sheriff doth serve all the King's writs of process, be they summons or attachments, to compel men to appear to answer the law; and all writs of execution of the law according to judgments of superior courts, for taking of men's goods, lands, or bodies, as the case requireth.

iOf these hundred courts there is a jurisdiction known and certain; and that is, first, to deal in such things as the sheriff in his Turn might do. And they be in common speech called Law-days or Leets, to be kept twice a year. But the content, precinct, and

limit of the court is uncertain, for that all hundreds be not equal nor guided by any certain rule of content, but long since allotted out and by use to this day well known in their bounds, some containing in them divers villages, some fewer.

The hundred courts were most of them granted to religious men, noblemen, and others of great place. And also many men of good quality have obtained by charter, and some by usage, within manors of their own, the liberty of keeping Law-days, and to use there the justice appertaining to a Law-day.

Whosoever is lord of the hundred courts is to appoint the two high constables of the hundred, and also is to appoint in every village a petty constable, with a tithing man to attend in his absence, and to be at 1 This is not in the printed text, and does not seem well fitted in.

his command when he is present, in all services of his office, for his assistance.

There have been by use and statute law, besides surveying pledges of freemen, and giving the oath of allegiance, and making constables, many additions of power and authority given to the stewards of Leets and Law-days to be put in ure in their courts. As for example, they may punish innkeepers, victuallers, bakers, brewers, butchers, poulterers, fishmongers, and tradesmen of all sorts, selling at under weight or measure, or at excessive prices, or things unwholesome, or ill made, in deceit of the people. They may punish those that stop, straiten, or annoy the highways, or do not, according to the provision enacted, repair or amend them, or divert water courses, or destroy fry of fish, or use engines or nets to take deer, conies, pheasants, fowl, or partridges, or build pigeon houses (not being lord of the manor, nor parson of the church). They may also take presentment upon oath of the twelve sworn jury before them of all manner of felonies, but they cannot try the malefactors; only they must by indenture deliver over these presentments of felony to the judges, when they come their circuits into that

county.

All these things before mentioned are in use and exercised as law at this day, concerning the sheriffs' Lawdays and Leets, and the offices of high constables, petty constables, and tithing men; howbeit, with some further additions by statute laws, laying charge upon them of collecting taxation for the poor, for soldiers, and the like, and dealing without corruption, and the like.

Conservators of the peace in ancient times were certain which the King in every county did assign to