IMPRESSING men. The power of impressing seamen for the sea-service, by the King's commission, has been a matter of some dispute, and submitted to ' with great reluctance, though it has very clearly and learnedly been shown by Sir Michael Foster, that the practice of im pressing, and granting power to the Ad miralty for that purpose, is of a very an cient date, and has been uniformally con tinued, by a regular series of precedents, to the present time, whence he concludes it to be part of the common law. The dif ficulty arises from hence, that no statute has expressly declared, this power to be in the crown, though many of them very strongly imply it. The statute 2 Richard II. c. 4, speaks of mariners being arrested and retained for the king's service, as of a thing well known and practised without dispute, and provides a remedy against their running away. By statute 2 and 3 Philip and Mary, c. 16, if any waterman, who uses the river Thames, shall hide himself during the execution of any com mission for pressing for the king's service, he is liable to heavy penalties. By sta tute 5 Elizabeth, c. 6, no fisherman shall be taken by the queen's commission to serve as a mariner; but, the commission shall be first brought to two justices of the peace, inhabiting near the sea coast where the mariners are to be taken, to the intent that the justices may choose out and return such a number of able bo died men as in the commission are con tained, to serve her majesty. And by sta
tute 7 and 8 William, c. 21 ; 2 Anne, c. 6 4 and 5 Anne, c. 19; 13 George II. c. 17, especial protections are allowed to seamen in particular circumstances, to prevent them from being impressed. All which do most evidently imply a power of impressing to reside somewhere ; and if any where, it must, from the spirit of our constitution, as well as from the fre quent mention of the king's commission, reside in the crown alone. The Livery men of London claim an exemption from being impressed; but, by a late decision ofthe Court of King's Bench, this exemp tion is denied. Landmen, entering into the merchant service, and apprentices, are exempt for two years from the im press, and all apprentices to the sea-ser vice under eighteen.