It is difficult to discover upon what principle the selection of the cases of misdemeanor in respect of which the court is empowered to award costs under the above statute was made. Subsequent statutes have however extended the power to indictments for concealment of birth, fraudulently procuring the defilemeht of women or girls under twenty-one, assaults upon workhouse officers, or relieving officers, neglecting to provide for, or assaulting apprentices or servant's; under the statute 14 & 15 Vicl c. 19, comprising serious assaults on the person, being found by night armed witlointent to commit burglary, &e. ; carnally knowing and abusing girls ; abduction of unmarried girls under sixteen; conspiring to charge any person with felony, and conspiracy to commit felony; and maaults prosecuted by direction of justices. Other cases might with justice be included ; and it musty be a question whether, under certain the power ought not even to be extended to tho expenses of the prisoner's witnesses. The costs are taxed by the officer of the court, and paid by the treasurer of the county, who is repaid by the Treasury out of the consolidated fund. (15 & 16 Vict. c. 82.) .
Offences punishable WE Summary Conviction.
It would be inconsistent with the limits of the present article to give a detailed account of the various offences punishable on summary conviction, in number far exceeding those which arc indictable. They relate, however, principally to ale and beer houses, apprentices, petty assaults, the Customs and Excise, distresses, drunkenness, friendly societies, game, hawkers and pedlars, highways, turnpike roads, petty thefts not amounting to larceny, malicious injuries to property, pawn brok ers, rail ways, stage and hackney carriages, servaists, vagrants, weights and meantime, and the numerous offences punishable under the Metro politan Police Acts.
Summary proceedings, except in the case of contempts of the supe rior courts of justice which those Courts have been immemorially used to punish by attachment), were wholly unknown to the conunou law. Their institution appears to have originated partly in the neces sity for relieving the ordinary tribunals from the immense increase of labour which would otherwise have been cast upon them, owing to (ho multiplicity of new offences of a trivial kind which were yearly created for the protection of society as it advanced in population and civilisa tion, and partly in the desire to do more speedy justice in the case of such trifling offences than would have been possible had they been made indictable. In the ease of indictable offences a party cannot in general, as before observed, be put upon his trial until a true bill has been found against him by a grand jury, and cannot be convicted except by the verdict of a petit jury : to have made all these minute offences indictable would therefore have entailed upon the class of persons qualified to serve as jurors a frequency of attendance which would have been found to be moat troublesome and harassing.
Accordingly numerous nets of parliament have from time to time vested in olio pr more justices of tho peace or other persons the power to try parties accused of trifling offences vvithout the intervention of a jury. The extension, however, of this mode of proceeding Ilan been always regarded with extreme jealousy.
The course of proceeding before justices, as far as regards suininary convictions, was until recently regulated by a great variety of (statutes, extending from the 18 c. 5, to the 6 & 7 Win. IV. c. 14. These acts have been consolidated, and the duties of the justices clearly defined by the statute II & 12 Vict. c. 43, which provides a procedure applicable to the great majority of cases in which a summary con viction or order may be made by justices of the peace out of sessions.
Where an information is laid before a justice or justices of the peace, that any person has committed, or is suspected to have committed any offence or act for which he is liable by law, upon a summary conviction for the amyl, to be impriaoned or fined, or otherwise punished, and who, when a complaint is made to any justice or justices, upon which he or they have authority by law to make any order for the payment of money or otherwise, such justice or justices are to issue a summons in a prescribed form directed to the party charged, stating shortly the matter of such information or complaiut, and requiring him to appear std answer the same, and be further dealt with according to law, This summons must be served by a constable, peace officer, or other person to whom it is delivered, on the person to whom it is directed, either personally, or by leaving the same at his last or usual place of abode.
If the person so summoned does not appear after having been served a reasonable time, the justices, upon proof to their satisfaction, sub stantiating the matter of the information or complaint, may issue a warrant to apprehend the accused, or may proceed ex-parte.
In the case of an information. being laid, and satisfactorily sub stantiated by oath or affirmation, a warrant may be issued in the first instance ; but the usual course is, in the first instance, to proceed by summons. The warrant in either case must be under the band and seal of the justice or justices, and be directed to the constable. It must state shortly the matter of the information or complaint on which it is founded, and it remains in force until executed.