or fee in remainder; and, by limiting the estate to the executors and administrators of A. B. it will be more likely to prevent the estate falling into the hands of a minor in case A. B. die before the husband, for the estate to A. B. being only an estate per autre vie, may (notwithstanding its being a freehold) with equal propriety be limited to his executors and administrators as to his heirs, as they will not take by descent, but as special occupants. These are also Mr. Fearne's words in his opinion above stated.

I shall make but few comments on the method last mentioned, as it agrees in the main with the one now adopted by B-n, and which I shall have occasion to make some remarks on when I come to state that form. With respect to limitting the estate to the executors and administrators instead of the heirs of the trustee. I have only to remark that, when there is a power of appointment, it is of very little consequence whether the estate to the trustee is to him and his heirs, or to him, his executors, &c. since the estate itself may be defeated and overreached by an exercise of the power. In practice, the concurrence of the trustee is not always required, but it should be remarked that, if, instead of appointing, the purchasers convey without the concurrence of the trustee, there is an intermediate estate in the trustee, which, as long as it continues, will prevent a title of dower in the wife of the purchaser. Instances of this have, I understand, occurred.

B-n's present form of limitation to prevent a wife's dower, above alluded to, is as follows: habendum to the purchaser, his heirs and assigns, to such uses, &c. as the said (purchaser) by any deed, &c. or will, &c. shall appoint, and, in default, &c. and so far as no such directions, &c. shall extend, to the use of the said (purchaser) and his assigns (for life) without impeachment, &c. and after the determination of that estate, by forfeiture or otherwise in his life-time, to the use of the said (trustee) his heirs and assigns, during the life of the said (purchaser) in trust for him the said (purchaser) and to prevent the present or any future wife of the said (purchaser) from being entitled to her dower, in or out of the said premises, and after the decease of him the said (purchaser) to the use of the heirs and assigns of the said (purchaser) for [x]

ever.

N°. 27.

This form of limitation I most fully approve of, except that I would, for the reasons above quoted from Mr. Watkins, have the limitation to the trustee, his executors and administrators, and not to him and his heirs. There are four limitations or clauses, in the last mentioned form, each of which is material. The first is the power of appointment. By means of this power, the purchaser may dispose of and pass the whole fee by executing a mere instrument. The second is the limitation to the purchaser for his life; this gives him the present right to the possession of the estate, and the perception of the rents and profits. The third is the limitation to the trustee for the life of the purchaser. This intervening estate of freehold keeps the purchaser's estate for life distinct from the inheritance in fee-simple, and this prevents even the attachment of any title of dower. The fourth is, the limitation of the fee simple to the heirs and assigns of the purchaser; by this limitation, if the purchaser dies without making any appointment or disposing of the premises by his will, the inheritance will vest in his heirs, unaffected by any title of dower in his widow, and without any estate in his trustees, since thať estate, if it ever commences, will determine by the death of the purchaser.

The last mentioned form of limitation, therefore, seems upon the whole, free from objection, that is, admitting that the husband is a good trustee for himself, which think is clear from the arguments I have before stated. If, however, the contrary should be proved, I know of no form of limitation which would prevent dower and yet leave the legal-fee in the purchaser, so as to enable him to sell or mortgage, without the concurrence of his trustee. To those who are willing to submit to that inconvenience, I would recommend to limit the estate to the purchaser and his trustee jointly (it being certain that a wife cannot claim dower out of a joint estate) and to the heirs and assigns of the trustee only, and not of the purchaser; otherwise if the trustee should die in the life-time of the purchaser, the estate would survive to the latter, and thereby his wife become dowable out of the premises.

A.

The Practice of the Court of General Quarter and General Sessions of the Peace.

WE have received the following from a gentleman who is very conversant with the practice of the Middlesex Sessions, and we therefore insert it in the hope that it may be found useful to some of our readers.

Of the Court of Quarter Sessions and the Practice thereof.

THE Court of general or quarter sessions for the peace, is a court of criminal jurisdiction, held in every county for the trial of felonies, misdemeanors, &c. before justices of the peace for the same county. In discharge of this part of its duty it proceeds by the course of the old common law, viz. by jury. It is also a court of appeal from summary jurisdictions exercised by magistrates below, and in other cases it has and exercises an original summary jurisdiction of itself. A great deal of parochial and county business is by a variety of acts of parliament directed to be settled by this court, as the proper forum, and the whole of its power and jurisdiction is created by various

statutes.

In ancient times petty offences, such as nuisances and other trivial matters, were tried and disposed of in the court-leet for the county; crimes of a more aggravated nature were reserved for the justices in Eyre, who rode the circuits once in seven years; but in the reign of Ed. III. it was enacted, "that for the better maintaining and preserving the peace in every county, good men and lawful, which were no maintainers of evil or barreters in the county, should be assigned to keep the peace." Afterwards in the 31st year of the same reign, it was enacted that" in every county should be assigned, for the keeping of the peace, one lord and three or four of the most worthy men in the county with some learned in the law; and they shall have power to restrain evil doers, rioters, and all other barreters; and to take and chastise them, and cause them to be imprisoned and punished, and to inquire of those that have peen pillers and robbers beyond sea, and go wandering and will not labour; and to take all that

they find by indictment or suspicion, and put them in pri son, and to take of them that be not of good fame surety for their good abearing: and also to hear and determine at the king's suit all manner of felonies and trespasses." Before the passing this latter statute, they were called wardens and conservators of the peace, but when they received the power of trying felonies, they received, saith Lambard, the more honourable appellation of justices.

This statute gave origin to the court of quarter sessions, and with respect to the justices who are the judges of the court, it is to be observed that they were to be limited to one lord and three or four of the most worthy men in the county. Afterwards, during the reign of R. II. their number was increased to six, and again to eight; but though this statute has never been formally repealed, it has now fallen into disuse, and the number of justices is not limited in any county.

Next as to their qualifications:-The statute of Edward requires them to be of the " most worthy men in the county," the statute of 13 Ric. II. c. 11, orders them to be of the most sufficient knights, esquires, and gentlemen of the law; by the statute of 2 H. VI. c. 1, they of the quorum must be resident within their several counties; and, that no improper person might get into the commission, it was enacted by 18 H. VI. c. 11, that none should be put into the commission who had not lands to the amount of 201. yearly value, which sum was increased to 1001. by stat. of 5 Geo. II. c. 11, with certain exceptions:

And lastly, the justice is now required by stat. 1 Geo. III. to make oath of this qualification.

Justices are appointed by the king's special commission under the great seal, which appoints them all jointly and severally to keep the peace, and any two or more of them to inquire of felonies and other misdemeanors. In which latter business some one or more particular justices are required to be present. These are called justices of the quorum from the words in the commission quorum aliquem vestrum, A.B.C.D. unum esse volumus.§ But though

* 23.

See Lambard, 35, for the form.

The first commission of the peace, as we before observed, was

they have by their commission a power to try felonies generally, yet they are directed by it, that if any case of difficulty arises they shall not proceed to judgment, but in the presence of one of the justices of the court of King's

in the 1st year of Ed. III. which ordains justices to keep the peace in lieu of the old wardens of the peace; but by that statute, they have only power to keep the peace, and notthe power of trying any felonies. The commission, however, continued to be enlarged from time to time, until the 20th of Elizabeth, when, by the number of statutes charged therein, many of which had nevertheless been before repealed, and by much vain repetition and other corruption that had crept into it, partly by miswriting of the clerks, and partly by the untoward huddling things together, it was become so cumbersome and foully blemished, that of necessity it ought to be redressed, which imperfection being made known to Sir. C, Wray, then L. C. J. of the King's Bench, he communicated the same to the other judges and barons, so as, by a general conference had amongst them, the commission was carefully revised, in the Michaelmas term, 1590, and being then also presented to the Lord Chancellor, he accepted thereof, and commanded the same to be used which continues with very little alteration to this day.-Lamb. c. 9.

By the commission, as it now stands, they are appointed jointly and severally to keep the peace, and to keep and cause to be kept all the statutes and ordinances made for the good of the peace, and for the preservation of the same. And any two of them or more to inquire by the oath of good and lawful men of any felonies, &c. &c. In this business one of them must be a particular justice, called a justice of the quorum, from the Latin words in the commission quorum unum esse volumus, A. B. C. D.; one of whom we will to be A. B. C. D. To understand the name of this distinction among the justices, it is to be recollected, that at the time when the commissions of the peace first issued, and for a long time afterwards learning was confined to few persons, even amongst the gentry who were generally in the commission of the peace; it was therefore a wise precaution not to suffer them to proceed to so important a business as the trial of an offender without the presence of some knowing sensible man who was of the quorum. But since the general diffusion of learning, this distinction is so much worn away, that it is now usual to insert the whole of them in the quorum clause; and it is no objection to any warrant, or other instrument, that it does not appear on the face of it to be executed by one of the quorum, although it be necessary that in fact it should be by one of that description.