THE

Practice

OF THE

CROWN OFFICE

OF THE

Court of Queen's Bench,

WITH

FORMS

OF ALL THE

PLEADINGS, RULES, NOTICES, &c.

WHICH OCCUR IN PRACTICE.

BY

JOHN FREDERICK ARCHBOLD, Esq.

BARRISTER-AT-LAW.

LONDON:

OWEN RICHARDS, LAW BOOKSELLER,

194, FLEET STREET.

PREFACE.

A WORK upon the Practice of the Crown Side of the Court of Queen's Bench, has not until lately been much wanted, the whole of the business being hitherto transacted by Clerks in Court, who were intimately acquainted with the Practice. The kindness and readiness of the Officers of the Crown-Office, in answering all questions of practice put to them by Gentlemen at the Bar, left the Bar little to wish upon the subject; and the Attornies, practising on the Crown side of the Court, were not interested in having a published Practice of the Crown-Office, as the Clerks in Court rendered any interference upon their part unnecessary. The recent Act of Parliament, 6 & 7 Vict. c. 20, however, by throwing open the practice of the Crown side of the Court to the Profession generally, and doing away with the Clerks in Court, has rendered it of the last importance to the Profession, and particularly to Attornies, that there should be a work upon the subject,- simplifying it, rendering it easily intelligible,—on the correctness of which they can safely depend. The Attornies, and particularly the London Agents, are placed in circumstances of some difficulty: they are now called upon to exercise their Profession, in a department

not at all familiar to them; they are thrown entirely upon their own resources, at a time when they have little to guide them; the regularity of their proceedings upon this particular subject depends entirely upon their knowledge of the practice of the CrownOffice, at a time when they have few means of acquiring that knowledge; even the very Writs must be framed by them, although they know little of their forms, and less of their application. To them, therefore, a work such as I have above described, must be highly valuable.

To the country Attorney, also, it must be of great importance; so many orders, convictions, indictments, are now removed by Certiorari, and so many and such serious mistakes are made in the practice of removing them, that it must be desirable to them to have a work which will relieve them of the odium and blame they incur from their clients, for the delay, and the costs, and oftentimes the failure altogether, which such mistakes occasion.

To those also interested in corporations, or for corporators, who wish thoroughly to understand corporate rights, and the best and safest means of asserting them, a work of this kind must be of serious importance.

And lastly, to Gentlemen at the Bar, a good work upon this subject is most desirable: few of them have had the opportunity of making themselves thoroughly acquainted with the many and various subjects, which constitute the Practice of the Crown side of the

Court of Queen's Bench; hitherto there was but one work upon the subject, and that not perhaps such a one as they would willingly consult.

I do not of course mean to say that this little work has any pretensions to be deemed such a work as I have above described. As to its accuracy, indeed, I own that I am somewhat sanguine in my opinion of it;-not from any idea I entertain of my own capability of contributing to it, but from the kind. and unwearied readiness with which the Officers of the Crown-Office have afforded me all the information and assistance I required of them; and I was not sparing of my applications to them, in all cases where I entertained the slightest doubt, or felt the slightest difficulty. To them I am under infinite obligations for the information they have afforded me, and for the readiness and kindness with which they have afforded it; to them I shall be indebted for any character for accuracy which this little work may hereafter acquire. But after all, this little work must be considered as merely an attempt to simplify what at present is deemed a complex and difficult subject; and whether I have succeeded at all, or to what extent, must be judged of by my readers. It would ill become me to venture any opinion upon the subject.

The arrangement of the work is simple. It is divided into three parts: 1. The original Proceedings on the Crown side of the court, namely, indictments originally preferred here; criminal