to be then being once for the then current year by them set aside out of the moneys charged as aforesaid, for the purpose of providing a sinking fund for paying off the principal money, and that the sum required by the Burial Board in respect of the portion of such expenses to be borne by the hamlet of Coleshill, such sum having been first ascertained by apportioning such expenses among the two places, in proportion to the value of the property in such several places as rated to the relief of the poor, was the sum of 241. 158. 1d.; and that the Burial Board for the purpose of obtaining payment according to law of that sum of 247. 15s. 1d. by a certain certificate or order under the hands of such number of the Burial Board as were authorized to exercise the powers of the Board, bearing date the 18th of October, 1859, and addressed to the defendants, did direct them to pay the sum of 241. 15s. 1d. out of the rates for the relief of the poor of the hamlet of Coleshill; which order or certificate was afterwards served, and that afterwards, on divers days and times, and particularly on the 30th November, 1859, they were required on the part and behalf of the Burial Board to obey the certificate or order; yet that they not regarding their duty as such overseers in that behalf did absolutely neglect and refuse to obey the said certificate or order, to the great damage and grievance of the parish of Amersham, and in contempt of the said certificate or order: commanded the defendants to obey the said certificate or order of the Burial Board for the parish of Amersham, and pay out of the rates for the relief of the poor of the said hamlet; as directed by the said certificate or order, the said sum of 241. 15s. 1d., and if necessary levy the same 1862. The QUEEN V. Overseers of by rate on the said hamlet, and do all things necessary in that behalf, &c. The return stated, that the hamlet of Coleshill was not part of the parish of Amersham in the writ mentioned as therein suggested, but, on the contrary thereof, the hamlet of Coleshill was a parish wholly separate and distinct from the parish of Amersham, having separate overseers of the poor, and separately maintaining its own poor, and also having its own vestry wholly separate and distinct from the vestry of the parish of Amersham; that the two places, to wit the parish of Amersham and the parish or hamlet of Coleshill, had not a church. or burial ground for their joint use, nor had the inhabitants of the said several parishes or places ever been accustomed to meet in one vestry, as in the writ sug. gested; that no vestry or meeting in the nature of a vestry of the several parishes or places ever did appoint such Burial Board as in the writ suggested, but that, on the contrary thereof, the vestry or meeting in the nature of a vestry, at which the supposed Burial Board was appointed as in the writ mentioned, was a meeting of the vestry of the parish of Amersham only, and the Burial Board so appointed at the said meeting, as in the writ mentioned, was appointed by the vestry of the parish of Amersham only, without the sanction, consent or concurrence of the vestry, or any meeting in the nature of a vestry, of the parish or hamlet of Coleshill; and that no vestry or meeting in the nature of a vestry of the parish or hamlet of Coleshill ever sanctioned, consented to or concurred in the said appointment; that although the Burial Board did as in the writ suggested, charge the future poor rates of the parish of Amersham with the payment of the money and interest in the writ mentioned, the Burial Board never did in 1862. V. fact charge the future poor rates of the hamlet of The QUEEN Coleshill with the payment of the said money and interest, &c. Issue having been taken on the return, the cause went to trial; when a verdict was taken for the prosecutors, subject to the following special case, which was stated by an arbitrator, in pursuance of an order of nisi prius. Amersham, otherwise Agmondesham, (which is for the purposes of this case, and for those purposes only called Amersham proper), is in the county of Buckingham, and adjoins Coleshill, which is in the county of Hertford. One church, which is in Amersham proper, is used for marriages, baptisms, and public worship by the inhabitants of both places; and some inhabitants of Coleshill have specific pews allotted to them in it. The rector of Amersham receives as such rector the tithes of Coleshill; and the presentations to such rectory describe it as "the rectory of Agmondeshum, in the county of Bucks." There are three dissenters' chapels in Amersham proper, but no place of public worship in Coleshill. Adjoining the church is a churchyard, in which the bodies of persons dying in either of the places at all times before the 1st January, 1860, were buried as of right; and the churchyard during all that time, up to the time of its being closed, was a burial ground for the joint use of the two places. There were also burial places in connection with two of the chapels. The registrations of baptisms, marriages and burials, have always heretofore been made in register books common to both places. The register book of burials between the years 1678 and 1726 is headed, "The names of all such persons as were buried in the parish church of Agmondesham, in the county of Bucks." For the Overseers of 1862. V. Overseers of period between 1726 and 1812 the baptisms, marriages دو The QUEEN and burials in the parish are registered in one book, to which there is not any heading; and for the period COLESHILL. between 1813 and the 30th May, 1858, there are registered in separate books, each of which is headed respectively "Burials," "Baptisms" and " Marriages" "in the parish of Amersham, in the county of Bucks, in the year Church rates have been made for the repairs of the church, and the church is, from 1658 to 1815, styled in these "the parish church of Amersham, in the county of Buckingham ;" and, from 1815 to 1852, "the parish church of Amersham, in the counties of Buckingham and Hertford." These rates have always been made on and paid by the inhabitants of each of the places. There is no church rate extant earlier than 1658, and since 1852 none has been made. One of such church rates made in 1686 is signed by thirteen ratepayers, one of whom was rated in Coleshill and not in Amersham proper. These rates were made at vestry meetings held in the vestry of the church. Notices relating to the meetings were posted on the church and on the chapels before named, but not in any other place. Resident ratepayers of Coleshill attended these meetings, some of whom were and some were not also rated in Amersham proper. In one instance the churchwarden who made the rate was a ratepayer in Coleshill as well as in Amersham proper, but no one actually residing in Coleshill has been churchwarden. Amersham proper contains about 3000, and Coleshill about 6000 inhabitants. And the rateable value of property as rated to the relief of the poor is In Amersham proper £8965 14 3 Each of the places has, since 1658, separately maintained its own poor. At the present time each appoints its own overseers, surveyors of highways, assessors of taxes and constables, and makes out its own jury list and list of voters. Amersham proper separately returns two, and Coleshill one, member to the board of guardians. There are in existence eight certificates, ranging from 1704 to 1755, signed by the overseers of Coleshill, acknowledging paupers who resided in Amersham to be settled in Coleshill, and in these Coleshill is described as being in the parish of Amersham; and there is one of the dates, 1789, signed by the overseers of Amersham, in which Coleshill is called "the hamlet of Coleshill in the county of Hertford." As to the period preceding 1658, there is a document produced from a chest called "the rectory chest," which chest is kept in the custody of the rector, which document is indorsed "the accounts of the receipts and distribution of the money collected for the poor of Agmondesham in the year 1613," and names one set only of churchwardens and overseers. This has a heading "Coleshill," under which are entered the contributors in Coleshill; and also a heading "Weedon Hill and Chesham Boyes," under which are entered six contributors. Weedon Hill is in Amersham proper, but Chesham Boyes is and always was a separate parish, with its own church; but it is bounded on the south and west by Weedon Hill and another of the divisions of Amersham proper. The defendants submit that this document, by reason of its custody, is not evidence against them. There are orders of removal, ranging from 1766 to 1828, from each of these places to the other; and in these Coleshill is described as the hamlet of Coleshill, in 1862. The QUEEN V. Overseers of |