And by stat. 1 Vict. c. 81, s. 3, in every case in which any parish or place liable to support its own poor, shall be partly within and partly without any such borough, and in the case of every extra-parochial place wholly or partly within any such borough, the council of the borough shall appoint one or more proper person or persons to act as overseer or overseers within that part of such parish or place which is within the borough, for making, levying, and collecting any such borough rate or watch rate therein; and in every such case of a divided parish or place, if the borough is not liable to the county rate, the justices of the peace having jurisdiction over that part of such parish or place which is not within the borough, shall appoint one or more proper person or persons to act as overseer or overseers within that part of such parish or place which is not within the borough, for making, levying, and collecting the county rate therein; and the person or persons so respectively to be appointed, shall have the like powers vested in him or them, and shall be subject to the same regulations and penalties, for levying and collecting any such borough rate, watch rate, or county rate within that part of such parish or place for which he or they is or are appointed, as if he or they was or were appointed overseer or overseers of the poor under any law or laws now or hereafter to be in force. Id. s. 3.

CRUELTY TO ANIMALS.

See Cattle."

CURSING.

See "Swearing."

CUSTOS ROTULORUM.

See "Justices."

CUTLERS.

See "Manufactures."

in the

DEAD BODIES.

1. Burial of dead bodies cast on shore.
2. Disinterment or sale of dead bodies, p. 313.

1. Burial of dead bodies cast on shore.

Notice to the overseer, &c.] If any person shall find a dead body or bodies cast on shore from the sea by wreck or otherwise, he shall within six hours give notice thereof to one of the churchwardens or overseers of the parish where the body shall be found, or (if it be found in an extra-parochial place) to the constable or headborough, or cause such notice to be left at his last place of abode: if he do this, he shall have a reward of 58. (48 G. 3, c. 75, s. 3), to be paid to him by such churchwarden, &c.; Id. s. 5; or if he do not, he shall forfeit £5. Id. s. 4. The conviction for this offence, may be thus: Berkshire to wit: Be it remembered that on this day of year of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, A. B. is convicted before me E. F., one of Her Majesty's justices of the peace for the said [county],* for that he the said A. B. on at -, found a certain dead body of a man unknown cast on shore from the sea, in the parish of - aforesaid, [or in aforesaid, the same being an extra-parochial place] and did not, within six hours after he so found the same as aforesaid, give notice thereof to any of the churchwardens or overseers of the said parish [or to the constable or headborough of the said extra-parochial place] or cause such notice to be left at the last or usual place of abode of any of them; against the form of the statute in such case made and provided: And I the said E. F., do adjudge him to pay and forfeit for the same, the sum of · Given under my hand and seal the day and year aforesaid. This is according to the form given by the act, s. 9.

Overseer &c. to bury the body.] Upon notice being so given to the churchwarden, overseer, or constable &c., he shall cause the body to be forthwith removed to some convenient place, and with all convenient speed cause it to be decently interred in the churchyard or burial-ground of such parish or place. Id. s. 1. And if he refuse or neglect to have such body removed to some convenient place prior to interment, for twelve hours after notice so given to or left for him, or shall neglect or refuse to perform the other duties required of him by this act, he. shall forfeit the sum of £5. Id. s. 7.

Conviction, as in the last form, to the asterisk : * for that he the said A. B, being overseer of the poor of the parish of in the county aforesaid, having on - at

been served

with notice that the dead body of a certain man unknown was

cast on shore from the sea and was then lying within the bounds of the said parish, did not within twelve hours after the said notice was so served upon him as aforesaid cause the said body to be removed from the said shore to some convenient place prior to interment thereof; [or as the case may be]; against the form of the statute in such case made and provided. And I the said E. F. &c. as in the last form.

Proceedings for penalties.] The conviction may be by one justice. See sect. 9. If the penalty be not paid on conviction, it may be levied by distress and sale of the offender's goods, and paid to the informer; or if there be no sufficient distress, the offender may be committed to the common gaol or house of correction, for not more than two calendar months nor less than fourteen days, unless the penalty and all reasonable charges attending the recovery thereof, be sooner paid. Id. s. 8.

Any person feeling himself aggrieved by such conviction, may appeal to the next general or quarter sessions after a month, giving ten days' notice of appeal and of the matter thereof to the person appealed against, and forthwith after such notice entering into a recognizance before some justice of the county, &c. with sufficient sureties, conditioned to try such appeal, and abide the order and award of the said court thereon; the justices at sessions may award costs to either party, and they may, if they see cause, mitigate the penalty, and may also order such further satisfaction to the party injured, as they shall judge reasonable. Id. s. 10.

Expenses, how paid.] All necessary expenses incurred in the execution of this Act, shall be paid in the first instance by churchwardens or overseers, or constable or headborough, of the parish or place; Id. s. 5; who shall be afterwards reimbursed by an order of any one justice of the peace upon the treasurer of the county, &c. Id. s. 6, to be paid out of the county rate. Id. s. 14.

Disinterment, or sale of dead bodies.

In what cases punishable.] Disinterring a dead body, even for the purpose of dissection, is a misdemeanor at common law, and punishable with fine or imprisonment, or both. R. v. Lynn, 2. T. R. 733. R. v. Gilles, R. & Ry. 366, n. So the sale of a dead body, even for the purpose of dissection, was formerly a misdemeanor, and punishable in like manner; see R v. Cundick, Dowl. & Ry. N. P. C. 13; and is so still, where is is not authorized by stat. 2 & 3 W. 4, c. 75, which shall pre sently be noticed.

Commitment:-on

at

unlawfully did disinter and dig up the dead body of a man [unknown or formerly called and known by the name of C. D.], then and there buried, And you the said keeper, &c.

Dead bodies for dissection.] By stat 2 & 3 W. 4, c. 75, certain provisions are made for regulating schools of anatomy. The secretary of state for the home department may grant a licence to practice anatomy, to any fellow or member of the college of physicians or surgeons, to any graduate or licentiate in medicine, to any person lawfully qualified to practise medicine, to any professor or teacher of anatomy, medicine or surgery, or to any student attending a school of anatomy,on an application, countersigned by two justices of the peace for the county, &c. in which the party resides, certifying that to their knowledge or belief, such party so applying is about to carry on the practice of anatomy." Id. s. 1. Inspectors are appointed, to inspect the places where anatomy is practised, and to make returns of the dead bodies removed for the purpose of anatomical examination. Id. s. 5, 4.

Any executor or other party having lawful possession of the body of any deceased person, and not being an undertaker or other party intrusted with the body for the purpose only of interment, may permit the body of such deceased person to undergo anatomical examination, unless, to the knowledge of such executor or other party, such person shall have expressed his desire, either in writing at any time during his life, or verbally in the presence of two or more witnesses during the illness whereof he died, that his body after death might not undergo such examination, or unless the surviving husband or wife, or any known relative of the deceased person, shall require the body to be interred without such examination. Id. s. 7.

And if any person, either in writing at any time during his life, or verbally in the presence of two or more witnesses during the illness whereof he died, shall direct that his body after death be examined anatomically, or shall nominate any party by this Act authorized to examine bodies anatomically to make such examination, and if, before the burial of the body of such person, such direction or nomination shall be made known to the party having lawful possession of the dead body, then such last-mentioned party shall direct such examination to be made, and, in case of any such nomination as aforesaid, shall request and permit any party so authorized and nominated as aforesaid to make such examination, unless the deceased person's surviving husband or wife, or nearest known relative, or any one or more of such person's nearest known relatives, being of kin in the same degree, shall require the body to be interred without such examination. Id. s. 8.

The body, however, shall not be removed until after 48 hours from the decease, nor until 24 hours notice to the inspector of the district, nor unless a certificate stating in what manner such person came by his death shall previously have been signed by the physician, surgeon, or apothecary who attended such person during the illness whereof he died, or who shall be called in after death to view the body, but who shall not be concerned in examining the body after removal; such certificate to be delivered, with the body, to the party receiving the same for anatomical examination. Id. s. 9. The body shall be removed in a shell or coffin; Id. s. 13: and any person licensed under this Act, may lawfully receive it, and is not punishable for having it in his possession; Id. s. 10, 14; and within 24 hours afterwards he shall lodge with the inspector of the district the certificate he received with the body. Id. s. 11. After the body has undergone anatomical examination, it shall be decently buried. Id. s. 13.

Any person offending against the provisions of this Act, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be punished by imprisonment not exceeding three months, or fine not exceeding 50l. Id. s. 18.

What defects shall not vitiate.] "That the punishment of offenders may be less frequently interrupted in consequence of technical niceties, be it enacted, that no judgment upon any indictment or information for any felony or misdemeanor, whether after verdict or outlawry, or by confession, default or otherwise, shall be stayed or reversed for want of the averment of any matter unnecessary to be proved; or for the omission of the words' as appears by the record, or the words ' with force and arms,' or of the words' against the peace;' nor for the insertion of the words ' against the form of the statute,' instead of the words 'against the form of the statutes,' or vice versá;