make each of your bailiffs make such oath as ye make yourself in that that belongeth to their occupation. Ye shall receive no writ by you or any of yours unsealed or any sealed under the seal of any Justice saving Justice in Eyre of Justice assigned in the same shire where ye be Sheriff in or other Justices having power and authority to make any writs unto you by the laws of the land or of Justices of Newgate. Ye shall make your bailiff of the true and sufficient men of the county. Ye shall not let your sheriffwick nor any bailiwick thereof to favour to any man. Ye shall truly set and return reasonable and due issues of them that be within your bailiwick after their estate and their honour and make your panels yourself of such persons as be most meet most sufficient and not suspected nor procured as is ordained by the statute and over this in eschewing and restraint of the manslaughters robberies and other manifold grievous offences that be done daily namely by such as name themselves soldiers and other vagrant persons which increase in number and multiply so that the Q.'s subjects may not surely ride nor go to do such things as they have to do to their intolerable peril and grievance. Ye shall truly and effectually and with all diligence possible to your power execute the statutes as the statutes of Winchester and vagabonds. These things ye shall well and truly observe and keep. So help you God.a As Jews cannot make these declarations, nor take the oaths, Jews. herein before mentioned, they serve the office without taking any oath at all, relying for protection on the Annual Indemnity Act. If a person appointed refuse to take the oaths of office, he was usually punished in the Star Chamber; now, he is proceeded against by criminal information in the Q. B. A refusal to take the oaths is a refusal of the office. In counties of cities and counties of towns, as in London, certain penalties are attached to the refusal of the office (by particular statutes or by some bye-laws); and these penalties are recoverable by action. SECTION V. HOW DETERMINED. I the reign of Edward the Third, no one could abide in the Time. office, above One Year, without being liable to severe penalties and disabilities. But this rule was afterwards relaxed, by allowing the outgoing Sheriff, unless lawfully discharged before, to remain in office, during Mich. and Hil. Terms, after the expiration of his year of office, if the incoming Sheriff had not his patent ready, and did not take the oaths, &c. Notwithstanding the plain words of the statutes, it was held, that the appointment might be durante bene placito. Such was the form of the ancient writ: and such is the form of the present warrant of appointment. Therefore, until a new Sheriff be appointed, the office is not determined except by demise of the Crown. In that event, he holds d a The Oaths of Allegiance, Supremacy, and Abjuration, or instead thereof, in the case of a Roman Catholic subject, the oath before mentioned, must be taken in the same manner, &c., as Sheriffs of English counties are enjoined to do. The assurance also must be Death. his office for six months, unless sooner displaced by a successor." In the event of the death of the present High Sheriff of any county, in England and Wales, before the expiration of his year, his Under-sheriff or Deputy shall, nevertheless, continue in office, and execute the same in the name of the deceased Sheriff, until another Sheriff be appointed and sworn; the Under-sheriff or Deputy is answerable for a proper discharge of the duties of his office, in all respects as the deceased Sheriff would have been, if he had been living. The security given by the Under-sheriff or Deputy to the deceased Sheriff, is to stand as a security in the meantime. The Under-sheriff or Deputy is, by virtue of this statute, a quasi High Sheriff, and stands in that relation to the world, and to the incoming Sheriff. They usually receive their warrants of appointment in Hil. Term; but, as the appointment is durante bene placito, they are not necessarily made out then; and are sometimes postponed. Besides a demise of the Crown, and the death of the High Sheriff, determining the office, his Forfeiture office, if held for term of life, or in fee, may be forfeited and seized by the Crown; or he may be removed for misconduct. So, if a militia officer, being Sheriff, be called out for actual service, he is discharged from personally performing the duties of the office; and his Under-sheriff, during the time, is in the same condition as the Under-sheriff of a deceased High Sheriff. and removal. Relation to and to the world. d Let us now define the relation between the new and old Sheriff, each other and that between them and others. The warrant of appointment does not, of itself, affect them; it operates only as an authority to the incoming Sheriff to qualify himself for entering upon his office, and to take from the outgoing Sheriff a transfer of all writs, prisoners, &c. That was the effect of the patent before the 3 and 4 Will. 4, c. 99; and such, it is conceived, is that of its substitute -the Warrant of Appointment. When, and by what process, then, are their conditions changed? when, and by what process, is the one charged with, and the other discharged from, the custody of the county? The rule may be thus laid down:-The old Sheriff is not discharged from, nor is the new Sheriff charged with, the custody of the county till two things are done, viz., the receipt of the Warrant of Appointment by the incoming Sheriff, and the delivery to the outgoing Sheriff of the signed duplicate list and account mentioned in the 7th sect. of the stat. of 3 & 4 W. 4, c. 99. words are, "Every Sheriff of any county, city, liberty, division, town corporate, or place, shall, at the expiration of his office, make out and deliver to the new or incoming Sheriff, a true and correct list and account under his hand, of all prisoners in his custody, and of all writs, and other process in his hands, not wholly executed by him, with all such particulars as shall be necessary to explain to the said incoming Sheriff the several matters intended to be trans The e As to the old law, see Fitz. case, Cro. Eliz. 28; Wesley v. Skinner, Noy, 51; 19 Vin. Abr. 451. a ferred to him; and shall thereupon turn over and transfer to the Mode of care and custody of the said incoming Sheriff all such prisoners, transfer. writs, and process, and all records, books, and matters appertaining to the said office of Sheriff. "And the said incoming Sheriff shall, thereupon, sign and give a duplicate of such list and accounts to the Sheriff going out of office, to whom the same shall be a good and sufficient discharge of and from all the prisoners therein mentioned, and transferred to the said incoming Sheriff; and the further charge of the execution of the writs, process, and other matters therein contained, without any Writ of Discharge, or other writ whatsoever; and the said incoming Sheriff shall, thereupon, stand and be charged with the said prisoners, and also with the execution and care of the said writs, process, and other matters contained in the said list and account, as fully and effectually as if the same writs and process had been turned over by indenture and schedule. And in case any Sheriff shall refuse or neglect, at the expiration of his office, to make out, sign, and deliver such list and accounts as aforesaid, and to turn over the process aforesaid in manner aforesaid, every such Sheriff so neglecting or refusing, shall be liable to make such satisfaction by damages and costs to the party aggrieved, as he, she, or they shall sustain by such neglect or refusal." Reg. Gen. Hil. T. 1853, r. 134, provide that, "Where any Sheriff, before his going out of office, shall arrest any defendant, and take a bail bond, and make return of cepi corpus, he shall and may, within the time allowed by law, be called upon to bring in the body by a rule for that purpose, notwithstanding he may be out of office before such rule shall be granted." The list may be in the following form, mutatis mutandis : a See Thomas v. Newnam, 2 Dowl. N. C. 33; Holmes v. Elnett, 6 Jurist, 994; Yrath v. Hopkins, 2 Cr. M. & R. 251. A distringas nuper vice-comitem would seem to be necessary only where a writ not wholly executed has been left out of the list. Writs wholly executed are not transferred, Harrison v. Paynter, ORIGINAL List and Accounta Of the several Debtors in the Gaol at A., in the County of W., &c. From new Sheriff to his Undersheriff to take the transfer. From old Sheriff to As the transfer, &c., is seldom, if ever, made or accepted by the High Sheriff in person, the following may be the form of the A.D. Power of Attorney. TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME GREETING: Whereas I G. A. of in the county of by H. M.'s warrant of appointment, bearing date the day of have been appointed High Sheriff of the said county instead of M. A. Esq.: Now KNOW YE, that I have nominated constituted and appointed and do by these presents nominate constitute and appoint T. R. of in the said county gentleman for me and in my stead to receive and take from the said M. A. or from his Under-sheriff or from such other person or persons as he shall or may appoint for that purpose a true and correct list and account of all prisoners in his custody and of all writs and other process in his hands not wholly executed by him with all such particulars as shall be necessary to explain to me the several matters intended to be transferred to me and all records books and matters appertaining to my office of Sheriff; and further for me and in my stead to accept and receive the care and custody of all prisoners &c. and to sign and give a duplicate of such list and account to the said M. A. and whatever else may be necessary to carry the same into effect. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this A.D. Power of Attorney. day of G. A. TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME GREETING: Whereas by H. M.'s warrant of appointment G. A. Esq. of hath been duly appointed High Sheriff his Under- of the county of C. in my stead: Now KNOW YE, that I have nominated constituted sheriff to and appointed and by these presents do nominate constitute and appoint J. B. of deliver. a Or duplicate, as the case may be. in the said county gentleman for me and in my stead to make out and deliver to the said G. A. Esq. a true and correct list and account of all prisoners in my custody and of all writs and other process in my hands not wholly executed by me with all such particulars as may be necessary to explain to him the several matters intended to be transferred to him and to turn over and transfer to his care and custody all such prisoners writs and process and all records books and matters appertaining to the said office of Sheriff and further for me and in my stead to accept and receive a duplicate of such list and account and all such prisoners writs process records books and matters appertaining to the said office. In witness, &c. SECTION VI. UNDER-SHERIFF. ONE, who has an office of trust, cannot, at common law, make a The High Sheriff is an officer of great trust and confidence, and therefore he cannot (except he be enabled to do so by express words in his Warrant of Appointment, or by Act of Parliament ") make any deputy in such things as concern his judicial power. Nor may he let or assign over his office in any manner; for this would, in effect, be a delegation of his judicial powers, which cannot be. In matters concerning his ministerial office, he may make, or appoint under him, an Under-sheriff, bailiffs, &c., who may occupy their places in right of the High Sheriff; and this he may do, although there be no express words in the Warrant of Appointment to that effect. Formerly, the High Sheriff was not obliged to appoint an Under-sheriff, but might have done all things himself. It appears, also, that the Under-sheriff might have been constituted by parol, or by writing; and at the will and pleasure of the High Sheriff; and, therefore, removable at will and pleasure, although made irrevocable. But now, 66 every person so ap- Appointpointed Sheriff as aforesaid shall, within one calendar month next ment in after the notification of his appointment in the London Gazette, by writing. writing under his hand, nominate and appoint some fit and proper person to be his Under-sheriff; and shall transmit a duplicate thereof to the Clerk of the Peace for the county; to be by him filed, and which he is, by the Act, required to file among the records of his office, and for which he shall be entitled to demand and d a Dalt. Ch. 1; an Under-sheriff cannot appoint a deputy to execute a writ of trial. Jones v. Williams, 7 Dowl. P. C. 938. bAs to ancient usage, see Com. Dig., Tit. Officer, D. 2. c Dalt. Ch. 1 & 115; and see Kitton v. Fagg, 10 Mod. 288. d The 1 Hen. 5, c. 4, was repealed by 1 Vict. c. 55, s. 1. But there still remains the rule of K. B., M. T. 1654, s. 1, as to an attorney serving the office of Under-sheriff, and making him liable |