The next section, which in a very neat and concise form embodies, with some trifling addition, the clumsy provisions of 3 Geo. 4. c. 114.; and 1 & 2 Geo. 4. c. 88. s. 2., we shall quote at length. "And be it enacted, That where any person shall be charged with and convicted of any of the following offences as misdemeanors, that is to say, of any assault with intent to commit felony; of any assault upon any peace-officer, or revenue-officer, in the due execution of his duty, or upon any person acting in aid of such officer; of any assault upon any person with intent to resist or prevent the lawful apprehension or detainer of the party so assaulting, or of any other person, for any offence for which he or they may be liable by law to be apprehended or detained; or of any assault commited in pursuance of any conspiracy to raise the rate of wages; in any such case the court may sentence the offender to be imprisoned with or without hard labour, in the common gaol or house of correction, for any term not exceeding two years, and may also (if it shall so think fit) fine the offender, and require him to find sureties for keeping the peace."

We may notice, that the second section of the 33 Geo. 3. c. 67. subjecting any person who should assault a ship-carpenter, with intent to prevent him from working, to twelve months' imprisonment, and making the second offence felony, with transportation for fourteen or seven years, is repealed, and the offence made punishable, on summary conviction before two justices of the peace, with imprisonment and hard labour for any term not exceeding three calendar months.

We shall conclude this article by quoting three sections, which introduce a new and very important alteration in the administration of justice, with respect to assaults: and shall only remark, that it will be a great public benefit to banish from our courts of quarter sessions prosecutions for trifling assaults, in which the prosecutor is often as guilty as the defendant, though we cannot but think the price paid for that benefit is considerably more than it is worth, namely, in adding to the already exorbitant power exercised by justices of the peace it is notorious that scarcely a fiftieth part of the assault cases, that come before magistrates in their private houses, was ever brought before the court; in many the quarrel

was settled before the sessions; in others, the magistrate bound over the offender to keep the peace, and dismissed the complaint; and in those only where the intervention of a jury was absolutely requisite, or where the private resentment of the magistrate, or of an influential neighbour called for a public exposure, were the most extreme measures resorted to. As our object is to give information, and not criticism, we shall make no apology for the length of our extracts. "And whereas it is expedient that a summary power of punishing persons for common assaults and batteries should be provided, under the limitations hereinafter mentioned; Be it therefore enacted, that where any person shall unlawfully assault or beat any other person, it shall be lawful for two justices of the peace, upon complaint of the party aggrieved, to hear and determine such offence, and the offender, upon conviction thereof before them, shall forfeit and pay such fine as shall appear to them to be meet, not exceeding together with costs (if ordered) the sum of five pounds, which fine shall be paid to some one of the overseers of the poor, or to some other officer of the parish, township, or place, in which the offence shall have been committed, to be by such overseer or officer paid over to the use of the general rate of the county, riding, or division, in which such parish, township, or place, shall be situate, whether the same shall or shall not contribute to such general rate; and the evidence of any inhabitant of the county, riding, or division, shall be admitted in proof of the offence, notwithstanding such application of the fine incurred thereby; and if such fine as shall be awarded by the said justices, together with the costs (if ordered) shall not be paid, either immediately after the conviction or within such period as the said justices shall, at the time of the conviction appoint, it shall be lawful for them to commit the offender to the common gaol or house of correction, there to be imprisoned for any term, not exceeding two calendar months, unless such fine and costs be sooner paid; but if the justices, upon the hearing of any such case of assault or battery shall deem the offence not to be proved, or shall find the assault or battery to have been justified, or so trifling as not to merit any punishment, and shall accordingly dismiss the complaint, they shall forthwith make out a

certificate under their hands, stating the fact of such dismissal, and shall deliver such certificate to the party against whom the complaint was preferred.

"And be it enacted, That if any person, against whom any such complaint shall have been preferred for any common assault or battery, shall have obtained such certificate as aforesaid, or having been convicted, shall have paid the whole amount adjudged to be paid under such conviction, or shall have suffered the imprisonment awarded for non-payment thereof, in every such case he shall be released from all further or other proceedings, civil or criminal, for the same cause.

"Provided always, and be it enacted, That in case the justices shall find the assault or battery complained of to have been accompanied by any attempt to commit felony, or shall be of opinion that the same is, from any other circumstance, a fit subject for a prosecution by indictment, they shall abstain from any adjudication thereupon, and shall deal with the case in all respects in the same manner as they would have done before the passing of this act; provided also, that nothing herein contained shall authorize any justices of the peace to hear and determine any complaint of assault or battery, which shall have been committed in asserting any title or claim to any goods or chattels, lands, tenements or hereditaments, or any interest therein or appertaining thereto."

DIGEST OF CASES.

THE First (the common law) division of this Digest contains every case (except those which relate to real property) reported in each of the last numbers of the King's Bench and Common Pleas Reports-Barnewall and Creswell, Manning and Ryland, Bingham, Moore and Payne-with some MS. notes of recent decisions. The Second (the real property) division includes every case referrible to that head, in the reports mentioned above, and with very few exceptions, all on the same subject, in the two last numbers of Russell, the last numbers of Simon and of Bligh; and the most important decisions of the Court of King's Bench in Ireland, from Batty's Reports.

The Third (the equity) division includes the cases in the last numbers of Russell, Simon, Young and Jarvis, and the most important of the decisions in the House of Lords, from Bligh.

The Fourth (the bankruptcy) division includes every case in the last number of Glynn and Jameson.

For the sake of brevity we have adopted the abbreviations in general use; namely,

1. An agreement "that A. should give B. 1007. for a coach, by four bills of 251. each, and that B. should have a claim upon the coach until the debt was duly paid," (which agreement was followed up by mutual delivery of the coach and the bills,) was held to operate as a mere personal licence from A. to B. untransferable to take the coach if the bills were not paid, and that, the coach having come to the hands of the administratrix of A., by operation of law, B. was

not justified in taking it on the ground of one of the bills not being paid. Howes v. Ball, 7 B. & C. 421.

2. An action may be maintained for the non-performance of a contract for the sale of land which is found to be incumbered by an unsatisfied judgment, without a previous tender of a conveyance to the judgment creditor.-Pearson v. Upwell, MS. Easter Term, 1828.

ATTORNEY.

1. A party who intrusts papers to an attorney, with an intimation that she would pay him if she recovered a certain property, is not liable for the costs of an action of ejectment commenced and abandoned by him.-Tabram v. Horn, 1 M. & R. 228.

2. An attorney who has been a member of a joint stock company, cannot recover against two other members the costs of defending an action brought against them in that character subsequent to the dissolution of the company. Milburn v. Codd, I M. & R. 238. S. C. 7 B. & C. 419.

3. An attorney employed by the assignees of an insolvent to bring an action, cannot recover his costs incurred therein, without proving either that it was brought with the consent of the creditors and approbation of a commissioner, or that he had apprised his client that such consent was necessary.-Alison, Gent. &c. v. Rayner, 7 B. & C. 441.

4. The property in copies, drafts, &c. paid for by a client, is in him, and not in the attorney.-Ex-parte Horsfall, 7 B. & C. 528.

AWARD.

It

may be stipulated in a deed of submission that the authority of the arbitrators shall continue, notwithstanding the death or insolvency of either of the parties; and the surety on a bond conditioned for the due performance, in which bond the stipulation as to death, &c. was not inserted, is liable though the award was not made till after the death of the party for whom he was bound, and directed the executors to pay, &c. By the deed the award was to be made between and the

day of next, or any other day the submission might be prorogated. Held that the omission of dates was immaterial, and that it was to be looked upon as a general authority to be exercised in a reasonable time.-Macdougal v. Robertson, 1 M. & P. 147. 4 Bing. 435.

BANKRUPT.

1. The assignees of a bankrupt cannot consider as a wrong doer a person interfering with the bankrupt's effects, after once treating such person as their agent.-Brewer v. Sparrow, 1 M. & R. 2. S. C. 7 B. & C. 310.

2. If a verdict in trover be obtained in vacation, and after the 1st day of the next term the defendant becomes bankrupt, and final judgment is signed subsequently, the plaintiff may prove the debt thereby created under the commission, and will be barred by the certificate.-Greenway v. Fisher, 7 B. & C. 436.