No. 11. of one hundred Pounds for Money had and received to his Use; pro12 Geo. III. c. 21. vided that such Action shall be commenced within the Space of one Year after the Cause of it shall have arisen, and not afterwards. 32 Geo. III. c. 58. Preamble. No. 12. 32 Geo. III. c. 58.-An Act for the Amendment of the Law in Proceedings upon Information in Nature of Quo Warranto. Election, and the Quiet, Tranquillity, and good Order of Cities, Boroughs, and Towns Corporate, if a certain reasonable Limitation of Time should be by Law established, beyond which 'no Member or Officer of any City, Borough, or Town Corporate, should be disturbed in the Enjoyment or Exercise of his Office or Franchise which he should have held and enjoyed for such Time :' Be it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the Authority of the same, That, from and after the first Day of Trinity Term, in the From the first Day Year One Thousand Seven Hundred and Ninety-three, it shall and 1793, Defendants may be lawful for the Defendant or Defendants to any Information in to Informations in the Nature of a Quo Warranto, for the Exercise of any Office or Warranto, for the Franchise in any City, Borough, or Town Corporate, whether exhiExercise of any bited with Leave of the Court, or by his Majesty's Attorney General, Office may plead the holding it six or other Officer of the Crown on Behalf of his Majesty, by virtue of Years or more, any Royal Prerogative or otherwise, and each and every of them of Trinity Term, the Nrture of Quo etc. within six Years severally and respectively, to plead that he or they had first actually taken upon themselves, or held or executed the Office or Franchise which is the Subject of such Information, six Years or more before the exhibiting of such Information, such six Years to be reckoned and computed from the Day on which such Defendant so pleading was actually admitted and sworn into such Office or Franchise; which Plea shall and may be pleaded either singly, or together with and besides such Plea as he or they might have lawfully pleaded betore the passing of this Act, or such several Pleas as the Court on Motion shall allow; (1) and if, upon the Trial of such Information, the Issue joined upon the Plea aforesaid shall be found for the Defendant or Defendants, or any of them, he or they shall be intitled to Judgment, and to such and the like Costs as he or they would by Law have been intitled to, if a Verdict and Judgement had been given for him or them upon the Merits of his or their Title. II. Provided always, and be it enacted, That in every such Case Forfeiture of Office the Prosecutor of such Information may reply to such Plea, any Forbefore Informa- feiture, Surrender, or Avoidance, by the Defendant, of such Office or tion, may be re- Franchise happening within six Years before the Exhibition of such plied to such Plea. Information, whereon the Defendant may take Issue, and shall be intitled to Costs in Manner aforesaid. (1) This Statute, as well as 9 Anne, c. 20, extends only to Corporate Offices; and therefore, in an Information against a Portreeve appointed at a Court Leet, the Defendant cannot plead double, although a returning Officer of Members of Parliament.-Rex v. Richardson, 9 East 460. derived under an the Title of the III. And be it further enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That No. 12. if any Person or Persons against whom any such Information as afore- 32 Geo. III. c. 58. said shall be exhibited, shall derive Title under an Election, Nomina- Title derived untion, Swearing into Office, or Admission by any P'erson or Persons, Election not to be the Title of such Person or Persons against whom such Information affected on, Acshall be exhibited, shall not be defeated or affected by Reason, or on count of Defect in Account of any Defect in the Title of such Person or Persons so Person electing, if electing, nominating, swearing into Office, or admitting, in case such he was in the ExPerson or Persons under whom Title shall be derived as aforesaid, was six Years previous or were in Exercise de facto of the Franchise or Office, (in virtue of to the Information. which he or they so elected, nominated, sworn in, or admitted,) at a Feind six Years at least previous to the Time of filing such Information, and his or their Title shall not have been questioned by any legal Proceeding carried on with Effect. ercise of his Office ration Records to permit any Men Admission of Free IV. And be it further enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That Officer having the the Mayor, Bailiff, Sheriff, Town Clerk, or other Officer of any Custody of CorpoCorporation, having the Custody of, or Power over, the Records of the same, shall, upon the Demand of any Person, being an Officer ber thereof to inor Member of such Corporation, on the Payment of One Shilling, spect the Book of permit such Person, on any Day or Days except Christmas Day, mer, etc. on Pe Good Friday, and Sunday, between the Hours of Nine in the Morn- nalty of 1001. ing and Three in the Afternoon, to inspect the Books and Papers wherein the Admission or Swearing-in of the Freemen, Burgesses, or other Members or Officers of such Corporation, shall be entered, and to have Copies or Minutes of the Admission, or the Entry of Swearing-in of any one or more of such Freemen, Burgesses, or other Members or Officers, upon paying Sixpence for every One Hundred Words for Writing the same; and if such Mayor, Bailiff, Sheriff, Town Clerk, or other Officer, shall refuse or deny to any Person, hereby intitled to demand it, the Inspection of such Books or Papers, or to have Copies or Minutes thereof as aforesaid, such Mayor, Bailiff, Sheriff, Town Clerk, or other Officer, shall, for every such Offence, forfeit and pay the Sum of One Hundred Pounds, together with full Costs of Suit to him, her, or them, who shall inform and sue for the same within one Year after such Offence committed, by Action of Debt, Bill, Plaint, or Information, in any of his Majesty's Courts of Record at Westminster, wherein no Essoin, Protection, Wager of Law, nor more than one Imparlance, shall be allowed. End of Part First. |