208 



THE USE OF THE LAW. 



Manslaughter, 

 and when a 

 forfeiture of 

 goods, and 

 when not. 



Felon, de se. 



Felony by mis 

 chance., 



Deodand. 



Cutting out of 

 tongues, and 

 putting out of 

 eyes, made 

 felony. 



The office of 

 the constable. 



upon being found guilty, he is to suffer death, and to lose 

 his lands and goods. 



If one kill another upon a sudden quarrel, this is man 

 slaughter, for which the offender must die, except he can 

 read ; and if he can read, yet must he lose his goods, but 

 no lands. 



And if a man kill another in his own defence, he shall 

 not lose his life, nor his lands, but he must lose his goods, 

 except the party slain did first assault him, to kill, rob, or 

 trouble him by the highway side, or in his own house, and 

 then he shall lose nothing. 



And if a man kill himself, all his goods and chattels are 

 forfeited, but no lands. 



If a man kill another by misfortune, as shooting an arrow 

 at a butt or mark, or casting a stone over a house, or the 

 like, this is loss of his goods and chattels, but not of his 

 lands, nor life. 



If a horse, or cart, or a beast, or any other thing do kill 

 a man, the horse, beast, or other thing, is forfeited to the 

 crown, and is called a deodand, and usually granted and 

 allowed by the king to the Bishop Almner, as goods are of 

 those that kill themselves. 



The cutting out of a man s tongue, or putting out his 

 eyes maliciously, is felony; for which the offender is to 

 suffer death, and lose his lands and goods. 



But for that all punishment is for example s sake ; it is good 

 to see the means whereby offenders are drawn to their 

 punishment ; and first for the matter of the peace. 



THE ancient laws of England planted here by the Con 

 queror were, that there should be officers of two sorts in 

 all the parts of this realm to preserve the peace : 



1. Constabularii &quot;) p . 



2. Conservators j 2 



The office of the constable was, to arrest the parties that 

 he had seen breaking the peace, or in fury ready to break 

 the peace, or was truly informed by others, or by their own 

 confession, that they had freshly broken the peace ; which 

 persons he might imprison in the stocks, or in his own 

 house, as his or their quality required, until they had be 

 come bounden with sureties to keep the peace ; which 

 obligation from thenceforth was to be sealed and delivered 

 to the constable to the use of the king. And that the 

 constable was to send to the king s Exchequer or Chancery, 



