MAI 



MAJ 



terror into others, and to produce new 

 informations against him. The bailiff 

 then summoned four freeholders of each 

 town within the forest to form a jury. 

 The felon and prosecutors were brought 

 face to face ; and the goods, the cow or 

 horse, or whatsoever was stolen, produced. 

 If he was found guilty he was remanded 

 to prison, had a week's time allowed for 

 preparation, and then was conveyed to 

 this spot, where his head was struck off 

 by this machine. I should have premised, 

 tliat if the criminal, either after apprehen- 

 sion, or in the way to execution, should 

 escape out of the limits of the forest (part 

 being close to the town,), the bailiff had 

 no further power over him ; but if he 

 should be caught within the precincts at 

 any time after, he was immediately exe- 

 cuted on his former sentence. 



" This privilege was very freely used 

 during the reigu of Elizabeth : the re- 

 cords before that time were lost. Twen- 

 ty-five suffered in her reign, and at least 

 twelve from 1623 to 1650 ; after which, 

 I believe, the privilege was no more ex- 

 erted. 



" This machine of death is now destroy- 

 ed; but I saw one of the same kind in a 

 room under the parliament house at 

 Edinburgh, where it was introduced by 

 the regent Morton, who took a model o*f 

 it as he passed through Halifax, and at 

 length suffered by it himself. It is in 

 form of a painter's easel, .and about ten 

 feet high : at four feet from the bottom is 

 a cross bar, on which the felon lays his 

 head, which is kept down by another 

 placed above. In the inner edges of the 

 frame are grooves ; in these is placed a 

 sharp axe, with a vast weight of lead, sup- 

 ported at the very summit with a peg : 

 to that peg is fastened a cord, which the 

 executioner cutting, the axe falls, and 

 does the affair effectually, without suffer- 

 ing the unhappy criminal to undergo a 

 repetition of strokes, as has been the case 

 in the common method. I must add, that 

 if the sufferer is condemned for stealing 

 a horse or a cow, the string is tied to the 

 beast, which, on being whipped, pulls out 

 the peg, and becomes the executioner." 

 This apparatus is now in possession of the 

 Scottish Antiquarian Society^ 



MAJESTY, a title given to kings, 

 which frequently serves as a term of dis- 

 tinction. 



MAI11EM, or MAIM, signifies a corpo- 

 ral wound or hurt by which u man loseth 

 the use of any member. 



By the old common law, castration was 

 punished with death, and other members 

 with the loss of member for member : 



but of latter days, maihem was punisha* 

 ble only by fine" and imprisonment. If a 

 man attack another with an intent to mur- 

 der him, and he does not murder the 

 man, but only maim him, the offence is 

 nevertheless a capital felony within the 

 statute 22 and 23 Charles II. c. 1, usually 

 culled the Coventry Act. 



And by a late statute, 44 Geo. III. c. 58, 

 if any person shall, either in England or 

 Ireland, wilfully, maliciously, and unlaw- 

 fully, shoot at any of his Majesty's sub- 

 jects, or wilfully, maliciously, and' unlaw- 

 fully present any kind of loaded fire-arms 

 at any one, and attempt to discharge the 

 same at him, or wilfully, maliciously, and 

 unlawfully stab or cut any of his Majesty's 

 subjects, with intent in so doin^ 1 , or by 

 means thereof to murder or rob, or to 

 maim, disfigure, or disable him, or with 

 intent to do some other grievous bodily 

 harm to liiin^ or to obstruct, resist, o'r 

 prevent the lawful apprehension and de- 

 tainer of the person so stabbing or cutting, 

 or of any of his accomplices, for any of- 

 fence for which the}- may be liable to be 

 detained, or shall wilfully, &c. administer 

 poison with intent to murder, or to pro- 

 cure the miscarriage of any woman quick 

 with child, he shall be guilty of felony, 

 and suffer death. But in case of level- 

 ling fire-arms, or cutting and maiming as 

 aforesaid, if it shall appear that if death 

 had ensued, the party would not have 

 been guilty of murder, then the defen- 

 dant shall be acquitted. 



A person who maims himself that he 

 may have the more colour to beg, or that 

 he may not be impressed, may be indicted 

 and fined. 



MA1NPRIZE, a delivering a person to 

 his friends, to be answerable for his ap- 

 pearance. It differs from bail, as the 

 rnainpernors cannot keep the party in 

 custody, but must let him be at liberty 

 till the day of his appearance. 



MAINTENANCE, the unlawful taking 

 in hand or upholding a cause of any per- 

 son. It was formerly unlawful to assist 

 any person in litigation, except as an at- 

 torney, advocate, kinsman, servant, or 

 near relation, out of charity. The late 

 Judge Buller expressed serious doubts 

 whether the law against maintenance was 

 not obsolete. 



MAJOR, in the art of war, the name of 

 several officers of very different ranks and 

 functions ; as, 1. Major-general, the next 

 officer to the lieutenant-general : his 

 chief business is to receive the orders 

 from the general, or in his absence from 

 the lieutenant-general of the day; which 

 he is to distribute to the brigade-majors. 



