THE JUSTICES OF LABOURERS 17 



the first of these differs sHghtly from the typical com- 

 mission for the rest of England, but the last two are 

 verbally identical with the form as finally fixed after the 

 inclusion of weights and measures. 



On 4 November, 1359, writs of supersedeas were issued 

 to all justices of labourers throughout England ; ' never 

 again, except for the palatinates, was a separate commis- 

 sion for labourers appointed. Henceforth a study of the 

 form of the commission of the justices responsible for 

 enforcing the labour legislation becomes a study of the 

 form of the commission of the justices of the peace. ^ 



(2) Their relation to the keepers of the peace. — For 

 the time previous to the statute, it has been shown that 

 the data are insufficient to warrant authoritative state- 

 ments as to the number or the jurisdiction of the justices 

 appointed ; ^ all that can be safely asserted is that the 

 period was one of experiments, apparently not favorable 

 to the separate commissions, since with the enactment 

 of the statute the consolidation of the commissions of 

 the peace and for labourers w^as universal throughout 

 the country.* The number of men assigned to each 

 commission varies from five to ten, six, eight or nine 

 being very usual ; but from the first series of writs for 

 the payment of wages, it appears that usually only two 

 or three of the justices appointed to a given district 

 were receiving salaries, their double set of duties being 



" lusticiarii assignati de operariis et mensuris;" 2(i April, gth year of the 

 duke. There is also an association on the same roll, no. igd, 3 May, 

 6th year. For calendar see app., 20. 



^App., 31-32. 



*See my article in E. H. R., 526-527. 



^See preceding section. 



*With the exception of the palatinates. 



