THE JUSTICES OF LABOURERS 19 



recorded several times in petitions of the commons ; ^ 

 but toward the end of 1352, with no apparent connec- 

 tion with any of these petitions,^ the issue of separate 

 commissions for labourers began tentatively and spas- 

 modically, and continued with increasing regularity. 

 The following table shows the number of districts for 

 which the two series of commissions, of the peace and 

 for labourers, were issued during the eight years when 

 the system of joint commissions was in abeyance.^ 



eye et sociis suis ad pacem in comitatu Norff' obseruandam assignatis," 

 covering the years 24-28 Edw. Ill, indicate sessions of the peace dis- 

 tinct from those for labourers. During the first two years mentioned 

 de Berneye was serving on the joint commissions of 1350 and 1351, and 

 yet the estreats contain no reference to offences against the statutes of 

 labourers. For the case of de Berneye, see next section and pt. i, ch. 

 ii, s. I. 



^ These petitions are analysed in the next section. 



'It is to be noted that there was not at any time during the decade 

 any statutory enactment as to the separation or the consolidation of the 

 two commissions. 



^This table is made up on the basis of the lists in app., 35-42; the last 

 two columns show the frequency with which two sets of commissions 

 were issued for a given district on different dates and often for a given 

 district on the same date. 



