54 ENFORCEMENT OF THE STATUTES OF LABOURERS 



been or were to be sheriffs were serving during this de- 

 cade as justices of labourers, often only a short interval 

 elapsing between their two sets of duties.' In the cases 

 where appointment to other duties is specified as the 

 reason for the discharge of a justice from service, the 

 following are mentioned : commission in another county^ 

 sheriff twice, steward, collector of subsidy, and " other 

 business of the king."'' 



It has already been emphasized that at the time of the 

 enactment of the statute the commissions included a 

 number of magnates appointed simultaneously for several 

 counties ; it is, therefore, not surprising to find a clause 

 allowing the justices the privilege de deputer autres soiitz 

 eux, tantz et tielx come ils verront que inieliz soil, pur 

 la garde de tneisnie ceste ordinance? There was, how- 

 ever, some opposition to this system; a petition, in 1353^ 

 begs that keepers of the peace and justices of labourers 

 shall not appoint deputies;* two years later justices of 

 labourers are forbidden to appoint deputies. ^ The only 

 positive evidence for the custom that has come to my 

 notice is in the case of Wiltshire, where for 1352 and 

 1355 proceedings exist coram deputatis iusliciarioj'um ^ 

 although the justices themselves are also acting.^ 



The few definite instances where it is apparent to what 

 other offices justices of labourers were appointed, the fre- 

 quent occurrence of their names on the list of sheriffs., 

 and also in the indices of the calendars that are thus far 



^E. g., in Nortliants., Blundell had acted as sheriff up to 3 March, 

 1 351, and on 15 March was appointed to the joint commission. 



"See p. 30, and note 5. ^App., 15. 



'Rot. Pari., ii, 252b. '-"Ibid., 265b. 



''App., C. I, nos. xvi and xvii. In a later Wiltshire roll, that for 

 3157, there is no mention of deputies. 



