IND, 
which we simply affirm, deny, or ask some- 
thing. , 
INDICTION, in chronology, a cycle or 
fifteen years. See Chronology. 
INDICTMENT, is a written accu- 
sation of one or more persons, of a crime 
or misdemeanor, preferred to, and pre- 
sented on oath by, a gland jury. J n 
indictment may be found on the oath ot 
one witness only, unless it be for high trea- 
son, which requires two witnesses. And un- 
less in any instance it is otherwise special y 
directed by acts of parliament. I he 
sheriff' of every county is bound to re- 
turn to every session of the peace, an 
every commission of oyer and terminer, and 
of general gaol delivery, twenty-four good 
and lawful men, of the county, some out of 
every hundred, to enquire, present, do, and 
execute all those things, which, on the part 
of our lord the King, shall then and theie 
be commanded therein. As many as ap- 
pear upon this pannel are sworn ot the 
grand jury, to the amount of twelve, at the 
least, and not more than twenty-three, tnat 
twelve may be a majority. This grand jury 
is previously instructed in the articles of 
their enquiry, by a charge from the judge 
on the bench. They then withdraw from 
court, to sit and receive indictments, which 
are preferred to them in the name of the 
King, but at the suit of any private prose- 
cutor; and they are only to hear evidence 
on behalf of the prosecution; for the find- 
ing an indictment is only in the nature of 
an enquiry or accusation, which is aftei- 
wards to be tried and determined ; and the 
grand jury are only to enquire, upon their 
oaths, whether there be sufficient cause to 
call upon the party to answer it. 
The grand jury may not find part of an 
indictment true, and part false ; but must 
either find a true bill, or ignoramus, for 
the whole; and if they take upon them to 
find it specially, or conditionally, or to be 
true for part only, and not for the rest, the 
whole is void, and the party cannot be 
tried upon it, but ought to be indicted 
anew. 
All capital crimes whatsoever, and all 
kinds of inferior crimes, which are of a pub- 
lic nature, as misprisions, contempts, dis- 
turbances of the peace, oppressions, and all 
other misdemeanors whatsoever, of a pub- 
lic evil example, against the common law, 
may be indicted, but no injuries of a pri- 
vate nature, unless they in some degree 
concern the King. And generally, where 
a statute prohibits a matter of public griev- 
IND 
ance, to the liberties and security of a sub- 
ject, or commands a matter of public con- 
venience, as the repairing of the common 
streets of the town, &c., every disobedience 
of such statute is punishable, not only at 
the suit of the party grieved, but also by 
way of indictment, for, contempt of the sta- 
tute, unless such method of proceeding 
shall manifestly appear to be excluded by 
it. Yet if the party offending, have been 
fined in an action brought by the party (as 
it is said he may in every action, for doing 
a tiling prohibited by statute) ; such fine is 
a good bar to the indictment, because by 
the fine the end of the statute is satisfied ; 
otherwise he would be liable to a second 
fine for the same offence. 
If several offenders commit the same of- 
fence, though, in law, they are several of- 
fences in relation to the several offenders, 
yet they may be joined in one indictment ; 
as if several commit a robbery or mur- 
der. 
No indictment for high treason, or mis- 
prision thereof, (except indictments for 
counterfeiting the King’s coin, seal, sign, 
or signet), nor any process or return there- 
upon, shall be quashed for mis-reciting, mis- 
spelling, false, or improper Latin, unless 
exception concerning the same be taken, 
and made in the respective court where the 
trial shall be, by the prisoner or his counsel 
assigned, before any evidence given in open 
court on such indictment ; nor shall any 
such mis-reciting, mis-spelling, false, or im- 
proper Latin, after conviction on such in- 
dictment, be any cause or stay, or arrest of 
judgment; but nevertheless any judgment 
on such indictment shall be liable to be re- 
versed on writ of error, as formerly. An 
indictment accusing a man in general terms, 
without ascertaining the particular fact laid 
to his charge, is insufficient ; for no one can 
know what defence to make to a charge 
which is uncertain, nor can plead it in bar 
on abatement of a subsequent prosecution ; 
neither can it appear, that the facts given 
in evidence against a defendant, on such a 
general accusation, are the same of which 
the indictors have accused him; nor can it 
judiciously appear to the court what pu- 
nishment is proper for an offence so loosely 
expressed. 
No indictment can be good, without ex- 
pressly showing some place wherein the of- 
fence was committed, which must appear 
to have been within the jurisdiction of the 
court. . , , c 
There are several emphatical words ot 
