Ill 
C O N S 1 
ftitutcd a chief condabld, at whofe mandate all thofe of 
his hundred, fvvorn to arms, fhould alfemblc and be ob- 
fervant to him, for the doing of thofe things which be¬ 
long trt the confervation of the king’s peace.” No men¬ 
tion of this officer, it is believed, can be an.y where found 
prior to the date of this indrument; which perhaps may 
no more determine the queftion as to his original crea¬ 
tion,- than the datute of Winchefter. Be this as it may, 
the difcovery ought at lead to teach thofe who are deti¬ 
ro us of explaining the antiquities of our law, to look into 
matters of record, and to truft very little to opinion. 
Constable of the Vili,, or Petty Conjlable, as he is 
frequently called, to diftinguifh him from the officer lad 
mentioned, is he who is generally underdood by the term 
conjlable, when mentioned without any peculiar addition. 
This officer lias bofin repeatedly- acknowledged by the 
■ law, to be “ one of the,moil ancient officers in the realm 
for the confervation of the peace.” Pcph. 13. 4-InJi. 263. 
•It mud be confelfed, however, that no mentiomof him 
by this identical name, Is any where found to occur an¬ 
terior to the writ or mandate of Henry III..already men¬ 
tioned; whereby it is alfo provided, that in every village 
or township, there diould be condituted a condable or 
two, according to the number of the inhabitants. But 
it is pretty certain that lord Coke’s idea is right, and that 
thus officer u actually owing to the inditution of tiie 
ffanK pi edge, ufually attributed to king Alfred, and was 
in faft originally the fenior or chief pledge of the tithing 
or decitna. See datutes 2 Edw. III. c. 3. 20 Hen.VI. c. 14. 
28 Hen. VIII. c. 10. Thus it appears that the ordinance 
of Henry III. far from indituting the office, merely en¬ 
larged the number of officers, placing them in towns and 
villages, indead of frar.chifes , fine? it might frequently 
happen, that a manor of great extent, had only a fingle 
condable for feveral townfhips; a cafe exadtly limilar, 
indeed, fometimes occurring at this day, where a town- 
ffiip, comprehending feveral hamlets, equally populous 
it may be with itfelf, has only one condable for the whole. 
For a condablewiclc cannot be created at this day, unlefs 
by acl of parliament. 1 Mod. 13. 
We find the condable beginning to be familiarly known 
by that name, in the time of Edward I. but not pre- 
vionfly. In fome articles of enquiry at the Eyre, per¬ 
haps, or Trailbadon, certainly in the time of Edward I. 
are items in which this officer is mentioned. Coll. Madox. 
Muf. Brit. iii. 285. He feenrs alfo to be meant in the two 
chapters of the Eyre, as given in Fleta, lib. x. c. 20. He 
'is named in datute 2 Edw. III. c. 3. for the fird time ; 
as alfo in thofe of 4 Edw. III. c. To. 5 Edw. III. c. 14. 
25 Edw. III. c. 6. and 36 Edw. III. c. 2. and in feveral 
datutes now repealed or oblblete, in the reigns of Rich. II. 
Hen. IV. Hen.VI. and Hen.VII. c. 7, &c. But notwith- 
danding what has been faid, it feems highly probable 
that, at the common law, and before the mandate of 
Henry III. the condable of, the hundred, and the con- 
ftable of the manor, were officers of the fame nature and 
authority-, originating at the fame time, and differing only 
as to the extent of their feveral diftridts; in ffiort, that 
they bore to each other the fame analogy as fubfided be¬ 
tween the bailiff of the hundred and the bailiff of the ma¬ 
nor. It follows that the condable of the hundred neither 
poffeffed nor could have exercifed any more authority 
within the precinft of the latter, than the condable of 
one manor poffeffed or could have exercifed in another; 
the manor being to all intents and purpofes exempt from, 
and excluded out of, the hundred. 
Lord Bacon obferves, that though the high condable’s 
authority hath the more ample circuit, “ yet I do not 
find, (fays he,) that the petty condable is fubordinate to 
the high condable, or to be ordered or commanded by 
him.” Thofe cafes wherein it has been adjudged, that 
the being fubjeft to a particular leet, fhall not excufe a 
man from ferving the office of condable of the hundred, 
feem therefore to have been decided upon a wrong prin¬ 
ciple. See Freem, 348. zi Mod. 215. All this is lpeken 
' A B L E. 
with an exception, not of ails of parliament only, but 
alfo of the powers and pretenfions exercifed or afferted 
by the quarter feflions, which latter nus nowalfumed ;o 
much, with refpeit to the election and controul, both 
of the condable of the hundred and the condable of the 
vill, that it is become difficult, if not impoflible, to de¬ 
termine, with any degree of precifipn, the actual rights 
of either. In confidering the powers and duties of this 
important officer, we fliall divide the treatife under the 
following heads : 1. His quality, and qualifications. 2. 
His eleilion, and who are exempted. 3. His power and 
authority. 4. His duty. 5. His prote6lion, indemnity, 
and allowances. 6. •His’refppnfibility', and punifhment,. 
But fird it may be neceffary to date a few particular.- re¬ 
lative to the high condable, or condable of the hundred 
or limilar divifion ; who is as much the officer of five 
judices of the peace, as the condable of the vill. I-Ie is 
elected'at the leet or turn cf the hundred', or by judices 
of tire peace. 1 Rol. Abr. 535. Bujl. 174. And by 2.9 
Geo. II. c. 23. in YVedminlter a high condable is to be 
elected annually by the dean or high deward or his de¬ 
puty at'a court leet. As to his power, he may hold petty 
or datute feliions (for hiring fervants) according to an-.- 
cient ufage. But it is doubtful whether he can arred for 
breach, or take lurety of the peace. 1 Salk. 381. He is 
faid to be an officer within the annual mutiny a6t, for bil¬ 
leting of foldiers ; and liable to the penalties thereby in¬ 
flicted for mal-patlice in fo doing ; and he may occafion- 
ally make a deputy, whole aCts in his principal’s abfence 
will be good. 1 Blackfi. 350. 3 Burr. 1262. Under flatutes 
4 Edw. IV. c. 1. 39 Eliz. c. 20. and 13 Geo. I. c. 23. he 
may determine complaints of clothiers, and fee after 
abufes mentioned in thofe adts. His duty is, to prefent 
thole who harbour drangers for whom they will not an- 
fwer. 13 Edw. I. c. 6. To deliver lids of perfons quali¬ 
fied to lerve on juries. 3 Geo. II. c. 25. On receiving 
notice of any robbery, to make frelh fuit and. hue and cry 
after the felons, and to defend actions againfi the hun¬ 
dred by thofe robbed. S Geo. 11 . c. 16. To colleti the 
county rate, and pay it to the treafurer, or account, at 
the feflions, on pain of imprifonment. 12 Geo. II. c. 29. 
The datute 17 Geo. II. c. 3. as to his paying the allow¬ 
ance for vagrants, is altered by 26 Geo. II. c. 34. To 
enforce the laws againft profane fwearing. 19 Geo. II. 
c. 21. To give notice to the condables of the orders of 
the lieutenant or deputy lieutenant as to the militia- 
26 Geo. III. c. 107. This officer is removable by the 
judices of the peace, on good caufe. Buljl. 174. Ho fhall 
be difeharged from ferving the office of collector of the 
poor’s rate during his office. 2 Jones t 46 . 
x. The condable was ordained to reprefs felons and to 
keep the peace, of which he is a confervator by the com¬ 
mon law. 10 Edw. IV. c. 18. His office is therefore, 
fird, original or primitive, as confervator of the peace ; 
and, fecondiy, miniderial and relative to judices of the 
peace, coroners, flieriffs, See. whofe precepts he is to 
execute. 1 Hale P. C. 88. He is, however, an officer only 
for his own precinbt, and cannot execute a warrant di- 
rebted to the condable of the vill, or to all condables, 
generally, of that particular jnrifdibtion ; for he is a 
condable no where effe ; nor is he compellable to do it, 
though the warrant be direbted to him by name ; but he 
may, if he will; and fo indeed may any other perlon. 
iHaleP.C. 439. Comb. 446. 1 Salk. 176. 2 Ld. Raym „ 
1300. 12 Mod. 316. Fojl. 312. rt. 2 Black. Rep. 1133. 1 H. 
Black. 13. 24 Geo. II. c. 55. under which a condable 
may execute a warrant in any other county, if indorfed 
by a judice of fuch other county, and carry the offender 
before a judice of fuch other county ; and if the odender 
fhall give bail, the condable is to deliver the recogni¬ 
zance, examination, or confefiion, of the offender, and all 
other proceedings relating thereto, to the clerk of affixes, 
or clerk of the peace of the county, where the offence 
was committed, under the pe'nalty of ten pounds. But,, 
if the offence ffiall not be bailable,., or the offender fhall 
noii 
