Rate of legal

interest.

five pounds, for the forbearance of one hundred pounds for a year, and after that rate for a greater or lesser sum, or for a longer or shorter time; and all bonds, contracts, covenants, conveyances, or assurances hereafter to be made, for payment or delivery of any money, or goods, so to be lent, on which a higher interest is reserved or taken, than is hereby allowed, Effect of, and shall be utterly void. If any person shall, by any way remedy. or means of any corrupt bargain, loan, exchange, shift, covin, device, or deceit, take, accept or receive, for the loan of, or giving day of payment for money, wares, merchandise, or other commodity, above the rate of five pounds for one hundred pounds for one year, every person so offending, shall forfeit double the value of the money, wares, merchandise, or commodity so lent, exchanged, or shifted; one moiety to the use of the commonwealth, and the other to the informer, to be recovered with costs. Any borrower of money, or goods, may exhibit a bill in chancery against the lender, and compel him to discover upon oath, the money or thing really lent; and all bargains, contracts, or shifts which shall have passed between them, relative to such loan, or the repayment thereof,. and the interest or consideration for the same; and if thereupon, it shall appear, that more than lawful interest was reserved, the lender shall be obliged to accept his principal money, without any interest, or other consideration, and pay costs, but shall be discharged of all other penalties of this act. Every broker, solicitor, or driver of bargains, who shall hereafter directly or indirectly, take or receive more than the rate or value of five shillings, for brokerage, or soliciting the loan or forbearance of one hundred pounds for a year, or above one shilling for making or receiving the bond or bill, for such loan or forbearance, or for any counter-bond or bill, concerning the same, shall forfeit for every offence, twenty pounds to the commonwealth and informer, to be recovered and divided, as herein before is mentioned.

Brokerage.

CHAP. LVI.

An act for licensing counsel attornies at law and proctors.

From Rev. Bills of 1779,

ch. XCVII.

tornies at

BE it enacted by the General Assembly, That no Counsel, atperson, except the attorney general, shall be permit- tow and proc. ted by any court to practice therein as a counsel, attor- tors, how ney at law, or proctor, unless he shall heretofore have licensed. obtained a license, in the manner prescribed by the Jaw then in force, or until he shall obtain a license in writing from three of those, who shall be at that time, judges of the high court of chancery, or general court; which license, if he produce to them a certificate from the court of that county wherein his usual abode shall have been during twelve months next preceding, that he is a person of honest demeanor, such three judges are empowered and required to grant, under their hands and seals, if, after examination, it be their opinion, that he is duly qualified. Every counsel, attorney, and proctor, before he shall practice, shall in some court of record, give assurance of fidelity to the commonwealth, and moreover in such court, if he shall thereafter obtain a license, shall take the oath following: "I do swear that I will honestly demean myself Oath of. in the practice of a counsel, attorney, or proctor, and will execute my office according to the best of my knowledge and ability." A person, who shall have been convicted of treason, felony, forgery, or wilful and corrupt perjury, shall not be suffered to practice

in any court, as a counsel, attorney, or proctor. If How suspend the general court, from their own observation, detected for malany mal-practice in a counsel, or attorney of that practice. court, or if a complaint in writing be made to them, of such mal-practice in the said court, or in the court of a county, city, or borough, the party accused sha!! be summoned to shew cause why an information should not be filed against him; and if such information be ordered, and he be found guilty, of the matter therein charged, the said general court may either suspend his license, during a certain time, or vacate it altogether, as they shall think him to have deserved. And the high court of chancery and court of admiralty,

upon the like detection or complaint of mal-practice in those courts respectively, shall proceed in the same manner against a counsel, attorney, or proctor, and may inflict the same punishment upon the offender.— No counsel, or attorney at law, practising in a court of a county, city, or borough, shall be permitted by the judges, to practice the same profession in the high court of chancery or general court.

CHAP. LVII.

From Rev.

Bills of 1779, An act directing the method of

Criminals,pro ceedings a gainst.

or court of examination.

Offence committed in an

proceeding against and trying free persons charged with certain

crimes.

1. BE it enacted by the General Assembly, That any free person brought before a justice of the peace of a county or corporation, and by the testimony of another free person, charged with treason or felony, done in such county or corporation, shall be committed to jail by warrant of such justice, who shall, by his precept, Called court, order the sheriff to summon the other justices to meet in the court house, at an appointed time, not more than ten, nor less than five days after the commitment; and shall take the recognizance of witnesses to appear before the said justices, at that time and place. If the of fence shall have been done in another county, the jusother county. tice shall, by his warrant, cause the prisoner to be put into the custody of a sheriff, to be by him conveyed to the county or corporation where the offence was committed; every one of which sheriffs whilst he shall officiate in execution of this act, may impress so many men, horses, and boats, as shall be necessary for the safeguard and conveyance of the prisoner, into such other county, and there brought before some justice thereof, who shall proceed in like manner, as if the offender had been brought before him in the first instance; and the sheriff who shall be charged with the removal of a criminal from one county to another, shall be allowed

the same fee per mile for such service as is allowed to sheriffs for removing criminals from a county to the public jail, to be levied and paid by the county wherein the service was performed, and repaid by the public. The justices so convened shall be attended by the clerk Number and of the peace, and any four or more of them, who will power of exact, having examined the witnesses, as well for, as amining court against the prisoner, in his presence, for summoning which witnesses, on behalf of the prisoner,, subpoenas shall be delivered to him or any other for him desiring them, by the clerk of the peace, and heard his defence, if, in their opinion, the evidence be not sufficient to convict him, shall enlarge him. If it seem to them that the evidence is sufficient to convict the prisoner, but that the offence is cognizable by the court of the county, they shall take the recognizance of the prisoner with surety, in such sum as they think proper to appear before such court at the next session, in which there will be a grand jury for the same county, or, if he do not give such surety, shall remand him to jail, there to remain until such session, or until he shall enter into the recognizance with surety, before any one of the said justices, who shall return it to the clerk of the peace. If they shall think the offence cognizable by the general court only, remanding the prisoner to jail, from whence he shall by mittimus of two of them be remo- Criminal sent ved by the sheriff to the public jail, and delivered to the or further keeper thereof, or, if they think him bailable, admitting him to bail, the justices shall take the recognizance of the witnesses to appear before the general court, on the first day of the next term, and causing the examinations of the witnesses to be taken in writing, shall order them, together with the recognizances, both of the prisoner, if there be any, and of the witnesses, to be transmitted by the clerk of the peace, to the clerk of the general court; and the two justices, who give the mittimus, when there shall be one, may, by their warrant, empower the sheriff to impress so many men, horses, and boats, in all places he shall pass through, as shall be necessary for the safeguard and conveyance of the prisoner, to which warrant all persons shall yield obedience, and in execution whereof the officer shall proceed, as the law directs, in other cases, wherein impressments are authorised. If the justices shall be of opinion, that the prisoner may be bailed, and shall en

trial.

Bail.

ter that opinion in their proceedings, and also the sums of money in which he and his bail ought to be bound, he may be bailed either by them, or by any justice of the same county, or by any judge of the general court, who shall transmit the recognizance to the clerk of the general court, and give a warrant for the deliverance of the prisoner, and the warrant being put into the hands of the officer in whose custody the prisoner shall be, he shall thereupon be delivered, if he be detained for no other cause. Any two judges of the general court, when it is not sitting, may admit to bail a prisoner, whom they shall think entitled thereto and grant a warrant for his deliverance, notwithstanding the justices, before whom the examination was, shall have been of a different opinion. When the justices shall have determined that a prisoner ought to be tried for an offence in the general court, the clerk of the Vehire facias. peace shall issue a writ of venire facias, to be directed to the sheriff, commanding him to cause twelve good and lawful men, freeholders of his county, of the neighbourhood of the place where the fact shall have been committed, to come before the justices of the general court, at the time the witnesses shall be bound to appear there, which writ shall be executed by the said sheriff and the freeholders summoned by virtue thereof, or such of them as appear and be not challenged together with so many other good and lawful men of the bystandars being freeholders within this commonwealth, as will make the number twelve, or, if the whole array be challenged, twelve of such bystanders shall be a lawful jury for the trial of the prisoner. After any man shall be indicted of treason or felony, if he be not already in custody, the sheriff shall be commanded to attach his body, by writ, or by precept, which is called a capias, and if he return that the body is not found, another writ or precept of capias shall be immediately made, returnable forthwith, in which the sheriff shall be also commanded to seize his chattels, and safely to keep them; and if he return that the body is not found, and the indictee cometh not, an exigent shall be awarded and the chattels shall be forfeited, but if he come and yield himself, or he be taken, before the return of the fourth capias, the goods and chattels shall be saved. And in all trials for such offences, the prisoner shall have a copy of the indictment, and of the

Capias.