cafe it will be no defence that the person complained of was an officer making a feizure a. TED. BUT though where the act of feizure is attended with a INTERPRE riot, the juftices of the peace may punish those guilty of the riot, whether officers of the revenue or not; yet they cannot take cognifance of the legality or illegality of the act of feizure, unless in the particular cafes where the law has given them jurifdiction b. By one decifion, the juftices of the peace were found competent in an action for the penalty incurred by tranfgreling the ftatute of queen Anne, 1703, cap. 7, discharging "the importation of Irish victual, beef, and cattle," Kilkerran, title Jurifdiction of Juftices of Peace, No. 3, July 17, 1747; Ramfay against Adderton. Adderton, furveyor of the customs at Ayr, made a feizure of three casks of brandy, as being carried without a permit. Ramfay, to whom the fpirits belonged, brought a complaint before the juftices of the peace, who repelled the declinature offered by Adderton to their jurifdiction; and having been fatisfied on a proof, that the fpirits had been lawfully purchafed, and illegally seized, “ decerned the fpirits to be delivered up to "the comptroller, or 71. 16s. fterling as the value, and condemned Mr. "Adderton in 41. sterling in name of damages and expence." An appeal to the quarter-feffions having been difmiffed as incompetent, Mr. Adderton brought the cafe by advocation ander the review of the court of feffion. The ordinary found," that the ❝juftices of the peace had no jurif"diction in this cafe, and advocated the caufe;" and alfo "found the 2 3 "caufe incompetent before the lords, "and difmiffed the fame." And, on reprefentation and anfwers, " found, "that as nothing of its nature cri"minal, nor any irregularity what ever, was alleged in the complaint "against the officer, other than what "is by the comptroller fuppofed to "arife from the bare act of feizure "complained of, the fame was not "competent before the juftices of the peace; and that neither was it cog"nofcible by the court of feflion, and "adhered to his former interlocu "tor;" and on advifing petition and anfwers, the lords adhered to the interlocutor of the lord ordinary. b 6 Geo. I, gives jurifdiction to the juftices of peace touching the legality of feizures, where the quantity feized is within 63 gallons, in pro-. fecutions brought at the fuit of the officer, and where the iffue to be tried is for unlawful importation. But this will fall more properly ta be explained when we come to treat of the excife and customs. § 4. THEIR JURISDIC STRICTLY TED. unless in times of scarcity, under certain regulations; although the ftatute declares that the penalties may be profeTION cuted before the judge ordinary a. "This," lord GardenINTERPRE- ftone remarks, "is a fingle decifion; and I doubt if its au"thority fhould be followed in a fimilar cafe; as the jurif"diction of justices being special, and defined by particular "statutes, fhould not be extended beyond the express pro"vifions of the law b." Ir is unneceffary to add, that our feffions of the peace are not in general competent to civil caufes. They were found incompetent in an action upon the paffive titles for payment of 291. Scots c. A SIMILAR decifion was pronounced in the case of an action for payment of 50l. fterling, confifting partly of a legacy bequeathed to the purfuer by one whom the defender reprefented, and partly of articles furnished to the latter himself, which it was offered to inftruct by his oath. The juftices pronounced decree against him; of which a bill of fufpenfion was paffed, without caution or confignation; the lords being of opinion that the decree was pronounced by an incompetent judged. And in a ftill later cafe, the court again found, that juftices of peace have no jurifdiction in ordinary questions of debt. In one cafe, however, a de § 4. THEIR JU TION STRICTLY TED. cree of the juftices, for the fum of 31. 10s. fterling, due for grafs-mail, or rent for pasture, was fustained; but whether in RISDICrefpect of the supposed competency of the justices in fuch queftions, or of their jurifdiction having been prorogated, both INTERPREpoints being pleaded, does not appear. This decifion was not univerfally approved of. Lord Gardenftone remarks: "the "lords, during laft feffion, did sustain a decree of the juf"tices for a small debt; a precedent which, in my opinion, "tends to a dangerous latitude. As we have no power to enlarge or limit the extent of this ftatutory jurifdiction; and " in every cafe it will be an arbitrary queftion, what is to "be confidered as a fmall debt within the powers of the 'juftices; but the fafe, fole, and, I think, the found " ་་ principle to determine the powers of our juftices of peace, is, "that they have no power or jurifdiction beyond what fome law or ftatute has exprefsly committed to "them." THIS principle, indeed, the court of feffion have not only in general adopted, but carried fo far as to find that the juftices. of peace could not acquire civil jurifdiction even by prorogation, that is, the consent of both the litigating parties. And we have had already occafion to obferve, that the supreme court have uniformly refused to authorise letters of horning and caption to pafs even upon the regular decrees of the feffions. $ 4. THEIR JU TION The general principle, therefore, of their having no civil juRISDIC- risdiction, unless from particular statutes, is established by STRICTLY Concurring decifions of the fupreme court, and can nowife INTERPRE- be fhaken by that confuetudinary jurisdiction affumed by TED. them in fome places of the country, which naturally introduces the next chapter. CHAP. IV. Of the Civil Jurisdiction of the Sessions under the Small Debt Acts. § I. SUMMARY SMALL [O human code of law can be without imperfections. If it be commenfurate to the extended occafions, and important business, of an opulent and flourishing communi- DECIDING ty, it becomes, from the expence and difficulties of litiga- CAUSES. tion, lefs adapted to the petty claims and controverfies that daily multiply, and neither fafely nor justly can be overlooked. THIS appears even in the cafe of our neighbouring coun- Why neceftry; where both civil and criminal jurifprudence has been fary. fo carefully and fuccefsfully cultivated. Yet there," if "the debt exceeds 40s. the action may be brought in a fu ་ " perior court, where, if contefted or defended, the ex pence, at the loweft computation, muft be upwards of "gol. sterling". "amounted to no lefs than 5719; a Police of the Metropolis, by Mr. Colquhoun; who further states, that "and the aggregate amount of debts "in the county of Middlesex alone, "fued for, was the fum of 81,7911. "in the year 1793, the number of "It will fcarcely be credited," he bailable writs, and executions for adds, “ although it is most unquef“debts, from 10l. to 201. fterling, "tionably true, that the mere cofts |