ordained, that every justice of peace shall have authority, by his discretion, to let such prisoners and persons so arrested to bail or mainprize."—By this act, it appears that there had been abuses in matter of imprisonment, and that the legislature meant to provide for the immediate enlargement of persons arrested on light suspicion of felony.
The statute of 3 Henry VII. in 1486, declares, that, "under colour of the preceding act of Richard the Third, persons, such as were not mainpernable, were oftentimes let to bail or mainprize by justices of the peace, whereby many murderers and felons escaped, the King, &c. hath ordained, that the justices of the peace, or two of them at least (whereof one to be of the quorum) have authority to let any such prisoners or persons, mainpernable by the law, to bail or mainprize."
The statute of 1st and 2d of Philip and Mary, in 1554, sets forth, that, "Notwithstanding the preceding statute of Henry the Seventh, one justice of peace hath oftentimes, by sinister labour and means, set at large the greatest and notablest offenders,
