5 Geo. II. c. 11. and every juſtice, except as is therein excepted, ſhall have 100𝑙. per annum clear of all deductions; and, if he acts without ſuch qualification, he ſhall forfeit 100𝑙. This qualification[1] is almoſt an equivalent to the 20𝑙. per annum required in Henry the ſixth's time: and of this[2] the juſtice muſt now make oath. Alſo it is provided by the act 5 Geo. II. that no practiſing attorney, ſolicitor, or proctor, ſhall be capable of acting as a juſtice of the peace.
As the office of theſe juſtices is conferred by the king, ſo it ſubſiſts only during his pleaſure; and is determinable, 1. By the demiſe of the crown; that is, in ſix months after[3]. 2. By expreſs writ under the great ſeal[4], diſcharging any particular perſon from being any longer juſtice. 3. By ſuperſeding the commiſſion by writ of ſuperſedeas, which ſuſpends the power of all the juſtices, but does not totally deſtroy it; ſeeing it may be revived again by another writ, called a procedendo. 4. By a new commiſſion, which virtually, though ſilently, diſcharges all the former juſtices that are not included therein; for two commiſſions cannot ſubſiſt at once. 5. By acceſſion of the office of ſheriff or coroner[5]. Formerly it was thought, that if a man was named in any commiſſion of the peace, and had afterwards a new dignity conferred upon him, that this determined his office; he no longer anſwering the deſcription of the commiſſion: but now[6] it is provided, that notwithſtanding a new title of dignity, the juſtice on whom it is conferred ſhall ſtill continue a juſtice.
The power, office, and duty of a juſtice of the peace depend on his commiſſion, and on the ſeveral ſtatutes, which have created objects of his juriſdiction. His commiſſion, firſt, empowers him ſingly to conſerve the peace; and thereby gives him all the power of the antient conſervators at the common law, in ſuppreſſing
