met with an untimely death. To prevent therefore any riſings, or other diſturbance of the peace, the new king ſent writs to all the ſheriffs in England, the form of which is preſerved by Thomas Walſingham[1], giving a plauſible account of the manner of his obtaining the crown; to wit, that it was done ipſius patris beneplacito: and withal commanding each ſheriff that the peace be kept throughout his bailiwick, on pain and peril of diſinheritance and loſs of life and limb. And in a few weeks after the date of theſe writs, it was ordained in parliament[2], that, for the better maintaining and keeping of the peace in every county, good men and lawful, which were no maintainers of evil, or barretors in the country, ſhould be aſſigned to keep the peace. And in this manner, and upon this occaſion, was the election of the conſervators of the peace taken from the people, and given to the king[3]; this alignment being conſtrued to be by the king's commiſſion[4]. But ſtill they were called only conſervators, wardens, or keepers of the peace, till the ſtatute 34 Edw. III. c. 1. gave them the power of trying felonies; and then they acquired the more honorable appellation of juſtices[5].
These juſtices are appointed by the king's ſpecial commiſſion under the great ſeal, the form of which was ſettled by all the judges, A. D. 1590[6]. This appoints them all[7], jointly and ſeverally, to keep the peace, and any two or more of them to enquire of and determine felonies, and other miſdemeſnors: in which number ſome particular juſtices, or one of them, are directed to be always included, and no buſineſs to be done without their preſence; the words of the commiſſion running thus, "quorum aliquem veſtrum, A. B. C. D. &c. unum eſſe volumus;" whence the perſons ſo named are uſually called juſtices of the quorum. And formerly it was cuſtomary to appoint only a ſelect
