1865. v. Governor of We were pressed by the argument founded on the later : The QUEEN statute, which empowers the justice by his warrant to commit poor rate defaulters to the common gaol or house of correction for the county; it being contended that stat. 4 G. 4. c. 64., which was passed many years before, cannot control the discretion of the magistrate acting under the later statute, and that he may select the gaol or the house of correction to which the defaulter should be committed. But the provision in stat. 20 & 21 Vict. c. cxviii. s. 14., when considered with reference to the former statute, has this meaning: under stat. 4 G. 4. c. 64. s. 4. it is competent to the Quarter Sessions to make an order for the classification of the common gaol and the house and houses of correction in each county in one county they may make an order as to the common gaol, in another they may make it as to the house of correction; and in that state of things the Legislature provides that the magistrate may commit "to the common gaol or house of correction," that is, to such one of them as under the regulations made by the Quarter Sessions is at the time of issuing his warrant applicable to the detention of persons making default in the payment of rates. In the present case, the House of Correction at Coldbath Fields having been by order of the Quarter Sessions for Middlesex made applicable to classes of prisoners which do not include defaulters in payment of rates, the committing magistrate ought to have exercised his discretion by committing to the common gaol, as to which no order had been made by the justices. Judgment for the defendant (a). (a) See the next cases. 1865. June 7th.] THE QUEEN against The Governor of The Debtors [Wednesday, THE QUEEN against The Governor or of the Gaol of NEWGATE. Prisons. Commitment for nonpay ment of rates. 12 & 13 Vict. Keeper c. 14. 8. 2. Stat. 52 G. 3. c. ccix. empowered the Corporation of London to erect a new prison for the imprisonment of prisoners confined under civil process in the custody of the sheriff of Middlesex and sheriffs of London. Sect. 56 enacted that the Gaol of Newgate should thereafter be appropriated exclusively to the confinement of such felons and other prisoners, liable to be confined therein, as are not by this Act authorized to be confined in the said new prison." Sect. 57. "Provided always and be it further enacted, that all prisoners by process of contempt for not paying any sum or sums of money, or costs issuing out of any Court of law, and all prisoners for contempt of any Court of equity, for not paying any sum or sums of money, or costs, ordered to be paid by any decree or order of any such Court, shall for the purposes of this Act be considered as prisoners confined under civil process, and shall be accordingly removed to and confined in the said new prison." Sect. 58. "Provided always and be it further enacted, that nothing in this Act contained shall extend, or be construed to extend, to infringe, defeat, or affect the power or authority of any Court, Judge, Justice, Commissioners of bankrupts, or others, to commit any person or persons whomsoever to the said gaol of Newgate, or to any other gaol or prison." The Debtors Prison for London and Middlesex, in Whitecross Street, in the city of London, was erected under that Act. Newgate is the common gaol for the city of London and the county of Middlesex for the confinement of felons and other offenders, and is also a prison for the confinement of other persons in the custody of the sheriffs of London and of the sheriff of Middlesex. By stat. 12 & 13 Vict. c. 14. 8. 2., in default of distress whereon to levy a poor rate or highway rate with costs, two justices are empowered to issue their warrant of commitment against the person in default to the common gaol or house of correction for any time not exceeding three calendar months, unless the sums therein mentioned be sooner paid. A. B. and C. D., defaulters in payment of rates, the payment of which might by law be enforced under stat. 12 & 13 Vict. c. 14. s. 2., were committed respectively to Whitecross Street Prison and Newgate. Held, per Cockburn C. J., Crompton, Blackburn and Shee JJ., that the warrants of commitment were civil and not criminal process, and therefore the commitment to Whitecross Street Prison was right, and, Cockburn C. J. dubitante, the commitment to Newgate wrong. VOL. VI. 2 c B. & S. 1865. The QUEEN THE QUEEN against The Governor of the Debtors V. Governor of WHITECROSS PRISON. Prison for LONDON and MIDDLESEX, in WHITECROSS A RULE absolute in the first instance for a writ of The following special case was stated for the opinion of this Court. Before the 5th August, 1863, R. Mason was duly rated and assessed to the poor rate, sewers rate, general rate, and other rates in respect of premises in his occupation, and the sum of 47. 16s. 10d., a portion of the rates, being in arrear and unpaid, he was summoned before two justices of the peace who in default of his appearance issued their warrant of distress to levy the sum of 4l. 16s. 10d. and costs. A return was duly made that no sufficient distress could be found; whereupon the two justices, on the 13th November, 1863 (R. Mason having been duly summoned to appear and shew cause in that behalf), made, signed and sealed a warrant for committing him to the common gaol for debtors for the county of Mid 1865. The QUEEN V. Governor of STREET PRISON. dlesex, that is to say, the Debtors Prison for London and Middlesex, for the space of one calendar month, unless the sum of 4l. 16s. 10d. and the costs and charges in the warrant of commitment mentioned should be WHITECROSS sooner paid. R. Mason was, by virtue of the warrant, taken into custody and conveyed to the gaol in Whitecross Street, and presented, with the warrant of commitment, to the governor and keeper of the gaol, who as such keeper was requested to receive him into the gaol and to detain him there in obedience to the warrant. The keeper, after reading the warrant, refused to receive or detain R. Mason, because he had been directed by the gaol committee of the Court of Aldermen of the city of London not to receive any persons committed there for nonpayment of rates; and R. Mason was not received into the gaol, or detained there in obedience to the warrant. The justices committed R. Mason to that gaol under stat. 12 & 13 Vict. c. 14. s. 2., which gives justices power to commit to "the common gaol or house of correction." The House of Correction for the county of Middlesex is situated in Coldbath Fields, in the parish of Clerkenwell, in that county, and T. H. Colvill is the keeper thereof, and it was built in pursuance of stat. 26 G. 3. c. 55. This is a house of correction of the ordinary kind, and is exclusively under the control and management of the justices of Middlesex, and neither the sheriffs of London and Middlesex, nor the Corporation of London, have anything to do with it. There is another prison in the same parish called the House of Detention, which was erected under letters patent of James the 1st, as mentioned in the order of justices of the 14th January, 1865. The QUEEN V. 1864. The House of Detention is also exclusively under the control and management of the justices of Middlesex, and the keeper is appointed by them, and neither the WHITECROSS sheriffs of London and Middlesex, nor the Corporation of London, have anything to do with it. Governor of STREET PRISON. The case then stated the two orders of the Quarter Sessions for the county of Middlesex, made on the 24th May, 1860, and the 14th January, 1864, respectively, and the facts relating to them, as in the preceding case, pp. 356-358. However before the order of the 14th January, 1864, was made, the justices received notice from the city solicitor on behalf of the Court of Mayor and Aldermen that the justices had no power to make the order, and that the Court would consider the orders to be illegal. There is not now and never was a common gaol for the county of Middlesex locally situate in that county except it be one or other of the gaols or prisous mentioned in this case. c. 67. The Queen's gaol of Newgate is situate in the city of London, and is correctly described in the Acts of Parliament herein referred to. It was rebuilt under stats. 7 G. 3. c. 37. and 18 G. 3. c. 48. Stat. 18 G. 3. was also to be taken as part of the case. The Debtors Prison for London and Middlesex was erected under the provisions of stat. 52 G. 3. c. ccix. and is situate in Whitecross Street, in the city of London. The governor of that prison refuses to receive persons committed for nonpayment of rates. Newgute as also the Debtors Prison for London and Middlesex at Whitecross Street, in the city of London, have |