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Sheriff of Middlesex, Case of the

State Trials Cited authorities 17 Cited in Precedent Map Related
Vincent
JurisdictionEngland & Wales
Judgment Date27 January 1840
Date27 January 1840
CourtState Trial Proceedings
CASE OF THE SHERIFF OF MIDDLESEX. PROCEEDINGS UPON A WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS IN THE CASE OF THE SHERIFF OF MIDDLESEX, BEFORE LORD DENMAN, C.J., LITTLEDALE, WILLIAMS, AND COLERIDGE, J.J., IN THE COURT OF QUEENS BENCH AT WESTMINSTER, ON JANUARY 27, 1840. (Reported in 11 A. & E. 273, 3 P. & D. 349, 8 Dowl. P.C. 451, and 4 Jur. 70.) To a writ of habeas corpus ad subjiciendum, &c. it was returned by the Serjeant-at-Arms of the House of Commons that he detained the prisoners on the following warrant, directed to him by the Speaker : " Martis 21 die Januarii, 1840.--Whereas the House of Commons have this day resolved that W. E. and J. W., sheriff of Middlesex, having been guilty of a contempt and breach of the privileges of this House, be committed to the custody of the Serjeant-at-Arms attending this House, these are therefore to require you to take into your custody the bodies of the said W. E. and J. W. and them safely to keep during the pleasure of this House, for which this shall be your sufficient warrant. " Given under my hand, &c. "CHARLES SHAW LEFEVUE, Speaker." Commitment for Contempt by House of Commons Jurisdiction of Court of Law. Held by the Court, that- 1. A warrant of commitment by order of the House of Commons for contempt of the House need not specify the grounds of the order ; 2. Whatever jurisdiction a court of law may have when the grounds are specified in the warrant, it has no jurisdiction to inquire into their existence or sufficiency when they are not specified, and in such case the return of the warrant is conclusive ; 3. The Court will take judicial notice of the office of the Speaker of the House, and of his authority to give effect to its order ; 4. The warrant was not vitiated by verbal defects. January 23,1840. B. V. Richards moved for a writ of habeas corpus requiring Sir William Gosset, Knight, Serjeant.at-Arms of the House of Commons, or other person having the custody, &c., to bring before this Court the bodies of Wiltiam, Evans, Esq., and John Wheelton, Esq., with the day and cause of their being taken and detained, &c., to undergo, &o. The motion was made on the affidavit of Messrs. Evans and Wheelton, sheriff of Middlesex, which set out the various proceedings in the cause of Stockdale v. Hansard, down to the return of the vendi tioni exponas.(a) It then stated that they had declined paying over to the plaintiff (a) December 19, 1839. See above, p. 947. the money levied without an order of this Court, having been served by Messrs. Hansard, the defendants in the above-mentioned cause, with a notice informing the deponents of certain resolutions passed by the House of Commons on May 31st, 1837,(a) and August 1st, 1839, (b) and warn. (a) See above, p. 737. (b) These resolutions had reference to a report published by Messrs. Hansard under the orders of the House, respecting the islands of New Zealand and declared that " to bring or assist in bringing any action against them" (Messrs. Hansard) "for such publication would be a breach of the privilege of this House "; they also directed Messrs. Hansard not to defend an action with which they were threatened for publishing the report. See Corn. Journ. 94, 502. 1241] Case of the Sheriff of Middlesex, 1840. [1242 ing them that, if they proceeded in the levy, their conduct would be represented to the House, and they would become amenable to its authority, as expressed in the said resolutions. The affidavit then stated the service upon the deponents of the rule nisi granted by this Court on the first day of the present term, and the order of the Insolvent Debtors Court(a) ; and that they were afterwards served with orders to attend the House of Commons, and bring with them all notices served upon them in respect of this cause, and all writs, rules of court, orders, or other authorities, &c., in obedience to which they had acted therein. That in obedience to such orders they attended the House and wore examined at the bar touching the execution of the said writs, &c. That on January 21st the House resolved (as appears by the votes and proceedings) that the execution had been levied in contempt of the privileges of the House and that the sheriff should be ordered to refund the amount,(b) and that William Evans and John Wheelton, Esqrs., sheriff of Middlesex, should be then called to the bar, and the resolutions communicated to them by the Speaker. That the deponents were then called to the bar, and the resolutions communicated to them by the Speaker, who acquainted them that, if they had anything to say to the House, the House was ready to hear it ; whereupon lie deponents withdrew. And it was further resolved (and appears by the votes and proceedings of the House) as follows : "That William Evans, Esquire, and John Wheelton, Esquire, sheriff of Middlesex, having been guilty of a contempt and breach of the privileges of this House, be committed to the custody of the Serjeant-at-Arms attending this House, and that Mr. Speaker do issue his warrant ace rdi ogly." (c) The deponents then stated- " that they were thereupon taken into custody of the Serjeant-at-Arms, Sir W. Goaset, Knight, for not paying over, as they believe, the said money in obedience to the said order ; and (a) See above, Stockdale v. Hansard, p. 948. (b) The printed votes and proceedings of January 21st 1840 contained the following resolutions of the House : "That it appears to this House that execution in the cause of Stockdale v. Hansard has been levied to the amount of 6401. by the sale of the property of Messrs. Hansard, in contempt of the privileges of this House, and that such money now remains in the hands of the sheriff of Middesex. "That the said sheriff be ordered to refund the said amount forthwith to Messrs. Hansard." Cora. Journ. 95, 16. (c) Corn. Journ. 95, 19. they are informed, but of their own knowledge they do not know, that some warrant or other document has been made out by the Speaker of the said House of Commons, or some other person, under which the said Serjeant-at. Arms detains deponents in custody ; but they further say that they have not, nor bath either of them, read the same or any copy thereof, or heard the same or any part read by any person whatsoever, but a paper purporting to be a warrant was shown to them these deponents. That they are not detained in the custody of the said Serjeant-in.Arms for or by reason of any cause other than for the matters aforesaid. That throughout the whole of the said proceedings in this cause, they have acted bond fide and to the best of their judgment as officers of this Court in the execution of the process of the Court. That they have been committed to the custody of the Serjeant-at-Arms of the said House by reason only, as they verily believe, of what they have so done in the discharge of their duty as officers of this Court, and in obedience to Her Majestys writs, and to the rules and orders of the Court ; and that they have been and are thus imprisoned-and continued and kept in prison in order, amongst other things, that they may thereby be induced or compelled to pay back the said money to the said defendants in the said cause, instead of paying it over to the said plaintiff in the said cause, according to the writs, rules, and orders aforesaid. That they have throughout the whole of the said proceedings been earnestly desirous, and still are so, to do their duty in their said office faithfully to Her Majesty and to this Court, and that they are hindered and obstructed and put in peril and danger in so doing, in consequence of the said order to refund the said money to the said defendants, and by reason of their being imprisoned and de-. tained as aforesaid. That they would not have been committed to custody at all if they had complied with the said order to refund the said amount to the said defendants." The rule was granted and the writ issued in the usual form, returnable immediati.(a) (a) 3 P. & D. 350. The writ is set out at length in Com. Journ. 95, 25. January 24, 1840. The Serjeant-at-Arms informed the House that he had been served with the writ, and that he had not made any return, considering it his duty in the first place to receive the instructions of the House. Whereupon it was ordered "that the Serjeant-at-Arms attending this House be directed to make a return to the said writ, that he holds the bodies of the said William Evans, Esquire, and John Wheelton, Esquire, by virtue of a warrant under the hand of Mr. Speaker, by the authority of the House of Commons, for a contempt and a breach of the privileges of the House. Com. Journ. 95, 25. Ou the day following the service of the writ upon the Serjeant-at-Arms R. V. Richards applied to the Court on behalf of the sheriff of Middlesex for an attachment against the Ser- 1243] Case of the Sherif of Middlesex, 1840. [1244 On Monday, January 27th, the Serjeantat-Arms brought into Court Messrs. Evans and Wheelton, the sheriff, and made the following return (a) : " I, the said Sir William (cosset, Knight, Serjeant-at-Arms of the House of Commons, in the writ hereunto annexed named, do hereby certify and return, in obedience to the said writ, that, before the coming of the said writ to me, to wit, on the 21st day of January, in the year of our Lord 1840, I did take into my custody, and have thenceforth always hitherto detained in my custody, and still do detain in my custody, the said William Evans, Esquire, and John Wheelton, Esquire, in the said writ named, under and by virtue of a certain warrant under the hand of the Right Honourable Charles Shaw Lefevre, Speaker of the said House of Commons, Which said warrant is as follows: "Martis 21. die Januarii 1840. " Whereas the House of Commons have this day resolved that William Evans, Esquire, and John Wheelton, Esquire, sheriff of Middlesex, having. been guilty of a contempt and breach of the privileges of this House, be committed to the custody of the Serjeant at-Arms attending this House : "These are...

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