To recover damages from the owner or proprietor of a public mill, for an injury sustained by the erection of said mill, the party injured shall apply by petition to the court of pleas and quarter sessions of the county in which the land to which damage is done is situate, setting forth in what respect he or she is injured by the erection of said mill, having first given the owner of said mill ten days' previous notice of such appli cation; and it shall be the duty of the court thereupon to or der a writ to be issued to the sheriff, commanding him to summon a jury of freeholders unconnected with the parties by consanguinity or affinity, and entirely disinterested,one of whom shall be the owner or part owner of any public mill, to meet on the premises on a certain day, of which he shall give each party five days' previous notice; and the jury so summoned shall attend, and after having taken an oath (which the sheriff or his deputy is to administer) that they will well and truly enquire whether any damage hath been sustained, that they will impartially, according to the best of their judgment and ability, assess the amount which the pe titioner ought annually to receive from the owner or proprietor of said mill on account thereof,-they shall proceed to view and examine the premises, and to hear all the evidence which may be produced on both sides, and shall retire to them. selves and make up their verdict, as to the sum which the petitioner is entitled to receive as an annual compensation for the damage he sustains, reduce the

names thereto, and deliver it to me to writing, sign their

the sheriff up, to be delivered to the court from whence the writ issued, at the next succeeding term; which verdict shall be binding between the parties for the term of five years (unless the damage should be increased by raising the water or otherwise, if said mills are kept up) from the filing of the petition, unless appealed from by either of them.

If the verdict he, that the petitioner hath sustained no daimage, he shall pay all costs, and execution shall be issued therefor by the clerk of the court; but if in favour of the petitioner, it shall be issued against the defendant for the amount of one year's damage preceding the filing of the petition, and or all costs. And if the defendant do not annually pay up the petitioner, his heirs or assigns, before it shall fall due, the sum assessed by said verdict as the damage to be paid annually, such petitioner, his heirs or assigns, inay annually during the five years, apply to the clerk for an execution against him, at the same term the petition was filed, in

each and every year, for the amount of the last year's da mage, or any part thereof which may remain unpaid.

The sheriff for summoning each juror or witness shall be entitled to two shillings; and each juror shall be entitled ta eight shillings per day for attending on the premises, and four pence per mile for travelling to and from the place of trial; an account of which they shall render on oath to the sheriff after making up their verdict, to be returned therewith to court; and the clerk shall receive the same fees as in other cases of petition where no copy is issued.

The right of appeal is given to both parties. But if the plaintiff appeal and recover no higher damages in the superior court than were, awarded by the jury on the premises, he shall pay all the costs of his appeal.

In all cases where the jury shall assess the yearly damage. as high as ten pounds, the party injured, his heirs or assigns, may sue as has heretofore been usual in such cases. And the verdict of the jury on the premises, shall then be binding only for one year's damage preceding the filing of the petition. Acts 1809, c. 15.

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The owners of lands which shall be overflowed by reason of the erection of mills for domestic manufactures, or other useful purposes, shall have the same remedy against the persons erecting such mills or the owners thereof, as is given in the aforesaid act against owners of public mills.

In all cases arising under the said act, where either party shall appeal from the county to the superior court, the trial is the superior court shall be had at bar.

The venire issued under the said act to the sheriff, shall, command him to summon twenty-four jurors, from whom twelve shall be drawn to form the jury. And each party may challenge either peremptorily or for cause, as in other civil

cases.

See Inspection.

MISDEMEANORS.

Misdemeanors are all such offences, under the degree of felony, which have or have not a particular name assigned to them; and which are punishable by fine or imprisonment, or both

MISPRISION OF FELONY..... .... MUTE.

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MISPRISION OF FELONY.

Misprision of Felony is the concealment of any felony which a man knows but never assented to. For if he assented, this makes him either principal or accessory. The punishment for this in a public officer, is by statute, imprisonment for a year and a day; in a common person, fine and imprisonment at the discretion of the court.

The harbouring a person commonly reputed to be a felon, has often been indicted in our superior courts, and the party fined and imprisoned.-Hayw.

MISPRISION OF TREASON-See Treason.

MITTIMUS-See Commitment.

A person is said to stand mute, when, being arraigned for treason or felony, he either makes no answer at all, or answers foreign to the purpose, or with such matter as is not allowable or upon having pleaded not guilty, refuses to put himself upon the country. In high treason or petit larceny, and in all misdemeanors, this amounts to a conviction, and the court will give judgment accordingly. But in petit treason and other felonies he thall not be looked upon as convicted so as to receive judgment for the felony, but should at the common law have received judgment of penance, that is, if he be found obstinately mute. But the court, before pronouncing this judgment, if he says nothing, should empanel a jury to enquire whether he stands obstinately mute, or whether he be dumb by the visitation of God. If the latter ap pears to be the case, the judges of the court shall proceed to the trial, and examine all points as if he had pleaded not guilty. But it is to be doubted whether judgment of death can be given against such a prisoner, who hath never pleaded, and can say nothing in arrest of judgment.

Before this judgment is pronounced, the prisoner should be admonished three times, and also shall have a convenient respite of a few hours, and the sentence should be distinctly read to him that he may know his danger, and if his offence Dd

is clergyable, that should be allowed him; but if no other means will prevail, the judgment is then given against himwhich is,

"That he be remanded to the prison from whence he came, and put into a low dark chamber, and there be laid on his back, on the bare floor, naked unless where decency forbids. That there be laid upon his body as great a weight of iron as he can bear, and more. That he shall have no sustenance, save only, on the first day, three morsels of the worst bread, and on the second day three draughts of standing water that shall be nearest to the prison door. And in this situation this shall be alternately his daily diet, till he dies." Though formerly it ran, "till he answered."

There is no instance of this judgment having ever been pronounced in this country. And for that reason, as well as because cruel and unusual punishments are expressly forbidden to be used in this state by the 10th section of our bill of rights, I am of opinion that such judgment could not now be pronounced in this state. Hayw.

NAMES.

The county court may, on application, alter the name of names of any person; which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as if done by the general assembly.

NIGHT-WALKERS-See Arrest.

NON COMPOS-See Idiots and Lunatics.

NOTARIES.

The governor shall, from time to time, as any vacancy may happen, appoint one or more persons properly qualified, to act as notary or notaries at the different ports in this state. And the said notaries shall take the oath appointed to be taken for the qualification of the public officers, and also an oath of office; which oath may be taken in and administered by the court of pleas and quarter sessions of the county in which such notary shall reside. There shall not be more than one notary appointed to reside in any one place at the same time.

In all actions at law wherein it may be necessary to prove a demand upon the drawer of a bill of exchange, or the maker

of a promissory note or other negotiable security, the protest of a notary public, of for want of a notary public, of a justice of the peace, shall be evidence of the demand as in cases of "foreign bills of exchange.

NUISANCES.

Nuisances are the doing a thing to the annoyance of all the citizens, or the neglecting to do a thing which the common good requires.

Common nuisances are such inconvenient or troublesome offences as annoy the whole community in general, and not merely some particular person; and therefore are indictable only, and not actionable,—as it would be unreasonable to multiply suits, by giving every man a separate right of action for what damnifies him in common only with the rest of his fellow citizens.

Of this nature are all annoyances in roads, bridges, and public rivers, by rendering the same inconvenient or danger. ous to pass. By actual obstructions, or by want of reparations, for both of these, the person so obstructing, or such persons as are bound to repair and cleanse them, may be indicted and fined, and distrained to amend and repair them.

Where a house is erected, or inclosure made upon any part of the public lands, or of a road or common street, or public water, it is called purpresture.

All those kinds of nuisances, which when injurious to a private man, are actionable, are, when detrimental to the public, punishable by public prosecution, and subject to fine according to the quantity of the misdemeanor; particularly the keeping of hogs in any city or market town, is indictable as a public nuisance. All disorderly inns or ordinaries, tippling houses, bawdy houses, gaming houses, booths, and stages for rope dancers, monntebanks, and the like, are public nuisances, and may upon indictment be suppressed and fined. Inns or ordinaries in particular, may be indicted, suppressed, and the keeper thereof fined, for refusing to entertain a traveller without a very sufficient cause.

Also eavesdroppers, or such as listen under walls or windows, or the eaves of a house, to hearken after discourse, and thereupon to frame slanderous or mischievous tales, is indictable as a nuisance, and punishable by fine, and finding surees for the good behaviour. Also a common scold, communis trix (for our law confines it to the feminine gender) is a

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