Purpose of Course issues his Warrant to apprehend the Defendant to answer such Indictment
and if the Accusation is capital the Accused must lye in Prison till the Sessions following
whereas if tried the same Sessions the Bill was found he might have been acquitted and
discharged And we are informed that in September Sessions last a Felony Bill was refused
to be received because it was sent down on the Friday Morning through sent down as soon
as found and although the Person accused prayed by his Counsel he might be then tried and
that the Accused is since dead and had no Opportunity of Searing his Character

4.

If the Person Indicted should be innocent he is unnecessarily if not unlawfully imprisoned
from the Session in which such Indictment was found till the Sessions in which he is tried
If guilty he is punished by Imprisonment before he is found so

5.

Malicious Prosecutions may be encouraged by the Observance of this Rule, the Party is
usually taken up and imprisoned before the Session, a malicious Prosecutor knowing of this
Rule will not appear to find the Bill till Friday when the Old Baily will not receive it, so that
the Party not being tried cannot be acquitted and consequently cannot have a Copy of the
Indictment to sue the Prosecutor for his Malice.

6.

Honest Prosecutors may not be able to bring their Witnesses just to a day a material.
Witness may be not be found or may be Sick on the Wednesday who on the Thursday Afternoon
or Friday Morning may be produced or some Grand Juries may be more tedious then others in
the Examination of Witnesses

7

Prosecutors generally go with their Witnesses from Hicks's Hall to the Old Baily but if the
Bill is not received the Felon is discharged, and though he be taken up again before next Sessions
on the Certificate the Witnesses may then be dead gone beyond Sea or may not be to be found and
for want of Evidence the Felon will be acquitted whereas if tried the Sessions the Bill was found
might be convicted but if not tried till the next Sessions by reason the Court of Old Baily would
not receive the Bill the Sessions it was found may be acquitted for want of Evidence.

We beg have further to observe

8

The Grand Jury at Hicks's Hall by their Oaths must give their Verdict on all Bills brought to
them whilst Sitting and cannot refuse to hear the Evidence because brought two late, according to
this Rule at the Old Baily , when found they must bring them into the Court at Hicks's Hall
when brought into said Court must forthwith transmit them to the old Baily , the Sessions
cannot stop or retain the Said Bills they being for Crimes not triable there, if not received at
the Old Baily and so unavoidably retained at Hicks's Hall and sent down the next Sessions it
will be then two late for the Party is thenwasand was by the Court of Old Baily the Sessions
before discharged and may not be to be found though the Prosecutor takes never so much
pains about it

9

The Clerk of the Peace of Middx is an Officer of the Old Baily and attends thereby his
Deputy Mr. Mathews Clerk of the Arraignments on the Middx Side and has the
Custody of the Records of that Court We would therefore submit whether it can be said
there is no Indictment found and so the Prisoner be discharged when their own Officer
has the same in his Custody

10

As the Court at the Old Baily has not of late years been known to strand still and wait
for Bills we apprehend it will be the same to the said Court whether the Bills are
transmitted to them on the Thursday or the Friday if they have other Bills at that time
before them not tried and we must observe that in September Sessions last when the said
Court refused on the Friday Morning to receive seven Felony Bills transmitted from