[150] Of the several Statutes dealing with police passed during the reign of George II., the most valuable and important is the 24 Geo. ii., c. 44, which enacts that action cannot be brought against a constable for anything done by him in obedience to a Justice's warrant, unless the Justice who signed the warrant is made a joint-defendant with the constable; and which directs that if action is brought jointly against the Justice and the constable, then the jury shall find for the latter, provided that they are satisfied that he acted strictly in accordance with the terms of the warrant that he pleads in justification. When making an arrest a constable should, if required, shew the warrant which is his authority, but he need not allow it to leave his hand. [151] 29 Geo. ii., c. 25. [152] 31 Geo. ii., c. 17. [153] 14 Geo. iii. c. 90. [154] Wedderburn. [155] This was the first occasion on which the word "police" was officially made use of in the British Isles. [156] Irish Statutes, 26 Geo. iii., c. 24. [157] 33 Geo. iii., c. 4. [158] By 29 Car. ii. c. 7, § 7 it was enacted that no liability attached to the Hundred if a man be robbed whilst travelling on a Sunday--"for he should not travel on the Lord's Day, nor ought the Hundred to watch on that day of rest." Nevertheless it was ordained that Hue and Cry should be raised against a known offender, despite the non-liability of the Hundred, in order that depredators should not take advantage of the omission. Actions against the Hundred had to be brought within three months from the date of the damage, and there was no liability for deeds done in the night-time--if, however, there was just sufficient light to see a man's face, liability might be proved, whatever the hour. No charge against the Hundred held good for any robbery done in a man's house, "because every man's house is his castle, which he ought to defend; and if any one be robbed in his house it shall be esteemed his own fault" (Dalton, c. 84); and with regard to liability on account of murder and robbery committed in the daytime, see "Year Book of the Exchequer," (16 Edward I.) [159] 42 Geo. iii., c. 76. [160] Between 1822 and 1828, the increase was about 38 per cent. [161] It has been calculated that at this time there were as many as fifty fraudulent mints in the metropolis alone. [162] In the hope of suppressing the seditious spirit so rife at this period, six coercive measures generally known as the "Six Acts" were rushed through both Houses of Parliament in a special autumn session of 1819. These Acts sought to preserve the peace by placing restrictions on the press, by forbidding the training of unauthorized persons in the use of arms, by empowering Justices of the Peace to search for and confiscate weapons, and by other repressive measures of a similar nature.