"In the county courts, if the debt was above forty shillings, there issued a justicies (a commission) to the sheriff, to enable him to hold such a plea, where the suitors (jurors) are judges of the law and fact." Gilbert's Cases in Law and Equity, &c;., &c;., 456. All the ancient writs, given in Glanville, for summoning jurors, indicate that the jurors judged of everything, on their consciences only. The writs are in this form: "Summon twelve free and legal men (or sometimes twelve knights) to be in court, prepared upon their oaths to declare whether A or B have the greater right to the land {or other thing) in question." See Writs in Beames' Glanville, p. 54 to 70, and 233 306 to 832. Crabbe, speaking of the time of Henry I., (1100 to 1135,) recognizes the fact that the jurors were the judges. He says: "By one law, every one was to be tried by his peers, who were of the same neighborhood as himself. * *By another law, the judges, for so the jury were called, were to be chosen by the party impleaded, after the manner of the Danish nem-bas; by which, probably, is to be understood that the defendant had the liberty of taking exceptions to, or challenging the jury, as it was afterwards called." Crabbe's History of the English Law, p. 55. Reeve says: "The great court for civil business was the county court; held once every four weeks. Here the sheriff presided; but the suitors of the court, as they were called, that is, the freemen or landholders of the county, were the judges; and the sheriff was to execute the judgment. "The hundred court was held before some bailiff; the leet before the lord of the manor's steward.[16] "Out of the county court was derived an inferior court of civil jurisdiction, called the court-baron. This was held from three weeks to three weeks, and was in every respect like the county court;" (that is, the jurors were judges in it;) "only the lord to whom this franchise was granted, or his steward presided instead of the sheriff;" 1 Reeve's History of the English Law, p. T., Chief Baron Gilbert says: