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Constable's duty upon notice given him of persons keeping a bawdy-house, gaming-house, or other disorderly houses, &c.
The charges of prosecution to the constable,
and £10 on conviction, to each of the two inhabitants, to be paid by the overseers, on penalty of forfeiting double the sum.
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5. And in order to encourage prosecutions against persons keeping bawdy-houses, gaming-houses, or other disorderly houses, be it enacted by the authority aforesaid, that if any two inhabitants of any parish or place, paying scot and bearing lot therein, do give notice in writing to any constable (or other peace officer of the like nature, where there is no constable,) of such parish or place of any person keeping a bawdy-house, gaming-house, or other disorderly house in such parish or place, the constable, or such officer as aforesaid, so receiving such notice, shall forthwith go with such inhabitants to one of his Majesty's justices of the peace of the county, city, riding, division, or liberty in which such parish or place does lie, and shall upon such inhabitants making oath before such justice that they do believe the contents of such notice to be true, and entering into a recognizance in the penal sum of twenty pounds each to give or produce material evidence against such person for such offence, enter into a recognizance in the penal sum of thirty pounds to prosecute with effect such person for such offence at the next general or quarter session of the peace, or at the next assizes to be holden for the county in which such parish or place does lie, as to the said justices shall seem meet; and such constable or other officer shall be allowed all the reasonable expenses of such prosecution, to be ascertained by any two justices of the peace of the county, city, riding, division, or liberty where the offence shall have been committed, and shall be paid the same by the overseers of the poor of such parish or place; and in case such person shall be convicted of such offence the overseers of the poor of such parish or place shall forthwith pay the sum of ten pounds to each of such inhabitants; and in case such overseer shall neglect or refuse to pay to such constable or other officer such expenses of the prosecution as aforesaid, or shall neglect or refuse to pay, upon demand, the said sums of ten pounds and ten pounds, such overseers and each of them shall forfeit to the person intitled to the same double the sum so refused or neglected to be paid.
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