Justices of the Peace.

Three in each district; elected by the people for four years; must reside in the district.  Salary, fees.

Duties.  Is a conservator of the peace; must see that the laws are obeyed; may issue warrants, attachments, etc.; may hold court for the trial of causes. (See Justices’ Courts.)

The jurisdiction of justices is fully explained under justices’ courts.  Justices of the peace receive no salaries, but they are allowed fees for the issuing and certifying of several kinds of legal documents.

A conservator of the peace is a preserver of the peace.  To preserve the peace is one of the chief duties of a justice of the peace, hence the title of his office.  If he have good reason to believe that any person intends to commit an offence against another, it is the duty of a justice to issue a warrant for the arrest of such person, and to require him to give bail or security for his good behavior.

In general it is the duty of the justice of the peace to do everything necessary to prevent, as well as to punish, violations of the criminal law in his district.

An attachment is a writ directing an officer of the law to arrest and bring into court a person who has been summoned to attend as a witness or a juror, but has failed to appear at the proper time.

Constable.

Elected by the people for four years; must reside in the district. 
Salary, fees.

Duties.  To make arrests; to serve notices; to execute any order, warrant, or process, legally directed to him; attend Justices’ Courts; execute its judgments, levy attachments, collect fines, report violations of the penal laws; may act as sheriff in certain cases.

The constable performs in his district the same sort of duties generally that the sheriff performs for the county.

Overseer of the Poor.

Elected by the people for four years; must reside in the district.  Salary, $2 for each day actually engaged, but not to exceed $20 per year.

Duties.  Shall care for and assist persons unable to maintain themselves, who have a legal settlement in his district; shall remove those not having a legal settlement; shall prevent persons from going about begging; may hold and administer certain property donated to charitable purposes; may place in an asylum, or bind out as an apprentice, any minor found begging, or likely to become chargeable to the county.

A legal settlement in the case of a pauper is residence for one year in the district and three years in the State.  Paupers not having a legal settlement may be removed to the place where they were last legally settled, but a warrant of removal must be obtained from a justice of the county or district.

A minor is a boy or girl under twenty-one years of age.

Conservators of the Peace.

Every judge throughout the State; every justice, commissioner in chancery, and notary within his county or corporation; conductors of railroad trains on their trains; depot agents at their places of business; masters of all steamers navigating the waters of the State on their respective vessels.