" That all subjects of the kingdom of England, shall, to the best of their power, keep the peace of their lord the king ; that they shall not be thieves or robbers, nor yet harbourers of them, nor shall in any way abet them ; and that whenever they shall be able to know of any malefactors of that character, they shall, to the best of their ability, endeavour to take them, and deliver them up to the sherifls, and they shall on no account be liberated but by our lord the king, or his chief justice ; and if they shall not be able to arrest them, they Bhall give notice of them, whoever they may be, to the bailiffs of our lord the king. When a hue and cry" is raised for the pursuit of outlaws, robbers, thieves, or the harbourers of such, all shall join in pursuit of them to the best of their ability ; and if they shall see any one, and it shall be clear that he has not joined in the said pursuit, or that he has, without permission, withdrawn himself therefrom, they shall take such same persons, as though they were the offenders, and deliver them to the sheriffs, not to be set at liberty, but by the king, or by his chief justice. " Also, the knights who are appointed for that purpose, shall make all persons of their respective districts, of the age of fifteen years and upwards, appear before them, and shall make them swear that they will keep the peace of our lord the king, in manner above-mentioned, and that they will not be outlaws, robbers, or thieves, nor yet harbourers of them, nor will in any way abet them ; and that they will, in manner above stated, make full pursuit of them, and, if they shall take any one in the commission of an offence, will deliver them to the knights placed over them in their respective districts and for that purpose appointed, who shall deliver him into the custody of the sheriff; and in like manner, on a hue and cry being raised for the purpose of pursuing the said offenders, if they shall see any person, or it shall be known to them that any person does not join in the pursuit, or if he shall, without leave, withdraw himself from the pursuit, they shall take him as the offender, and deliver him to the aforesaid knights, for the purpose of being delivered into the custody of the sheriff, as though he were the offender himself ; and he shall not be liberated, except by the command of our lord the king, or his chief justice." Accordingly, for the purpose of carrying out these orders, select and trustworthy men were sent throughout all the