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Party by whom stolen goods are received to be examined by the justices, &c.
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55. When any person shall be brought before any divisional justice charged with having or conveying any thing stolen or unlawfully obtained, and shall declare that he received the same from some other person, or that he was employed as a carrier, agent, or servant to convey the same for some other person, such justice is hereby authorized and required to cause every such person, and also, if necessary, every former or pretended purchaser, or other person through whose possession the same shall have passed, to be brought before him and examined, and to examine witnesses upon oath touching the same; and if it shall appear to such justice that any person shall have had possession of such thing, and had reasonable cause to believe the same to have been stolen or unlawfully obtained, every such person shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and to have had possession of such thing at the time and place when and where the same shall have been found or seized, and the possession of a carrier, agent, or servant shall be deemed to be the possession of the person who shall have employed such other person to convey the same, and shall be liable to a penalty of not less than five pounds, or, in the discretion of the justice, may be imprisoned in any gaol or house of correction within the police district, with or without hard labour, for any time not exceeding three calendar months.
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