Section II Sheriff refusing the Oath.

Penalty.; Quarter Sessions may examine the Matter upon Oath;; and to discharge Prisoner, if truly a Prisoner.

And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid That in case any Sheriff Goaler or Keeper of Prison shall refuse to take the said Oath hereinbefore appointed to be taken X1he being thereto required unlesse it shall appeare by the Comitments and Books belonging to the said Prison that the person for whom such Oath is required was not really and truely a prisoner in the custody of the said Goaler and Keeper according to the tenour of the Oath abovemenc[i]oed and that otherwise the said Goaler or Keeper Goalers or Keepers for his or their so refuseing to take such Oath shall forfeit and pay to such prisoner so about to be discharged and released from prison and thereby detained the value of such debt or debts for which hee or she shall be imprisoned to be recovered by Action of Debt in any of their Majesties Courts of Record And that then and in that case upon complaint of the prisoner the Justices of the Peace of the County City or Towne where the prison lies att their Quarter Sessions shall have power to examine the said matter upon Oath of any other persons which Oath they are hereby impowered and required to administer And if it shall appeare upon the said examination to them or the major part of them there present that the said prisoner was really and truely a prisoner on the said Eight and twentieth day of November in the said yeare of our Lord God One thousand six hundred and ninety that then the said Justices or the major part of them may and shall discharge the said prisoner and prisoners so as they may have the full benefitt of the said Act of Parliament notwithstanding the Sheriffs Goalers or Keepers refusal of the said Oath any thing in the said Act of Parliament for relief of poor prisoners to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding.