The certificate of the magistrate, that the deponent was affirmed by him according to law, necessarily implies that he had first performed the duty, imposed upon him by the statutes of the Commonwealth, of determining on inquiry that the witness had conscientious scruples against taking an oath. Gen. Sts. c. 131, §§ 11, 19, 23. Hall v. Hoxie, 3 Met. 251.

Exceptions overruled.