BEFORE PATTERSON, ROBERTSON AND BROOM

PATTERSON, PRESIDING JUSTICE, FOR THE COURT:

Bill Hannah a Justice of the Peace of Scott County, was indicted for converting $8,823.50, the property of Scott County, in his possession by virtue of his office, to his own use, contrary to Mississippi Code Annotated section 97-11-25 (1972). He was convicted and sentenced to seven years in the penitentiary, with four years suspended, and two years on probation. He appeals and assigns thirty-one points for reversal.

The first is that the trial court erred in overruling the demurrer to the indictment. The demurrer's theory is that the indictment was brought under Section 97-11-25 (a felony) entitled" Embezzlement - officers, trustees and public employees converting property to own use, "a general statute stating offenses relating to public officials, rather than Section 9-11-19 (a misdemeanor) directed to the duties of justices of the peace in accounting for fines and penalties. It is urged the two statutes apply to the same subject matter and because Section 9-11-19 specifically refers to justices of the peace, it prevails over Section 97-11-25, the statute relating to public officers generally.

Section 9-11-19 creates and defines the legal obligation of each justice of the peace to account for, report, and to pay the fines and penalties received into the county treasury. Section 97-11-25 speaks to the unlawful conversion of monies or property which comes into the hands of a public officer by virtue of his office. The first is directed to the duties of a justice of the peace, its violation being a misfeasance in office, a misdemeanor. The latter is not directed to duties of office, but to the wrongful and unlawful conversion of public funds to personal use by a state officer.

While it is true that Section 97-11-25 applies to public officials generally and that Section 9-11-19 refers specifically to the duties of a justice of the peace, there nevertheless remain substantive differences between the two - violation of the method of performing a duty on the one hand as opposed to the unlawful conversion of public funds on the other - precluding control of the general statute by the more specific one, considering their different subjects. Bence v. State, 240 So. 2d 630 (Miss. 1970); McCaffrey's Food Market, Inc. v. Mississippi Milk Comm'n., 227 So. 2d 459 (Miss. 1969); and Sanders v. State, 105 So. 523 (1925). We conclude that the court properly overruled the demurrer to the indictment.

The next argument is that the trial court erred in not quashing the indictment. Hannah asserts he was immune from the prosecution because the indictment was based upon personal records unlawfully taken from him and because he testified before the grand jury that returned the writ. We are of the opinion the motion to quash was correctly overruled because the evidence discloses the records were not presented to the grand jury as contended and were therefore not the basis of its indictment. Moreover, we adhere to the rule that" the law does not permit the court to go behind an indictment to inquire into evidence considered by the grand jury to determine whether it was in whole or part competent and legal. "Davis v. State, 255 So. 2d 916 (Miss. 1971); State v. Matthews, 218 So. 2d 743 (Miss. 1969).

On March 4, 1974, Hannah appeared before the grand jury and evidently responded to questions by it concerning the duties of his office. It is uncontradicted that the vote to return the indictment was on the afternoon of March 3, the day prior to his grand jury appearance. Since this is true, his testimony on March 4 was not used against him in violation o

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