Special pleas allowed to be pleaded

(1) The following special pleas, and no others, may be pleaded according to the provisions hereinafter contained, that is to say, a plea of autrefois acquit, a plea of autrefois convict, a plea of pardon, and in cases of defamatory libel the plea hereinafter mentioned. (2) All other grounds of defence may be relied on under the plea of not guilty. (3) The pleas of autrefois acquit, autrefois convict and pardon may be pleaded together, and if pleaded shall be disposed of before the accused person is called on to plead further, and if all those pleas are disposed of against the accused person, he shall be allowed to plead not guilty. (4) In any plea of autrefois acquit or autrefois convict it shall be sufficient for the accused person to state that he has been lawfully 71 acquitted or convicted, as the case may be, of the crime or crimes charged in the count or counts to which that plea is pleaded. (5) Every special plea shall be in writing, and shall be filed with the Registrar not less than twenty-four hours before the arraignment of the accused person.