the charter of the said company, (China excepted,) and shall also include the Cape of Good Hope; and the term "express" shall mean every kind of conveyance employed to carry letters on behalf of the post-office other than the usual mail; and the term "foreign country" shall mean any country, state, or kingdom, not included in the dominions of her majesty; and the term "foreign letter" shall mean a letter transmitted to or from a foreign country; and the term “foreign newspapers" shall mean newspapers printed and published in a foreign country in the language of that country; and the term "foreign postage" shall mean the duty charged for the conveyance of letters within such foreign country; and the term "franking officer" shall mean the person appointed to frank the official correspondence of offices to which the privilege of franking is granted; and the term "her Majesty" shall mean " her Majesty, her heirs, and successors;" and the term "her Majesty's colonies" shall include every port and place within the territorial acquisitions now vested in the East India Company in trust for her majesty, the Cape of Good Hope, the Islands of St. Helena, Guernsey, Jersey, and Isle of Man, (unless any such places be expressly excepted,) as well as her majesty's other colonies and possessions beyond seas; and the term "inland postage" shall mean the duty charged for the transmission of post letters within the limits of the United Kingdom, or within the limits of any colony; and the term "letter" shall include [*848] packet, and the term * packet" shall include letter; and the expression lord lieutenant of Ireland" shall mean the chief governor or governors of Ireland for the time being; and the expression "lords of the treasury" shall mean the lord high treasurer of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, or the lords commissioners of her majesty's treasury of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, or any three or more of them; and the term “mail” shall include every conveyance by which post letters are carried, whether it be a coach, or cart, or horse, or any other conveyance, and also a person employed in conveying or delivering post letters, and also every vessel which is included in the term packet boat; and the term "mail bag" shall mean a mail of letters, or a box, or a parcel, or any other envelope in which post letters are conveyed, whether it does or does not contain post letters; and the term "master of a vessel" shall include any person in charge of a vessel, whether commander, mate, or other person, and whether the vessel be a ship of war or other vessel; and the expression "officer of the post-office" shall include the postmaster-general, and every deputy postmaster, agent, officer, clerk, letter-carrier, guard, post-boy, rider, or any other person employed in any business of the post-office, whether employed by the postmastergeneral, or by any person under him, or on behalf of the post-office; and the term "packet postage" shall mean the postage chargeable for the transmission of letters by packet boats between Great Britain and Ireland, or between the United Kingdom and any of her Majesty's colonies, or between the United Kingdom and foreign countries; and the term "packet letter" shall mean a letter transmitted by a packet boat; and the term "penalty" shall include every pecuniary penalty or forfeiture; and the expression "persons employed by or under the post-office" shall include every person employed in any business of the post-office according to the interpretation given to the officer of the post-office; and the terms "packet boats" and "post-office packets" shall include vessels employed by or under the post-office or the admiralty for the transmission of post-letters, and also ships or vessels (though not regularly employed as packet boats) for the conveyance of post letters under contract, and also a ship of war or other vessel in the service of her majesty, in respect of letters conveyed by it; and the term "postage" shall mean the duty chargeable for the transmission of post letters; and the term "post town" shall mean a town where a post-office is established (not being a penny, or twopenny, or convention post-office); and the term "post letter bag" shall include a mail bag, or box, or packet or parcel, or other envelope or covering in which post letters are conveyed, whether it does or does not contain post letters; and the term "post letter" shall mean any letter or packet transmitted by the post under the authority of the postmaster-general, and a letter shall be deemed a post letter from the time of its being delivered to a post-office, to the time of its being delivered to the person to whom it is addressed; and the delivery to a letter carrier or other person authorized to receive letters for the post shall be a delivery to the post-office; and a delivery at the house or office of the person to whom the letter is addressed, or to him, or to his servant or agent, or other person considered to be authorized to receive. the letter according to the usual manner of delivering that person's letter, shall be a delivery to the person addressed; and the *term "post-office" shall mean any house, building, room or place, where [*849] post letters are received or delivered, or in which they are sorted, made up, or despatched; and the term postmaster-general shall mean any person or body of persons executing the office of postmaster-general for the time being, having been duly appointed to the office by her majesty; and the terms "post-office acts" and "post-office laws" shall mean all acts relating to the management of the post, or to the establishment of the post-office, or to postage duties from time to time in force; and the term "ships" shall include vessels other than packet boats; and the term "single postage" shall mean the postage chargeable for a single letter; and the term "single letter" shall mean a letter consisting of one sheet or piece of paper, and under the weight of an ounce; and the term "sea postage" shall mean the duty chargeable for the conveyance of letters by sea by vessels not packet boats; and the term "ship letter" shall mean a letter transmitted inwards or outwards over seas by a vessel not being a packet boat; and the term "treble letter" shall mean a letter consisting of more than two sheets or pieces of paper, whatever the number, under the weight of an ounce; and the term "treble postage" shall mean three times the amount of single postage; and the term "treble the duty of postage" shall mean three times the amount of the postage to which the letter to be charged would otherwise have been liable according to the rates of postage chargeable on letters; and the term "United Kingdom" shall mean the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland; and the term "valuable security" shall include the whole or any part of any tally, order, or other security whatsoever, entitling or evidencing the title of any person or body corporate to any share or interest in any public stock or fund, whether of this kingdom or of Great Britain or of Ireland, or of any foreign state, or in any fund of any body corporate, company, or society, or to any deposit in any savings bank, or the whole or any part of any debenture, deed, bond, bill, note, warrant, or order, or other security whatsoever for money, or for payment of money, whether of this kingdom or of any foreign state, or of any warrant or order for the delivery or transfer of any goods or valuable thing; and the term "vessel" shall include any ship or other vessel not a post-office packet; and whenever the term "between" is used in reference to the transmission of letters, newspapers, parliamentary proceedings, or other things between one place and another, it shall apply equally to the transmission from either place to the other; and every officer mentioned shall mean the person for the time being executing the functions of that officer; and whenever in this act or the schedules thereto, with reference to any person or matter or thing, or to any persons, matters, or things, the singular or plural number or the masculine gender only is expressed, such expression shall be understood to include several persons or matters or things, as well as one person or matter or thing, and one person, matter, or thing, as well as several persons or matters or things, females as well as males, bodies politic or corporate as well as individuals, unless it be otherwise specially provided, or the subject or context be repugnant to such construction." By sect. 48, "this act shall extend to and be in force in the Islands of Man, Jersey, Guernsey, Serk, and Alderney, and in all her majesty's colonies and [*850] *dominions where any post or post communication is established by or under the postmaster-general of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland." Offences under the 3 and 4 Vict. c. 96-the act for the regulation of the duties of postage.] By the 3 and 4 Vict. c. 36, (U. K.) s. 22. "If any person shall forge or counterfeit, or cause or procure to be forged or counterfeited, any die, plate, or other instrument, or any part of any die, plate, or other instrument, which hath been, or shall or may be provided, made, or used, by or under the direction of the commissioners of stamps and taxes, or by or under the direction of any other person or persons legally authorized in that behalf, for the purpose of expressing or denoting any of the rates or duties, which are or shall be directed to be charged, under or by virtue of the authority contained in the recited act of the last sessions of parliament, or under or by virtue of this act; or if any person shall forge, counterfeit, or imitate, or cause or procure to be forged, counterfeited, or imitated, the stamp, mark, or impression, or any part of the stamp, mark, or impression of any such die, plate, or other instrument, which hath been, or shall or may be, so provided, made, or used, as aforesaid, upon any paper, or other substance or material whatever; or if any person shall knowingly, and without lawful excuse, (the proof whereof shall lie on the person accused) have in his possession any false, forged, or counterfeit die, plate, or other instrument, or part of any such die, plate, or other instrument, resembling, or intended to resemble, either wholly or in part, any die, plate, or other instrument, which hath been, or shall or may be, so provided, made, or used, as aforesaid; or if any person shall stamp or mark, or cause or procure to be stamped or marked, any paper, or other substance or material whatsoever, with any such false, forged, or counterfeit die, plate, or other instrument, or any part of such die, plate, or other instrument as aforesaid; or if any person shall use, utter, sell, or expose to sale, or shall cause or procure to be used, uttered, sold or exposed to sale, or shall knowingly, and without lawful excuse, (the proof whereof shall lie on the person accused,) have in his possession any paper, or other substance or material, having thereon the impression, or any part of the impression, of any such false, forged, or counterfeit die, plate, or other instrument, or parts of any such die, plate, or other instrument, as aforesaid, or having thereon any false, forged, or counterfeit stamp or impression, resembling or representing, either wholly or in part, or intended or liable to pass or be mistaken for the stamp, mark, or impression, of any such die, plate, or other instrument, which hath been, or shall or may be so provided, or made, or used, as aforesaid, knowing such false, forged, or counterfeit stamp, mark, or impression, to be false, forged, or counterfeit; or if any person shall, with intent to defraud her majesty, her heirs, or successors, privately or fraudulently use, or cause, or procure to be privately or fraudulently used, any die, plate, or other instrument so provided, made, or used, or hereafter to be provided, made, or used, as aforesaid, or shall with such intent privately or fraudulently stamp or mark, or cause or procure to be stamped or marked, any paper or other substance or material whatsoever, with any such die, plate, or other instrument, as last aforesaid; or if any person shall knowingly, and without lawful excuse, (the proof whereof *shall lie on the person accused) have in his [*851 ] possession any paper or other substance or material, so privately or fraudulently stamped or marked, as aforesaid; then, and in every such case, every person so offending, and every person knowingly and wilfully aiding, or abetting, or assisting, any person in committing any such offence, and being thereby lawfully convicted, shall be adjudged guilty of felony, and shall be liable at the discretion of the court, to be transported beyond the seas for life, or for any term not less than seven years, or to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding four years, nor less than two years, as the court shall award." By s. 29, "If any person shall make, or cause or procure to be made, or shall aid or assist in the making, or shall knowingly have in his custody or possession, not being legally authorized by the commissioners of excise, or other person appointed by the commissioners of her majesty's treasury, and without lawful excuse, (the proof whereof shall lie on the person accused,) any mould or frame or other instrument, having therein any words, letters, figures, marks, lines, or devices, peculiar to and appearing in the substance of any paper, heretofore or hereafter to be provided or used for postage covers, envelopes or stamps, or any machinery, or parts of machinery, for working any thread into the substânce of any paper or any such thread, and intended to imitate or pass for such words, letters, figures, marks, lines, threads, or devices; or if any person, except as before excepted, shall make, or cause or procure to be made, or aid or assist in the making of any paper in the substance of which shall be worked or shall appear visible, any words, letters, figures, marks, lines, threads or devices, peculiar to, and worked into, or appearing visible in, the substance of any paper, heretofore or hereafter to be provided or used for postage covers, envelopes, or stamps, or any part of such words, letters, figures, marks, lines, threads, or other devices, and intended to imitate or pass for the same; or if any person, except as before excepted, shall knowingly have in his custody or possession, without lawful excuse, (the proof whereof shall lie on the person accused,) any paper whatever, in the substance whereof shall be worked or appear visible any such words, letters, figures, marks, lines, threads, or devices, as aforesaid, or any part of such words, letters, figures, marks, lines, threads, or devices, and intended to imitate or pass for the same; or if any person, except as aforesaid, shall by any art, mystery, or contrivance, cause or procure, or aid or assist in causing or procuring, any such words, letters, figures, marks, lines, threads, or devices, as aforesaid, or any part of such words, letters, figures, marks, lines, threads, or other devices, and intended to imitate or pass for the same, to appear worked into or visible in the substance of any paper whatever, then and in every such case, every person so offending shall for every such offence, be adjudged a felon, and shall be transported for the term of seven years, or shall be imprisoned, at the discretion of the court, before whom such person shall be tried, for any period not less than two years." By s. 30, "If any person not lawfully authorized, and without lawful excuse, (the proof whereof shall be on the person accused,) shall purchase or receive, or take or have in his custody or possession, any paper manufactured and provided, by or under the directions of the commissioners of excise, or other person or persons appointed to provide the same by the commissioners of her majesty's [ *852] treasury, for the purpose of being used for postage covers, envelopes, or stamps, and for receiving the impressions of the dies, plates, or instruments, provided, made or used, under the directions of the commissioners of stamps and taxes, or other person or persons legally authorized in that behalf, before such paper shall have been duly stamped with such impression, and issued for public use, every such person shall for such offence, be guilty of a misdemeanor, and being convicted thereof, shall, at the discretion of the court before whom such person shall be tried, be imprisoned for any period not more than three years, nor less than six calendar months." Proof of the nature of the offence for which the person was imprisoned Proof of the breaking of the prison Punishment Conveying tools, &c. to prisoners to assist escape 853 854 854 555 855 856 Where a person is in custody on a charge of treason or felony and effects his escape by force, the offence is a felony at common law; where he is in custody on a minor charge it is a misdemeanor. 1 Russ. by Grea. 427; see stat. 1 Ed. 2, st. 5, infra. Upon a prosecution for prison breach, the prosecutor must prove, 1, the nature of the offence for which the prisoner was imprisoned; 2, the imprisonment and the nature of the prison; and 3, the breaking of the prison. Proof of the nature of the offence for which the prisoner was imprisoned.] The statute de frangentibus prisonam, 1 Ed. 2, st. 2, enacts, "that none thenceforth that breaks prison shall have judgment of life or member for breaking of prison only, except the cause for which he was taken or imprisoned did require such a judgment, if he had been convicted thereupon according to the law and custom of the realm." If the offence therefore for which the party is arrested does not require judgment of life or member, it is not a felony. 1 Russ. by Grea. 428. And though the offence for which the party is committed is supposed in the mittimus to be of such a nature as requires a capital judgment, yet if in the event it be found of an inferior nature, it seems difficult to maintain that the breaking can be a felony. Ibid. It seems that the stating the offence in the mittimus to be one of lower degree than felony, will not prevent the breaking from being a felony, if in truth the original offence was such. Hawk. P. C. b. 2, c. 18, s. 15; 1 Russ. by Grea. 428. A prisoner on a charge of high treason, breaking prison, is only guilty of a felony. Hawk. P. C. b. 2, c. 18, s. 15. It is immaterial whether the party breaking prison has been tried or not. Id. 8. 16. Where the prisoner has been convicted the certificate of the clerk of assize, &c. with proof of identity, will be proof of the nature and fact of the conviction and of the species and period of confinement to which the party was sentenced. 4 Geo. 4, c. 64, s. 44, ante, p. 458. [*854] Whenever a party is in lawful custody on a charge of felony, *whether he has been taken upon a capias, or committed on a mittimus, he is within the statute, however innocent he may be, or however groundless may be the prosecution against him; for he is bound to submit to his imprisonment, until he |