Setting fire to coal, and other mines, or attempting to do so, or letting water into same, or obstructing air way, or damaging shaft, &c., a felony; 24 & 25 Vic. c. 97, ss. 26, 27, 28, 29, 30.

MINISTER, assaulting or obstructing a clergyman or other minister, or obstructing him in officiating in any church, a misdemeanour ; 24 & 25 Vic. c. 100, s. 36.

MISCARRIAGE. See ABORTION.

MISDEMEANOR is an offence at common law. A misdemeanor is an act committed or omitted in violation of public law, either forbidding or commanding it, and includes every crime which does not amount to felony. Every offence which is prejudicial to, or tends to the prejudice of public justice, peace, health, safety, trade, decency, or morals, if not otherwise provided against, amounts to a misdemeanor at common law, and is punishable as such, either by indictment or criminal information. An attempt, solicitation, or incitement to commit a felony or misdemeanor is a misdemeanor, unless such attempt or soliciation be created a felony by positive enactment, as attempts to murder or solicitations to murder.

MONEY. See COIN.

MURDER. A felony by common law and by statutes.

MUSEUM, injuring works of art in, a misdemeanor; 24 & 25 Vic. c. 97, s. 39.

MUTINY. A felony; see ALLEGIANCE, ante, p. 454, and see the Annual Mutiny Acts.

NAVY. See MERCHANT SHIPPING.

By 22 & 23 Vic, c. 40, entitled an act for the establishment of a reserve volunteer force of seamen, and for the government of the same, it is provided by s. 13 that the offences therein enumerated may be heard and determined before any J.P. where the offender shall happen to be, and contains express provisions for the appropriation of all penalties recovered under the act.

By the statute 10 & 11 Vic. c. 62, s. 8, bringing liquors into naval prisons, penalty not exceeding £20, before one J.P.; or throwing or bringing money into prison, or assaulting officer, s. 8; gaoler refusing to confine or deliver up prisoner; s. 12. Fraudulently confessing to be a deserter; s. 10. Assisting persons to desert; s. 11 & 12. Bringing or attempting to bring spirits on board without the consent of commanding officer, fineable before one J. P. not exceeding ten pounds; 16 & 17 Vic. c. 69, s. 12. Persons entering naval service making false statement; s. 16.

By 16 & 17 Vic. c. 73, s. 18, naval coast volunteer enlisting into H.M.'s service or militia, 6 months imprisonment; or officer or other person knowingly enlisting him, penalty not exceeding £20. Selling or buying arms of volunteers, penalty £10 and

treble value; s. 19. Absent from training or exercise, penalty. £20; s. 20. Inducing volunteer to absent himself, or harbouring him, penalty £20; s. 22.

NEGLECT, Wilful, or by any unlawful act or wilful omission or neglect, endangering passengers on railways, a misdemeanor; 24 & 25 Vic. c. 100, s. 34. The clause 3 & 4 Vic. c. 97, s. 15, is repealed, and the above section substituted.

NEGLIGENCE of drivers of carriages or vehicles, either by wanton or furious driving, or other wilful misconduct, causing injury, a misdemeanor ; 24 & 25 Vic. c. 100, s. 35.

NEWSPAPERS. The 6 & 7 Will. IV. s. 76, provides penalties for the following offences: publishing supplements without the newspapers; printing or publishing without having made the required declaration; publishing and selling papers without being duly stamped; sending them abroad without being duly stamped; neglecting to pay duty on advertisements; J. P. on an information upon oath may grant warrants to search for unstamped newspapers, and to seize presses, &c. used in printing same. In local jurisdictions the penalties under this act may be recovered by civil bill before the assistant barrister, or if the penalty does not exceed £20, by information before one or more J. P.; and any person may prosecute for the penalty. J. P. may mitigate the penalty; s. 28.

County of

to wit.

Form of Conviction given by Statute.

Be it remembered, that on the

A.D., at

A. B. of

day of was duly convicted before me C. D., Esquire, one of her Majesty's justices of the peace for the county of in pursuance of [7 Will. IV. c. 76, title of this act] for that the said A. B. [here state offence] contrary to the form of the statute in such case made and provided, for which offence I do adjudge that the said A. B. hath forfeited the sum of and [if the J. P. mitigates the penalty] which sum of I do mitigate to the sum of over and above the sum of which I do allow to E. F. for his reasonable costs

and expenses in prosecuting this conviction.

Given under my hand and seal the

day of

NOTES AND BILLS. By 45 Geo. III. c. 41, s. 3, promissory notes, &c. issued for less than twenty shillings are void, and the persons issuing them, &c. shall forfeit double the amount before one J. P.

NOXIOUS THING, administering to do bodily harm, &c. a felony; 24 & 25 Vic. c. 100, ss. 22, 23.

NUISANCE. The following offences are misdemeanors punishable at common law: Keeping a fierce dog or bull loose; carrying on an offensive, noisy, or dangerous business, trade, or manufacture; obstructing a public highway or navigable river; selling obscene books or prints; publicly exposing the naked person; keeping a common gaming house, bawdy house, or ill

governed and disorderly house; see 7 Geo. IV. c. 9, s. 1. A public or common nuisance is such an inconvenient or troublesome offence as annoys the community in general, and not merely some particular person; and on this ground such offences are indictable and not actionable. An indictment will not lie for a nuisance to a few individuals of a particular place only. A nuisance may be either from doing or neglecting to do that which the common good requires; and if the thing complained of be likely to produce an injury, it is sufficient. When a statute declares an act to be a public nuisance, the person doing the act is indictable (h). For nuisances on public roads, streets, &c. see 14 & 15 Vic. c. 92, s. 10, ante, p. 398; see also 11 & 12 Vic. c. 123, ante, p. 480, as to nuisances in dwelling houses, &c.

NURSERY GROUND, stealing plants from, see 24 & 25 Vic, c. 96, s. 36, ante, p. 433; destroying plants in, 24 & 25 Vic. c. 97. s 23, ante, p. 440.

OATHS. It is provided by 14 & 15 Vic. c. 99, s. 16, that every court, judge, justice, officer, commissioner, or other person now or hereafter having by law or by consent of parties, authority to hear, receive, and examine evidence, is hereby empowered to administer an oath to all such witnesses as are legally called before them respectively; see generally ante, p. 77 to 80, as to statutes relating to the taking of lawful oaths. The 19 & 20 Vic. c. 78, continues for five years the 2 & 3 Vic. c. 74, and repeals the 8 & 9 Vic. c. 55. The 2 & 3 Vic. c. 74, enacts that all societies of the nature therein described shall be unlawful, and all persons becoming members thereof, or corresponding therewith, to be deemed guilty of unlawful combination; s. 1. This act not to extend to freemason societies, &c. provided that two members certify upon oath that such societies have been formed according to their rules, such certificate to be attested by the magistrate and deposited with the clerk of the peace;

s. 2.

4 Geo. IV. c. 87.] By 4 Geo. IV. c. 87, persons guilty of unlawful combination and conspiracy, as in this act prescribed, may be proceeded against in a summary way, either before two J. P.s, where such person shall happen to be, or by indictment; and persons convicted by such J. P.s shall be either committed to gaol for the term of three calendar months, or forfeit and pay £20, but the J.P.s may mitigate such punishment to not less than one-third; s. 3 & 4. Any person knowingly permitting any meeting of unlawful society in his house shall for the first offence forfeit £2, and for a second offence he shall be deemed guilty of unlawful combination; s. 7.

(h) R. v. Gregory, 5 B. & Ad. 555; R. v. Crawshaw, 8 Weekly R. 38.

5 Geo. III. c. 102.] By 5 Geo. III. c. 102, if any person be compelled by inevitable necessity to take an unlawful oath, &c. he shall be excused and justified if he shall within 10 days, if not prevented by force or sickness, and within seven days after such actual force or sickness shall cease, give information of the same to J. P., and disclose the whole of the offence; s. 2. Any J. P. may cause to have brought before him any stranger sojourning or wandering, and examine him on oath as to his objects and motives, &c., and unless he shall answer to the satisfaction of J. P. or give security, he may commit him to gaol, there to remain till he can find such security, and report same to Lord Lieutenant; s. 7.

Voluntary declarations.] 5 & 6 Will. IV. c. 62, enables J. P. to take voluntary declarations in the form given to the act, which is as follows:

I, A. B., do solemnly and sincerely declare, that

And I make this solemn declaration conscientiously believing the same to be true, and by virtue of the provisions of an act made and passed in the year of the reign of her present Majesty, intituled an act to repeal an act of the present session of parliament, intituled an act for the more effectual abolition of oaths and affirmations taken and made in various departments of the state, and to substitute declarations in lieu thereof, and for the more entire suppression of voluntary and extra-judicial oaths and affidavits; and to make other provisions for the abolition of unnecessary oaths.

This act does not render it the duty of a J. P. to take declarations containing charges of a criminal or scandalous character (i). See tit. DECLARATION, ante, p. 492.

OBLITERATING valuable securities, deeds, wills, records, &c., a felony; 24 & 25 Vic. c. 96, s. 27 to 30. Obliterating cross on cheques, felony; id. c. 98, s. 25.

OFFICE AND OFFICER. If any person shall, by any way, device, or means, contract or agree to have or receive any money, fee, gratuity, &c., and also if any person shall by any way, means, or device contract or agree to pay or give any money, fee, &c., directly or indirectly, for any office specified in the act (judicial offices and others), or for the appointment thereto, or resignation thereof, or for the consent of any person, &c. to such appointment or resignation, then, and in every such case, every such person, and every person who shall knowingly aid, abet, or assist such person therein, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor; 49 Geo. III. c. 136, s. 3, entitled, "An Act for the further Prevention of the Sale and Brokerage of Offices." And by a subsequent section, any such contract or agreement is made utterly and entirely

(i) Little v. Clements, 1 Ir. C. L. R. 194.

void and of no effect, and incapable of being enforced by either of the parties thereto, in any court either of law or equity. See 6 & 7 Will. IV. c. 116, s. 87, for offence of dealing for any office under the Grand Jury Act. The buying and selling of offices of a public nature is a kind of bribery, which, operating as an inducement to public officers to abuse their power by extortion and other acts of injustice, was always indictable at common law.

OFFICER. Any public officer neglecting a public duty imposed on him either by common law or statute, misdemeanor at common law. It is a general rule that a public officer is indictable for misbehaviour in his office, or for neglect of his duties. Thus, a coroner, a constable, a sheriff, or a gaoler are indictable for not performing the duties of their several offices, or for misconduct in the performance of such duties. Assaulting in execution of his duty in saving wreck, a misdemeanor; 24 & 25 Vic. c. 100, s. 37. Assaulting or resisting a peace officer in the execution of his duty, or any person acting in aid of the officer with intent to prevent arrest, a misdemeanor; id. s. 38.

ORCHARD. See INDEX.

ORDER. See INDEX. Forging for payment of money or delivery of goods, felony; 24 & 25 Vic. c. 98, s. 22. Stealing money order or order for delivery of goods, felony; id. c. 96, s. 27. Forging any order of justices, recognizances, &c., felony; 24 & 25 Vic. c. 98, s. 32.

ORE. See MINE.

OYSTERS. Stealing any oysters or oyster brood from any oyster bed being the property of any other person, and sufficiently marked out or known as such, shall be guilty of simple larceny, and any person using any net, dredge, &c. to take same, although none should be actually taken, guilty of a misdemeanor; but nothing herein shall prevent any person from fishing for floating fish with nets fitted for that purpose; 24 & 25 Vic. c. 96, s. 26. PARISH REGISTER, Forging or altering, &c., felony; 24 & 25 Vic. c. 98, s. 36.

PARLIAMENTARY VOTERS. By 13 & 14 Vic. c. 69, persons charged with personation of voters may be taken into custody, and brought before two J. P.s, and if they are satisfied that he has personated and falsely assumed to vote, they shall commit him to gaol to take his trial; ss. 93, 94, & 95.

PARTY PROCESSIONS. See ante, p. 70. By 13 Vic. c, 2, any J. P. shall proceed with such assistance as he shall think necessary, where the unlawful assembly shall take place; and such J. P., or person by his order, shall read aloud the following notice :

: