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in penal servitude for any term not exceeding fourteen and not less than three years, or to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding two years, with or without hard labour, and with or without solitary confinement, and, if a male under the age of sixteen years, with or without whipping.

Note.-This clause is taken from the 9 & 10

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wise than

46. Whosoever shall unlawfully and maliciously Damaging damage, otherwise than by fire, gunpowder, or other ships other explosive substance, any ship or vessel, whether com- by fire. plete or in an unfinished state, with intent to destroy the same or render the same useless, shall be guilty of felony, and being convicted thereof shall be liable, at the discretion of the Court, to be kept in penal servitude for any term not exceeding seven years and not less than three years, or to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding two years, with or without hard labour, and with or without solitary confinement, and, if a male under the age of sixteen years, with or without whipping.

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Note. This clause is taken from the 7 & 8 Geo. 4, c. 30, s. 10, and 9 Geo. 4, c. 56, s. 10 (I.).

The words "gunpowder or other explosive substance," are introduced to exclude cases which are provided for by the preceding section. As to hard labour, &c., see ante, p. 5.

47. Whosoever shall unlawfully mask, alter, or Exhibiting remove any light or signal, or unlawfully exhibit any false sigfalse light or signal, with intent to bring any ship, nals, &c. vessel, or boat into danger, or shall unlawfully and maliciously do anything tending to the immediate loss or destruction of any ship, vessel, or boat, and for which no punishment is hereinbefore provided,

Removing

or con

cealing buoys and other sea marks.

shall be guilty of felony, and being convicted thereof shall be liable, at the discretion of the Court, to be kept in penal servitude for life, or for any term not less than three years, or to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding two years, with or without hard labour, and with or without solitary confinement, and, if a male under the age of sixteen years, with or without whipping.

Note.

This clause is taken from the 7 Will. 4 & 1 Vict. c. 89, s. 5, and the capital punishment abolished.

The clause is extended to masking, altering, or removing lights or signals, and to boats.

The latter clause was confined, in the former enactment, to ships or vessels in distress; it is extended to all cases within its terms for which the Act provides no other punishment.

48. Whosoever shall unlawfully and maliciously cut away, cast adrift, remove, alter, deface, sink, or destroy, or shall unlawfully and maliciously do any act with intent to cut away, cast adrift, remove, alter, deface, sink, or destroy, or shall in any other manner unlawfully and maliciously injure or conceal any boat, buoy, buoy rope, perch, or mark used or intended for the guidance of seamen or the purpose of navigation, shall be guilty of felony, and being convicted thereof, shall be liable, at the discretion of the Court, to be kept in penal servitude for any term not exceeding seven years and not less than three years,—or to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding two years, with or without hard labour, and with or without solitary confinement, and, if a male under the age of sixteen years, with or without whipping.

Note. This clause was framed from the 9&10 Vict. c. 99, s. 28. That section appears to have been very improvidently repealed by the 17 & 18 Vict. c. 120, in consequence of the passing of the Mercantile Marine Act, 17 & 18 Vict.

c. 104.
Sec. 414 of that Act imposes only a
pecuniary penalty on any person who wilfully
or negligently injures any buoy or beacon, or
removes, alters, or destroys any light-ship, buoy
or beacon, in addition to the expense of making
good the damage done. This is a punishment
wholly inadequate to the offences in the 9 & 10
Vict. c. 99, s. 28, and therefore this clause was
introduced.

As to hard labour, &c., see ante, p. 5.

any articles

49. Whosoever shall unlawfully and maliciously Destroying destroy any part of any ship or vessel which shall be wrecks or in distress, or wrecked, stranded, or cast on shore, belonging or any goods, merchandise, or articles of any kind thereto." belonging to such ship or vessel, shall be guilty of felony, and being convicted thereof shall be liable, at the discretion of the Court, to be kept in penal servitude for any term not exceeding fourteen and not less than three years, or to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding two years, with or without hard labour, and with or without solitary confine

ment.

Note,

This clause is taken from the 7 Will. 4 & 1 Vict. c. 89, s. 8.

As to hard labour, &c., see ante, p. 5.

Sending Letters threatening to burn or destroy.

threatening

buildings,

ships, &c.

50. Whosoever shall send, deliver, or utter, or Sending directly or indirectly cause to be received, knowing letters the contents thereof, any letter or writing threatening to burn or to burn or destroy any house, barn, or other build- destroy ing, or any rick or stack of grain, hay, or straw, or houses, other agricultural produce, or any grain, hay, or straw, or other agricultural produce in or under any building, or any ship or vessel, or to kill, maim, or wound any cattle, shall be guilty of felony, and being convicted thereof shall be liable, at the discretion of the Court, to be kept in penal servitude for any term not exceeding ten years and not less than three

injuries not

the amount

of 51.

years, or to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding two years, with or without hard labour, and with or without solitary confinement, and, if a male under the age of sixteen years, with or without whipping.

Note. This clause is taken from the 4 Geo. 4, c. 54, s. 3, and 10 & 11 Vict. c. 66, s. 1.

See the note to the Offences against the Person Act, s. 16, ante, p. 49, as to the first part of this clause.

The clause is extended to letters threatening to burn or destroy any grain, &c., in or under any building, or to kill, maim, or wound any cattle.

In any indictment upon this clause a count should be inserted, alleging that the defendant uttered the letter or writing without stating any person to whom the same was uttered. See the note, ante, p. 50.

As to hard labour, &c., see ante, p. 5.

Injuries not before provided for.

Persons 51. Whosoever shall unlawfully and maliciously committing commit any damage, injury, or spoil to or upon any malicious real or personal property whatsoever, either of a before pro- public or private nature, for which no punishment is vided for herein before provided, the damage, injury, or spoil exceeding being to an amount exceeding five pounds, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and being convicted thereof shall be liable, at the discretion of the Court, to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding two years, with or without hard labour; and in case any such offence shall be committed between the hours of nine of the clock in the evening and six of the clock in the next morning, shall be liable, at the discretion of the Court, to be kept in penal servitude for any term not exceeding five years and not less than three, or to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding two years, with or without hard labour.

Note. This clause is new, and a very im

portant amendment of the law. In the present
times there are so many very valuable instru-
ments and machines daily invented, that it is
impracticable to specify them particularly in
any Act; but this general clause will include
injuries to all of them, and also any other mali-
cious injuries, exceeding the amount of five
pounds, which have not been provided for by
the other parts of the Act. There was originally
a clause in this bill providing for malicious
injuries to steam and other engines and
machines not otherwise provided for; but it
was struck out, and the punishment in this
clause fixed with reference to those and other
like injuries.

The part of this clause giving a greater
punishment for offences committed in the night
was introduced principally with reference to
Ireland, where malicious injuries seem often to
be perpetrated in the night.

As to hard labour, &c., see ante, p. 5.

not pre

be com

52. Whosoever shall wilfully or maliciously com- Persons mit any damage, injury, or spoil to or upon any real committing damage to or personal property whatsoever, either of a public or any proprivate nature, for which no punishment is herein- perty, in before provided, shall, on conviction thereof before a any case justice of the peace, at the discretion of the justice, viously either be committed to the common gaol or house of provided correction, there to be imprisoned only, or to be impri- for, may soned and kept to hard labour, for any term not exceed- mitted or ing two months, or else shall forfeit and pay such sum fined, an of money not exceeding five pounds as to the justice compelled by a jusshall seem meet, and also such further sum of money tice to pay as shall appear to the justice to be a reasonable com- compensapensation for the damage, injury, or spoil so com- tion not mitted, not exceeding the sum of five pounds; which 51. last-mentioned sum of money shall, in the case of private property, be paid to the party aggrieved; and in the case of property of a public nature, or wherein any public right is concerned, the money shall be applied in the same manner as every penalty imposed by a justice of the peace under this Act; and if such

exceeding

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