of the money awarded. Not to Application sums of money, together with costs (if ordered), shall not be paid either immediately after the conviction, or within such period as the justice shall at the time of the conviction appoint, the justice may commit the offender to the common gaol or house of correction, there to be imprisoned only, or to be imprisoned and kept to hard labour, as the justice shall think fit, for any term not exceeding two months, unless such sums and costs be sooner paid: Provided that nothing herein contained shall extend to any case where the party acted under a fair and reasonable supposition that he had a right to do the act complained of, nor to any trespass, not being wilful and malicious, committed in hunting, fishing, or in the pursuit of game, but that every such trespass shall be punishable in the same manner as if this Act had not passed. extend to certain cases herein named. Preceding section to extend to trees. Note. This clause is taken from the 7 & 8 Geo. 4, c. 30, s. 21. There was a similar clause in the 14 & 15 Vict. c. 92, s. 3 (I.). The former Act was defective in neither giving the power to award any fine in addition to the amount of the injury done, nor any imprisonment; the latter Act did both; and this clause authorises the justice either to commit the offender or to impose a fine upon him, in addition to the amount of the injury done. This clause is altered in accordance with the 18 & 19 Vict. c. 126, s. 22, so that where the owner of the property injured is examined as a witness, he may receive compensation for the injury. As to proceedings under this clause, see the Appendix, post. 53. The provisions in the last preceding section contained shall extend to any person who shall wilfully or maliciously commit any injury to any tree, sapling, shrub, or underwood, for which no punishment is hereinbefore provided. Note. This clause is new, and was introduced in consequence of Reg. v. Dodgson, 9 A. & E. 704, and Chanter v. Greame, 13 Q. B. 216. In the former case the Court expressed a clear opinion that trees under the value of a shilling were within the 7 & 8 Geo. 4, c. 30, s. 24; in the latter the Court expressed an almost equally clear opinion that they were not. This clause brings them within the preceding section, and it was very expedient that it should; for a malicious individual might destroy a newly-planted wood with impunity by destroying a single tree at a time, and several flagrant instances of the kind had occurred. Making gunpowder to commit offences, and searching for the same. felony against this 54. Whosoever shall make or manufacture, Making or or knowingly have in his possession, any gun- having gunpowder or other explosive substance, or any dan- powder, &c., with gerous or noxious thing, or any machine, engine, intent to instrument, or thing, with intent thereby or by commit any means thereof to commit, or for the purpose of enabling any other person to commit any of the Act. felonies in this Act mentioned, 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 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° Vict. c. 25, s. 8, and extended to all the felonies against this Act. for search 55. Any justice of the peace of any county or Justices place in which any machine, engine, implement, or may issue thing, or any gunpowder or other explosive, dan- warrants gerous, or noxious substance, is suspected to be made, ing houses, kept, or carried for the purpose of being used in &c., for. committing any of the felonies in this Act mentioned, such gun powder, &c. upon reasonable cause assigned upon oath by any person, may issue a warrant under his hand and seal for searching in the daytime any house, mill, magazine, storehouse, warehouse, shop, cellar, yard, wharf, or other place, or any carriage, waggon, cart, ship, boat, or vessel, in which the same is suspected to be made, kept, or carried for such purpose as hereinbefore mentioned; and every person acting in the execution of any such warrant shall have, for seizing, removing to proper places, and detaining every such machine, engine, implement and thing, and all such gunpowder, explosive, dangerous, or noxious substances found upon such search, which he shall have good cause to suspect to be intended to be used in committing any such offence, and the barrels, packages, cases, and other receptacles in which the same shall be, the same powers and protections which are given to persons searching for unlawful quantities of gunpowder under the warrant of a justice by the Act passed in the session holden in the twenty-third and twenty-fourth years of the reign of Her present Majesty, chapter one hundred and thirty-nine, intituled "An Act to amend the law concerning the making, keeping, and carriage of gunpowder and compositions of an explosive nature, and concerning the manufacture, sale, and use of fireworks.” Note. This clause is taken from the 9 & 10 Vict. c. 25, s. 12, and extended to all the felonies against this Act. See the note to sec. 65 of the Offences against the Person Act, ante, p. 87. Principals in the second Other matters. 56. In the case of every felony punishable under this Act, every principal in the second degree, and degree and every accessory before the fact, shall be punishable in accessories. the same manner as the principal in the first degree is by this Act punishable; and every accessory after the fact to any felony punishable under this Act shall on conviction be liable, at the discretion of the Court, to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding two years, with or without hard labour, and with or without solitary confinement; and every person who Abettors shall aid, abet, counsel, or procure the commission of in misde any misdemeanor punishable under this Act shall be liable to be proceeded against, indicted and punished as a principal offender. Note. This clause is taken from the 7 & 8 meanors. felony 57. Any constable or peace officer may take into A person custody, without warrant, any person whom he shall loitering at night, and find lying or loitering in any highway, yard, or other suspected place during the night, and whom he shall have good of any cause to suspect of having committed or being about to commit any felony against this Act, and shall take Act, may such person as soon as reasonably may be before a be apprejustice of the peace, to be dealt with according to law. against this hended. Note.-This clause is taken from the 9 & 10 Vict. c. 25, ss. 13, 14, and extended to all the felonies against this Act. against 58. Every punishment and forfeiture by this Act Malice imposed on any person maliciously committing any owner of offence, whether the same be punishable upon indict- property ment or upon summary conviction, shall equally unnecesapply and be enforced, whether the offence shall be sary. committed from malice conceived against the owner of the property in respect of which it shall be committed or otherwise. Note. This clause is taken from the 7 & 8 Geo. 4, c. 30, s. 25; 9 Geo. 4, c. 56, s. 32 (I.); and 8 & 9 Vict. c. 44, s. 2. Provisions of this Act shall apply to persons in posses sion of the property injured. Intent to injure or defraud stated in 59. Every provision of this Act not hereinbefore so applied shall apply to every person who, with intent to injure or defraud any other person, shall do any of the acts hereinbefore made penal, although the offender shall be in possession of the property against or in respect of which such act shall be done. Note. This clause is new, and a very important amendment. It extends every clause of the Act not already so extended (see s. 3, ante, p. 210) to persons in possession of the property injured, provided they intend to injure or defraud any other person. It, therefore, brings tenants within the provisions of the Act, whenever they injure the demised premises, or anything growing on or annexed to them, with intent to injure their landlords, and gets rid of the doubt entertained in Mills v. Collett, 6 Bing. R. 85, whether a tenant who maliciously cut down a tree on the demised premises was within the former Act. 60. It shall be sufficient in any indictment for any offence against this Act, where it shall be necessary to particular allege an intent to injure or defraud, to allege that the persons party accused did the act with intent to injure or need not be defraud (as the case may be), without alleging an any indict- intent to injure or defraud any particular person; and on the trial of any such offence it shall not be necessary to prove an intent to injure or defraud any particular person, but it shall be sufficient to prove that the party accused did the act charged with an intent to injure or defraud (as the case may be). ment. Note. This clause is new. It is framed from the 14 & 15 Vict. c. 100, s. 8, and renders it unnecessary to allege in an indictment for any offence against this Act, or to prove on the trial, an intent to injure or defraud any particular person. It places the law on these points in the same position as in cases of forgery and false pretences. |