Page images
PDF
EPUB

EXPLANATION OF ABBREVIATIONS.

SUMMARY CONVICTIONS.

1. OFFENCE, STATUTE, AND NUMBER OF JUSTICES.-The letter (S.) means that the offence following is within the Summary jurisdiction; the statute and section conferring such jurisdiction are next given; the number of Justices required to hear and convict follow next, and precede the offence, which is described in the words of the statute, with the legal exceptions and modifications in most cases, in an abridged form.

2. PENALTY, &C., AND MODE OF ENFORCING.-The letter (P.) means Punishment, which is followed by an abridged account of the penalty or other forfeiture imposed upon the offence, and the mode of enforcing payment; or, if the punishment is imprisonment in the first instance, the duration of such imprisonment is given. The section of the statute authorizing such punishment is added, when other than the section creating the offence.

INDICTABLE OFFENCES.

3. CLASS OF OFFENCE AND STATUTE.-The letter (F.) or (M.) means that the offence before which it is placed is a Felony or a Misdemeanor; if the offence is created by statute, such statute and section are given; if it is a common law offence, some recognized authority is generally added.

4. AS TO BAIL IN INDICTABLE OFFENCES.-The word "disc.," for "discretionary," before an offence, means that it is discretionary with the examining Magistrate to take bail for the accused before committal, and, where he commits, also discretionary whether he will certify his consent to bail being received by another. The word "comp.," for "compulsory," means that the examining Magistrate must take bail in these cases, if sufficient sureties be tendered before committal, and also that, if accused be committed, he must certify his consent to bail being received. (See sec. 23, p. 170 & p. 32).

[ocr errors]

5. PUNISHMENT IN INDICTABLE OFFENCES.—This is an abridged view of the punishment or other forfeiture imposed by law for the offence. In the case of transportation or hard labor on the roads, the maximum and minimum terms are stated shortly; thus, in title Abduction," where the punishment is transportation for life, or for not less than 7 years, &c., "Tr. life-7 years," or "h. 1. on roads 15-5 years," &c.; but where it is absolute and certain, it is stated according to the fact; and this is also the case in respect of the period of imprisonment.

6. SUBSTITUTION OF PUNISHMENT OF MALE OFFENDERS. By 11 Vic., No. 34, an Act to substitute other punishments for transportation beyond the seas, contains the following provisions: Where any male offender shall be convicted of any offence punishable by law with transportation, the Court may either sentence the offender to transportation for life, or years, as by law provided, or, in lieu thereof, to be kept to hard labor on the roads or other public works of the Colony for such term, —not being more nor less in any case than the periods next mentioned, that is to say,

Transportation for life

Transportation for 15 years, or any term not less than 7 years, and not exceeding 15 years

....

Transportation for 7 years.....

(Hard labor on roads, &c., for not less than 7 years, nor more than 15 years H. 1. on roads, &e., for not less than 5 years, nor more than 10 years JH. 1. on roads, &c., for not less than 3 years, nor more than 5 years

and upon all convictions for perjury, or for any felony attended with violence to the person, or committed by the offender when armed with any offensive weapon,

&c., or by means of any threat, or by putting in fear, the Court may direct that the offender, whether sentenced to hard labor or to transportation, be kept to hard labor in irons for not exceeding in any case the first 3 years of his sentence. Section 2 provides for the commutation of capital sentence.

15 Vic., No. 5, s. 1, empowers the Court, in the case of any offence punishable by law with imprisonment with hard labor, to sentence the offender to such imprisonment for such term as by law provided, or, in lieu thereof, to award and direct that he be kept to hard labor on the roads or other public works for such term, not being more in any case than the term of imprisonment fixed by law for such offence. See pp. 353, 141.

7. SUBSTITUTION OF PUNISHMENT OF FEMALE OFFENDERS.-The 11 Vic., No. 55— an Act to substitute, in respect of female offenders, other punishments in lieu of transportation-provides that the Court may sentence the offender, by way of substitution for transportation, to be imprisoned in any gaol or house of correction for such term as the said Court shall think fit, not being more nor less in any case than the periods next mentioned; thus,

Transportation for life

....

Transportation for 15 years, or any term under 15, and more than 7 years

Transportation for 7 years...

Imprisonment for not less than 3 years,
nor more than 7 years
Imprisonment for not less than 2 years,
nor more than 5 years
Imprisonment for not less than 1 year,
nor more than 3 years

and the Court may sentence the offender to light labor or hard labor, as the Court shall think fit, and also direct her to be kept in solitary confinement for any portion of such imprisonment, not exceeding in the whole 3 calendar months in any one year, and not exceeding 14 days at any one time: provided that nothing in this Act shall take away, alter, or abridge any power to award other and different sentences.

For an offence at common law, the term is not limited. It is also shown whether the imprisonment may be with hard labor, solitary confinement, and whipping, and which of them.

In some cases, hard labor is authorized by s. 28 of 16 Vic., No. 18, (note A); but with respect to solitary confinement, 1 Vic., c. 90, s. 5, enacts "That it shall not be lawful for any Court to direct that any offender shall be kept in solitary confinement for any longer period than one month at a time, or than three months in the space of one year."

[blocks in formation]

(A) By this section it is enacted, that "whenever any person shall be convicted of any one of the offences following, as an indictable misdemeanor, that is to say,-any cheat or fraud punishable at common law;-any conspiracy to cheat or defraud, or to extort money or goods, or falsely to accuse of any crime; or to obstruct, prevent, pervert, or defeat the course of public justice;-any escape or rescue from lawful custody on a criminal charge;-any public and indecent exposure of the person; -any indecent assault, or any assault occasioning actual bodily harm ;-any attempt to have carnal knowledge of a girl under 12 years of age;-any public selling, or exposing for public sale, or to public view, of any obscene book, print, picture, or other indecent exhibition,-it shall be lawful for the Court to sentence the offender to be imprisoned for any term now warranted by law, and also to be kept to hard labor during the whole or any part of such term of imprisonment."

ERRATA.

Page 47, after line 8, insert "Broad wheels; see 'Tolls.'

Page 64, line 24, insert "s. 9," after No. 6.

Page 110, line 34, last word but four, for "deed," read "written document." Page 234, line 16, insert 2 before 5.

Page 285, line 9, insert “such” between the word “any" and the word "beast." Page 493, strike out lines 25 and 26, beginning, "and the evidence," to "in the presence," and substitute "and the evidence on oath of the said and the other witnesses called before us, given in the presence"

Same page, line 30, after the words "illegitimate male child," insert “and that he has, without reasonable cause, deserted (or left without adequate means of support) the said child."

Same page, strike out in lines 32, 33, 34, words commencing "into the hands" to "For the time being," and substitute for them, "into the hands of the Clerk of Petty Sessions at (or as the case may be)."

[blocks in formation]
[blocks in formation]
« EelmineJätka »