Division. The mere fact that no previous convictions are charged against Appendix. him would not, of course, of itself be sufficient ground for privileged treatment; but this may properly be allowed, in the Secretary of State's opinion, whenever there is evidence of good character over a considerable period of time, and when it is clear that exceptional temptation or special provocation has led to a merely temporary deviation from the paths of honesty, or to an act of violence not in consonance with the natural disposition of the defendant. It is very necessary that the direction to place a convicted prisoner in the First or Second Division should always be put in writing, as otherwise it cannot be carried into effect; it may most conveniently be appended to the commitment immediately above the committing magistrate's signature; and a note of it should be made in the minute of adjudication entered in your clerk's register in such a way that a return of all cases in which it has been given could afterwards, if necessary, be compiled therefrom. Division III. It will be observed that the rules for the treatment of the Third Division correspond, generally, with those now in existence for the general government of prisons, to which all convicted prisoners have hitherto been subject, though in some minor respects modifications have been introduced. Subject to the exclusion of cases which, according to the discretion of the courts, will be specially assigned to Divisions I. and II., and of those which are so assigned by statute, this will remain the general and comprehensive division, embracing the mass of convicted prisoners, whether sentenced to hard labour or not, and whether the imprisonment is in default of payment of a fine or not. A further result of the addition of hard labour to a sentence of imprisonment should, however, be noticed, namely, that if added to a sentence of not more than 12 months' imprisonment passed on any person convicted of a felony it operates under s. 2 of the Forfeiture Act, 1870 (33 & 34 Vict. c. 23), to determine any pension payable to the defendant from any public fund, unless he shall receive a free pardon within two months of his conviction. The Secretary of State has reason to believe that the provisions of this statute are not always borne in mind when judgment is passed on Army pensioners and others convicted of felony, and he is glad of the opportunity of pointing out that in such cases the pension will not be forfeited unless the prisoner is sentenced to death or penal servitude or imprisonment with hard labour or imprisonment for more than 12 months. III. Section 9 allows any prisoner who has been convicted by a court of summary jurisdiction and committed to prison in default of payment of a fine, to pay a portion only of the fine, and thereby to reduce the term of imprisonment to which he is liable by a period proportionate to the amount paid. For the purposes of the section costs of all kinds are to be reckoned as part of the fine. Thus, when a fine of 7s. 6d. has been imposed with 6s. 6d. costs, and in default the defendant has been committed for 14 days' imprisonment, then for every shilling paid by the defendant his term of imprisonment will be shortened by one day. The money so paid will be accounted for by the governor to the clerks of the several courts of summary jurisdiction. A rule has been made by the Lord Chancellor under s. 29 of the Summary Jurisdiction Act, 1879, to regulate the apportionment by the clerks of sums so received by them. See p. 229, ante, and p. 499, ante. IV. Section 12. "Month" in any sentence of imprisonment has hitherto meant "lunar month"; it will now have the meaning of "calendar month," unless otherwise expressed. It will be unnecessary therefore to use the word "calendar" in warrants of commitment, minutes of conviction, etc. Appendix. THE INTERPRETATION ACT, 1889. (52 & 53 VICT. c. 63.) Re-enactment of existing Rules. 1. Rules as to gender and number.]—(1) In this Act and in every Act passed after the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty, whether before or after the commencement of this Act, unless the contrary intention appears, (a) Words importing the masculine gender shall include females; and (b) Words in the singular shall include the plural, and words in the plural shall include the singular. (2) The same rules shall be observed in the construction of every enactment relating to an offence punishable on indictment or on summary conviction, when the enactment is contained in an Act passed in or before the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty. 2. Application of penal Acts to bodies corporate.]—(1) In the construction of every enactment relating to an offence punishable on indictment or on summary conviction, whether contained in an Act passed before or after the commencement of this Act, the expression "person" shall, unless the contrary intention appears, include a body corporate. (2) Where under any Act, whether passed before or after the commencement of this Act, any forfeiture or penalty is payable to a party aggrieved, it shall be payable to a body corporate in every case where that body is the party aggrieved. "Person" includes a limited company (Pearks, Gunston and Tee, Limited v. Ward, [1902] 2 K. B. 1; 66 J. P. 774; 71 L. J. K. B. 18; 87 L. T. 51; 18 T. L. R. 538; 20 Cox C. C. 279). 3. Meanings of certain words in Acts since 1850.] In every Act passed after the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty, whether before or after the commencement of this Act, the following expressions shall, unless the contrary intention appears, have the meanings hereby respectively assigned to them, namely,— The expression "month" shall mean calendar month: The expression "land" shall include messuages, tenements, and hereditaments, houses, and buildings of any tenure : The expressions "oath and "affidavit" shall, in the case of persons for the time being allowed by law to affirm or declare instead of swearing, include affirmation and declaration, and the expression "swear" shall, in the like case, include affirm and declare. By the Prison Act, 1898 (61 & 62 Vict. c. 41), s. 12, it is provided "in Appendix. any sentence of imprisonment passed after the commencement of this Act, the word 'month' shall, unless the contrary is expressed, be construed as meaning 'calendar month.' 4. Meaning of "county" in past Acts.] In every Act passed after the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty and before the commencement of this Act the expression "county shall, unless the contrary intention appears, be construed as including a county of a city and a county of a town. 5. Meaning of "parish."] In every Act passed after the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, whether before or after the commencement of this Act, the expression "parish" shall, unless the contrary intention appears, mean, as respects England and Wales, a place for which a separate poor rate is or can be made, or for which a separate overseer is or can be appointed. 6. Meaning of "county court."] In this Act, and in every Act and Order of Council passed or made after the year one thousand eight hundred and forty-six, whether before or after the commencement of this Act, the expression "county court" shall, unless the contrary intention appears, mean as respects England and Wales a court under the County Courts Act, 1888 (51 & 52 Vict. c. 43). 7. Meaning of "sheriff clerk," etc., in Scotch Acts.] In every Act relating to Scotland, whether passed before or after the commencement of this Act, unless the contrary intention appears, 66 The expression "sheriff clerk" shall include steward clerk; New General Rules of Construction. 12. Official definitions in past and future Acts.] In this Act, and in every other Act whether passed before or after the commencement of this Act, the following expressions shall, unless the contrary intention appears, have the meanings hereby respectively assigned to them, namely: (1) The expression "the Lord Chancellor" shall, except when used with reference to Ireland only, mean the Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain for the time being, and when used with reference to Ireland only, shall mean the Lord Chancellor of Ireland for the time being. (2) The expression "the Treasury "shall mean the Lord High Treasurer for the time being or the Commissioners for the time being of her Majesty's Treasury. (3) The expression Secretary of State" shall mean one of her Majesty's principal Secretaries of State for the time NOTE. Appendix. (4) The expression "the Admiralty" shall mean the Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom for the time being, or the Commissioners for the time being for executing the office of Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom. (11) The expression "Postmaster-General" shall mean her 13. Judicial definitions in past and future Acts.] In this Act and in every other Act whether passed before or after the commencement of this Act, the following expressions shall, unless the contrary intention appears, have the meanings hereby respectively assigned to them, namely: (1) The expression "Supreme Court," when used with reference to England or Ireland, shall mean the Supreme Court of Judicature in England or Ireland, as the case may be, or either branch thereof. (2) The expression "Court of Appeal," when used with reference to England or Ireland, shall mean her Majesty's Court of Appeal in England or Ireland, as the case may be. (3) The expression "High Court," when used with reference to England or Ireland, shall mean her Majesty's High Court of Justice in England or Ireland, as the case may be. (4) The expression "court of assize" shall, as respects England, (5) The expression "assizes," as respects England, Wales, and (7) The expression "the Summary Jurisdiction (England) (8) The expression" the Summary Jurisdiction (Scotland) Acts" Appendix. (9) The expression "the Summary Jurisdiction (Ireland) Acts" (11) The expression "court of summary jurisdiction" shall mean any justice or justices of the peace, or other magistrate, by whatever name called, to whom jurisdiction is given by, or who is authorised to act under, the Summary Jurisdiction Acts, whether in England, Wales, or Ireland, and whether acting under the Summary Jurisdiction Acts or any of them, or under any other Act, or by virtue of his commission, or under the common law. On this sub-section see The Deputies of the Freemen of the Borough of Leicester v. Hewitt, referred to in the note to s. 33 of the S. J. Act, 1879, ante, p. 188; and Fourth City Mutual Building Society v. Churchwardens, etc. of East Ham, referred to at p. 414, ante. The following opinion of the law officers of the Crown was given as to the meaning of s. 7 of the S. J. Act, 1884, which is repealed by this Act (Schedule); (this sub-section gives in a consolidated forra the same definition of court of summary jurisdiction as given by the said repealed section): "We are of opinion that a justice, when acting in relation to indictable offences (other than those he has assumed power to deal with summarily under section 27 of the Summary Jurisdiction Act, 1879), is a court of summary jurisdiction. "The Act of 1879 must now be read as though it contained the amended definition enacted by s. 7 of the Act of 1884. Whereever, therefore, the words court of summary jurisdiction' occur in the Act of 1879, they must be construed according to this extended definition in all cases in which the subject-matter of the section admits of such a construction." See also note to s. 20 of Summary Jurisdiction Act, 1879, ante, p. 152, and the Home Secretary's letter there referred to at p. 154. (12) The expression "petty sessional court" shall, as respects England or Wales, mean a court of summary jurisdiction consisting of two or more justices when sitting in a petty sessional court-house, and shall include the Lord Mayor of the city of London, and any alderman of that city, and any metropolitan or borough police magistrate |