(e) Attempts by any threat, deceit, suppression of the truth or other unlawful means to influence any member of a municipal council in giving or withholding his vote in favour of or against any measure, motion, resolution or question, or in not attending any meeting of the municipal council of which he is a member, or of any committee thereof; or

(f) Attempts by any such means as in the next preceding paragraph mentioned to influence any member or any officer of a municipal council to aid in procuring or preventing the passing of any vote or the granting of any contract or advantage in favour of any person, or to perform or abstain from performing, or to aid in procuring or preventing the performance of, any official act : 52 V. c. 42, s. 2.

Not triable at quarter sessions, section 540; limitation, two years, section 551; see R. v. Lancaster, 16 Cox, 737; R. v. Hogg, 15 U. C. Q. B. 142.

SELLING OFFICE, APPOINTMENT, ETC., ETC. (New).

137. Every one is guilty of an indictable offence who, directly or indirectly

(a) Sells or agrees to sell any appointment to, or resignation of any office, or any consent to any such appointment or resignation, or receives, or agrees to receive, any reward or profit from the sale thereof; or

(b) Purchases or gives any reward or profit for the purchase of any such appointment, resignation or consent, or agrees or promises to do so.

Every one who commits any such offence as aforesaid, in addition to any other penalty thereby incurred, forfeits any right which he may have in the office and is disabled for life from holding the same.

2 Every one is guilty of an indictable offence who, directly or indirectly(a) Receives or agrees to receive any reward or profit for any interest, request or negotiation about any office, or under pretense of using any such interest, making any such request or being concerned in any such negotiation;

or

(b) Gives or procures to be given any profit or reward, or makes or procures to be made any agreement for the giving of any profit or reward, for any such interest, request or negotiation as aforesaid; or

(c) Solicits, recommends or negotiates in any manner as to any appointment to or resignation of any office in expectation of any reward or profit; or

(d) Keeps any office or place for transacting or negotiating any business relating to vacancies in, or the sale or purchase of, or appointment to or resignation of offices.

The word "office" in this section includes every office in the gift of the Crown or of any officer appointed by the Crown, and all commissions, civil, naval and military, and all places or employments in any public department or office whatever, and all deputations to any such office and every participation in the profits of any office or deputation.

Common law misdemeanour, 3 Chit. 681. The offence is not triable at quarter sessions, section 540; punishment under s. 951.

DISOBEDIENCE TO STATUTE LAW.

138. Every one is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to one year's imprisonment who, without lawful excuse, disobeys any Act of the Parliament of Canada or of any legislature in Canada by wilfully doing any act which it forbids, or omitting to do any act which it requires to be done, unless some penalty or other mode of punishment is expressly provided by law. R. S. C. c. 173, 8. 25 (amended),

R. v. Walker, 13 Cox, 94; Stephen's Cr. L. Art. 124; fine or sureties, s. 958; see R. v. Hall, 17 Cox, 278, and cases there cited; Hamilton v. Massie, 18 O. R. 585.

The offence which had given rise to this last case would probably now be held to be a not indictable one under the above section 138.

DISOBEDIENCE TO ORDERS oF COURT. (New).

139. Every one is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to one year's imprisonment who, without lawful excuse, disobeys any lawful order other than for the payment of money made by any court of justice, or by any person or body of persons authorized by any statute to make or give such order, unless some penalty is imposed, or other mode of proceeding is expressly provided by law.

Fine or sureties, section 958; Stephen's Cr. L. Art. 125; Archbold, 949.

NEGLECT OF PEACE OFFICER TO SUPPRESS RIOT. (New).

140. Every one is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to two years' imprisonment who, being a sheriff, deputy-sheriff, mayor, or other head officer, justice of the peace, or other magistrate, or other peace officer, of any county,. city, town, or district, having notice that there is a riot within his jurisdiction,. without reasonable excuse omits to do his duty in suppressing such riot.

Fine or sureties, section 958; R. v. Pinney, 3 B. & Ad. 947.

NEGLECT TO AID PEACE OFFICER TO SUPPRESS RIOT. (New).

141. Every one is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to one year's ¡mprisonment who, having reasonable notice that he is required to assist any sheriff, deputy-sheriff, mayor or other head officer, justice of the peace, magistrate, or peace officer in suppressing any riot, without reasonable excuse omits so to do.

Fine or sureties, section 958; "peace officer" defined, section 3; R. v. Brown, Car. & M. 314.

NEGLECT TO AID PEACE OFFICER. (New).

142. Every one is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to six months imprisonment who, having reasonable notice that he is required to assist any

sheriff, deputy-sheriff, mayor or other head officer, justice of the peace, magistrate, or peace officer, in the execution of his duty in arresting any person, or in preserving the peace, without reasonable excuse omits so to do.

See under preceding section; fine in lieu of or in addition to punishment, section 958: R. v Sherlock, Warb. Lead. Cas. 53

Indictment. The jurors for our Lady the Queen present that heretofore and before the committing of the offence hereinafter mentioned, to wit, on the

day of

A. B. was lawfully in the custody of

, on a charge of

C. D., a constable of and the said A. B. on the day aforesaid, committed an assault upon the said C. D., being such constable as aforesaid, and a breach of the peace, with intent to resist such his lawful apprehension; and the jurors aforesaid, do further present, that the said C. D., as such constable, there being a reasonable necessity for him so to do, called upon E. F., who was then present, for his assistance, in order to prevent the said assault and breach of the peace; and that the said E. F. did unlawfully, wilfully, and knowingly refuse to aid the said C. D., being such constable in the execution of his duty in arresting the said A. B., and to prevent an assault and breach of the peace as aforesaid.

MISCONDUCT OF OFFICERS, ETC., ETC.

143. Every one is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to a fine and imprisonment, who, being a sheriff, deputy-sheriff, coroner, elisor, bailiff, constable or other officer intrusted with the execution of any writ, warrant or process, wilfully misconducts himself in the execution of the same, or wilfully, and without the consent of the person in whose favour the writ, warrant or process was issued, makes any false return thereto. R. S. C. c. 173, s. 29.

Section 934 as to amount of fine, and section 951 as to imprisonment.

OBSTRUCTING PEACE OFFICER, ETC.

144. Every one is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to ten years' imprisonment who resists or wilfully obstructs any public officer in the execution of his duty or any person acting in aid of such officer.

2. Every one is guilty of an offence and liable on indictment to two years' imprisonment, and on summary conviction before two justices of the peace to six months' imprisonment with hard labour, or to a fine of one hundred dollars, who resists or wilfully obstructs

(a) Any peace officer in the execution of his duty or any person acting in aid of any such officer;

(b) Any person in the lawful execution of any process against any lands or goods or in making any lawful distress or seizure. R. S. C. c. 162, s. 34.

The punishment was two years under the repealed clause. The increase to ten years gives twelve challenges to the accused, section 668.

"Peace officer" and "public officer" defined, section 3. See annotation under section 263, post, which covers the same offence and makes it punishable by two years.

PART X.

MISLEADING JUSTICE.

PERJURY.

145. Perjury is an assertion as to a matter of fact, opinion, belief or knowledge, made by a witness in a judicial proceeding as part of his evidence, upon oath or affirmation, whether such evidence is given in open court, or by affidavit or otherwise, and whether such evidence is material or not, such assertion being known to such witness to be false, and being intended by him to mislead the court, jury, or person holding the proceeding. Evidence in this section includes evidence given on the voir dire and evidence given before a grand jury.

2. Every person is a witness within the meaning of this section who actually gives his evidence, whether he was competent to be a witness or not, and whether his evidence was admissible or not.

3. Every proceeding is judicial within the meaning of this section which is held in or under the authority of any court of justice, or before a grand jury, or before either the Senate or House of Commons of Canada, or any committee of either the Senate or House of Commons, or before any Legislative Council, Legislative Assembly or House of Assembly or any committee thereof, empowered by law to administer an oath, or before any justice of the peace, or any arbitrator or umpire, or any person or body of persons authorized by law or by any statute in force for the time being to make an inquiry and take evidence therein upon oath, or before any legal tribunal by which any legal right or liability can be established, or before any person acting as a court, justice or tribunal, having power to hold such judicial proceeding, whether duly constituted or not and whether the proceeding was duly instituted or not before

such court or person so as to authorize it or him to hold the proceeding, and although such proceeding was held in a wrong place or was otherwise invalid.

4. Subornation of perjury is counselling or procuring a person to commit any perjury which is actually committed.

The words in italics seem to be new law, or settle doubts which have been raised.

"In framing the above section, we have proceeded on the principle that the guilt and danger of perjury consist in attempting by falsehood to mislead a tribunal de facto exercising judicial functions. It seems to us not desirable that a person who has done this should escape from punishment, if he can show some defect in the constitution of the tribunal which he sought to mislead, or some error in the proceedings themselves."-Imp. Comm. Rep.

Perjury, by the common law, appears to be a wilful false oath by one who, being lawfully required to depose the truth in any proceeding in a "court" of justice, swears absolutely in a matter of some consequence to the point in question, whether he be believed or not: 3 Russ. 1.

Hawkins, vol. 1, p. 429, has the word "course" of justice, instead of "court" of justice.

Bishop, Cr. Law, vol. 2, 1015, says a "course" of justice, and thinks that the word "court" in Russell is a misprint for "course," though Bacon's abridgement, verb. perjury, also has "court." Roscoe, 747, has also "court" of justice, but says that the proceedings are not confined to courts of justice; and a note by the editor of the American sixth edition says a "course" of justice is a more accurate expression than a "court" of justice.

There is no doubt, however, that, according to all the definition of this offence by the common law the party must be lawfully sworn, the proceeding in which the oath is taken must relate to the administration of justice, the assertion sworn to must be false, the intention to swear falsely must be wilful, and the falsehood material to the matter in question. Promissory oaths, such as those taken by officers for the faithful performance of duties, cannot be the subject of perjury.-Cr. L. Comrs., 5th Report, 51.