such, or as substantive felons.

Punishment of accessories after the fact.

Prosecution

and convicted either as an accessory after the fact to the principal felony, together with the principal felon, or after the conviction of the principal felon, or may be indicted and convicted of a substantive felony whether the principal felon shall or shall not have been previously convicted, or shall or shall not be amenable to justice, and may thereupon be punished in like manner as any accessory after the fact to the same felony, if convicted as an accessory, may be punished.

Section 4.-Every accessory after the fact to any felony (except where it is otherwise specially enacted), whether the same be a felony at common law or by virtue of any Act passed or to be passed, shall be liable, at the discretion of the court, to be imprisoned in the common gaol or house of correction for any term not exceeding two years, with or without hard labour, and it shall be lawful for the court, if it shall think fit, to require the offender to enter into his own recognizances and to find sureties, both or either, for keeping the peace, in addition to such punishment: Provided that no person shall be imprisoned under this clause for not finding sureties for any period exceeding one year.

AS TO ACCESSORIES GENERALLY.

Section 5.-If any principal offender shall be in anywise conof accessory victed of any felony, it shall be lawful to proceed against any after principal has accessory, either before or after the fact, in the same manner as been con- if such principal felon had been attainted thereof, notwithstandvicted, ing such principal felon shall die, or be pardoned, or otherwise but not delivered before attainder; and every such accessory shall upon attainted. conviction suffer the same punishment as he would have suffered if the principal had been attainted.

Several accessories may be included in the same

Section 6.-Any number of accessories at different times to any felony, and any number of receivers at different times of property stolen at one time, may be charged with substantive felonies in the same indictment, and may be tried together, notindictment withstanding the principal felon shall not be included in the same indictment, or shall not be in custody or amenable to justice.

although

principal

felon not included.

Trial of

Section 7.-Where any felony shall have been wholly comaccessories. mitted within England or Ireland, the offence of any person who shall be an accessory either before or after the fact to any such felony may be dealt with, inquired of, tried, determined, and punished by any court which shall have jurisdiction to try the principal felony, or any felonies committed in any county or place in which the Act by reason whereof such person shall have become such accessory, shall have been committed; and in every other case the offence of any person who shall be an accessory either before or after the fact to any felony may

be dealt with, inquired of, tried, determined, and punished by any court which shall have jurisdiction to try the principal felony or any felonies committed in any county or place in which such person shall be apprehended or be in custody, whether the principal felony shall have been committed on the sea or on the land, or begun on the sea and completed on the land, or begun on the land and completed on the sea, and whether within her Majesty's dominions or without, or partly within her Majesty's dominions and partly without; provided that no person who shall be once duly tried either as an accessory before or after the fact, or for a substantive felony under the provisions hereinbefore contained, shall be liable to be afterwards prosecuted for the same offence.

AS TO ABETTORS IN MISDEMEANORS.

misdemea

Section 8.--Whosoever shall aid, abet, counsel, or procure the Abettors in commission of any misdemeanor, whether the same be a misde- nors. meanor at common law or by virtue of any Act passed or to be passed, shall be liable to be tried, indicted, and punished as a principal offender.

AS TO OTHER MATTERS.

offences

of the

Admiralty.

Section 9.-Where any person shall, within the jurisdiction of As to the Admiralty of England or Ireland, become an accessory to committed any felony, whether the same be a felony at common law or by within the virtue of any Act passed or to be passed, and whether such jurisdiction felony shall be committed within that jurisdiction or elsewhere, or shall be begun within that jurisdiction and completed else where, or shall be begun elsewhere and completed within that jurisdiction, the offence of such person shall be felony; and in any indictment for any such offence the venue in the margin shall be the same as if the offence had been committed in the county or place in which such person shall be indicted, and his offence shall be averred to have been committed "on the high provided that nothing herein contained shall alter or affect any of the laws relating to the government of her Majesty's land or naval forces.

seas;

Section 10.-The Act does not extend to Scotland.

Definitions.

Larcenies.

Bailees.

Punishment.

Counts.

Election.

LARCENY ACT.

(24 & 25 VICT. c. 96.)

An Act to consolidate and amend the Statute Law of England and Ireland relating to Larceny and other similar offences.

LARCENY GENERALLY (a).

[1861.]

Section 1 defines the following terms:- "Document of title to lands," document of title to goods," "trustee," "valuable security," "property." The term "property" includes every description of real and personal property, money, debts, &c. "Night," for the purposes of this Act, shall be deemed to commence at 9 p.m. and conclude at 6 a.m. the following morning.

Section 2.-All larcenies, whatever be the value of the property stolen, shall be deemed to be of the same nature.

Section 3.-"Whosoever, being a bailee of any chattel, money, or valuable security, shall fraudulently take or convert the same to his own use or the use of any person other than the owner thereof, although he shall not break bulk or otherwise determine the bailment, shall be guilty of larceny, and may be convicted thereof upon an indictment for larceny; but this shall not extend to any offence punishable on summary conviction."

Section 4.-Whosoever shall be convicted of simple larceny, or of any felony hereby made punishable like simple larceny, shall (except in the cases otherwise provided for) be liable, at the discretion of the court, to be kept to penal servitude for the term of five 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.

Section 5.-It shall be lawful to insert several counts in the same indictment against the same person for any number of distinct acts of stealing, not exceeding three, which may have been committed by him against the same person within the space of six months from the first to last of such acts, and to proceed thereon for all or any of them.

Section 6.If upon the trial of any indictment for larceny it shall appear that the property alleged in the indictment to have been stolen at one time was taken at different times, the prose

(a) See p. 223, ante.

cutor shall not by reason thereof be required to elect upon which taking he will proceed, unless it shall appear that there were more than three takings, or that more than the space of six months elapsed between the first and the last of such takings; in either of such last-mentioned cases the prosecutor shall be required to elect to proceed for such number of takings, not exceeding three, as appears to have taken place within the period of six months from the first to the last of such takings.

Section 7.-Whosoever shall commit the offence of simple Previous larceny after a previous conviction for felony, whether such con- conviction. viction shall have taken place upon an indictment or under the provisions of 18 & 19 Vict. c. 126, shall be liable, at the discretion of the court, to be kept iu penal servitude for any term not exceeding ten years and not less than five years, or to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding two years. Males under sixteen years may be whipped.

Section 8.-Larceny after conviction of an indictable mis- Previous demeanor punishable under the Act renders the offender liable to conviction. seven years' penal servitude or two years' imprisonment. Males under sixteen years may be whipped.

Section 9.-Larceny after two summary convictions under 7 & 8 Geo. 4, cc. 29, 30; 9 Geo. 4, cc. 55, 56; 10 & 11 Vict. c. 82; 11 & 12 Vict. c. 59; 14 & 15 Vict. c. 92; 24 & 25 Vict. c. 97, renders the offender liable to seven years' penal servitude or two years' imprisonment. Males under sixteen may be whipped.

LARCENY OF CATTLE OR OTHER ANIMALS.

horses. cattle, &c.

Section 10.- To steal any horse, mare, gelding, colt, or filly, Stealin or any bull, cow, ox, or heifer, or calf, or any ram, ewe, sheep, or lamb, is felony. Punishment, fourteen years' penal servitude or two years' imprisonment.

animals

Section 11.-To wilfully kill any animal, with intent to steal Killing the carcase, skin, or any part of any animal so killed, is felony. with intent Punishment, the same as on a conviction of feloniously stealing to steal. the same, provided the offence of stealing the animal so killed would have amounted to felony.

Sections 12 to 15 relate to stealing deer, &c.:

deer.

To hunt, carry away, kill, or wound any deer kept in an un- Stealing enclosed part of any forest, chase, or purlieu is punishable on summary conviction by fine not exceeding 50l. A second offence is felony, punishable by imprisonment not exceeding two years. The same offence committed in an enclosed place is a felony, punishable by imprisonment not exceeding two years.

To have in possession without satisfactorily accounting for the

Deer keepers.

Hares,

rabbits, &c.

Dogs.

same any deer, or the head, skin, or other part thereof, or a snare or engine for taking deer, or to set or use any such snare, or destroying any part of the fence on land where any are kept, is punishable on summary conviction by fine not exceeding 201.

Section 16 of the Act empowers deer keepers or their assistants to seize any snares or dogs of any person entering any forest or any enclosed land where deer are kept with intent to hunt, &c., the same; and any person unlawfully beating or wounding such keepers in the exercise of their duty is guilty of felony, punishable by imprisonment not exceeding two years. Males under sixteen may in addition be whipped.

Section 17.-"Whosoever shall unlawfully and wilfully, between the expiration of the first hour after sunset and the beginning of the last hour before sunrise, take or kill any hare or rabbit in any warren or ground lawfully used for the breeding or keeping of hares or rabbits, whether the same be inclosed or not, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor; whosoever shall unlawfully and wilfully, between the beginning of the last hour before sunrise and the expiration of the first hour after sunset, take or kill any hare or rabbit in any such warren or ground, or shall at any time set or use therein any snare or engine for the taking of hares or rabbits, shall, on conviction thereof before a justice of the peace, forfeit and pay such sum of money, not exceeding 5l., as to the justice shall seem meet: provided that nothing in this section contained shall affect any person taking or killing in the daytime any rabbits on any sea bank or river bank in the county of Lincoln, so far as the tide shall extend, or within one furlong of such bank."

Section 18.-"Whosoever shall steal any dog (a) shall, on conviction thereof before two justices of the peace, either be committed to the common gaol or house of correction, there to be imprisoned, or to be imprisoned and kept to hard labour, for any term not exceeding six months, or shall forfeit and pay, over and above the value of the said dog, such sum of money, not exceeding 201., as to the said justices shall seem meet; whosoever, baving been convicted of any such offence, either against this or any former Act of Parliament, shall afterwards steal any dog, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor." Punishment, eighteen months' imprisonment.

Section 19.-"Whosoever shall unlawfully have in his possession or on his premises any stolen dog, or the skin of any stolen dog, knowing such dog to have been stolen, or such skin to be the skin of a stolen dog, shall, on conviction thereof before two

(a) An indictment will not lie for obtaining a dog by false pretences, dogs not being chattels (R. v. Robinson, 28 L. J. 58).