all offences within this act, order be convicted of any indictable offence punishable under this act, for which imprisonment may be awarded, it shall be hard labour lawful for the court to sentence the offender to be imprior solitary soned, or to be imprisoned and kept to hard labour, in the common gaol or house of correction, and also to direct that the offender shall be kept in solitary confinement for the whole or any portion or portions of such imprisonment, or of such imprisonment with hard labour, as to the court in its discretion shall seem meet. confinement. Persons in the act of XXVIII. And, for the more effectual apprehension of all offenders against this act, be it enacted, that any per, committing any offence, son found committing any offence against this act, whether may be ap- the same be punishable upon indictment or upon summary prehended conviction, may be immediately apprehended, without a warrant, by any peace-officer, or the owner of the property injured, or his servant, or any person authorized by him, and forthwith taken before some neighbouring justice of the peace, to be dealt with according to law. without a warrant. A bettors in XXIX. [The same as 7 & 8 Geo. 4, c. 29, s. 64, ante, p. 320.] XXXI. And be it enacted, that where any offence is by offences this act punishable on summary conviction, either for every punishable time of its commission, or for the first and second time conviction. only, or for the first time only, any person who shall aid, on summary Form of abet, counsel, or procure the commission of such offence, shall, on conviction before a justice of the peace, be liable, for every first, second, or subsequent offence of aiding, abetting, counselling, or procuring, to the same forfeiture and punishment to which a person guilty of a first, second, or subsequent offence, as a principal offender, is by this act made liable. XXXII. [As 7 & 8 Geo. 4, c. 29, s. 66; omitting the words in italics. See ante, p. 321.] XXXIII. [As ditto, s. 67; omitting the words in italics.] XXXV. [As ditto, s. 69.] XXXVI. [As ditto, s. 70.] XXXVII. And be it enacted, that the justice before whom conviction. any person shall be convicted of any offence against this act, may cause the conviction to be drawn up in the following form of words, or in any other form of words to the same effect, as the case shall require, viz. "Be it remembered, that on the in the year of our Lord the county of offence, and the time and place when and where the same and there kept to hard labour], for the space of in the and there kept to hard labour] for the space of [or, and I order that the said sums shall be paid by the day of ]; and of [i. e., the pe said A. O. on or before the before], and that the said sum of shall be paid to XXXVIII. [As 7 & 8 Geo. 4, c. 29, s. 72, ante, p. 323. XL. [As ditto, s. 74.1 XLI. [As ditto, s. 75.] Scotland or XLII. Provided always, and be it enacted, that nothing Not to exin this act contained shall extend to Scotland or Ireland. tend to XLIII. And be it enacted, that where any felony or Ireland. misdemeanor punishable under this act shall be committed To extend within the jurisdiction of the Admiralty of England, the to offences same shall be dealt with, inquired of, tried, and deter- committed mined in the same manner as any other felony or misdemeanor committed within that jurisdiction. Note. The 3RD SECTION of this statute is nearly in the same terms as the corresponding provision in the repealed act of 4 Geo. 4, c. 46, which latter act was framed upon at sea. the repealed provisions of 4 Geo. 3, c. 37, s. 16; 22 Geo. 3, c. 40; and 28 Geo. 3, c. 55, s. 4. By the 28 Geo. 3, c. 55, s. 4, it was enacted, that if any person should wilfully and maliciously break, destroy, or damage, any frame, &c., every such offender should be adjudged guilty of felony, &c. Upon an indictment on this statute for damaging, it was held, that taking out and carrying away a part of a frame, without which the frame will not work, is damaging within the statute, although the part taken out be not injured, and the replacing it would again make the frame perfect: Tracey's case, R. & R. 452. The 13TH SECTION relates to destroying public bridges. The malicious destruction or damaging of public bridges was punishable as a misdemeanor at common law. In many cases the legislature made the offence of destroying or damaging particular bridges felony, without benefit of clergy; but now, by 1 Geo. 4, c. 116, s. 2, such parts of all former acts relating to bridges as enact that, if any person shall wilfully and maliciously blow up, pull down, or destroy any bridge, or any part thereof, &c., such of fender shall suffer death as a felon, without benefit of clergy, are repealed. For an enumeration of statutes relating to particular bridges, see 2 Russ. 1719; and for a number of local and personal acts, relating to various public works, in which special provisions are contained concerning their injury or destruction, see 2 Russ. 1717. The 15TH SECTION of this statute, relating to the destroying the dams of fish-ponds, will include both those cases, where the offence is perpetrated through malice, and those where the principal intent appears to have been to steal the fish. The offence of breaking down the head or mound of any fish-pond was made capital by the Black Act, but that act was not deemed to extend to cases where the intent was to steal: Ross's case, 1 E. P. C. 1650. It The 16TH SECTION relates to the crime of killing or maiming cattle. No indictment lay at common law for killing or wounding cattle; but it was a mere trespass, for which the party injured had his remedy by civil action: 1 Haw. P. C. c. 24, s. 11; 2 E. P. C. 1074. Various statutes, however, made the offence indictable; and the modern enactment is taken from the Black Act. Though cattle only are mentioned in the present statute, it is necessary to specify, in an indictment founded upon it, the particular species of cattle maimed or killed. It is also necessary to state the sex; if, therefore, the indictment state, that the prisoner "maimed certain cattle, to wit, one mare,' there must be evidence that the animal maimed is of the description specified: Chalkley's case, R. & R. 258. It is not necessary to aver, that the animals mentioned are cattle within the meaning of the act. may here be noticed, that horses and pigs, as well as oxen, are comprehended under the word cattle: Paty's case, 2 W. Bl. 721, 2 E. P. C. 1074; Whitney's case, R. & M. 3; Chapple's case, R. & R. 77. The act also is held to extend to the maiming or wounding of cattle, though death do not ensue; and to a wounding, though no permanent injury be inflicted: Haywood's case, 2 E. P. C. 1078. Formerly, it was necessary to prove malice against the owner of the animals, but the law in that respect is altered: see the 25TH SECTION. It may here be noticed, that by a modern statute (3 Geo. 4, c. 71), if any person shall wantonly and cruelly beat, abuse, or ill-treat any horse, mare, gelding, mule, ass, cow, heifer, steer, sheep, or other cattle, and shall be convicted of such offence before a magistrate, be shall forfeit a sum not exceeding 51. nor less than 10s. to his majesty. It has been decided, that this sta tute does not extend to the offence of bull-baiting: Exparte Hill, 3 C. & P. 20. The words of the 19TH and 20TH SECTIONS of 7 & 8 Geo. 3, c. 30, are, inter alia "cut, break, bark, root up, or otherwise destroy or damage." But, though a tree be not totally destroyed, yet if it be cut or broken, so as to be materially injured, that is sufficient to bring the case within the statute: Taylor's case, R. & R. 373. The 24TH and 28TH SECTIONS are founded on the repealed act of 1 Geo. 4, c. 56; and the same rules of construction are applicable to that statute and to the present enactments. In a late case of trespass for assault and imprisonment, the defendant having justified, under the 1 Geo. 4, c. 56, s. 3, that the plaintiff was wilfully and maliciously trespassing in a close of the defendant, and doing damage to the grass, and that the defendant took and apprehended the plaintiff in order to carry him before a magistrate, &c., and it was proved that the plaintiff was apprehended walking across the defendant's field, without any right, there being no way there, but no actual damage was done; it was holden, that this trespass, though wilful, was not sufficient to justify the apprehension of the party under the statute; and Best, C. J., in charging the jury, said, that the power given by the act was extremely large, and that it ought to receive a strict construction; that the circumstance of the trespass being wilful was not sufficient; that there must be actual pecuniary damage to justify the apprehension under the statute; and that the trespasser was not to be deprived of his liberty as a security for presumed damages: Dewey v. White, Moo. & Mal. 56. British Plate Glass Company. 13 Geo. 3, c. 38, (revived by 33 Geo. 3, c. 17, s. 23.) XXIX. Be it enacted, that if any person or persons Stealing or shall, by day or night, break into any house, shop, cellar, destroying the works, vault, or other place or building, or by force enter into any felony. house, shop, cellar, vault, or other place or building belonging to the said manufactory, or wherein the same shall be then carrying on, with intent to steal, cut, break, or otherwise destroy any glass or plate-glass, wrought or unwrought, or any materials, tools, or implements, used in, for, or about the making thereof, or any goods and wares belonging to the said manufactory, or shall steal, or wilfully or maliciously cut, break, or otherwise destroy any such glass, materials, tools, or implements, every such offender, being thereof lawfully convicted, shall be judged guilty of felony, and shall be transported to one of his ma jesty's colonies or plantations in America, for a term not exceeding seven years. XXXIV. [Public act]. English Linen Company. 4 Geo. 3, c. 37. XVI, Be it enacted, &c., that if any person or persons into a shop, Breaking &c. within tent to steal shall, by day or night, break into any house, shop, cellar, or destroy, vault, or other place or building, or by force enter into any &c. any materials or house, shop, cellar, vault, or other place or building, with implements, intent to steal, cut, or destroy any linen yarn, or any linen declared to cloth, or any manufacture of linen yarn, belonging to any be felony. Persons cutting ropes, &c. to be deem. ed guilty of felony, &c. manufactory, or the looms, tools, or implements used therein, or shall wilfully or maliciously cut in pieces or destroy any such goods, either when exposed to bleach or dry, every such offender, being thereof lawfully convicted, shall be judged guilty of felony, and shall suffer as in cases of felony, without benefit of clergy. XXXIII. [Public act. Destroying Buoys, Cordage, &c. 1 & 2 Geo. 4, c. 75. XI. Be it enacted, that if any person or persons shall away or de- wilfully cut away, cast adrift, remove, alter, deface, sink, facing buoy, or destroy, or shall do or commit any act with intent and design to cut away, cast adrift, remove, alter, deface, sink, or destroy, or in any other way injure or conceal any buoy, buoy-rope, or mark, belonging to any ship or vessel, or which may be attached to any anchor or cable belonging to any ship or vessel whatever, whether in distress or otherwise, such person or persons so offending shall, on being convicted of such offence, be deemed and adjudged to be guilty of felony, and shall be liable to be transported for any term not exceeding seven years, or, in mitigation of such punishment, to be imprisoned for any number of years, at the discretion of the court in which the conviction shall be made. Persons convicted of 2 Geo. 3, c. 28. XIII. Be it enacted, that if any person or persons shall cutting or cut, damage, or spoil any cordage, cable, buoys, buoy-rope, spoiling any headfast, or other fast fixed to any anchor or moorings becordage, longing to any ship or vessel at anchor or mooring in the cable,buoys, of vessels, at River Thames, or any rope used for the purpose of mooring or rafting masts or timber, or shall be aiding or assisting therein, with an intent to steal the same, such person or persons shall, being convicted thereof, on the oath of two or more credible witnesses, be transported to some of his majesty's plantations in America for the space of seven years, according to the laws now in force for the transportation of felons. anchor in the river, with intent to steal the same, shall be transported for 7 years. |