Intent to de

fraud particular persons,

need not be alleged or proved.

Interpretation

possession.

out any copy or fac-simile of the whole or any part of such instrument, matter or thing.

51. It shall be sufficient in any indictment for forging, altering, uttering, offering, disposing of, or putting off any instrument whatsoever, where it shall be necessary to allege an intent to defraud, to allege that the party accused did the act with intent to defraud, without alleging an intent to defraud any particular person; and on the trial of any such offence it shall not be necessary to prove an intent to defraud any particular person, but it shall be sufficient to prove that the party accused did the act charged with an intent to defraud.

52. Where the having any matter or thing in the custody or as to criminal possession of any person is in this Act expressed to be an offence, if any person has any such matter or thing in his personal custody and possession, or knowingly and wilfully has any such matter or thing in the actual custody and possession of any other person, or knowingly and wilfully has any such matter or thing in any dwelling-house or other building, lodging, apartment, field, or other place, open or enclosed, whether belonging to or occupied by himself or not, and whether such matter or thing is so had for his own use, or for the use or benefit of another, every such person shall be deemed and taken to have such matter or thing in his custody or possession within the meaning of this Act.

Search for

paper or im

plements em

ployed in any forgery, and

for forged instruments.

53. If it is made to appear, by information on oath or affirmation before a Justice of the Peace, that there is reasonable cause to believe that any person has in his custody or possession without lawful authority or excuse, any Dominion or Provincial Note, or any note or bill of any bank or body corporate, company, or person carrying on the business of bankers, or any frame, mould, or implement for making paper in imitation of the paper used for such notes or bills, or any such paper, or any plate, wood, stone, or other material, having thereon any words, forms, devices, or characters capable of producing or intended to produce the impression of any such note or bill, or any part thereof, or any tool, implement, or material used or employed, or intended to be used or employed in or about any of the operations aforesaid, or any forged security, document, or instrument whatsoever, or any machinery, frame, mould, plate, die, seal, paper, or other matter or thing used or employed, or intended to be used or employed, in the forgery of any security, document or instrument whatsoever, such Justice may, if he think fit, grant a warrant to search for the same; and if the same is found upon such search, it shall be lawful to seize and carry the same before some Justice of the district, county or place, to be by him disposed of according to Destroying the law and all such matters and things so seized as aforesaid shall by order of the Court where any such offender is tried, or in case there be no such trial, then by order of some Justice of the Peace, be defaced and destroyed, or otherwise disposed of as such Court or Justice may direct,

same,

Competency

Competency of witnesses on trial, &c.

trial.

34. In all prosecutions by indictment or information against Competency any person or persons for any offence punishable under this Act, of witnesses on no person shall be deemed an incompetent witness, in support of the prosecution by reason of any interest which such person may have or be supposed to have in respect of any deed, writing, instrument or other matter given in evidence on the trial of such indictment or information; but the evidence of any person or persons so interested or supposed to be interested shall in no case be deemed sufficient to sustain a conviction for any of the said offences unless the same is corroborated by other legal evidence in support of such prosecution.

Proviso.

Other punish

ments substi

14.

55. Whosoever, after the commencement of this Act, is convicted of any offence which has been subjected by any Act or tuted for those Acts to the same pains or penalties as are imposed by the Act of 5 Eliz., c. passed in the fifth year of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth, intituled: "An Act against forgers of false deeds and writings," for any of the offences first enumerated in the said Act, is guilty of felony, and shall, in lieu of such pains and penalties, be liable to be imprisoned in the Penitentiary for any term not exceeding fourteen years and not less than two years, or to be imprisoned in any other gaol or place of confinement for any term less than two years, with or without hard labour, and with or without solitary confinement.

capital, or

than under

wise punish

56. Where by any Act now in force in any Province of All forgeries Canada, any person falsely making, forging, counterfeiting, erasing, which were or altering any matter whatsoever, or uttering, publishing, offer- punishable ing, disposing of, putting away, or making use of any matter more severely whatsoever, knowing the same to have been falsely made, forged, this Act, and counterfeited, erased, or altered, or any person demanding, or are not otherendeavouring to receive or have anything, or to do or to cause to able under be done any act, upon or by virtue of any matter whatsoever, this Act, shall knowing such matter to have been falsely made, forged, counter- with impribe punished feited, erased, or altered, or where by any such Act now in force sonment. any person falsely personating another, or falsely acknowledging anything in the name of another, or falsely representing any other person than the real party to be such real party, or wilfully making a false entry in any book, account or document, or in any manner wilfully falsifying any part of any book, account or document, or wilfully making a transfer of any stock, annuity or fund in the name of any person not being the owner thereof, or knowingly taking any false oath, or knowingly making any false affidavit or false affirmation, or demanding or receiving any money or other thing by virtue of any probate or letters of administration, knowing the will on which such probate shall have been obtained to have been false or forged, or knowing such probate or letters of administration to have been obtained by means of any false oath or false affirmation; or where by any such Act now in force any person making or using or knowingly having in his

custody

Accessories

after the fact, how punish

to felonies,

able.

Or to misdemeanors.

Fine and sure

ing the peace;

custody or possession any frame, mould or instrument for the making of paper, with certain words visible in the substance thereof, or any person making such paper, or causing certain words to appear visible in the substance of any paper, would, according to the provisions contained in any such Act, be guilty of felony, and be liable to any greater punishment than is provided by this Act, then and in each of the several cases aforesaid, if any person after the commencement of this Act is convicted of any such felony as is hereinbefore in this section mentioned, or of aiding, abetting, counselling, or procuring the commission thereof, and the same is not punishable under any of the other provisions of this Act, every such person shall be liable to be imprisoned in the Penitentiary for life or for any term not less than two years, or to be imprisoned in any other gaol or place of confinement for any term less than two years, with or without hard labour, and with or without solitary confinement.

57. Every accessory after the fact to any felony punishable under this Act, shall be liable to be imprisoned in any gaol or place of confinement, other than the Penitentiary, for any term less than two years, with or without hard labour, and with or without solitary confinement; and every person who aids, abets, counsels or procures the commission of any misdemeanor punishable under this Act, shall be liable to be proceeded against, indicted and punished, as a principal offender.

58. Whenever any person is convicted of a misdemeanor under ties for keep this Act, the Court may, if it thinks fit, in addition to or in lieu in what cases. of any of the punishments by this Act authorized, fine the offender, and require him to enter into his own recognizances, and to find sureties, both or either, for keeping the peace and being of good behaviour; and in all cases of felonies in this Act mentioned, the Court may, if it thinks fit, require the offender to enter into his own recognizances, and to find sureties, both or either, for keeping the peace, in addition to any of the punishments by this Act authorized; provided that no person shall be imprisoned under this section for not finding sureties, for any period exceeding one year.

Proviso.

Commence

59. This Act shall commence and take effect on the first day ment of Act. of January, one thousand eight hundred and seventy.

Preamble.

CAP. XX.

An Act respecting Offences against the Person.

[Assented to 22nd June, 1869.]

it a

HEREAS it is expedient to assimilate, amend and consolidate the Statute Law of the several Provinces of Quebec, Ontario, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, relating to

offences

offences against the person and to extend the same as so consolidated to all Canada: Therefore, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

Homicide.

1. Whosoever is convicted of murder shall suffer death as a Murder. felon.

2. Upon every conviction for murder, the Court shall pro- Sentence for nounce sentence of death, and the same may be carried into murder. execution, and all other proceedings upon such sentence and in respect thereof may be had and taken in the same manner, and the Court before which the conviction takes place shall have the same powers in all respects, as after a conviction for any other felony for which a prisoner may be sentenced to suffer death as a felon.

soliciting to murder.

3. All persons who conspire, confederate and agree to murder Conspiring or any person, whether he be a subject of Her Majesty or not, and whether he be within the Queen's dominions or not, and whosoever solicits, encourages, persuades, endeavours to persuade or proposes to any person to murder any other person, whether he be a subject of Her Majesty or not, and whether he be within the Queen's dominions or not, are and is guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be liable to be imprisoned in the Penitentiary for any term not exceeding ten years and not less than two years, or to be imprisoned in any other gaol or place of confinement for any term less than two years, with or without hard labour.

of accessories

4. Every accessory after the fact to murder, shall be liable to Punishment be imprisoned in the Penitentiary for life or for any term not less after the fact. than two years, or to be imprisoned in any other gaol or place of confinement for any term less than two years, with or without hard labour.

5. Whosoever is convicted of manslaughter shall be liable to Manslaughter. be imprisoned in the Penitentiary for life, or for any term not less than two years, or to be imprisoned in any other gaol or place of confinement for any term less than two years, with or without hard labour, or to pay such fine as the Court may award, in addition to or without any such other discretionary punishment as aforesaid.

6. In any indictment for murder or manslaughter, or for being Indictment for an accessory to any murder or manslaughter, it shall not be murder or manslaughter. necessary to set forth the manner in which, or the means by which, the death of the deceased was caused, but it shall be sufficient in any indictment for murder to charge that the defendant did feloniously, wilfully, of his malice aforethought, kill and murder the deceased; and it shall be sufficient in any indictment for

manslaughter

Excusable homicide.

Petit treason.

Provision for

or manslaugh

manslaughter to charge that the defendant did feloniously kill and slay the deceased; and it shall be sufficient in any indictment against any accessory to any murder or manslaughter to charge the principal with the murder or manslaughter (as the case may be), in the manner herein before specified, and then to charge the defendant as an accessory, in the manner heretofore used and accustomed, or by law provided.

7. No punishment or forfeiture shall be incurred by any person who kills another by misfortune, or in his own defence, or in any other manner without felony.

S. Every offence which before the abolition of the crime of petit treason, would have amounted to petit treason, shall be deemed to be murder only, and no greater offence; all persons guilty in respect thereof, whether as principals or accessories, shall be dealt with, indicted, tried and punished as principals and accessories in murder.

9. Where any person, being feloniously stricken, poisoned, or trial of murder otherwise hurt, upon the sea, or at any place out of Canada, shall ter where the die of such stroke, poisoning, or hurt, in Canada, or, being felonideath or cause ously stricken, poisoned, or otherwise hurt at any place in Canada, of death only shall die of such stroke, poisoning, or hurt, upon the sea, or at any

happens in

Canada.

Administering poison, or wounding

place out of Canada, every offence committed in respect of any such case, whether the same amounts to murder or manslaughter, or of being accessory to murder or manslaughter, may be dealt with, inquired of, tried, determined and punished in the district, county or place in Canada in which such death, stroke, poisoning, or hurt happens, in the same manner in all respects as if such offence had been wholly committed in that district, county or place.

Attempts to murder.

10. Whosoever administers or causes to be administered to or to be taken by any person, any poison or other destructive thing, with intent to or by any means whatsoever, wounds or causes any grievous bodily harm to any person, with intent, in any of the cases aforesaid, to commit murder, is guilty of felony, and shall suffer death as a felon.

murder.

Destroying or damaging a building with gunpowder,

11. Whosoever, by the explosion of gunpowder or other explosive substance, destroys, or damages any building, with intent to commit murder, is guilty of felony and shall be liable to with intent to be imprisoned in the Penitentiary for life, or for any term not less than two years, or to be imprisoned in any other gaol or place of confinement for any term less than two years, with or without hard labour, and with or without solitary confinement,

murder.