See Article 614, post, as to special pleas to Indictments for libel.

See, also, Article 614 ante, and comments thereunder, as to applications for particulars.

616. Indictments for perjury, etc.-No count charging perjury, the making of a false oath, or of a false statement, fabricating evidence or subornation, or procuring the commission of any of these offences, shall be deemed insufficient on the ground that it does not state the nature of the authority of the tribunal before which the oath or statement was taken or made, or the subject of the inquiry, or the words used or the evidence fabricated, or on the ground that it does not expressly negative the truth of the words used: Provided that the court may, if satisfied that it is necessary for a fair trial, order that the prosecutor shall furnish a particular of what is relied on in support of the charge.

2. No count which charges any false pretense, or any fraud, or any attempt or conspiracy by fraudulent means, shall be deemed insufficient because it does not set out in detail in what the false pretenses or the fraud or fraudulent means consisted: Provided that the court may, if satisfied as aforesaid, order that the prosecutor shall furnish a particular of the above matters or any of them.

3. No provision hereinbefore contained in this part as to matters which are not to render any count objectionable or insufficient shall be construed as restricting or limiting in any way the general provisions of section six hundred and eleven. R.S.C., c. 174, s. 107.

For Forms of Indictment for perjury, see pp. 98, 99, ante.

617. Copy particulars to be supplied to the accused. When any such particular as aforesaid is delivered a copy shall be given without charge to the accused or his solicitor, and it shall be entered in the record and the trial shall proceed in all respects as if the indictment had been amended in conformity with such particular.

2. In determining whether a particular is required or not, and whether a defect in the indictment is material to the substantial justice of the case or not, the court may have regard to the depositions.

See, as to applications for particulars, comments, under article 613, ante.

618. Indictment for pretending to send money, etc., by post.—It shall not be necessary to allege, in any indictment against any person for wrongfully and wilfully pretending or alleging that he inclosed and sent, or caused to be inclosed and sent, in any post letter, any money, valuable security or chattel, or to prove on the trial, that the act was done with intent to defraud. R.S.C., c. 174, s. 113.

619. Sufficiency of indictments.-An indictment shall be deemed sufficient in the cases following:

(a.) If it be necessary to name the joint owners of any real or personal property, whether the same be partners, joint tenants, parceners, tenants in common, joints stock companies or trustees, and

it is alleged that the property belongs to one who is named, and another or others as the case may be ;

(b.) If it is necessary for any purpose to mention such persons and one only is named;

(c.) If the property in a turnpike road is laid in the trustees or commissioners thereof without specifying the names of such trustees or commissioners;

(d.) If the offence is committed in respect to any property in the occupation or under the management of any public officer or commissioner, and the property is alleged to belong to such officer or commissioner without naming him;

(e.) If, for an offence under section three hundred and thirty-four, the oyster bed, laying or fishery is described by name or otherwise, without stating the same to be in any particular county or place. R.S.C., c. 174, ss. 118, 119, 120, 121 and 123.

Art 613, ante, provides that no count shall be insufficient for not naming the person injured, for not stating who is the owner of any property therein mentioned, nor for omitting to name or describe any person place or thing.

See Art. 723, post, as to amendment of variances so as to conform to the proof.

620. Property of a body corporate.-All property, real and personal, whereof any body corporate has, by law, the management, control or custody, shall. for the purpose of any indictment or proceeding against any other person for any offence committed on or in respect thereof, be deemed to be the property of such body corporate. R.S.C., c. 174, s. 122.

621. Indictment for stealing ores or minerals. In any indictment for any offence mentioned in sections three hundred and fortythree or three hundred and seventy-five of this Act, it shall be sufficient to lay the property in Her Majesty, or in any person or corporation, in different counts in such indictment; and any variance in the latter case, between the statement in the indictment and the evidence adduced, may be amended at the trial; and if no owner is proved the indictment may be amended by laying the property in Her Majesty. R.S.C., c. 174, s. 124.

For form of indictment see p. 472, ante.

622. Indictments in respect to postal-cards, etc.—In any indictment for any offence committed in respect of any postal card, postage stamp or other stamp issued or prepared for issue by the authority of the Parliament of Canada, or of the legislature of any province of Canada, or by, or by the authority of, any corporate body for the payment of any fee, rate or duty whatsoever, the property therein may be laid in the person in whose possession, as the owner thereof, it was when the offence was committed, or in Her Majesty if it was then unissued or in the possession of any officer or agent of the Government of Canada or of the province by authority

of the legislature whereof it was issued or prepared for issue. R.S.C., c. 174, s. 125.

See Article 3 (v) anle.

623. Indictments for thefts, etc., by public employees.—In every case of theft or fraudulent application or disposition of any chattel, money or valuable security under sections three hundred and nineteen (c) and three hundred and twenty-one of this Act, the property in any such chattel, money or valuable security may, in any warrant by the justice of the peace before whom the offender is charged, and in the indictment preferred against such offender, be laid in Her Majesty, or in the municipality, as the case may be. RS.C., c. 174, s. 126.

For forms of indictment, see pp. 468, 469, ante.

624. Indictments for offences respecting mailable matter etc.When an offence is committed in respect of a post letter bag, or a post letter, or other mailable matter, chattel, money or valuable security sent by post, the property of such post letter bag, post letter, or other mailable matter, chattel, money or valuable security may, in the indictment preferred against the offender, be laid in the Postmaster-General; and it shall not be necessary to allege in the indictment, or to prove upon the trial, or otherwise, that the post letter bag, post letter or other mailable matter, chattel or valuable security was of any value.

2. The property of any chattel or thing used or employed in the service of the post office, or of moneys arising from duties of postage, shall, except in the cases aforesaid, be laid in Her Majesty, if the same is the property of Her Majesty, or if the loss thereof would be borne by Her Majesty, and not by any person in his private capacity.

3. In any indictment against any person employed in the post office of Canada for any offence against this Act, or against any person for an offence committed in respect of any person so employed it shall be sufficient to allege that such offender or such other person was employed in the post office of Canada at the time of the commission of such offence, without stating further the nature or particulars of his employment. R.S.C., c. 35, s. 111.

For forms of indictment, see pp. 470 and 490, ante.

For meaning of " Post-letter bag," etc., see Article 4, ante, p. 7.

625. Indictment for theft by tenant or lodger.—An indictment may be preferred against any person who steals any chattel let to be used by him in or with any house or lodging, or who steals any fixture so let to be used, in the same form as if the offender was not a tenant or lodger, and in either case the property may be laid in the owner or person letting to nire. R.S.C, c. 174, s. 127.

For form of indictment, see p. 169, ante.

626. Joinder of counts.-Any number of counts for any offences whatever may be joined in the same indictment, and shall be distinguished in the manner shown in the FORM EE in SCHEDULE ONE hereto, (1) or to like effect: Provided that to a count charging murder no count charging any offence other than murder shall be joined.

2. When there are more counts than one in an indictment each count may be treated as a separate indictment.

3. If the Court thinks it conducive to the ends of justice to do so, it may direct that the accused shall be tried upon any one or more of such counts separately. Such order may be made either before or in the course of the trial, and if it is made in the course of the trial the jury shall be discharged from giving a verdict on the counts on which the trial is not to proceed The counts in the indictment which are not then tried shall be proceeded upon in all respects as if they had been found in a separate indictment.

4. Provided that, unless there be special reasons, no order shall be made preventing the trial at the same time of any number of distinct charges of theft not exceeding three, alleged to have been committed within six months from the first to the last of such offences, whether against the same person or not.

5. If one sentence is passed upon any verdict of guilty on more counts than one, the sentence shall be good if any of such counts would have justified it.

It will be seen by this Article and by Article 612, ante, that it is entirely in the discretion of the court, when satisfied that the ends of justice require it, to either order a count, (when it charges several different acts), to be divided into two or more counts, or to direct, when the indictment contains several counts, that the accused be tried on one or more counts separately.

By subsection 2 of Art. 713, post, it is provided that if, on the trial of an indictment for murder, the evidence proves manslaughter and not murder the jury may acquit the prisoner of murder, and render a verdict of guilty of manslaughter. And if upon the trial of an indictment for child murder, the jury find the accused not guilty of the murder, they may, under Art. 714, render a verdict of concealment of birth, if the evidence is such as to warrant it.

Joinder of defendants.—Where an offence has been committed by more persons than one, all or any number of them may be jointly indicted and jointly tried for it; or each of them may be indicted and tried separately.

For instance, if several persons commit a robbery, a burglary, or a murder, they may be indicted for it either jointly, or separately; and the same where two or more commit an assault, or are guilty of extortion, or the like. (2) And although they may have acted separately, yet if the grievance or injury is the result of the acts of all jointly, all may be jointly indicted for the offence. (3)

Where money was obtained by false pretences spoken by one defendant in the presence of others, acting with him in concert together, it was held that they might all be indicted jointly. (4) So where two persons joined in singing a libellous song, it was held that they might be indicted jointly. (5) But if the

publications of a libel by two different persons be distinct,-as if two different booksellers, not being partners, sell the libel. at their respective shops, they must, in that case, be indicted separately; for each has committed a separate act of publication. And two or more persons cannot be indicted jointly, for perjury, or for seditious or blasphemous words, or the like, because such offences are in their nature several. (1)

Even, where several commit a joint act, which act, however is not of itself illegal, but becomes illegal merely by reason of some circumstances applicable to each individual, severally, and not jointly, they must be indicted separately. (2) Thus, several persons, who are partners, cannot be indicted jointly for the offence of exercising their trade without having served an apprenticeship. (3)

Joint and separate trials.—When several persons are indicted jointly, the prosecution have the option to try them either together, or separately. (4) The prisoners, when several are indicted jointly, caunot as a matter of right, demand to be tried separately; but the presiding judge may, in his discretion, grant them separate trials, upon good cause being shewn for a severance. (5)

627. Accessories after the fact, and receivers.-Every one charged with being an accessory after the fact to any offence, or with receiving any property knowing it to have been stolen, may be indicted, whether the principal offender or other party to the offence or person by whom such property was so obtained has or has not been indicted or convicted, or is or is not amenable to justice and such accessory may be indicted either alone as for a substantive offence or jointly with such principal or other offender or person.

2. When any property has been stolen any number of receivers at different times of such property, or of any part or parts thereof, may be charged with substantive offences in the same indictment, and may be tried together, whether the person by whom the property was so obtained is or is not indicted with them, or is or is not in custody or amenable to justice. R.S.C., c. 174, ss. 133, 136 and 138.

See Articles 715, 716 and 717, as to trial of receivers. And see, also, comments at pp. 292-296, ante.

628. Indictment charging previous conviction. In any indictment for any indictable offence, committed after a previous conviction or convictions for any indictable offence or offences or for any offence or offences (and for which a greater punishment may be inflicted on that account), it shall be sufficient, after charging the subsequent offence to state that the offender was at a certain time and place, or at certain times and places, convicted of an indictable offence, or of an offence or offences, as the case may be, and to state the substance and effect only, omitting the formal part of the indictment and conviction, or of the summary conviction, as the case may be, for the previous offence, without otherwise describing the previous offence or offences. R.S.C., c. 174, s. 139.

A second offence must, in order to be punishable as such, be one which has

(1) R. v. Philips, 2 Str. 921.
(2) 2 Hawk., c. 25, s. 89.
(3) R. v. Weston, 1 Str. 623.
(4) 2 Hawk. P. C., c. 41, s. 8.
(5) 1 Bish. Cr. Pro. 2nd Ed., s. 1018.

See R. v. Tucker, 4 Burr. 2016.