the statute in such made and provided: These are, therefore, to require you forthwith to apprehend the said C. D., and bring him before me, at in the said county, to answer unto the said information and complaint, and to be further dealt with according to law. Herein fail not. Given under my hand and seal the year of our Lord day of in the Commitment after Conviction thereon. To the constable of S., in the county of B., and to the keeper of the in the said county. to wit. at County of WHEREAS C. D., of S., in the said county, labourer, is convicted by and before me, J. P., one of his majesty's justices of the peace in and for the said county, upon the oath of A. B., for that he the said C. D. did, on the -day of last, at L., in the parish of S in the said county, unlawfully and maliciously destroy [or, damage, &c. as in the information] the property of Ġ. H., then growing in there situate, whereby the same was then and there injured, to the amount of - contrary to the form of the statute in such case made and provided. And thereupon I, the said justice, adjudged the said C. D. for his said offence, to forfeit and pay, over and above the amount of the injury so done as aforesaid, the sum of . and for the said injury so done, the further ; and I did direct the said sum of a sum of to be immediately paid to J. K., one of the overseers of the poor of the said parish of S., in the said county, to be by him paid over to the use of the general rate of the said county, and the said sum of to the said G. H., the party aggrieved by the said offence, who was not examined by and before me in proof of the same: And whereas the said C. D. has made default of payment of the said sums: These are, therefore, to require you, the said constable, to convey the said C. D. to the said aforesaid, and deliver him to the said keeper thereof, together with this precept; and you the said keeper are hereby commanded to receive the said C. D. into your custody, in the said -, there to be imprisoned [or, imprisoned and kept to hard labour] for the space of [not exceeding six calendar months], unless such sums as aforesaid shall be sooner paid and satisfied, and for your so doing this shall be your sufficient warrant. Given under my hand and seal, the the year of our Lord at day of . in Information on § 24. for maliciously damaging, &c. any real or personal Property. County of THE information and complaint of A. B. of S. in the county of B. made on oath before me J. P. one to wit. of his majesty's justices of the peace in and for the said county of B., the day of"" in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and on the day of who saith, that last, at L. in the parish of S. in the said county, C. D. of M., in the said county, labourer, did wilfully and maliciously damage, injure, and spoil [as the case the [real or personal] pro may be] of the value of perty of G. H. of a private nature, contrary to the form of the statute in such case made and provided. And thereupon the said A. B. prayeth the judgment of me, the justice aforesaid, in the premises. Taken and sworn before me, Warrant to apprehend thereon. To the constable of S. in the county of B. J. P. County of WHEREAS information and complaint upon oath have been made before me, J. P., one of his majesty's justices of the peace in and for the said county, to wit. by A. B. of S. in the county aforesaid, that on the day of last, at L. in the parish of S. in the said county, C. D. of M. in the county aforesaid, labourer, did wilfully and maliciously damage, injure, and spoil, &c. [as in the information] of the value of the [real or personal] property of G. H. of a private nature, contrary to the form of the statute in such case made and provided: These are, therefore, to require you forthwith to apprehend the said C. D. and bring him before me, at R. in the said county, to answer unto the said information and complaint, and to be further dealt with according to law. Herein fail not. Given under my hand and seal, the day of year of our Lord Commitment after Conviction thereon. in the J. P. To the constable of S. in the county of B., and to the keeper of at - in the said county. the on the day of the County of WHEREAS C. D. of M., in the said county, labourer, is convicted by and before me, J. P., to wit. one of his majesty's justices of the peace in and for the said county, upon the oath of A. B., for that he the said C. D. did last, at L. in the parish of S., in the said county, wilfully and maliciously damage, injure, and spoil, &c. [as in the information] of the value of [real or personal] property of G. H. of a private nature, contrary to the form of the statute in such case made and provided, and for which no other remedy or punishment hath been by the same statute provided. And thereupon I, the said justice, did adjudge the said C. D. to forfeit and pay the sum of• •for the said offence, such sum appearing to me to be a reasonable compensation for the damage, injury, and spoil so committed, together with the further sum of for costs, unto G. H., the said G. H. not having been examined in proof of the offence. And whereas the said C. D. has made default of payment, within the time appointed by me the said justice, of the said sums. These are, therefore, to require you the said constable to convey the said C. D. to the said at aforesaid, and deliver him to the said keeper thereof, together with this precept: and you the said keeper are hereby commanded to receive the said C.D. into your custody, in the said there to be imprisoned [or imprisoned and kept to hard labour] for the space of [not exceeding two calendar months] unless such sums as aforesaid shall be sooner paid and satisfied, and for your so doing eight hundred and Misadventure. See Homicide. J. P. Misdemeanor. Its meaning. THIS word, in its usual acceptation, is applied to all those crimes and offences, for which the law has not provided a particular name; and they may be punished according to the degrees of the offence, by fine or imprisonment, or both. Barl. 370. Crime less than felony. No accessaries in misde meanors. This is the case with respect to acts of omission or commission which were punishable at common law; but many offences are by the statute law punishable as misdemeanors specifically. A misdemeanor is, in truth, any crime less than felony; and the word is generally used in contradistinction to felony and misdemeanors comprehend all indictable offences which do not amount to felony, as perjury, battery, libels, conspiracies, public nuisances, &c. 4 Blac. Com. 5. (Christian's Note,) (2) In cases that are criminal, but not capital, as in trespasses, before or after mayhem, or præmunire, there are no accessaries, for all the acces saries before are in the same degree as principals ; and acces saries after by receiving the offenders, cannot be in law under any penalties as accessaries, unless the acts of parliament that induce those penalties do expressly extend to receivers or comforters, as some do. 1 Hale, 613. Soliciting another to steal. Receiving stolen goods. Compromise of a misde meanor illegal. Aliter, after conviction. Arrest of party flying from apprehension. To solicit a servant to steal his master's goods, is a misdemeanor, though it be not charged in the indictment that the servant stole the goods, nor that any other act was done except the soliciting and inciting. And such offence is indictable at the sessions, having a tendency to a breach of the peace. Rex v. Higgins, 2 East, 5. For the punishment of persons convicted of misdemeanor for having received stolen goods knowing them to be stolen, see stat. 7 & 8 G. 4. c. 29. § 55. tit. Accessary. An agreement to put an end to a misdemeanor has been conşidered to be illegal, as impeding the course of public justice; but it is sometimes done after conviction, with the sanction of the court, in cases where the offence principally and more immediately affects an individual; the defendant being permitted to speak with the prosecutor before any judgment is pronounced, and a trivial punishment being inflicted, if the prosecutor declares himself satisfied. 1 Russ. 136. and the authorities there cited. Where a party is accused of a misdemeanor, and flies from the arrest, the officer must not kill him, though there be a warrant to apprehend him, and though he cannot otherwise be overtaken; and if he do kill him it will in general be murder. Fost. 271. 1 Hale, 481. cit. 1 Russ. 457. As to the time of proceeding to trial in indictments, &c. for Time of trial. misdemeanors, see stat. 60 G. 3. and 1 G. 4. c. 4. tit. Traverse. See tit. Indictment. Misnomer. See Indictment. Hisprision of Felony. See Felony. Mute. [12 G. 3. c. 20. 7 & 8 G. 4. c. 28.] HERETOFORE a person standing mute upon an arraignment of felony (that is, without speaking any thing at all, or without putting himself upon God and the country), was liable to a strange and cruel punishment: the judgment in such case was, that the man or woman should be remanded to the prison, and laid there in some low and dark room, where they should lie naked on the bare earth, without any litter, rushes, or other clothing, and without any garment about them, but something to cover their privy parts, and that they should lie upon their backs, their heads uncovered and their feet, and one arm to be drawn to one quarter of the room with a cord, and the other arm to another quarter, and in the same manner to be done with their legs; and there should be laid upon their bodies iron and stone, so much as they might bear and more; and the next day following, to have three morsels of barley bread without any drink, and the second day to drink thrice of the water next to the house of the prison (except running water) without any bread; and this to be their diet until they were dead. So as, upon the matter, they should die three manner of ways, by weight, by famine, and by cold. And the reason of this terrible judgment was, because they refused to stand to the common law of the land. 2 Inst. 178, 179. And this (which was called peine forte & dure) some persons endured for the sake of their children or other kindred; because in such case they forfeited their goods only, and not their lands; for lands could not be forfeited but by attainder. Ancient punishment of peine forte & dure. 12 G. 3. c. 20. Person standing mute, to be convicted and But now, by stat. 12 G.3. c. 20. § 1., If any person being arraigned on any indictment or appeal for felony, or on any indictment for piracy, shall upon such arraignment stand mute, or will not answer directly to the felony or piracy, he shall be convicted of the offence, and the court shall thereupon award judgment and execution in the in felony and same manner as if he had been convicted by verdict or confession; piracy. and such judgment shall have all the same consequences as a con viction by verdict or confession. By § 2., this act extends to H. M.'s colonies and plantations in America. have judgment, And the same law is, with respect to an arraignment for treason So in treason. or petit larceny; for before this act, persons standing mute in either of these cases, were to have the like judgment as if they had confessed the indictment. 2 Inst. 177. 2 Haw. c. 30. § 9, 10. Person born One who is surdus et mutus a navitate is in presumption of law deaf and dumb. an idiot, and the rather because he has no possibility to understand what is forbidden by law to be done: but if it appear that he has use of understanding, which many of that condition discover by signs, to a very great measure, then he may be tried, and suffer judgment and execution; though great caution should be used in such a proceeding. 1 Hale, 34. cit. 1 Russ. 7. Cause of stand Whether a prisoner stand mute, obstinately, or by the visitation ing mute to be of God, is a fact triable instanter by a jury to be returned for that purpose, and if found obstinate, the trial in chief may proceed. Mercier's case, 0. B. Dec. 1777, 1 Leach, 183. tried instanter. Deaf prisoner may be tried. So if the jury return that the prisoner is deaf by the visitation of God, the trial may proceed, and on conviction the prisoner be sentenced to transportation. Steel's case, O. B. 1787, 1 Leach, 451. See also Jones's case, acc. 1 Leach, 102. cit. 1 Russ. 7. n. (f.) In R. v. G. Halton, Apr. 20. 1824, Bristol Gaol Delivery, cor. Lord Gifford, Recorder, 1 R. & M. 88. Indictment on stat. 43 G. 3. c. 58. for maliciously cutting. The prisoner when called on to plead on his arraignment said, that he was quite deaf, but could read print or large writing. An officer then read over the indictment close to him with a loud voice, but the prisoner did not appear to hear and on his not answering, a jury was sworn to try whether he stood mute by the act of God or out of malice: the gaoler was then examined and said, that the prisoner had always appeared quite deaf during the several months he had been in his custody, and that his fellow-prisoners conversed with him by signs.- Lord Gifford, Recorder, in charging the jury, said, that he had adopted this proceeding after great deliberation, on the authority of R. v. Jones, 1 Leach, C. C. 451. and R. v. Steele (supra), which, in his opinion, governed the present case in principle, though it differed from it in several respects. The jury found that the prisoner was mute by the act of God, and were then sworn to try the indictment. The evidence of each witness was taken down in a large hand, and shewn to the prisoner before the witness retired. The prisoner read it, and asked some questions about words in the writing which he could not make out; but did not cross-examine the witnesses. - Acquitted. By 7 & 8 G. 4. c. 28. § 2., If any person being arraigned upon any indictment or information for treason, felony, piracy, or misdemeanor, shall stand mute of malice, or will not answer directly to the indictment or information, it shall be lawful for the court, if it shall so think fit, to order the proper officer to enter a plea of not guilty on behalf of such person; and the plea so entered shall have the same force and effect as if such person had actually pleaded the same. I. What it is. Nuisance. [25 G. 2. c. 36.—58 G. 3. c. 70.—5 W. & M. c. 11.] II. Nuisances from Non-repair of Highways and Bridges. III. How a Nuisance may be removed. IV. How punished. |