MISCHIEF TO MINES.

498. Every one is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to seven years' imprisonment who, with intent to injure a mine or oil well, or obstruct the working thereof

(a) causes any water, earth, rubbish or other substance to be conveyed into the mine or oil well or any subterranean channel communicating with such mine or well; or

(b) damages any shaft or any passage of the mine or well; or

(c) damages, with intent to render useless, any apparatus, building, erection, bridge or road belonging to the mine or well, whether the object damaged be complete or not; or

(d) hinders the working of any such apparatus; or

(e) damages or unfastens, with intent to render useless, any rope, chain or tackle used in any mine or well or upon any way or work connected therewith. R. S. C. c. 168, ss. 30 & 31 (Amended). 24-25 V. c. 97, ss. 28 & 29 (Imp.). Indictment under (a).— unlawfully and without legal justification or excuse and without colour of right, did cause a quantity of water to be conveyed into a certain mine of J. N., situate with intent thereby then to injure the said mine and obstruct the working thereof.

Acts causing the damages mentioned in this section done in the bona fide exercise of a supposed right and without a wicked mind are not indictable: R. v. Matthews, 14 Cox, 5; R. v. Jones, 2 Moo. 293; R. v. Fisher, Warb. Lead. Cas. 195.

Indictment under (e).

a certain steam engine, the property of J. N. for the draining and working of a certain mine of the said J. N. and belonging to the said mine, unlawfully did, without legal justification or excuse, and without colour of right, damage with intent to render it useless and to injure the said mine and obstruct the working thereof.

See s. 711 as to a verdict for attempt to commit the offence charged in certain cases.

Prove that the defendant pulled down or destroyed the engine, as alleged. A scaffold erected at some distance above the bottom of a mine for the purpose of working a vein of coal on a level with the scaffold was holden to be an erection used in conducting the business of the mine,

within the meaning of the statute: R. v. Whittingham, 9 C. & P. 234. Wrongfully setting a steam-engine in motion, without its proper machinery attached to it, and thereby damaging it and rendering it useless, is within the section: R. v. Norris, 9 C. & P. 241. A trunk of wood used to convey water to wash the earth from the ore was held to be an erection used in conducting the business of a mine within the meaning of the statute: Barwell v. Winterstoke, 14 Q. B. 704.

The intent must be alleged in the indictment: R. v. Smith, 4 C. & P. 569.

MISCHIEF.

499. Every one is guilty of the indictable offence of mischief who wilfully destroys or damages any of the property hereinafter mentioned, and is liable to the punishments hereinafter specified :

(A) to imprisonment for life if the object damaged be

(a) a dwelling-house, ship or boat, and the damage be caused by an explosion, and any person be in such dwelling-house, ship or boat, and the damage causes actual danger to life; or

(b) a bank, dyke or wall of the sea, or of any inland water, natural or artificial, or any work in, on, or belonging to any port, harbour, dock or inland water, natural or artificial, and the damage causes actual danger or inundation; or

(c) any bridge (whether over any stream of water or not) or any viaduct, or aqueduct, over or under which bridge, viaduct or aqueduct any highway, railway or canal passes, and the damage is done with intent and so as to render such bridge, viaduct or aqueduct, or the highway, railway or canal passing over or under the same, or any part thereof, dangerous and impassable; or

(d) a railway damaged with the intent of rendering and so as to render such railway dangerous or impassable. R. S. C. c. 168, ss. 13, 32 & 49 ; c. 32, s. 213.

(B) to fourteen years' imprisonment if the object damaged be

(a) a ship in distress or wrecked, or any goods, merchandise or articles belonging thereto; or

(b) any cattle or the young thereof, and the damage be caused by killing, maiming, poisoning or wounding.

(C) to seven years' imprisonment if the object damaged be—

(a) a ship damaged with intent to destroy or render useless such ship; or

(b) a signal or mark used for purposes of navigation; or

(c) a bank, dyke or wall of the sea or of any inland water or canal, or any materials fixed in the ground for securing the same, or any work belonging to any port, harbour, dock, or inland water or canal; or

(d) a navigable river or canal damaged by interference with the flood gates or sluices thereof or otherwise, with intent and so as to obstruct the navigation thereof; or

(e) the flood gate or sluice of any private water with intent to take or destroy, or so as to cause the loss or destruction of, the fish therein; or

(f) a private fishery or salmon river damaged by lime or other noxious material put into the water with intent to destroy fish then being or to be put therein; or

(g) the flood gate of any mill-pond, reservoir or pool cut through or destroyed; or

(h) goods in process of manufacture damaged with intent to render them useless; or

(i) agricultural or manufacturing machines, or manufacturing implements, damaged with intent to render them useless; or

(j) a hop bind growing in a plantation of hops, or a grape vine growing in a vineyard. R. S. C. c. 168, ss. 16, 17, 21, 33, 34, 50 & 52.

(D) to five years' imprisonment if the object damaged be—

(a) a tree, shrub or underwood growing in a park, pleasure ground or garden, or in any land adjoining or belonging to a dwelling-house, injured to an extent exceeding in value five dollars; or

(b) a post letter bag or post letter; or

(c) any street letter box, pillar box or other receptacle established by authority of the Postmaster-General for the deposit of letters or other mailable matter; or

(d) any parcel sent by parcel post, any packet or package of patterns or samples of merchandise or goods, or of seeds, cuttings, bulbs, roots, scions or grafts, or any printed vote or proceeding, newspaper, printed paper or book or other mailable matter, not being a post letter, sent by mail; or

(e) any property, real or personal, corporeal or incorporeal, for damage to which no special punishment is by law prescribed, damaged by night to the value of twenty dollars. R. S. C. c. 168, ss. 22, 23, 38 & 58; c. 35, ss. 79, 91, 96 & 107. 53 V. c. 37, s. 17.

(E) To two years' imprisonment if the object damaged be-

(a) any property, real or personal, corporeal or incorporeal, for damage to which no special punishment is by law prescribed, damaged to the value of twenty dollars. R. S. C. c. 168, ss. 36, 42 & 58. 53 V. c. 37, s. 17 (Amended).

The punishments are altered in some of these cases. "Night" and "cattle" defined, s. 3. The words "by night" in (D) (e) are new.

The Imperial Act on malicious injuries is 24 & 25 V.c.97; also, 39 V. c. 13, as to poisoning cattle.

Indictment for damaging a river bank (A) (b).—

a certain part of the bank of a certain river, called the

river

situate

unlawfully and wilfully,

without legal justification or excuse, and without colour of right, did cut down and break down, by means whereof certain lands were then overflowed and damaged (or were in actual danger of being inundated). As to verdict for an attempt to commit the offence charged upon an indictment for the offence itself, in certain cases, see s. 711.

INJURIES TO BRIDGES, ETC. (A) (c).

This clause by the words whether over any stream of water or not does away with the difficulties raised in R. v. Oxfordshire, 1 B. & Ad. 289, and R. v. Derbyshire, 2 Q. B. 745.

Indictment for destroying a bridge.bridge, situate

a certain

unlawfully and wilfully, without legal justification or excuse, and without colour of right, did destroy, with intent, and so as to render the said bridge impassable.

Indictment for damaging a bridge.

unlawfully and wilfully, without legal justification or excuse, and without colour of right, did damage a certain bridge, situ- ́ ate with intent, and so as to thereby render the said bridge dangerous and impassable.

KILLING OR WOUNDING CATTLE. (B) (b).

Indictment for killing, or wounding, a horse.

one

horse of the goods and chattels of J. N. unlawfully and wilfully, without legal justification or excuse, and without colour of right, did kill (or wound).

A verdict for the attempt, punishable under next section, may be given if the evidence warrants it, s. 711.

The particular species of cattle killed, maimed, wounded or poisoned must be specified; an allegation that the prisoner maimed certain cattle is not sufficient: R. v. Chalkley, R. & R. 258. "Cattle" defined, s. 3 ante.

No malice against the owner is necessary. The words "or injured" as to cattle were in the repealed clause. Other acts of administering poison to cattle are admissible

:

in evidence to show the intent with which the drug is administered R. v. Mogg, 4 C. & P. 364. The word wound is contradistinguished from a permanent injury, such as maiming, and a wounding need not be of a permanent nature: R. v. Haywood, 2 East, P. C. 1076, R. & R. 16.

In R. v. Jeans, 1 C. & K. 539, it was held that where part of the tongue of a horse was torn off there was no offence against the statute, because no instrument was used. But, under the present statute, the same act was held to be a wounding within this section: R. v. Bullock, 11 Cox, 125. Upon a case reserved, in R. v. Owens, 1 Moo. 205, it was held that pouring acid into the eye of a mare, and thereby blinding her, is a maiming; setting fire to a building with a cow in it, and thereby burning the cow to death, is a killing within the statute: R. v. Haughton, 5 C. & P. 555.

The prisoner by a reckless and cruel act caused the death of a mare. The jury found that he did not intend to kill, maim or wound the mare, but that he knew that what he did would or might kill, maim or wound the mare, and that he nevertheless did the act recklessly, and not caring whether the mare was injured or not.

Held, that there was sufficient malice to support the conviction: R. v. Welch, 13 Cox, 121.

Indictment for breaking down the flood-gate of a fish pond (B) (e).the flood-gate of a certain private fish-pond of one J. N., situate unlawfully and wilfully, without legal justification or excuse, and without colour of right, did break down, damage and destroy with intent thereby then to take and destroy the fish in the said pond then being.

Indictment for putting lime into a salmon river (B) (ƒ).— unlawfully and wilfully, without legal justification or excuse and without colour of right, did by putting a large quantity, to wit, ten bushels of lime into it, damage a certain salmon river, situate with intent thereby then to destroy the

fish in the said river then being.