"deemed to have been cancelled, and the director of public "prosecution. &c., and to be "8. The attorney general, with the approval of the lord Regulations "chancellor and a secretary of state, may from time to time may be made, “make, and when made rescind, vary and add to, regulations laid before "for carrying into effect this act. 66 "The draft of all such regulations proposed to be approved as aforesaid shall be laid before both Houses of Parliament " and shall not be finally approved as aforesaid until the draft "has lain before each house of parliament for not less than "forty days upon which such house has sat. parliament. "9. In this act, unless the context otherwise requires, the Interpreta"following terms have the meanings hereinafter respectively tion. assigned to them; that is to say, "The term 'the Treasury' means the commissioners of "her Majesty's treasury: "The term 'secretary of state' means one of her Majesty's "The term "person" includes a body of persons cor- "The term 'attorney general' means her Majesty's "10. This act shall come into operation on the first day of CommenceJanuary one thousand eight hundred and eighty, which day ment of act. "is in this act referred to as the commencement of this "act." Under the foregoing enactment John Blossett Maule, esq., 4.C., has been appointed director of public prosecutions, whose office is in New Street, Spring Gardens, London, S.W. 0.5. VOL. II. 3 T RULES as to Prosecutions under 42 § 43 Vict. c. 22, s. 8. THE director of public prosecutions shall be required to take action in such class of cases as have hitherto been conducted by the solicitor of the treasury by order of the secretary of state, and in other cases for the proper conducting of which, in his opinion, the ordinary mode of prosecution is insufficient. The following rules are to be applied only in such cases :— 1. It shall be the duty of the director of public prosecutions to give advice in cases of importance and difficulty to justices of the peace, to clerks of justices of the peace, and to chief officers of police who may apply for his advice in such cases, and to other persons in his discretion, subject to any special instructions which he may receive from the attorney-general. Advice so given, may, at the discretion of the director of public prosecutions, be given verbally or in writing. 2. The director of public prosecutions may assist prosecutors by authorizing them to incur special costs for the purpose of— (a) The preparation of scientific evidence. (b) The remuneration of scientific witnesses. (e) And in respect of any special matters in such cases as the attorney-general may sanction. So much of the costs that are thus authorized by the director of public prosecutions as shall not be allowed on taxation and paid by the authority that defrays the costs of the prosecution, and are found after examination by the solicitor of her Majesty's treasury to be reasonable and proper, shall be paid by the said solicitor. 3. Upon every application made by a prosecutor to withdraw from a prosecution, the clerk to the justices or to the police court before whom the prosecution has been in which such application is made, shall forthwith give notice to the director of public prosecutions of such application, and of the reasons for making it. If any prosecution instituted before a justice of the peace or a police magistrate be not carried on within reasonable time, or be not proceeded with in consequence of an apparent improper refusal or failure of anyone who ought to proceed therewith, the clerk shall forthwith give notice to the director of public prosecutions of any such delay, refusal, or failure, and of the cause of the same, if it be known. And in all cases to which this rule applies he shall also, when required, forthwith transmit to the director of public prosecutions by post a copy of the information and of all depositions and other documents relating to the case in which such notice is given. 4. In all cases in which any delay in proceeding with a prosecu tion, or in which good cause is shown for any refusal or failure to proceed, and which appear to the director of public prosecutions to be of importance or difficulty, or in which special circumstances seem to him to render his action necessary to secure the due prosecution of an offender, he shall take action therein. And in these cases all expenses not allowed on taxation and paid by the authority that defrays the costs of the prosecution, and which are found after examination by the solicitor to her Majesty's treasury to be reasonable and proper, shall be paid by the said solicitor. 5. The assistant to the director of public prosecutions shall act for the whole of England and Wales. 6. In the conduct of any prosecution the director of public prosecutions and his assistant shall, as a rule, employ and instruct the solicitor of her Majesty's treasury, but under special circumstances may employ any solicitor or firm of solicitors to act as agents for the director in the conduct of a prosecution, in getting up evidence, preparing instructions for and instructing counsel, as is usually done by a solicitor, and for so doing such agent or agents shall be paid such costs and charges as the solicitor to her Majesty's treasury shall after examination find to be reasonable and proper. 7. In instructing counsel the director of public prosecutions shall act under the directions of the attorney-general. 8. The director of public prosecutions, in cases reserved for the opinion of the court of crown cases reserved which are brought to his notice, and in which no counsel for the prosecution is instructed, shall, when he thinks fit, or when so directed by the attorney-general, cause counsel as named by the attorney-general to be instructed, and the expenses of so doing to be defrayed by the solicitor to her Majesty's treasury. 9. Every justice of the peace or coroner to whom a notice has been given under section 5 of the Prosecution of Offences Act, 1879, shall within three days transmit by post in a registered letter to the director of public prosecutions every document which he is by the said section required to transmit. The director of public prosecutions shall deliver or transmit by post such documents to the proper officers of the court in which the trial is to be had a reasonable time before such trial. If he transmits such documents by post he shall transmit them in a registered letter addressed to such officer. Settled and approved, Temple, 15th January, 1880. JOHN HOLKER. CAIRNS, C. R. ASSHETON CROSS. PART II. CHAPTER II. A SYNOPSIS OF INDICTABLE OFFENCES AT COMMON LAW AND BY STATUTE. Observations. Preliminary THE several matters as to procedure-from the preferring of the Charge to the Committal of the Accused for trial or his being held to bail-relative to the Offences in this Chapter, are regulated by the Practice detailed in the preceding Chapter, except where there are special enactments applicable to the particular Offence. EXPLANATION OF THE COLUMNS. "OFFENCE." This is, in most instances, the exact description of the offences in the statute, and they are numbered throughout for more convenient reference. "CLASS OF OFFENCE, AND STATUTE OR AUTHORITY." This shows whether the Offence opposite to which it is placed is a Felony (F.), or a Misdemeanor (M.); and whether it is created by statute, or punishable by the common law. "PAGE, &C. OF FORMULIST." The reference to numbers and pages here given are to “Oke's Magisterial FORMULIST," Sixth edition, where the form of describing the Offence in the Information, Summons, Warrant, Commitment or other proceeding, is to be found. "WHERE TRIABLE." This is, generally, in conformity to the Act defining the jurisdiction of the Quarter Sessions (5 & 6 Vict. c. 38, ante, p. 964). Those which are triable at the Sessions can, however, be tried at the Assizes, if the latter takes place first. See Note 45, ante, p. 964. The general rule as to the place of trial is, that the offender, if tried at the Assizes, must be tried in that county in which he committed the offence :-or, if tried at the Sessions, he must be tried in like manner in that county, riding, division, city, or borough within which the offence was committed, and for which the Sessions are holden. The instances (in addition to those shown in the Notes from this column) of enlargements of the rule, or exceptions to it, will be seen in Vol. I. pp. 21-25. As to Offences within the jurisdiction of the Admiralty, see ante, pp. 903—906. "AS TO BAIL."-See ante, p. 936. The word "discretionary," opposite an Offence, means that it is discretionary with the examining magistrate to take bail for the Accused before Committal, and, when he commits, also discretionary whether he will certify his consent to Bail being received by another magistrate. The word "compulsory" means that the examining Magistrate must take Bail in these cases if sufficient sureties be tendered before committal, and also that if Accused be committed, he must certify his consent to Bail being received. "PUNISHMENT." This is an abridged statement of the Punishment or other forfeiture imposed by law for the Offence, corrected according to the enactments hereafter mentioned in respect of penal servitude and otherwise. The maximum and minimum term is stated shortly; thus in tit. "Abduction," where the Punishment is penal servitude for not exceeding 14 years, or for not less than 5 years, &c., "Pen. Serv. 14-5 years," &c. ;-but where it is absolute and certain, it is stated according to the fact, and this is also the case in respect of the period of imprisonment. The word "month" means a calendar month (13 & 14 Vict. c. 21, s. 4). The Penal Servitude Act, 1853, 16 & 17 Vict. c. 99, contained in Penal serviss. 1-4, many provisions as to punishment; and, in s. 4, a scale tude. of terms of penal servitude to be awarded instead of transportation; but by the Act of 1857, 20 & 21 Vict. c. 3, s. 1, the 16 & 17 Vict. c. 99, ss. 1, 2, 3 and 4, were repealed, and penal servitude substituted for transportation; 20 & 21 Vict. c. 3, s. 2, enacting,-"After 20 & 21 Vict. "the commencement of this Act no person shall be sentenced to c. 3 (transtransportation;-and any person who, if this Act and the said "Act had not been passed, might have been sentenced to trans"portation, shall, after the commencement of this Act, be liable to "be sentenced to be kept in penal servitude for a term of the same "duration as the term of transportation to which such person "would have been liable if the said Act and this Act had not been portation abolished and penal servitude substi tuted). |