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of life for the lofs of the offending limb. Therefore a stroke or blow in fuch a court of juftice, whether blood be drawn or not, or even affaulting a judge fitting in the court, by drawing a weapon, without any blow ftruck, is punishable with the loss of the right hand, imprisonment for life, and forfeiture of goods and chattels, and of the profits of his lands during life *. A rescue alfo of a prisoner from any of the faid courts, without ftriking a blow, is punished with perpetual imprisonment, and forfeiture of goods, and of the profits of lands during life: being looked upon as an offence of the fame nature with the laft; but only, as no blow is actually given, the amputation of the hand is excufed. For the like reafon an affray, or riot, near the faid courts, but out of their actual view, is punished only with fine and imprisonment".

[126] NOT only fuch as are guilty of an actual violence, but of threatening or reproachful words to any judge fitting in the courts, are guilty of a high misprifion, and have been punifhed with large fines, imprifonment, and corporal punishmenta. And, even in the inferior courts of the king, an affray, or contemptuous behaviour, is punishable with a fine by the judges there fitting; as by the fteward in a court-leet, or the like.

LIKEWISE all fuch, as are guilty of any injurious treatment to those who are immediately under the protection of a court of justice, are punishable by fine and imprisonment: as if a man assaults or threatens his adversary for suing him, a counsellor or attorney for being employed against him, a juror for his verdict, or a gaoler or other ministerial officer for keeping him in cuftody, and properly executing his duty which offences, when they proceeded farther than bare threats, were punished in the Gothic conftitutions with exile and forfeiture of goods d.

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LASTLY, to endeavour to diffuadę a witness from giving evidence; to disclose an examination before the privy council; or, to advise a prifoner to ftand mute; (all of which are impediments of justice) are high misprifions, and contempts of the king's courts, and punishable by fine and imprisonment. And antiently it was held, that if one of the grand jury difclofed to any perfon indicted the evidence that appeared against him, he was thereby made acceffory to the offence, if felony; and in treason a principal. And at this day it is agreed, that he is guilty of a high misprision *, and liable to be fined and imprisoned f.

e See Barr. 212. 27 Aff. pl. 44. §4. fol. 138.

fi Hawk. P. C. 59.

CHAPTER THE TENTH.

or OFFENCES AGAINST PUBLIC JUSTICE.

HE order of our diftribution will next lead us to take

:

more efpecially affect the common-wealth, or public polity of the kingdom which however, as well as thofe which are peculiarly pointed against the lives and fecurity of private fubjects, are alfo offences against the king, as the pater-familias of the nation: to whom it appertains by his regal office to protect the community, and each individual therein, from every degree of injurious violence, by executing those laws, which the people themselves in conjunction with him have enacted; or at least have consented to, by an agreement either exprefsly made in the perfons of their representatives, or by a tacit and implied confent prefumed and proved by immemorial ufage.

THE fpecies of crimes, which we have now before us, is fubdivided into fuch a number of inferior and fubordinate claffes, that it would much exceed the bounds of an elementary treatise, and be infupportably tedious to the reader, were I to examine them all minutely, or with any degree of critical accuracy. I shall therefore confine myself principally to general definitions or defcriptions of this great variety of offences, and to the punishments inflicted by law for each particular offence; with now and then a few incidental obfervations: referring the ftudent for more particulars to other voluminous authors; who have treated of these subjects

with greater precifion and more in detail, than is confiftent with the plan of these commentaries.

THE crimes and mifdemefnors, that more especially affect the common-wealth, may be divided into five species; viz. offences against public justice, against the public peace, against [128] public trade, against the public health, and against the public police or oeconomy: of each of which we will take a cursory view in their order.

FIRST then, of offences against public juftice: fome of which are felonious, whose punishment may extend to death; others only misdemefnors. I fhall begin with those that are moft penal, and defcend gradually to fuch as are of less malignity

1. IMBEZZLING or vacating records, or falfifying certain other proceedings in a court of judicature, is a felonious offence against public juftice, It is enacted by statute 8 Hen. VI. c. 12. that if any clerk, or other person, shall wilfully take away, withdraw, or avoid any record, or procefs in the fuperior courts of juftice in Weftminster-hall, by reafon whereof the judgment shall be reversed or not take effect; it fhall be felony not only in the principal actors, but also in their procurers and abettors. And this may be tried either in the king's bench or common pleas, by a jury de medietate; half, officers of any of the fuperior courts, and the other half common jurors. Likewife by ftatute 21 Jac. I. c. 26. to acknowlege any fine, recovery, deed enrolled, ftatute, recognizance, bail, or judgment, in the name of another perfon not privy to the fame, is felony without benefit of clergy. Which law extends only to proceedings in the courts themfelves: but by ftatute 4 W. & M. c. 4. to perfonate any other perfon (as bail) before any judge of affize or other commiflioner authorized to take bail in the country, is alfo felony. For no man's property would be fafe, if records might be suppreffed or falfified, or perfons names be falfely ufurped in courts, or before their public officers.

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2. To prevent abufes by the extenfive power, which the law is obliged to repofe in gaolers, it is enacted by statute 14 Edw. III. c. 10. that if any gaoler by too great duress of imprisonment makes any prifoner, that he hath in ward, be[129] come an approver or an appellor against his will; that is, as we fhall fee hereafter, to accuse and turn evidence against fome other perfon; it is felony in the gaoler. For, as fir Edward Coke obferves, it is not lawful to induce or excite any man even to a juft accufation of another; much lefs to do it by durefs of imprisonment; and leaft of all by a gaoler, to whom the prisoner is committed for safe custody.

3. A THIRD offence against public juftice is obftructing the execution of lawful procefs. This is at all times an offence of a very high and prefumptuous nature; but more particularly fo, when it is an obstruction of an arreft upon criminal procefs. And it hath been holden, that the party oppofing fuch arreft becomes thereby particeps criminis; that is, an acceffory in felony, and a principal in high treafon. Formerly one, of the greateft obftructions to public justice, both of the civil and criminal kind, was the multitude of pretended privileged places, where indigent perfons affembled together to shelter themselves from justice, (especially in London and Southwark) under the pretext of their having been antient palaces of the crown, or the like: all of which fanctuaries for iniquity are now demolished, and the oppofing of any process therein is made highly penal, by the ftatutes 8 & 9 Will. III. c. 27. 9 Geo. I. c. 28. and II Geo. I. c. 22. which enact, that perfons oppofing the execution of any procefs in fuch pretended privileged places within the bills of mortality, or abusing any officer in his endeavours to execute his duty therein, fo that he receives bodily hurt, fhall be guilty of felony, and tranfported for feven years: and perfons in disguise, joining in or abetting any riot or tumult on fuch account, or oppofing any process, or affaulting and abufing

a 3 Inft. 91.

b 2 Hawk. P. C. 121.

• Such as White-Friers, and it's environs; the Savoy; and the Mint in Southwark,

1

any

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