Offence at common law.] The offence of piracy at common law consists in committing those acts of robbery and depredation upon the high seas, which, if committed on land, would have amounted to felony there; though it was no felony at common law (1). 2 East, P. C. 796; 4 Bl. Com. 72; Hawk. P. C. c. 37, s. 4. Before the 28 Hen. 8, c. 15, the offence was only punishable by the civil law, and that statute does not render it a felony. By other statutes, however, which will be presently noticed, the offence is made felony, and the nature of the offence which shall constitute piracy is specifically described.

"The offence of piracy at common law is nothing more than robbery [*778] upon the high seas; but by statutes passed at various times, *and still in force, many artificial offences have been created, which are to be deemed to amount to piracy." Report of Comm. of Crim. Law.

Statute 11 & 12 Wm. 3, c. 7.] By the 11 & 12 Wm. 3, c. 7, s. 8, "if any of his Majesty's natural born subjects or denizens of this kingdom, shall commit any piracy, or robbery, or any act of hostility against others, his Majesty's subjects upon the sea, under color of any commişsion from any foreign prince or state, or pretence of authority from any person whatsoever, such offender or offenders shall be deemed, adjudged, and taken to be pirates, felons, and robbers, &c."

By s. 9, "if any commander, or master of any ship, or any seaman or mariner, shall in any place where the admiral has jurisdiction, betray his trust, and turn pirate, enemy, or rebel, and piratically and feloniously run away with his, or their ship or ships, or any barge, boat, ordnance, ammunition, goods, or merchandise, or yield them up voluntarily to any pirate; or shall bring any seducing message from any pirate, enemy, or rebel; or consult, combine, or confederate with, or attempt, or endeavor to corrupt any commander, master, officer, or mariner, to yield up, or run away with any ship, goods, or merchandise, or turn pirates, or go over to pirates; or if any person shall lay violent hands on his commander, whereby to hinder him from fighting in defence of his ship, and goods committed to his trust, or shall confine his master, or make, or endeavor to make a revolt in his ship, he shall be adjudged, deemed, and taken to be a pirate, felon, and robber, [and suffer death," &c.]

(1) U. S. v. Chapels & al., 3 Wheeler's C. C. 205. 1 Kent's Com. Lect. ix. Mr. Duponceau's Translation of Bynkershock on War, c. 17, p. 123, n. Bass' case, 4 Rogers' Rec. 161. 2 Wheeler's C. C. Preface, p. xxvii.

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Upon the above section (9) of the 11 & 12 Wm. 3, c. 7, it has been decided by the twelve judges, that the making, or endeavoring to make a revolt on board a ship, with a view to procure a redress of what the prisoners may think grievances, and without any intent to run away with the ship, or to commit any act of piracy, is an offence within the statute. Hastings' case, 1 Moody, C. C. 82 (a).

Stat. 8 Geo. 1, c. 24.] By the 8 Geo. 1, c. 24, s. 1, "in case any person or persons belonging to any ship, or vessel whatsoever, upon meeting any merchant ship, or vessel on the high seas, or in any port, haven, or creek whatsoever, shall forcibly board or enter into such ship or vessel, and though they do not seize or carry off such ship or vessel, shall throw overboard, or destroy any part of the goods or merchandize belonging to such ship or vessel, the person or persons guilty thereof, shall in all respects be deemed and punished as pirates aforesaid."

And by the same section, if any commander or master of any ship or vessel, or any other person or persons shall anywise trade with any pirate by truck, barter, exchange, or in any other manner, or shall furnish any pirate, felon, or robber upon the seas, with any ammunition, provision, or stores of any kind; or shall fit out any ship or vessel knowingly, and with a design to trade with any *pirate, felon, or robber upon the [ *779] seas; or if any person or persons shall anyways consult, combine, confederate, or correspond with any pirate, felon, or robber on the seas, knowing him to be guilty of such piracy, felony, or robbery, every such offender shall be deemed and adjudged guilty of piracy, felony, and robbery.

Statute 18 Geo. 2, c. 30.] By the 18 Geo. 2, c. 30, all persons being natural born subjects or denizens of his Majesty, who, during any war, shall commit any hostilities upon the sea, or in any haven, river, creek, or place where the admiral or admirals have power, authority, or jurisdiction, against his Majesty's subjects, by virtue or under color of any commission from any of his Majesty's enemies, or shall be any other ways adherent, or giving aid or comfort to his Majesty's enemies upon the sea, or in any haven, river, creek, or place where the admiral or admirals have power, &c., may be tried as pirates, felons, and robbers in the Court of Admiralty, in the same manner as pirates, &c., are by the said act (11 & 12 W. 3,) directed to be tried, [and shall suffer death.]

Under this statute, it has been held, that persons adhering to the King's enemies by cruising in their ships, may be tried as pirates under the usual commission granted by virtue of the statute 28 Hen. 8. East, P. C. 798. Evans's case, 2

Stat. 32 Geo. 2, c. 25.] By the 32 Geo. 2, c. 25, s. 12, in case any commander of a private ship or vessel of war, duly commissioned by the 29 Geo. 2, c. 34, or by that act, shall agree with any commander or other person belonging to any neutral or other ship or vessel (except those of his Majesty's declared enemies) for the ransom of any such neutral or other ship or vessel, or cargo, after the same has been taken as a prize, and shall, in pursuance of such agreement, quit, set af liberty, or discharge any such prize, instead of bringing it into some port of his Majesty's domin(a) 2 Eng. C. C. 82.

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ions, such offender shall be deemed and adjudged guilty of piracy, felony, and robbery, and shall suffer death. See stat. 22 Geo. 3, c. 25, and 2 East, P. C. 801.

Stat. 5 Geo. 4, c. 113-dealing in slaves.] By the 5 Geo. 4, c. 113, s. 9, the carrying away, conveying, or removing, of any person upon the high seas for the purpose of his being imported or brought into any place as a slave, or being sold or dealt with as such, or the embarking or receiving on board any person for such purpose, is made piracy, felony, and robbery, punishable with death. By sec. 10, the dealing in slaves, and other offences connected therewith, are made felony.

Now by the 7 Wm. 4 and 1 Vict. c. 91, the punishment of death imposed by the ninth section of the above statute is abolished, and transportation for life, &c. substituted.

Proof of the piracy. ] The prosecutor must give evidence of facts, which, had the transaction occurred within the body of a county, would [*780] have rendered the offender guilty of larceny or robbery at *common law. He must, therefore, show a taking animo furandi and lucri causa. It is said that if a ship is attacked by a pirate, and the master, for her redemption, gives his oath to pay a sum certain, though there is no taking, yet it is piracy by the law marine, but by the common law there must be a actual taking, though but to the value of a penny, as in robbery. 1 Beawes, Lex Merc. 25, citing 44 Ed. 3, 14, 4 Hen. 4. If a ship is riding at anchor, with part of the mariners in her boat, and the rest on shore, so that none remain in the ship, if she be attacked and robbed, it is piracy. Beawes, Lex Merc. 253, citing 14 Edw. 3, 115.

Proof with regard to the persons guilty of piracy.] The subject of a foreign power in amity with this country may be punished for piracy committed upon English property. 1 Beawes, Lex Merc. 251. A person having a special trust of goods will not be guilty of piracy by converting them to his own use; as where the master of a vessel with goods on board, ran the goods on shore in England, and burnt the ship with intent to defraud the owners and insurers, on an indictment for piracy and stealing the goods, it was held to be only a breach of trust, and no felony, and that it could not be piracy to convert the goods in a fraudulent manner, until the special trust was determined. Mason's case, 2 East, P. C. 796 ; 8 Mod. 74. But it is otherwise with regard to the mariners. Thus where several seamen on board a ship seized the captain, he not agreeing with them, and after putting him ashore, carried away the ship, and subsequently committed several piracies, it was held that this force upon the captain, and carrying away the ship, was piracy. May's case, 2 East, P. C. 796. The prisoners were convicted upon a count charging them with feloniously and piratically stealing sixty-five fathoms of cable, &c., upon the high seas, within the jurisdiction of the admiralty. It appeared that they were Deal pilots, who having been applied to by the master to take the vessel into Ramsgate, had in collusion with him, cut away the cable and part of the anchor, which had before been broken, for the purpose of causing an average loss to the underwriters. It was objected that the offence of the prisoners was not larceny, having been committed by them jointly with the master of the vessel, not for the purpose of defrauding

the owners, but for the purpose of defrauding the underwriters for the benefit of the owners. A majority of the judges, however, held the conviction right. Curling's case, Russ. and Ry. 123 (a).

Proof with regard to accessaries.] Accessaries to piracy were triable only by the civil law, and if their offence was committed on land, they were not punishable at all before the 11 & 12 Wm. 3, c. 7, s. 10. And now by the 8 Geo. 1, c. 24, s. 3, all persons whatsoever, who, by the 11 & 12 Wm. 3, c. 7, are declared to be accessary or accessaries to any piracy or robbery therein mentioned, are declared to be principal pirates, felons, and robbers, and shall be inquired of, heard, determined, and adjudged, in the same manner as persons guilty of piracy and robbery may, according to that statute, and shall suffer death in like manner as pirates, &c.

*The knowingly abetting a pirate, within the body of a county, [*781] is not triable at common law. Admiralty case, 13 Rep. 53.

Venue and trial.] The decisions with respect to the venue for offences committed on the high seas have been stated, ante, p. 233.

By the 46 Geo. 3, c. 54, all treasons, piracies, felonies, robberies, murders, conspiracies, and other offences, of what nature or kind soever, committed upon the sea, or in any haven, river, creek, or place, where the admiral or admirals have power, authority, or jurisdiction, may be inquired of, tried, &c., according to the common course of the laws of this realm; and for offences committed upon the land within this realm, and not otherwise, in any of his Majesty's islands, plantations, colonies, dominions, forts or factories, under and by virtue of the King's commission or commissions, under the Great Seal of Great Britain, to be directed to any such four or more discreet persons as the Lord Chancellor, &c., shall from time to time think fit to appoint. The commissioners are to have the same powers as commissioners under the 28 Hen. 8.

Punishment under the 7 Wm. 4 and 1 Vict. c. 88.] By the 7 Wm. 4 and 1 Vict. c. 88, so much of the 28 H. 8, c. 15, the 11 and 12 Wm. 3, c. 7; the 4 Geo. 1, c. 11, s. 7; the 8 Geo. 1, c. 24; and the 18 Geo. 2, c. 30, as relate "to the punishment of the crime of piracy, or of any offence, by any of the said acts, declared to be piracy, or of accessaries thereto respectively," are repealed.

By s. 2," whosoever with intent to commit, or at the time of or immediately before, or immediately after committing the crime of piracy in respect of any ship or vessel, shall assault with intent to murder, any person being on board of, or belonging to such ship or vessel, or shall stab, cut, or wound any such person, or unlawfully do any act by which the life of such person may be endangered, shall be guilty of felony and being convicted thereof, shall suffer death as a felon."

By s. 3, "whosoever shall be convicted of any offence, which by any of the acts hereinbefore referred to, amounts to the crime of piracy, and is thereby made punishable with death, shall be liable, at the discretion of the court, to be transported beyond the seas for the term of the natural life of such offender, or for any term not less than fifteen years, or to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding three years."

By s. 4, "in the case of every felony punishable under this act, every (a) 1 Eng. C. C. 123.

principal in the second degree, and every accessary before the fact, shall be punishable with death or otherwise, in the same manner as the principal in the first degree, is by this act punishable, and every accessary after the fact to any felony punishable under this act shall, on conviction, be liable to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding two years."

By s. 5, in cases of imprisonment the court may award hard-labor, and solitary confinement not exceeding one month at any one time, and three months in any one years

Statute 7 Wm. 4 and 1 Vict. c. 36.] The law with regard to the embezzlement of letters by persons employed in the post-office was formerly contained in the 5 Geo. 3, c. 25, s. 17, 7 Geo. 3, c. 50, s. 1, and 42 Geo. 3, c. 81, s. 1. The provisions of those acts were afterwards consolidated in the 52 Geo. 3, c. 143.

By the 7 Wm. 4 and 1 Vict. c. 32, the last-mentioned statute and all other enactments relative to offences committed against the post-office (excepting so much of the 5 Geo. 3, c. 25 and the 7 Geo. 3, c. 50, as respectively relate to any felony or other offence committed within the British dominions in America and the West Indies) have been repealed, and the law has been consolidated and further provisions made, by the 7 Wm. 4 and 1 Vict. c. 36, which came into operation on the same day as the 7 Wm. 4 and 1 Vict. c. 32.

Offences by officers employed under the post-office-opening or detaining letters.] By the 7 Wm. 4 and 1 Vict. c. 36, s. 25, "every person employed by or under the post-office who shall contrary to his duty open [ *783] or procure or suffer to be opened a post letter, or shall wilfully *detain or delay, or procure or suffer to be detained or delayed, a post letter, shall in England and Ireland be guilty of a misdemeanor, and in Scotland of a crime and offence, and being convicted thereof shall suffer such pun