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fonment. For any forgery relating to a term of years, or annuity, bond, obligation, acquittance, release, or discharge of any debt or demand of any personal chattels, the fame forfeiture is given to the party grieved; and on the offender is inflicted the pillory, lofs of one of his ears, and half a year's imprisonment: the second offence in both cafes being felony without benefit of clergy.

BESIDES this general act, a multitude of others, fince the revolution, (when paper credit was first established) have inflicted capital punishment on the forging or altering of bank bills or notes, or other securities; of bills of credit issued from the exchequer; of fouth fea bonds, &c; of lottery orders; of army or navy debentures; of East India bonds; ; of writings under feal of the London, or royal exchange, assurance; of a letter of attorney or other power to receive or transfer stock or annuities, or for the perfonating a proprietor thereof, to receive or transfer such annuities, stock, or dividends: to which may be added, though not strictly reducible to this head, the counterfeiting of mediterranean passes, under the hands of the lords of the admiralty, to protect one from the piratical states of Barbary'; the forging or imitating any stamps to defraud the stamp office ; and the forging any marriage register or licence': all which are by distinct acts of parliament made felonies without benefit of clergy. And by statute 31 Geo. II. c. 32. forging or counterfeiting any stamp or mark to denote the standard of gold and filver plate, and certain other offences of the like tendency, are made felony, but not without benefit of clergy.

a Stat. 7 & 8 W. III. c. 31. 8 & 9W.III.

C. 20.

11 Geo. I. c. 9.

12 Geo. I. c. 32.

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• Stat. 5 Geo. I. c. 14. 9 Geo. I. c. 5.

f Stat. 12 Geo. I. c. 32.

15 Geo. II. c. 13.

b See the feveral acts for issuing them.

• Stat. 9 Ann.c.21. 6 Geo. I. c. 4. &

11. 12 Geo. I. c. 32.

d See the feveral acts for the lotteries.

Stat. 6 Geo. I. c. 18.

Stat. 8 Geo. I. c. 22. 9 Geo. I. c. 12.

i Stat. 4 Geo. II. c. 18.

* See the several stamp acts.

1 Stat. 26 Geo. II. c. 33.

THERE

THERE are also two other general laws, with regard to forgery; the one 2 Geo. II. c. 35. whereby the first offence in forging or publishing any forged deed, will, writing obligatory, bill of exchange, promissory note, indorsement or affignment thereof, or any acquittance or receipt for money or goods, with intention to defraud any person, is made felony without benefit of clergy. And by statute 7 Geo. II. c. 22. it is equally penal to forge or utter a counterfeit acceptance of a bill of exchange, or the number of any accountable receipt for any note, bill, or any other security for money; or any warrant or order for the payment of money, or delivery of goods. So that, I believe, through the number of these general and special provisions, there is now hardly a case possible to be conceived, wherein forgery, that tends to defraud, whether in the name of a real or fictitious person, is not made a capital crime.

THESE are the principal infringements of the rights of property; which were the last species of offences against individuals or private subjects, which the method of our diftribution has led us to confider. We have before examined the nature of all offences against the public, or commonwealth; against the king or fupreme magistrate, the father and protector of that community; against the universal law of all civilized nations; together with some of the more atrocious offences, of publicly pernicious consequence, against God and his holy religion. And these several heads comprehend the whole circle of crimes and mifdemesnors, with the punishment annexed to each, that are cognizable by the laws of England.

■Foft. 116, .

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CHAPTER

THE EIGHTEENTH.

OF THE MEANS OF PREVENTING OFFENCES.

W

E are now arrived at the fifth general branch or head, under which I proposed to confider the subject of this book of our commentaries; viz. the means of preventing the commission of crimes and misdemesnors. And really it is an honour, and almost a fingular one, to our English laws, that they furnish a title of this fort: fince preventive justice is upon every principle, of reason, of humanity, and of found policy, preferable in all respects to punishing justice*; the execution of which, though necessary, and in it's consequences a species of mercy to the commonwealth, is always attended with many harsh and disagreeable circumstances.

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THIS preventive justice consists in obliging those perfons, whom there is probable ground to suspect of future misbehaviour, to stipulate with and to give full assurance to the public, that such offence as is apprehended shall not happen; by finding pledges or securities for keeping the peace, or for their good behaviour. This requifition of fureties has been several times mentioned before, as part of the penalty inflicted upon such as have been guilty of certain gross misdemesnors: but there also it must be understood rather as a caution against the repetition of the offence, than any immediate pain or punishment. And indeed, if we consider all human punishments in a large and extended view, we shall find them all rather calculated to prevent future crimes, than to expiate the past: since, as was observed in a former chapter, all punishments inflicted by temporal laws may be classed under three heads; such as tend to the amendment of the offender himself, or to deprive him of any power to do future mischief, or to deter others by his example: all of which conduce to one and the fame end, of preventing future crimes, whether that be effected by amendment, disability, or example. But the caution, which we speak of at present, is such as is intended merely for prevention, without any crime actually committed by the party, but arifing only from a probable fufpicion, that some crime is intended or likely to happen; and confequently it is not meant as any degree of punishment, unless perhaps for a man's imprudence in giving just ground of apprehenfion.

* Beccar. ch, 41.

indeed,

By the Saxon constitution these sureties were always at hand, by means of king Alfred's wife institution of decennaries or frankpledges; wherein, as has more than once been observed, the whole neighbourhood or tithing of freemen were mutually pledges for each others good behaviour. But, this great and general security being now fallen into disuse and neglected, there hath succeeded to it the method of making suspected persons find particular and special securities for their future conduct: of which we find mention in the laws of king Edward the confefford; "tradat fidejussores de pace et legalitate tuenda." Let us therefore consider, first, what this security is; next, who may take or demand it; and, lastly, how it may be discharged.

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1. THIS security consists in being bound, with one or more fureties, in a recognizance or obligation to the king, entered on record, and taken in some court or by fome judicial officer ; whereby the parties acknowlege themselves to be indebted to the crown in the sum required; (for instance 1001.) with condition

▸ See pag. 1.1. VOL. IV.

See Vol. I. pag. 113.
Hh

cap. 18.

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to

to be void and of none effect, if the party shall appear in court on such a day, and in the mean time shall keep the peace: either generally, towards the king, and all his liege people; or particularly also, with regard to the person who craves the security. Or, if it be for the good behaviour, then on condition that he shall demean and behave himself well, (or be of good behaviour) either generally or specially, for the time therein limited, as for one or more years, or for life. This recognizance, if taken by a justice of the peace, must be certified to the next sessions, in pursuance of the statute 3 Hen. VII. c. 1. and if the condition of such recognizance be broken, by any breach of the peace in the one cafe, or any misbehaviour in the other, the recognizance becomes forfeited or absolute; and, being eftreated or extracted (taken out from among the other records) and sent up to the exchequer, the party and his sureties, having now become the king's absolute debtors, are sued for the several fums in which they are respectively bound.

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2. ANY justices of the peace, by virtue of their commiffion, or those who are ex officio conservators of the peace, as was mentioned in a former volume, may demand such security according to their own discretion: or it may be granted at the request of any fubject, upon due cause shewn, provided such demandant be under the king's protection; for which reason it hath been formerly doubted, whether Jews, Pagans, or persons convicted of a praemunire, were intitled theretof. Or, if the justice is averse to act, it may be granted by a mandatory writ, called a fupplicavit, issuing out of the court of king's bench or chancery; which will compel the justice to act, as a minifterial and not as a judicial officer: and he must make a return to fuch writ, specifying his compliance, under his hand and feal. But this writ is seldom used: for, when application is made to the superior courts, they usually take the recognizances there, under the directions of the statute 21 Jac. I. c. 8. And indeed a peer or

• See Vol. I. pag. 350. Hawk. Р. С. 126.

F. N. B. 80. 2P. Wms. 202.

peeress

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