law within this commonwealth, or any paper bills issued in the nature of money, or of certificates of loan, on the credit of this commonwealth, or of all or any of the United States of America, or any Inspectors' notes for tobacco, or shall pass any such counterfeited coin, paper bills, or notes, knowing them to be counterfeit; or, for the sake of lucre, shall diminish each, or any such coin, shall be condemned to hard labour six years in the public works, and shall forfeit all his lands and goods to the commonwealth.

2

SECT. XVII. The making false any such paper bill, or note, shall be deemed counterfeiting.

SECT. XVIII.' Whosoever committeth arson, shall be condemned to hard labour five years in the public works, and shall make good the loss of the sufferers threefold."

furtive corruperant. Wilkins ib. et anno 1125. When the Common law became settled, it appears to have been punishable by death. "Est aluid genus criminis quod sub nomine falsi continetur, et tangit coronam domini regis, et ultimum inducit supplicium, sicut de illis qui falsam fabricant monetam, et qui de re non reproba, faciunt reprobam; sicut sunt retonsores denariorum. Bract. L. 3. c § 2. Fleta, L. 1. c. 22. § 4. Lord Hale thinks it was deemed petty treason at common law. 1. H. P. C. 220. 224. The bringing in false money with intent to merchandize, and make payment of it, is treason, by 25. E. 3. But the best proof of the intention, is the act of passing it, and why not leave room for repentance here, as in other cases of felonies intended? 1. H. P. C. 229.—T. J.

Clipping, filing, rounding, impairing, scaling, lightening, (the words in the statutes) are included in “diminishing;” gilding, in the word "casing;" coloring in the word "washing;" and falsifying, or making, is counterfeiting."-T. J.

343 L. c. 13. confined to four counties. 22. 23. Car. 2. c. 7. 9. G. I. c. 22. 9. G. 3. c. 29.-T. J.

4 Arson was a felony at Common law-3. Inst. 66; punished by a fine, Ll. Aethelst. 6. But Ll. Cnuti, 61. make it a "scelus inexpiable." "Hus brec and bærnet and open thyfth æberemorth and hlaford swice æfter world laga is botleds." Word for word, "house break and burnt, and open theft, and manifest murther, and lord-treachery, afterworld's law is bootless." Bracton says it was punished by death. "Si quis turbida seditione incendium fecerit nequiter et in felonia, vel ob inimicitias, vel praedandi causa, capitali puniatur pœna vel sententia." Bract. L. 3. 27. He defines it as commissible by burning "aedes alienas." Ib. Britton, c. 9. "Ausi soit enquis de ceux que felonisement en temps de pees eient autre blees ou autre mesons ars, et ceux que

SECT. XIX. If any person shall, within this Commonwealth, or, being a citizen thereof, shall without the same, wilfully destroy' or run away with any sea-vessel, or goods laden on board thereof, or plunder or pilfer any wreck, he shall be condemned to hard labour five years in the public works, and shall make good the loss of the sufferers threefold.

SECT. XX. Whosoever committeth a robbery,' shall be condemned to hard labour four years in the public works, and shall make double reparation to the persons injured.

SECT. XXI. Whatsoever act, if committed on any mansionhouse, would be deemed a burglary, shall be burglary, if com

4

serrount de ceo atteyntz, soient ars issint que eux soient punys par mesme cele chose dount ilz pecherent." Fleta, L. I. c. 37. is a copy of Bracton. The Mirror c. 1. § 8. says, "Ardours sont que ardent citie, ville, maison home, maison beast, ou auters chatelx, de lour felonie en temps de pace pour haine ou vengeance." Again, c. 2. § 11. pointing out the words of the appellor "jeo dise que Sebright, &c., entiel meason ou biens mist de feu." Coke 3. Inst. 67. says, "the ancient authors extended this felony further than houses, viz., to sacks of corn, waynes or carts of coal, wood or other goods." He denies it as commissible, not only on the inset houses, parcel of the mansion house, but the outset also, as barn, stable, cowhouse, sheep house, dairy house, mill house, and the like, parcel of the mansion house. But "burning of a barn, being no parcel of a mansion house, is no felony," unless there be corn or hay within it. Ib. The 22. 23. Car. 2. and 9. G. 1. are the principal statutes against arson. They extend the offence beyond the Common law.-T. J.

1 I. Ann. st. 2. c. 9.

2 II. 12. W. 3. c. 7.

12. Ann. c. 18. 4. G. I. c. 12. 26. G. 2. c. 19.-T. J.

'Scelus inexpiable,"

3 Robbery was a felony at Common law. 3 Inst. 68. by the L1. Cnuti. 61. [See before in Arson.] It was punished with death. Britt. c. 15, "de robbours et de larouns et de semblables mesfesours, soit ausi ententivement enquis—et tauntost soient ceux robbours juges a la mort." Fleta says, "si quis convictus fuerit de bonis viri robbatis vel asportatis ad sectam regis judicium capitale subibit. L. 1. c. 39. See also Bract. L. 3. c. 32. § 1.-T. J.

4 Burglary was felony at the Common law. 3 Inst. 63. It was not distinguished by ancient authors, except the Mirror, from simple House-breaking, ib. 65. Burglary and House-breaking were called "Hamsockne diximus etiam de pacis violatione et de immunitatibus domus, si quis hoc in posterum fecerit ut perdat omne quod habet, et sit in regis arbitrio utrum vitam habeat. Eac we quædon be mundbryce and be ham socnum, sethe hit ofer this do that he dolie ealles thæs the age, and sy on Cyninges dome hwæther he life age; and we quoth of mound-breach, and of home-seeking he who it after this do, that he

mitted on any other house; and he who is guilty of burglary, shall be condemned to hard labour four years in the public works, and shall make double reparation to the persons injured.

SECT. XXII. Whatsoever act, if committed in the night time, shall constitute the crime of burglary, shall, if committed in the day, be deemed house-breaking'; and whoever is guilty thereof, shall be condemned to hard labour three years in the public works, and shall make reparation to the persons injured.

SECT. XXIII. Whosoever shall be guilty of horse-stealing, '

dole all that he owe [owns], and is in king's doom whether he life owes [owns.] Ll. Eadmundi. c. 6. and see Ll. Cnuti. 61. "hus brec," in notes on Arson. ante. A Burglar was also called a Burgessor. "Et soit enquis de Burgessours et sunt tenus Burgessours trestous ceux que felonisement en temps de pees debrusont esglises ou auter mesons, ou murs ou portes de nos cytes, ou de nos Burghes." Britt. c. 10. "Burglaria est nocturna diruptio habitaculi alicujus, vel ecclesiæ, etiam murorum, partarumve civitatis aut burgi, ad feloniam aliquam perpetrandam. Noctanter dico, recentiores secutus; veteres enim hoc non adjungunt. Spelm. gloss. verb. Burglaria. It was punished with death. Ib. citn. from the office of a Coroner. It may be committed in the outset houses, as well as inset. 3 Inst. 65. though not under the same roof or contiguous, provided they be within the Curtilage or Homestall. 4 Bl. 225. As by the Common law, all felonies were clergiable, the stat. 23 H. 8. c. 1. 5. E. 6. c. 9. and 18 El. c. 7. first distinguished them, by taking the clerical privilege of impunity from the principals, and 3. 4. W. M. c. 9. from accessories before the fact. No statute defines what Burglary is. The 12 Ann. c. 7. decides the doubt whether, where breaking is subsequent to entry, it is Burglary. Bacon's Elements had affirmed, and 1. H. P. C. 554. had denied it. Our bill must distinguish them by different degrees of punishment.-T. J.

1 At the Common law, the offence of Housebreaking was not distinguished from Burglary, and neither of them from any other larceny. The statutes at first took away clergy from Burglary, which made a leading distinction between the two offences. Later statutes, however, have taken clergy from so many cases of Housebreaking, as nearly to bring the offences together again. These are 23 H. 8. c. 1. 1 E. 6. c. 12. 5 and 6 E. 6. c. 9. 3 and 4 W. M. c. 9. 39 El. c. 15. Jo and 11 W. 3 c. 23. 12 Ann. c. 7. See Barr. 428. 4 Bl. 240. The circumstances which in these statutes characterize the offence, seem to have been occasional and unsystematical. The houses on which Burglary may be committed, and the circumstances which constitute that crime being ascertained, it will be better to define Housebreaking by the same subjects and circumstances, and let the crimes be distinguished only by the hour at which they are committed, and the degree of punishment.-T. J.

'The offence of Horse-stealing seems properly distinguishable from other

shall be condemned to hard labour three years in the public works, and shall make reparation to the person injured.

1

SECT. XXIV. Grand larceny shall be where the goods stolen are of the value of five dollars; and whosoever shall be guilty thereof, shall be forthwith put in the pillory for one half hour, shall be condemned to hard labour' two years in the public works, and shall make reparation to the person injured.

larcenies, here, where these animals generally run at large, the temptation being so great and frequent, and the facility of commission so remarkable. See 1 E. 6. c. 12. 23 E. 6. c. 33. 31 El. c. 12.-T. J.

1 The distinction between grand and petty larceny, is very ancient. At first 8d. was the sum which constituted grand larceny. Ll. Æthelst. c. I. "Ne parcatur ulli furi, qui furtum manutenens captus sit, supra 12. annos nato, et supra 8. denarios." Afterwards, in the same king's reign it was raised to 12d. non parcatur alicui furi ultra 12 denarios, et ultra 12 annos nato-ut occidemus illum et capiamus omne quod possidet, et imprimis sumamus rei furto ablatæ pretium ab haerede, ac dividatur postea reliquum in duas partes, una pars uxori, si munda, et facinoris conscia non sit; et residuum in duo, dimidium capiat rex, dimidium societas." Ll. Aethelst. Wilkins, p. 65.—T. J.

Ll. Inae. c. 7. "Si quis furetur ita ut uxor ejus et infans ipsius nesciant, solvat 60. solidos pœnæ loco. Si autem furetur testantibus omnibus hæredibus suis, abeant omnes in servitutem." Ina was king of the West-Saxons, and began to reign A. C. 688. After the union of the Heptarchy, i. e. temp. Æthelst. inter 924 and 940, we find it punishable with death as above. So it was inter 1017 and 1035, i. e. temp. Cnuti. Ll. Cnuti. 61. cited in notes on Arson. In the time of William the conqueror, it seems to have been made punishable by fine only. Ll. Gul. conq. apud Wilk. p. 218, 220. This commutation, however, was taken away by Ll. H. 1. anno 1108. “Si quis in furto vel latrocinio deprehensus fuisset, suspenderetur; sublata wirgildorum, id est, pecuniaræ redemptionis lege." Larceny is the felonious taking and carrying away of the personal goods of another. I. As to the taking, the 3. 4. W. M. c. 9 § 5. is not additional to the Common law, but declaratory of it; because where only the care or use, and not the possession, of things is delivered, to take them was larceny at the Common law. The 33 H. 6. c. I.

and 21, H. 8. c. 7. indeed, have added to the Common law, by making it larceny in a servant to convert things of his master's. But quære, if they should be imitated more than as to other breaches of trust in general. 2. As to the subject of larceny, 4 G. 2. c. 32. 6 G. 3. c. 36. 48. 45. El. c. 7. 15 Car. 2. c. 2. 23 G. 2. c. 26. 31 G. 2. c. 35. 9 G. 3. c. 41. 25 G. 2. c. 10. have extended larceny to things of various sorts either real, or fixed to the reality. But the enumeration is unsystematical, and in this country, where the produce of the earth is so spontaneous, as to have rendered things of this kind scarcely

SECT. XXV. Petty larceny shall be, where the goods stolen are of less value than five dollars; whosoever shall be guilty thereof, shall be forthwith put in the pillory for a quarter of an hour, shall be condemned to hard labour for one year in the public works, and shall make reparation to the persons injured.

SECT. XXVI. Robbery' or larceny of bonds, bills obligatory, bills of exchange, or promissory notes, for the payment of money or tobacco, lottery tickets, paper bills issued in the nature of money, or certificates of loan on the credit of this commonwealth, or of all or any of the United States of America, or inspectors notes for tobacco, shall be punished in the same manner as robbery or larceny of the money or tobacco due on, or represented by such papers.

SECT. XXVII. Buyers' and receivers of goods taken by way of robbery or larceny, knowing them to have been so taken, shall be deemed accessaries to such robbery or larceny after the fact.

SECT. XXVIII. Prison-breakers,' also, shall be deemed accessaries after the fact, to traitors or felons whom they enlarge from prison.*

a breach of civility or good manners, in the eyes of the people, quære, if it would not too much enlarge the field of Criminal law? The same may be questioned of 9 G. 1. c. 22. 13 Car. 2. c. 10. 10 G. 2. c. 32. 5 G. 3. c. 14. 22 and 23 Car. 2. c. 25. 37 E. 3. c. 19. making it felony to steal animals feræ naturæ.-T. J.

1 2 G. 2. c. 25 § 3. 7 G. 3. c. 50.-T. J.

2

3. 4. W. M. c. 9. § 4. 5 Ann. c. 31. § 5. 4 G. 1. c. 11. § 1.—T. J. 31 E. 2.-T. J.

✦ Breach of prison at the Common law was capital, without regard to the crime for which the party was committed. "Cum pro criminis qualitate in carcerem recepti fuerint, conspiraverint (ut ruptis vinculis aut fracto carcere) evadant, amplius (quam causa pro qua recepti sunt exposeit) puniendi sunt, videlicet ultimo supplicio, quamvis ex eo crimine innocentes inveniantur, propter quod inducti sunt in carcerem et imparcati. Bracton L. 3. c. 9. § 4. Britt. c. II. Fleta, L. I. c. 26. § 4. Yet in the Y. B. Hill. 1. H. 7. 2. Hussey says, that by the opinion of Billing and Coke, and all the justices, it was a felony in strangers only, but not in the prisoner himself. S. C. Fitz. Abr. Coron. 48. They are the principal felons, not accessaries. ib. Whether it was felony in the prisoner at Common law, is doubted. Stam. P. C. 30. b. The Mirror c. 5. § 1, says, "abusion est a tener escape de prisoner, ou de bruserie del gaole pur peche mortell, car cel usage nest garrant per nul ley, ne in nul part est use