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three months (a). If the damage does not exceed £30, a summary application may be made for compensation to the justices at a special petty sessions.

Tumultuous petitioners.]-By 18 Car. 2, c. 5, not more than twenty names shall be signed to any petition to the king, or either house of parliament, for any alteration in church or state, unless signed by three justices, or the majority of the grand jury, or, in London, by the lord mayor, aldermen, and common council. This statute is not regarded in practice; but the 57 Geo. 3, c. 19, s. 23, against the assembling of more than fifty persons within one mile of Westminster Hall, while parliament or the courts are sitting, for preparing petitions, has been lately acted on.

Threatening letters.]-By 4 Geo. 4, c. 54, s. 3, knowingly to send any letter or writing, threatening to kill or murder any of his Majesty's subjects, or to burn or destroy their houses, outhouses, barns, stacks of corn or grain, hay or straw, is felony, and punishable with transportation for life, or for not less than seven years.

Unlawful hunting.]-By 7 & 8 Geo. 4, c. 29, s. 26, hunting in the enclosed part of any forest is felony, and punishable as a larceny; if in an unenclosed part, it is punishable by fine for the first offence.

Affrays.]-Affrays, from affraier, to terrify, are the fighting of two or more persons, in some public place, to the terror of her majesty's subjects; for if the fighting be in private, it is no affray, but an assault. Affrays may be suppressed by any private person present; but the constable, who is bound to keep the peace, may break open doors to suppress

FORCIBLE ENTRY, ETC.

373

an affray, or apprehend the affrayers. The punishment for common affrays is by fine and imprison

ment.

Forcible entry or detainer.]-At the common law, a man disseised of lands or tenements might lawfully regain possession by force, unless his right of entry was gone by neglecting to enter in proper time; but this being found by experience to be very prejudicial to the public peace, it was thought necessary to restrain all persons from the use of such violent methods of doing themselves justice, so that the only entry now allowed by law is a peaceable one. By 5 Rich. 2, c. 8, all forcible entries are punished with imprisonment and ransom. And by 8 Hen. 6, c. 9, 31 Eliz. c. 11, and 21 Jac. 1, c. 15, upon any forcible entry, or forcible detainer after peaceable entry, a justice of the peace may record the force on his own view, and commit the offender, or may summon a jury to try the fact, and restore the possession.

Riding armed.]-By 2 Edw. 3, c. 3, no man, great or small, shall go or ride armed, by night or by day, with dangerous or unusual weapons, terrifying the good people of the land.

False news.]-Spreading false news, to make discord between the king and nobility, or concerning any great man in the realm, is punishable by fine and imprisonment.

False prophecies.]-The 5 Eliz. c. 15 ordains, that if any person do advisedly and directly advance, publish, and set forth, by writing or open speech or deed, any fond, fantastical, or false prophecy, to the intent to make rebellion or disturbance in the realm,

he shall pay a fine of £10, and suffer a year's imprisonment, for the first offence; and forfeit, for the second, all his goods and chattels, and suffer imprisonment for life.

Challenges.]-A challenge to fight, although not an actual breach of the peace, yet, as it tends to provoke and excite others to break it, is an indictable offence, and punishable by fine and imprison

ment.

Seditious and malicious libels.]-Libels against the person and government of the queen are high misdemeanors at common law. So are libels against either house of parliament, against the constitution, or the administration of justice. And by the 60 G. 3, and 1 G. 4, c. 8, ss. 1, 4, an increased penalty is enacted against a person, on second conviction, for composing, publishing, or printing seditious libels against the sovereign, the regent, the government, the constitution in church or state, or either house of parliament, namely, fine and imprisonment, and also infamous corporal punishment.

By the 6 & 7 Vic. c. 96 (amended by the 8 & 9 Vic. c. 75), any person publishing or threatening to publish any libel upon any other person, or to abstain from printing or publishing, or to prevent the printing or publishing of any matter or thing touching any other person, with intent to extort any money, &c., or with intent to induce any person to confer or procure for any person any appointment or office of profit or trust, shall be liable to imprisonment, with or without hard labour, for three years. By s. 4, the publication, knowingly, of any false or defamatory libel is punishable by imprisonment for two years, and fine. By s. 5, publishing a defamatory libel, though not known to be false, is punishable by imprisonment for one year and a fine.

CHAP. XLIII.

OFFENCES AGAINST PUBLIC TRADE.

[See 4 Black. Com. chap. 12; 4 Steph. Com. chap. 11.]

Owling.]-Owling was the offence of transporting (usually by night) wool or sheep out of the kingdom, to the detriment of its staple manufacture. The 28 Geo. 3, c. 28 repealed all the previous statutes, and this is now no offence.

Smuggling.]-Smuggling is the offence of importing goods without paying the duties imposed thereon by the laws of the customs and excise. Certain open, daring, and avowed practices of smuggling are made felonies by statute: they are the following,Assembling armed to assist in smuggling, which is punishable, by 8 & 9 Vic. c. 87, with transportation for life, or not less than fifteen years; or imprisonment for not exceeding three years, with or without hard labour, and with or without solitary confinement. By s. 64, maliciously shooting at any revenue boat, or shooting, &c., any revenue officer, is subject to the same punishment. And by s. 66, to assault revenue officers, &c., is punishable with transportation for seven years, or imprisonment for three

in

years. By 9 Geo. 4, c. 31, s. 25, this may be treated as a misdemeanor, and is then punishable by imprisonment for two years, with a fine, and to find sureties. By the 8 & 9 Vic. c. 87, if any person, being company with more than four other persons, be found with any goods liable to forfeiture, or in company with one other person, within five miles of the sea coast, or of any navigable river leading therefrom, with such goods, and carrying offensive arms or weapons, or disguised in any way, he shall be guilty of felony, and be transported for seven years.

Usury.]-Usury, usus aris, is the gain of any thing by contract, above the principal or thing lent, exacted only in consideration of the loan of it, or for the forbearance of the demand of it; but according to the modern acceptation, it is "an unlawful contract upon the loan of money, to receive the same again with exorbitant increase.". We have already noticed the provisions of some modern sta. tutes, which, in most cases, allow the lender to take any rate of interest he can get (a).

if

Procuration money.]-By 12 Anne, st. 2, c. 16, any scrivener or broker take more than five shillings per cent. procuration money, or more than twelve pence for making a bond, he shall forfeit twenty pounds, with costs, and shall suffer imprisonment for half a year. By 53 Geo. 3, c. 141, s. 8, taking more than ten shillings per cent. for procuring money to be advanced for a life annuity, is punishable with fine and imprisonment.

Cheating ]-Cheating, as it was understood at common law, may in general be described to be deceitful practices, in defrauding another of his known right, by means of some artful contrivance,

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