* MALICIOtTS INJURIES TO PROPERTY. 



MALLEABILITY. 



two yean, with or without whipping in case of a nude, to 

 or dortroy, or damage with intent to destroy or render 

 , or mMlfai or engine* prepared for or 



mpk>yd in manufactures, except those manufactures, Ac. injuries to 

 which an more severely punishable under the 3rd section. 



By the 0th and 7th sections it is made felony punishable by trans- 

 portation for term yean, or by imprisonment not exceeding two yean, 

 with or without whipping in the cue of a male, to cause water to be 

 conveyed into mine*, or subterranean passages communicating there- 

 with, or pull down, fill up, or obstruct air-ways, water-wayi, drains, 

 pit*, levels, or ahafU, with intent to destroy, damage, or hinder or 

 delay the working of mines ; or maliciously to pull down, or destroy, 

 or daman with intent to destroy or render useless, steam-engines, or 

 engines for making, draining, or working mines, or staiths, buildings, 

 or erections used in conducting the business of mines or bridges, 

 waggon-ways, or trunks for conreying minerals from mines, whether 

 completed or unfinished. By sect 12 it is made felony punishable by 

 transportation for life or not less than seven yean, or by imprisonment 

 not exceeding four yean, with or without whipping in the case of a 

 male, to break down or cut down sea-banks or sea-walls, or the banks 

 or walls of rhrers, canals, or marshes, whereby lands are overflowed or 

 damaged, or in danger of being so ; to throw down, level, or destroy 

 locks, sluices, floodgates, or works on navigable rivers or canals. And 

 by the same section it is made felony punishable by transportation for 

 seven yean, or by imprisonment not exceeding two yean, with or 

 without whipping in the case of a male, to cut off, draw up, or remove 

 piles, chalk, or other materials fixed in the ground and used for 

 securing sea-banks or sea-walls, or the banks or walls of rivers, canals, 

 or marshes, or to open or draw up flood-gates, or to do other injury 

 or mischief to navigable riven or canals, with intent or so as to 

 obstruct or prevent the carrying on or completing or maintaining the 

 navigation. 



It is made felony, punishable by transportation for life, or not less 

 than seven yean, or by imprisonment not exceeding four yean, with or 

 without whipping in the case of a male, by the 13th section, to pull 

 down or destroy public bridges, or to do any injury with intent or so 

 as to render them dangerous or impassable ; and by the 18th section, 

 to cut or destroy hop-bines growing on poles in any hop-plantation. 

 But now (by 7 Wm. IV. and 1 Vic., a 90, s. 2) the punishment of the 

 latter offence is made transportation not exceeding 15 yean and not 

 leas than 10 yean, or imprisonment not exceeding three. By 7 & 8 

 Oeo. IV., c. 30, s. 14, it is a misdemeanor punishable accordingly 

 [MISDEMEANOR] to throw down, level, or destroy turnpike-gates, or 

 walls, chains, rails, posts, ban, or fences belonging to turnpike-gates 

 set up to prevent passengers passing by without paying toll, or houses, 

 buildings, or weighing-machines for the collection, ascertainment, or 

 security of toll The 15th section makes it a misdemeanor punishable 

 by transportation for seven yean, or by imprisonment not exceeding 

 two yean, with or without whipping in the case of a male, to break 

 down or destroy dams of fish-ponds, or of water being private property, 

 or in which is a private right of fishing, with intent to take or destroy 

 fish, or so as thereby to cause the loss or destruction of fish, or to put 

 lime or noxious materials in ponds with intent to destroy fish, or to 

 break down or destroy dams of mill-ponds. By section 16 it is made 

 felony to kill, maim, or wound cattle ; but the punishment is reduced 

 by 7 Will. IV. and 1 Viet., c. 90, s. 2, to transportation not exceeding 

 15 yean and not less than 10, or to imprisonment not exceeding 

 three. The provisions of this statute (7*8 Qeo. IV., c. 30) relating 

 to the destruction of trees, plants, Ac. have been already noticed. 

 [LaBOsWT.] 



By section 17 it was made felony punishable by transportation f..r 

 rven yearn, or by imprisonment not exceeding two, with or without 

 whipping in the case of a male, to set fire to any crop of corn, grain, or 

 pals*, whether standing or cut down, or to any part of a wood, coppice, 

 or plantation, or to any heath, gone, furze, or fern, and by 7 Win. IV. 

 and 1 Viet., c. 89, it is made f.-l..ny punishable by transportation for 

 life or not less than 15 yean, or by imprisonment not exceeding three 

 (sect. 10). to set fire to any stack of corn, grain, pulse, tares, straw, 

 haulm, stubble, fume, heath, fern, hay, turf, peat, coals, charcoal, or 

 any steer of wood, or (sect. 11) to set fire to any mine of coal or 

 cannel cool. 



The enactments in this statute with respect to the burning of 

 houses, Ac, [ AHSO.X ) have been repealed ; and now by 7 Win. IV. and 

 1 Viet., c. 8V, s. 'J, it is felony punishable by death to set fire to a 

 dwelling-house, any person being therein; and by s. 8 it is felony 

 punishable by transportation fur life, or not leas than 16 yean, or by 

 imprisonment not exceeding three, to set fire to a church or chapel, or 

 a chapel for the religious wonhip of dissenter*, or to a house, stable, 

 coach-bouse, outhouse, warehouse, office, shop, mill, tnalthouse, hop- 

 oast, lm, or granary, or to a building used in carrying on trade or 

 manufacture, whether in the possession of the offender or of any other 

 person, with intent to injure or defraud any person. By the 7 & 8 

 Viet., c I2. the last-mentioned provisions were extended to the burning 

 of farm buildingi, and of farming produce therein ; and by the 9 ft 10 

 Viet, c. 26, s. 7, the attempting to set fire to any building, vessel, or 

 mine, or to any stack or steer, or to any vegetable produce, of such 

 kind, and with such intent that the offence, if complete, would be 

 felony punishable by transportation for life, is also made a felony 



punishable by transportation not exceeding 15 yean, or imprisonment 

 not exceeding two yean. 



The stat 14 A 15 Viet, c. 19, makes the netting fire to any station, 

 engine-house, warehouse, or other building belonging to any railway, 

 dock, canal, or other navigation, a felony punishable by transportation 

 for life, or not less than seven yean, or imprisonment not exceeding 

 three yean ; and the same statute also makes the setting fire to goods 

 or chattels in any building, the setting fire to which is felony, itself a 

 felony, punishable by transportation not exceeding ten nor lees thau 

 seven yean, or imprisonment not exceeding three yean. 



For the protection of shipping against malicious mischief several 

 statutory provisions have been made. By the 12 Qeo. III., c. 24, the 

 wilful and malicious burning or destroying of any of the king's ships 

 of war, or arsenals, dockyards, victualling offices, or military, naval, or 

 victualling stores, Ac., is made a capital felony. By 1 & 2 Geo. IV., 

 c. 75, s. 1 1 , it is felony punishable by transportation for seven yean, or 

 imprisonment for any number of yean, to out away, cast adrift, alter, 

 deface, sink, or destroy, or do any act with intent to cut away, cast 

 adrift, 'remove, alter, deface, sink, or destroy, or injure or conceal 

 buoys, buoy-ropes, or marks belonging to ships or vessels, whether in 

 distress or otherwise. By 7 Oeo. IV., c. 30, s. 10, it U made ft-lony 

 punishable by transportation for seven yean, or by imprisonment not 

 exceeding two, with or without whipping in the case of a male, to 

 damage otherwise than l>y fire (which offence had been made capital 

 by s. 9) ships or vessels complete or unfinished, with intent to ! 

 them or to render them useless. 



By 7 Wm. IV. and 1 Viet, c. 89, B. 5, it is made felony punishable 

 by death to exhibit false lights or signals with intent to bring any ship 

 or vessel into danger, or to do any thing tending to the immediate loss 

 or destruction of ships or vessels in distress. And by s. 6 it U made 

 felony punishable by transportation for life, or not less than 1 5 yean, 

 or by imprisonment not exceeding three yean, to set fire to, east away, 

 or destroy ships or vessels, with intent to prejudice owners or p<irt- 

 ownera of vessels or goods, or underwriters on ships, goods, or freight 

 And by the 4th sect it is made felony punishable by death, to set fire 

 to, cast away, or destroy any ship or vessel, either with intent to 

 murder any person, or whereby the life of any person shall be en- 

 dangered. 



It is to be observed, with reference to the punishment for these 

 offences, that penal servitude has been substituted for transportation. 

 Malicious injuries to works of art, &c., in any museum or repository, 

 or to pictures, statues, monuments, or painted glass, in any church or 

 chapel, is, by the 8 & 9 Viet, c. 44, a misdemeanor punishable by 

 impruonment not exceeding six months, and if a male by \\hippini.' ; 

 and by the 17 & 18 Viet, c. 33, this provision is extended to public 

 statues within the metropolitan police district. 



Besides the criminal responsibility thus created in respect of the 

 acts of spoliation above enumerated, the legislature has given summary 

 relief to persons whose property has been subject to petty but wilful 

 aggressions. Under the 7 & 8 Geo. IV., c. 80, s. 24, persons wilfully or 

 maliciously committing damage, injury, or spoil, to or upon real or 

 personal property, for which no remedy or punishment is specially pro- 

 vided by that act, are, on conviction before a justice of the peace, to 

 forfeit and pay such sum of money as shall appear to him a reasonable 

 compensation for the damage, injury, or spoil committed, not exceeding 

 51., to be paid, in the case of private property, to the party aggrieved, 

 except where such party is examined in proof of the offence ; ami in 

 such cases, or in the case of property of a public nature, or wherein 

 any public right is concerned, the money is to be applied towards the 

 county-rate or borough-rate ; and if such sums of money together with 

 costs (if ordered) are not paid cither immediately or within such 

 period as the justice may apiioint, the justice may commit the offender 

 to the common jail or house of correction, to be kept to hard labour 

 for any term not exceeding two calendar months, unless such sum and 

 costs be sooner paid. This enactment does not extend to any case 

 where the party trespassing acted under a fair and reasonable suppo- 

 sition that he had a right to do the act complained of, or to any 

 trespass, not being wilful and malicious, committed in hunting, fishing, 

 or in the pursuit of game. 



lly the 28th section any person found committing any offence against 

 this act, whether punishable upon indictment or upon summary con- 

 viction, may be immediately apprehended without a warrant, by any 

 peace-officer, or the owner of the property injured, or bis servant, or 

 any person authorised by him, and forthwith taken before some neigh- 

 Inuring justice of the peace. 



These summary proceedings before magistrates must be commenced 

 within three calendar months from the commission of the offence. 



The provisions of the law of France with respect to malicious 

 injuries to property are to be found in the 3rd section of liv. iii. of the 

 Code 1'enal, entitled ' Destructions, Degradations, Dommages.' Gtpit.il 

 punishment is denounced only against those who set fire to buildings, 

 ships, warehouses, wood-yards (chantiers), forests, underwoods, or crops 

 growing or cut down, or to any combustible matter placed so as to 

 communicate fire thereto. Minor offences in forests are provided for 

 by litre 12 of the Code Forestier. 



MALINGERING. [Fnomm DniaHK.] 



MALLEABILITY, a property by virtue of which certain bodies, 

 especially some of the metals, are capable, although in very different 



