37 i TAK1]SG GAME OX SUNDAY. 



any person to use any fire-arms or guns of any description by night, 

 for the purpose of kilhng any game or liares. The above act appHes 

 only to England and Wales, but 11 & 12 Vicf. c. 30, extends it to 

 Scotland. The form given in the schedule of the former act is as 

 follows : — 



"I, AB, do authorize C D to kill hares on ['my lands,' or 'the 



lands occupied by me,' as the case may he'] within the of ^ 



\Jiere insert ilie name of the ^larisli or of/ier jiJace, as the case may he']. 

 Dated this day of , a.d. 18—. 



" Witness, E F." " A B. 



" By the 1 & 2 TT7//. IV. c. 32, s. 3, the penalty for killing or taking 

 gatne on Sunday or Christmas Day is a sum not exceeding five pounds, 

 to be recovered before two justices with costs. And to kill or take 

 any partridge between the 1st of February and the 1st of September ; 

 or zx\^ pheasant between the 1st of February and the 1st of October ; 

 or any hlac'k ganw, except in Somerset or Devon, or in the New Forest, 

 between the 10th of December and the 20th of August ; or in Somer- 

 set or Devon or the New Forest, between the 10th of December and 

 the 1st of September; or any ^rM^^e, commonly called red game, be- 

 tween the 10th of December and the 12th of August ; or any hustard, 

 between the 1st of March and the 1st of September, is an offence 

 punishable upon conviction before two justices with a penalty not ex- 

 ceeding £1 for any head of game, with costs. It is no offence to have 

 in possessiofi after the 1st of Fehruary partridges and pheasants ivithin 

 a reasonahle time, as on the 9th February {/Simpson v. Univin). And 

 now under s. 4 of the 1 & 2 Will. IV. c. 32, it is illegal, and punish- 

 able with a forfeiture not exceeding £1 for each head of game for a 

 dealer to buy, sell, or have game, after ten days from the dates above 

 specified, and after forty days for any other person. The onus of 

 proving the rightful possession lies upon the defendant. And by sec. 42 

 any exception in his favour must now be made good by witnesses on his 

 ])ehalf. Uncontradicted or unexplained possession is a fact sufficient to 

 warrant a conviction. Under some statutes the exception must be 

 negatived by the prosecutor in his information (Spieres v. Parker; 

 R. V. Turner ; and see R. v. Stone). By 11 & 12 Vid. c. 43, s. 14, if 

 the information or complaint in any case shall negative any exemption, 

 exception, &c., in the statute, the prosecutor or complainant need not 

 prove the negative, but the defendant may ])rove the affirmative, if he 

 would have the advantage of the same." — Serjeant Woolrych on the 

 Game Laws, p. 135. 



