L A W. 



685 



Stat-J^ry 



ird - 



nlu Jii'r L 



is aimed against the majesty of the state, and can be 

 committed only by those who are subjects of that state 

 either by birth or residence. It was high treason by 

 the law of Scotland, to intend the king's death, to lay 

 any restraint upon his person, or to entice any foreign 

 power to invade his dominions, 1662, c. 2, and to rise 

 in arms, maintain forts, or make treaties with foreign 

 states without his authority, 1661, c. 5. Certain facts, 

 though not in their nature treasonable, were declared 

 by statute to be punishable as treason, viz. theft by 

 landed men, 1 587, c. 50, murder under trust, ibid. c. 5 1 , 

 wilfully setting fire to coal-heughs, 1592, c. 146, or to 

 houses or corns, 1528, c. 8, and assassination, 1601, c. 

 1 J. Treason was punished by death, and by forfei- 

 ture to the king of the traitor's estate, lx>th real and 

 personal. But this forfeiture did not cut off the right 

 of the creditors, tacksmen, superiors, vassals, heirs of 

 entail, or widows of the forfeiting persons, 1690, c. 33. 

 Treason might by our law have been tried after the 

 death of the traitor, and sentence condemnatory upon 

 such trial carried the estate to the crown, 1540, c. 69, 

 which was indeed agreeable to the jut novum of the Ro- 

 mans, but contrary to the rules of law and the dictates 

 < 4' humanity. 



>. Soon after the union of the two kingdoms in 

 1707, the laws of treason then in force in England, 

 were made ours by 7 An. c. 21, both with regard to the 

 facts constituting that crime, to the forms of trial, the 

 corruption of blood, and all the penalties and forfeitures 

 consequent on it. By tliis act, the facts that inferred 

 statutory treason by our former law, are declared sim- 

 ply capital crimes. For what this crime consists in, for 

 the form of trial, &c. we refer to the preceding article 

 on the Lam of England, B. iv. sect. vi. 



6. The crime of tedition consists in the raising com- 

 motion* or disturbance* in the state. It is either verbal 

 or real. Verbal sedition, or leasing-making, is inferred 

 from the uttering of words tending to create discord 

 between the king and his people. It was formerly pu- 

 nished by death and the forfeiture of goods, but now 

 either by imprisonment, fine, or banishment, at the dis- 

 cretion of the judge. Real sedition is generally com- 

 mitted by convocating together any considerable num- 

 ber of people without lawful authority, under the pre- 

 tence of redressing some public grievance, to the dis- 

 turbing of the public peace. Those who are convicted 

 of this crime are punished by the confiscation of their 

 good* ; and their live* are to be at the king's will. For 

 preventing rebellious riots and tumults, it is enacted, 1 

 2. c. 5, that if any persons to the number of 

 e shall assemble, and being required by a magis- 

 trate or constable to disperse, shall nevertheless con- 

 tinue together for an hour after such command, the 

 person* disobeying shall suffer death, and the confisca- 

 tion of moveable*. 



i 7. Judge* who wilfully, or through corruption, use 

 their authority as a cover to injustice or oppression, are 

 nwiished with the loss of honour, fame, and dignity, 

 15+0, c. 104. Under this head may be classed theft- 

 bate, (from bate, compensation,) which is the taking a 

 consideration in money or goods from a thief to exempt 

 him from punishment, or connive at his escape from 

 justice. A sheriff or other judge guilty of this crime, 

 forfeits his life and goods, 1436, c. 137. And by a 

 posterior statute, 1515, c. 2, even a private person who 

 take* theftbote suffers as the principal thief. The buy- 

 ing of disputed claims, concerning which there is a 

 pendmg^process, by any judge or member either of the 



' ~~i or of an inferior court, is punished by the loss of 



the delinquent's office, and all the privileges thereto be- Law 

 longing, 1594, c. 216. of Scotland. 



8. Deforcement is the opposition given, or resistance n ~T Y ~""' 

 made, to messengers or other officers while they are em- " 



ployed in executing the law, and is punishable with the 

 confiscation of moveables. Deforcement of the officers 

 of the customs, by persons to the number of eight or 

 upwards, was punished by transportation to America, 

 for a term of years not exceeding seven, 6 Geo. I. c. 21. 

 34. But now by 19- Geo. II. c. 34, armed persons to 

 the number of three or more, assisting in the illegal 

 running, landing, and exporting of prohibited or un- 

 customed goods, or any who shall resist, wound, or 

 maim any officer of the revenue in the execution of his 

 office, shall suffer death, and the confiscation of move- 

 ables. 



9- Breach ofarreslment is a crime of the same na- Breach of 

 ture with deforcement, as it imports a contempt of the arrestment. 

 law and of the judges ; and it is subjected to the pains 

 inflicted on deforcement, by 1581, c. 118, viz. an arbi- 

 trary corporal punishment, and the escheat of move- 

 ables, with a preference to the creditor for his debt, and 

 for such farther sum as shall be modified to him by the 

 judge. Under tkis head of crimes against good govern- Forestall- 

 ment and police, may be reckoned the forestalling of ing of mar- 

 markets ; that is, the buying of goods intended for akets. 

 public market before they are carried there, which, for 

 the third criminal act, infers the escheat of moveables, Offences 

 1592, c. 148 ; slaying salmon in forbidden time, 1503, against the 

 c. 27 ; offences against the acts for preserving the game; sn me ; 

 destroying plough-graith in time of tillage, and slaying P^ ntln S 

 or houghing horses or cows in time of harvest, 1587, c. 

 82; and destroying or spoiling growing timber, 1698, 

 c. 16 1 Geo. I. st. 2, c. 48. 



10. Crimes against particular persons may be direct- Crimes 

 ed, either against life, limb, liberty, chastity, goods, or against 

 reputation. Murder is the wilful taking away ^of a per- particular 

 son's life without a necessary cause. The distinction P ersons as 

 which obtained in our ancient law between slaughter Murder. 

 premeditated, or upon forethought felony, and that 



which was committed on a suddenly, or chaud mella, 

 indulging to the last the privilege of girth and sanc- 

 tuary, st. Rob. II. c. 9- 1555, c. 31, was taken off by 

 1661, c. 22, (copied after 1649, c. 19,) which supposes 

 homicide to be a capital crime, without any such dis- 

 tinction. Casual homicide, where the actor is in some Casual ho- 

 degree blameable, and homicide in self-defence, where micide, 

 the just bounds of defence have been exceeded, arepu- and in x ^ 

 nished arbitrarily by this act ; but the slaughter of night defence, 

 thieves, house-breakers, assistants in masterful depre- 

 dations, or rebels denounced for capital crimes, may be 

 committed with impunity. The crime of demembra- Demem- 

 tion, or the cutting off of a member, is joined with that oration, 

 of murder, in 1491, c. 28 ; but in practice, its punish- 

 ment has been restricted to the escheat of moveables, 

 and an assythment or indemnification to the party. 

 Mutilation, or the disabling of a member, is punished at Mutilation. 

 the discretion of the judge. 



11. Self-murder is as highly criminal as the killing Self-mur- 

 our neighbour ; and for this reason, our law has, con- der. 

 trary to the rule crimina morte exlingtnmtur, allowed a 



proof of the crime after the offender's death, that his 

 single escheat might fall to the king or his donatary. 

 To this end an action must be. brought, not before the 

 justiciary, but the session, because it is only intended 

 ad civilcm effectum, for proving and declaring the self- 

 murder i and the next of kin to the deceased must be 

 made a party to it. 



12. The punishment of parricide, or of the murder Parricid*. 



