(4 0 - 
L A R 
live poffelfion of him on whole foil they are left or laid; 
and come again at another time, when they are fo turned 
into perfonalty, ancf take them away, it is larceny ; and 
to it is, if the owner, or any one elfe, has fevered them. 
3 Inf. 109. This queltion is now, however, very much 
put at rett: by the (tat. 4 Geo. II. c. 32, to (teal or rip, cut 
or break, with intent to fteal any lead or iron bar, rail, 
gate, or paiifado, fixed to a dvvelling-houfe or out-houfe, 
or in any court or garden thereunto belonging, or to any 
other building, is made felony, liable to tranfportation 
for feven years ; to Ileal, damage, or deftroy, underwood 
or hedges, and the like; to rob orchards or gardens of 
fruit growing therein ; to fteal or otherwife deftroy any 
turnips, potatoes, cabbages, parfnips, peafe, or carrots, 
or the roots of madder when growing, are all punifhable 
criminally by whipping, final! fines, imprifonment, and 
fatisfadion to the party wronged according to the nature 
of the offence. Moreover, the Healing by night of any 
trees, or of any roots, flrrubs, or plants, to the value of 5s. 
is, by flat. 6 Geo. III. c. 36, made felony in the princi¬ 
pals, aiders, and abettors, and in the purchafers thereof, 
knowing the fame to be ltolen. Stealing ore alfo out of 
mines is no larceny, upon the principle of adherence to 
the freehold, with an exception only to mines of black 
lead ; the Healing of ere out of which, or entering the 
fame with intent to fteal, is felony, punifhable with im¬ 
prifonment and whipping, or tranfportation not exceed¬ 
ing feven years; and to efcape from fuch imprifonment, 
or return from fuch tranfportation, is felony without be¬ 
nefit of clergy, by flat. 25 Geo. II. c. 10. Upon nearly 
!iie fame principles, the ftealing of writings relating to a 
real eftate is no felony, but a trefpafs, becaufe they con. 
tern the land ; or (according to the technical language of 
the law) favour of the really ; and are confidered as part of 
it, fo that they delcend tp the heir, together with the 
land which they concern. 1 Ilal. P. C. 510. Bonds, bills, 
>:nd notes, which concern mere chojes in ablion, were held 
at the common law not to be fuch goods whereof larceny 
might be committed; being of no intrinfic value, and not 
importing any property in f'offrffion of the perfon from 
whom they are taken. 8 Rep. 33. But, by Hat. 2 Geo. II. 
c, 25, they are now put upon the fame footing with re¬ 
aped to larcenies, as the money they were meant to 
fee u re. 
Larceny alfo could not at common law be committed 
of treafure-trove, or wrecks, waifs, eftrays, &c. till feized 
by the king, or him who hath the franchife; for, till fuch 
feizure, no one hath a determinate property therein. See 
Salt. 370. 3 Inf. 208. H. P. C. 67. But, by ftat. 26 Geo. 
JI. c. 19, plundering or dealing from any (hip in diftrefs 
(whether wreck.or no wreck) is felony without benefit of 
clergy. 
Larceny cannot alfo be committed of fuch animals in 
which there is no property either ablolute or qualified, 
as of beafts that a re ferae natures, and unreclaimed, fuch as 
deer, hares, and conies, in a foreft, chace, or warren ; 
filh in an open river or pond; or wild fowls at their na¬ 
tural liberty. But, if they are reclaimed and confined, 
and may ferve for food, it is otherwife, even at common 
Jaw ; for of deer fo inclofed in a park that they may be 
taken at pleafure, fifli in a trunk, and pheafants or par¬ 
tridges in a mew, larceny may be committed. See the 
article Fishery, vol. vii. p. 419. and Game, vol. viii. 
Stealing hawks, in difobedience to the rules deferibed by 
the ftat. 37 Edw. III. c. 19, is alfo felony. 3 Inf. 98. It 
is alfo faid that, if fwans be lawfully marked, it is felony 
to fteal them, though at large in a public river; and that 
k is likewife felony to fteal them, though unmarked, if 
in any private river or pond ; otherwife it is only a tref- 
p.ifs. Dalt. Juf. c. 156. But, .of all valuable domeftic ani¬ 
mals, as horles and other beafts of draught, and of all 
animals domites natures, which ferve for food, as neat or 
other cattle, Iwine, poultry, and the like, and of their 
fruit or produce, taken from them while living, as milk 
or wool, larceny may be committed. And alfo of the 
CENT. 
flefli of fuch as are either domites or fera natura, when 
killed. 1 Hal. P. C. 511. As to thofe animals which do 
not ferve for food, and which therefore the law holds to 
have no intrinfic value, as dogs of all forts, and other 
creatures kept for whim and pleafure, though a man may 
have a bale property therein, and maintain a civil adion 
for the lofs of them, yet they are not of fuch eftimation, 
as that the crime of ftealing them amounts to larceny. 
But by ftat. 10 Geo. III. c. 18, very high. pecuniary pe¬ 
nalties, or a long imprifonment and whipping in their 
Head, may be inffided by two juftices of the peace, on 
fuch as fteal, or knowingly harbour, a ftolen dog, or have 
in their cuftody the Ikin of a dog that has been ltolen. 
Notwithftanding, how'ever, that no larceny can be com¬ 
mitted unlefs there be foine property in the thing taken, 
and an owner, yet, if the owmer be unknown, provided 
there be a property, it is larceny to fteal it; and an in¬ 
dictment will lie for the larceny of the goods, of a perfon 
unknown. This is the cafe of ftealing a fhroud out of a 
grave, which is the property of thofe, whoever they were, 
that buried the decealed ; but ftealing the corpie itfelf, 
which has no owner, (though a matter of great indecen¬ 
cy,) was no felony, unlefs fome of the grave-clothes were 
ftolen with it. It was however punifhable by indidment 
as a mifdemeanor, even though the body were taken for 
the improvement of the fcience of anatomy ; it being a 
pradice contrary to common decency, and (hocking to 
the general fentiments and feelings of mankind. See x 
Term Rep. 733. and the article Robbery. 
Many learned and fcrupulous men have queftioned the 
propriety, if not lawfulnefs, of infliding capital punilh- 
ment for limple theft. The natural punilhment for inju¬ 
ries to property feems to be the lofs of the offender’s own 
propeity ; and might be univerfally the cafe, were all 
men’s fortunes equal. But, as thofe who have no pro¬ 
perty themfelves are generally the mod ready to attack 
the property of others, it has been found neceftary, in- 
ftead of a pecuniary, to fubftitute a corporeal, punilhment. 
Our ancient Saxon laws nominally punilhed theft with 
death, if above the value of twelvepence ; but the crimi¬ 
nal w'as permitted to redeem his life by a pecuniarv ran- 
fom ; but in the ninth year of Henry 1 . this power of re¬ 
demption was taken away, and all perfons guilty of lar¬ 
ceny above the value of i2d. were direded to be hanged; 
which law continues in force to this day. 1 Hal. P.C. 12. 
3 Inf. 53. For, though the inferior fpecies of theft, or petit 
larceny, is only punilhed by imprifonment or whipping at 
common law, (3 Inft. 218.) or, by ftat. 4 Geo. I. c. n, 
with tranfportation for feven years, (as was alfo exprefsly 
direded in the cafe of the Plate-glals Company, ftat. 13 
Geo. III. c. 38.) yet the punilhment of grand larceny, or 
the ftealing above the value of i2d. (which fum was the 
ltandard in the time of king Athelltan, eight hundred 
years ago,) is'at common law regularly death ; which, 
coniidenrig the great intermediate alteration in the price 
or denomination of money, feems at prefent a very rigor¬ 
ous conftitution. 
It has been held, that, if two perfons fteal goods to the 
amount of 13 d. it is grand larceny in both ; and, if one, at 
different times, Heals divers parcels of goods from the 
fame perfon, which together exceed the value of iad. they 
may be put together in one indidment, and the offender 
found guilty of grand larceny. H.P.C. 70. 3 Inf. 109. 
But this is very feldom done; on the contrary, the mercy 
of juries will often make them bring in larceny to be un¬ 
der the value of i2d. when it is really of much greater 
value; but this, though evidently jutflfiable and proper 
when it only reduces the prefent nominal value of money 
to the ancient ltandard, is otherwife a kind of pious per¬ 
jury. 2 Inf. 189. And it is now fettled, that the value of 
the property ftolen mult not only be in the whole of luch 
an amount as the law requires to constitute a capital of¬ 
fence, but the ftealing mult be to that amount at one and 
the lame particular time; for the law will not permit 
things ftolen at different times, which are, in fad, differ¬ 
ent 
