the said justices so residing, to be, and was thereupon, then and there, examined upon oath, by and before the said justices of and concerning the cause and circumstance of the begetting and birth of such bastard child. And the jurors, &c. that the said H. T. upon her said examination upon oath, then and there taken in writing, by and before the said justices, deposed and declared, that she was delivered of such bastard child, as aforesaid, and that R. M. I. of &c. was the father of the said bastard child. And the jurors, &c. do further present, that the said J. R. esquire, and T. B. esquire, so being such justices, residing as aforesaid, did thereupon, afterwards, to wit, on &c. last aforesaid, at the parish of M. aforesaid, duly summon the said R. M. I. to be and appear before them the said justices to make his defence of and concerning the premises, and to show cause why an order of maintenance should not be made upon him for the cause aforesaid, to which said summons he the said R. M. I. then and there before the making of any order in that behalf, personally appeared before the said justices, but did not make any sufficient defence, or shew any cause why an order should not be made upon him, whereupon the said justices, upon hearing the said complaint upon oath, afterwards, to wit, on &c. last aforesaid, at the parish aforesaid, did, by their discretion, make order of and concerning the premises, and by their said order in writing, under their hands and seals, bearing date, &c. reciting to the effect herein before mentioned, adjudged the same to be true, and thereby, as well upon examination of the cause and circumstances of the premises, upon the oath of the said H. T. as otherwise, did declare and adjudge the said R. M. I. (set forth the order verbatim.) And the jurors, &c. that after the making of the said order, to wit, on &c. last aforesaid, at the parish aforesaid, notice of the aforesaid order was duly given to him the said R. M. I. and that he the said R. M. I. was duly made acquainted with the contents thereof, and duly and personally served with the same. And the jurors, &c. that the said bastard child is yet living, and hath always from the time of making the said order, until the day of taking this inquisition, been and continued, and now is, chargeable to the said parish of M. to wit, at the parish aforesaid, and that before and at the time of making of the said order, and from thence continually, till the taking of this inquisition, one and one were and still are overseers of the poor of the said parish of M. duly constituted, of which he the said R. M. I. had due notice, to wit, at the, &c. aforesaid; and the jurors, &c. do further present, that the said R. M. I. late of &c. not regarding the said order, nor the laws and statutes in such case made and provided, did not upon notice and service of the said order forthwith pay or cause to be paid, &c. (negativing the performance of the duty in the words of the order) although so to do he the said R. M. I. afterwards, to wit, on &c and often, both before and afterwards, to wit, at the parish aforesaid, was duly requested by the said &c. so being such overseers as aforesaid, but on the contrary thereof he the said R. M. I. on, and from the said &c. until the taking of this inquisition, unlawfully, wilfully, obstinately, and contemptuously hath neglected and refused to pay, or cause to be paid, the said sum of &c. (the sum ordered for expences) as also the said sum of &c. (the weekly sum) weekly, and every week, from the time of making the said order, hitherto, contrary to the direction of the said order, and in manifest breach and contempt of the same, against the peace, &c.

Indictment

That one A. B. before the making of the order hereinafter menagainst stewards, tioned, had been, and was admitted, a member of a certain friendly &c. of a friendly society, called the Royal Oak Society, established at —— in the society for dis- county of by virtue of a certain act of parliament, made and obedience to an passed in the parliament of our Lord the King, holden at Westminorder of justice. ster, in the county of Middlesex, in the thirty-third year of the reign (ƒ) of our said Lord the King; entitled An Act, &c. (insert the title of the act of 33 Geo. 3. c. 54.) the rules, orders, and regulations of which society were duly confirmed, according to the directions of the said act of parliament. (g) And the jurors, &c. that the said A. B. having been admitted a member of the said society, as aforesaid, before the making of the order hereinafter mentioned, had been expelled from the said society, and deprived of certain relief and maintenance, to which he considered himself entitled from the stewards of the said society for the time being, and other officers and members thereof, and the said A. B. thought himself aggrieved thereby, and thereupon made complaint thereof to P. Q. and X. Y. esquires, two of his Majesty's justices of the peace, assigned, &c. in the said, &c. in which the said society was established as aforesaid, against M. M. late of &c. and W. W. late of &c. who then, and from thence, until, and at the time of the disobedience of the order hereinafter mentioned, were stewards of the said society, and O. O. late of the same place, &c. who then, and during that time, was clerk to the said society; and the said defendants were thereupon duly summoned, according to their respective christian and surnames respectively, (h) by the said justices, to appear before them at a convenient time and place named in such summons, they the said defendants, or some or one of them, appearing to such justices to have the custody of the said rules, orders, and regulations of the said society, and the said defendants had not appeared before the said justices, pursuant to the said summons, to wit, at &c. (i) And the jurors, &c. that

But

(f) As to this being an indictable offence, see 4 T. R. 202. by 49 Geo. 3. c. 124. s. 1. two justices are empowered, if the officer of any such society neglect or refuse to appear on summons for that purpose duly served on him, or having appeared, to make a sufficient defence in answer to the complaint, to grant a warrant of distress against the goods of the offender, in order to levy the sum adjudged to the complainant, with all costs attending the complaint. (g) The time for confirmation was limited by this act; extended by 35 Geo. 3. c. 111; and rendered unlimited by 49 Geo. 3. c. 125; so that if the society was established at a later period, and their rules confirmed under the authority of either of the posterior acts, it must be so stated. As to societies recently established, see 59 Geo. 3. c. 128. whereby petty sessions are empowered to carry into effect the rules of these societies, those rules being conformable with general rules of quarter sessions previously promulgated, and also the calculations on which the benefits of the particular society are to be enjoyed, with the approbation of two actuaries, duly authenticated.

(h) By s. 4. of 49 Geo. 3. c. 125, it is required that the summonses shall be served upon the officers of those societies in the proper name or names of such officers.

(i) It is scarcely necessary to observe, that if the parties summoned do appear, but do not show sufficient cause why the order should not be made, and it be actually made, the allegations must be conformable with the facts.

RECEIVING THINGS UNLAWFULLY OBTAINED.

thereupon, heretofore, to wit, on &c. at &c. the said defendants so being such justices as aforesaid, on proof upon oath of such summons as aforesaid being duly served, did proceed to hear and determine the matter of the aforesaid complaint, according to the true purport and meaning of the said rules, orders, and regulations of the said society, and the directions of the said act (or acts) of parliament, and did thereupon then and there make a certain order in writing, under their hands and seals, directed to the said, &c. so being stewards of the said society, and to the said, &c. so being clerk thereof as aforesaid, and all other persons whomsoever, being officers or members of the said society, whereby after reciting amongst other things, that, &c. (recite the order requiring the defendants to attend and produce books, &c.) as by the said order of justices fully appears, with which order the said M. M. and W. W. heretofore, to wit, on &c. at &c. were personally served, and of which order they the said M. M., W. W., and O. O., then and there had notice. And the jurors, &c. that the said M. M. and W. W. so being stewards of the said society, and the said O. O. &c. so being clerk thereof as aforesaid, well knowing the premises, but not regarding the said order, nor the said act (or acts, as the case may require) of parliament, did not, nor would, nor did, nor would either of them personally, or otherwise, be or appear before the said justices at the time and place in that behalf above mentioned: nor did, nor would, then and there produce before them the said justices for their inspection, such books, papers, and writings as aforesaid, or any or either of them, or in any respect comply with, or obey, or regard the same order as they could, and might, and ought to have done, but wholly refused and neglected so to do, and herein then and there wholly failed and made default, contrary to the form of the said order, and against the peace, &c.

§ 20. RECEIVING THINGS UNLAWFULLY OBTAINED

OR EMBEZZLED.

c. 29.

309

a misdemeanor,

The guilty receiving of things fraudulently obtained or Offence under embezzled, where the principal offence was a misdemeanor 7 and 8 Geo. 4. only, has been, for the first time, constituted an indictable offence by 7 and 8 Geo. 4. c. 29. s. 56. That section enacts, "That if any person shall receive any chattel, Where the orimoney, valuable security, or other property whatsoever, ginal offence is the stealing, taking, obtaining, or converting whereof is receivers may be made an indictable misdemeanor by this act, such person, prosecuted for a knowing the same to have been unlawfully stolen, taken, misdemeanor. obtained, or converted, every such receiver shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and may be indicted and convicted thereof, whether the person guilty of the principal misdemeanor shall or shall not have been previously convicted thereof, or shall or shall not be amenable to justice; and every such receiver shall, on conviction, be liable, at the discretion of the court, to be transported beyond the seas for the term of seven years, or to be imprisoned for any

Venne.

Indictment for

receiving goods obtained by false pretences.

Offence under

c. 29. s. 21.

term not exceeding two years; and, if a male, to be once, twice, or thrice, publicly or privately whipped (if the court shall so think fit) in addition to such imprisonment."

This provision, it will be observed, applies to all cases of property stolen, to steal which is made by this act a misdemeanor, as wills, records, and title deeds; to all cases of embezzlement by every description of agent; to all cases where the things received have been obtained by false pretences; and to every species of property, whether goods, money, or securities. This offence, like felonious receiving, may be tried in any county where the goods have been in the possession of the receiver, or in that where the principal offence was committed. (j)

Indictment for receiving goods obtained by false pretences.

That A. B. late of &c. on &c. at &c. unlawfully, knowingly, and fraudulently did receive ten gold watches of the value of one hundred pounds, of the goods and chattels of E. F. by one C. D. then lately before unlawfully obtained from the said E. F. by false pretences, that is to say, by falsely pretending that he the said C. D. was the servant of one G. H. and had been sent by the said G. H. for the said watches to be inspected by him, whereas, in truth and in fact, he the said C. D. was not the servant of the said G. H. nor sent by him for the said watches to be inspected by him, or for any other purpose whatsoever; he the said A. B. at the time he so received the said gold watches, on &c. at &c. then and there well knowing the same to have been so unlawfully obtained by the said C. D. from the said E. F. by the false pretences aforesaid, against the form of the statute, &c. and against the peace, &c.

§ 21. RECORDS PURLOINING OR DESTROYING.

Το

The records and proceedings of courts of justice were 7 and 8 Geo. 4. not the subjects of larceny at common law, nor was any adequate punishment provided for defacing them. remedy this evil, the 7 and 8 Geo. 4. c. 29. contains the following provision: (k) "That if any person shall steal, or shall, for any fraudulent purpose, take from its place of deposit for the time being, or from any person having the lawful custody thereof, or shall unlawfully and maliciously obliterate, injure, or destroy any record, writ, return, panel, process, interrogatory, deposition, affidavit, rule, order, or warrant of attorney, or any original document whatsoever, of or belonging to any court of record, or relating to any matter, civil or criminal, begun, depending, or terminated

(j) 7 and 8 Geo. 4. c. 29. s. 56.

(k) Section 21.

in any such court, or any bill, answer, interrogatory, deposition, affidavit, order, or decree, or any original document whatsoever, of or belonging to any court of equity, or relating to any cause or matter begun, depending, or terminated in any such court, every such offender shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, being convicted thereof, shall be liable, at the discretion of the Court, to be transported beyond the seas for the term of seven years, or to suffer such other punishment, by fine or imprisonment, or by both, as the Court shall award; and it shall not in any indictment for such offence be necessary to allege that the article in respect of which the offence is committed is the property of any person, or that the same is of any value."

Indictment.

That A. B. late of &c. on &c. at &c. a certain record of nisi Indictment for prius of the court of our Lord the King, before the King himself purloining a in a certain cause then depending in the said court, wherein one nisi prius record. C. D. was plaintiff, and the said A. B. was defendant, then and there found and being, unlawfully did steal, take, and carry away, against the form of the statute, &c. and against the peace, &c.

That A. B. late of &c. on &c. at &c. unlawfully and maliciously Indictment for did obliterate and injure a certain nisi prius record of the issue defacing a record joined between our Sovereign Lord the King and the said A. B. on of an indictment an indictment for perjury then depending in the court of our Lord for perjury. the King, before the King, and being a record of the said court, with intent then and there to cause and procure him the said A. B. to be acquitted upon the trial of the said issue, against the form of the statute, &c. and against the peace, &c. (Add a count specifying in what the injury consisted.)

§ 22. RIOTS, ROUTS, AND UNLAWFUL ASSEMBLIES.

Offences.-A riot is said to be a tumultuous disturbance Riot, what. of the peace, by three persons or more, assembling together of their own authority, with an intent mutually to assist one another, against any one who shall oppose them in the execution of some enterprize, and afterwards actually executing the same in a violent and turbulent manner, to the terror of the people, whether the act intended were of itself lawful or unlawful. (1)

peace, Rout, what.

A rout is said to be a disturbance of the by persons assembling together with an intention to

(1) Hawk. b. 1. c. 65. s. 1. ; the King v. Soley, 11 Mod. 116