horse dealer, being evil disposed persons and seeking to get their living by various subtle, fraudulent, and dishonest practices, on, &c. with force and arms, at, &c. together with divers other evil disposed persons unlawfully, fraudulently, and deceitfully did combine, conspire, confederate, and agree together by divers false pretences and subtle means and devices to obtain and acquire to themselves of and from one G. W. F. (u) divers large sums of money of the monies of the said G. W. F. and to cheat and defraud him thereof to the great damage, &c. 2nd Count, laid a conspiracy to acquire to K. sen. 3rd Count, to acquire to K. jun. Indictment for conspiring to disturb a Party in the Possession of his Lands, and to deprive him of them (x). That James Stamp Sutton Cooke, J. R. Mills, Richard Sutton Cooke, and divers other persons to the jurors aforesaid as yet unknown, being persons of evil minds and dispositions, on, &c. with force and arms, at, &c. unlawfully and wickedly did conspire, combine, confederate, and agree together unlawfully and unjustly to disturb, molest, and disquiet Sir George Jerningham, Bart. in the peaceable and quiet possession, occupation, and enjoyment of certain manors, messuages, lands, and hereditaments and premises, situate and being in the said county of S. of which he the said Sir G. J. then was, and for a long time had been, peaceably and quietly possessed; and also to deprive him of certain issues and profits arising, issuing, and accruing therefrom, and of the rents, issues, and profits of certain other lands, messuages, and premises, situate and being in the said county, whereof certain persons then were in peaceable and quiet possession as tenants of the said Sir G. J. by unlawful means and devices.-First overt act, that the said J. S. S. C. in pursuance of the said unlawful and wicked conspiracy, combination, confederacy, and agreement, and for carrying the same into effect, did afterwards, to wit, on, &c. with force and arms, at, &c. break and enter a certain messuage, called Stafford Castle, situate in the county aforesaid, whereof the said Sir G. J. had long been, and then was, in the peaceable and quiet possession.-Second overt act, that J. S. S. C. on, &c. at, &c. did falsely, fraudulently, and wilfully affirm to W. H. C. and divers other persons, that he the said J. S. S. C. had been appointed agent to the said R. S. C. his brother, by the house of peers; whereas, in truth, he had not been appointed agent to the said R. S. C. by the house of peers, as he the said J. S. S. C. then and there well knew.-Third overt act, that in further pursuance, &c. said J. R. M. on, &c. at, &c. did unlawfully pretend and assume to hold a court leet and court baron of the manor of F. in the said county, as the steward thereof to R. S. C. whom he then and there represented to be lord of the said manor, the said Sir G. J. then being in the peaceable occupation of the said manor as J. R. M. then and there well knew, to the great damage of Sir G. J., &c. and contra pacem. 2nd Count exactly similar, without overt acts. 3rd Count. That defendants and ten other persons, on, &c. with force and arms, (u) See King v. the Queen (in error) Q. B. 9 May, 1845. (x) Found at Stafford summer assizes, 1823. Removed into K. B. See R. v. J. S. S. Cooke, 2 B. & Cr. 618; 5 id. 538; 4 Dowl. & Ry. 114; 7 id. 673. at, &c. did conspire, &c. to cause and procure a large number of timber trees, growing and being in certain lands, situate in the said county of S., and then and long before in the peaceable possession of certain tenants of the said Sir G. J., and the same then being the property of the said Sir G. J., unlawfully and against the will of the said Sir G. J. cut down, felled, and prostrated, and to get the same into their possession, and convert and dispose of the timber thereof to their own use.— Overt act, that J. S. S. C. on, &c. at, &c. did obtain and procure divers labourers to cut down, fell, and prostrate divers of the said trees, and the said labourers did accordingly then and there, by his directions, with force and arms, unlawfully and violently break and enter divers, to wit, twenty closes wherein the said trees were growing and being as aforesaid, and unlawfully cut down, fell, and prostrate divers, to wit, one hundred of the said trees, and did take and carry away the same, to the great damage, &c. 4th Count.-Exactly the same without overt acts. 5th Count.-Did conspire, &c. unlawfully and wickedly to cheat, defraud, and impoverish M. P., W. R., J. D., and divers other persons, who then and there lawfully held and enjoyed divers messuages, lands, and tenements, situate and being in the county aforesaid, as tenants thereof to the said Sir G. J. and unlawfully and fraudulently to obtain from them divers large sums of money, by causing to be believed by the said tenants that the said R. S. C. had a claim of title to the said messuages, lands, and tenements, which was admitted, received, and allowed by the said Sir G. J. the landlord of the said tenements, to be good and valid; whereas, in truth and in fact, they the said [defendants] then and there well knew that the said R. S. C. had not a claim of title to the said messuages, lands, and tenements, or any of them, admitted, received, or allowed by the said Sir G. J. to be good and valid. Overt act by J. S. S. C., that he, on, &c. at, &c. did falsely, fraudulently, and wilfully misrepresent to the said J. D. then being a tenant of said Sir G. J. of certain of the said messuages, lands, and tenements, and then owing certain rent in respect of the same; and to J. K. the son of the said W. R. who then held certain monies of his father, who then was tenant of certain of the said messuages, &c. of the said Sir G. J. and then and there owed rent for the same; that he the said J. S. S. C. then had in his possession a letter of the said Sir G. J. recognizing the justice of the claim of the said R. S. C. to the said messuages, &c.; whereas, in truth and in fact, the said J. S. S. C. had not in his possession a letter, &c. [repeating as above], as he the said J. S. S. C. then well knew, and thereby he the said J. S. S. C. did falsely and fraudulently then and there receive and obtain from the said J. D. a large sum of money, to wit, the sum of £ of his monies; and from the said J. K. a large sum of his money, to wit, the sum of £ of the monies of his said father W. R. Second overt act by J. S. S. C., that he did offer to M. P. then being tenant of the said Sir G. J. of certain messuages, &c. to obtain for her a lease of the premises of which she was then so tenant, from the said R. S. C.; and thereupon he the said J. S. S. C. then and there in pursuance of the said last-mentioned conspiracy, combination, confederacy, and agreement, falsely and fraudulently asserted to the said M. P. that the said Sir G. J. had given up all title to the estate whereof the said premises conveyed by the said M. P. were parcel; and also, that he the said J. S. S. C. had a letter from the said Sir G. J. to prove that he had so given up all title to the said estate, whereas, in truth and in fact, the said Sir G. J. had not given up all title to the said estate, as he the said J. S. S. C. well knew; and whereas, in truth and in fact, the said J. S. S. C. had not a letter from the said Sir G. J. to prove that he had given up such title. To the evil example, &c. 6th Count.-Exactly similar to 5th, but without overt acts. 7th Count.-Did conspire, &c. by unlawful and vexatious distresses and threats of the power of the said R. S. C. under the title of Lord Stafford, to molest, disturb, and disquiet divers persons, who then and there lawfully held and enjoyed divers messuages, lands, &c. situate in the said county, as tenants thereof to the said Sir G. J. [Overt act by J. S. S. C., that he "did unlawfully and fraudulently issue and sign as agent to the said R. S. C. by the title of Lord S. a certain warrant of distress for rent on the premises occupied by one Philip Seckerson, a parcel of the messuages, &c. last aforesaid, as tenant thereof to the said Sir G. J., under and by colour whereof the goods of the said P. S. on the said premises, being of great value, to wit, &c. were afterwards, to wit, on, &c. at, &c. taken and seized as for and in the name of a distress for rent pretended to be due to the said R. S. C. under the title of Lord S. for the said premises."] To the evil ex ample, &c. 8th Count.-Exactly similar, without overt acts. Punishment.]-The old punishment for conspiracy, when its object was the false accusation of a party of a capital crime, was what was called "the villanous judgment:" by which the offenders were made incompetent to appear as jurors or witnesses, forfeited all their goods and chattels, and the profits of their lands for life; and were sentenced to have" their lands wasted, their houses razed, and their bodies committed to prison." This piece of barbarity has long fallen into disuse, and the judgment has not been pronounced for several centuries. The punishment of conspiracy, at the present day, is fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court. Before the abolition of the pillory for this offence, by 56 G. III. c. 128 (y), that punishment was sometimes inflicted. It was formerly held that the conviction of a party rendered him incompetent as a witness (z); but 6 & 7 Vict. c. 85. is conclusive to the contrary. (y) Judgment of pillory abolished in all cases, 7 W. IV. & 1 Vict. c. 23. (z) Co. Lit. 56; 2 Hale 277; see also per Sir W. Scott, 2 Dods. R. 174; Crowther v. Hopwood, 3 Stark. C. N. P. 21. SECTION IX. CRUELTY TO CHILDREN, SERVANTS, OR PAUPERS. As to the law upon this subject, see ante, pp. 314, 320. It has been held that a married woman living with her husband is not indictable for not supplying her illegitimate child with sufficient food, unless she neglected doing so, after her husband had supplied her with food to give to it, or money to buy such food for its use, for in these cases she is in the nature of servant to him, and nothing turns on her character as mother (z). Indictment against a Mistress for not providing sufficient Food for a Servant, keeping her without proper Warmth, &c. (a). That one E. R. late of, &c., the wife of S. R., unlawfully and maliciously contriving and intending to hurt and injure one E. W., being a servant to her the said E. R., and an infant of tender years, to wit, of the age of - — years, under the dominion and controul of the said E. R., and unable to provide for herself, heretofore, to wit, on, &c., and on divers other days and times as well before as after that day, with force and arms, at, &c., unlawfully, wilfully, and maliciously did omit, neglect, and refuse to provide for and give and administer to the said E. W. sufficient meat and drink necessary for sustenance, support, and nourishment of the body of her the said E. W., and did then and there expose the said E. W. to the cold and inclemency of the weather (b), as well within as without the house wherein the said E. R. then dwelt, and kept the said E. W. without sufficient and proper warmth necessary for the health of her the said E. W., to wit, at, &c., [the said E. R. on the several days and times, and during all the times aforesaid, living separately and apart from the said S. R. her husband, to wit, at, &c.] (c), contrary to the duty of her the said (z) R. v. Saunders, 7 C. & P. 277, Alderson, B. (a) This is the indictment against Elizabeth Ridley, 2 Campb. 650, but with the additions suggested by Lawrence, J., as necessary to sustain it. See 3 Ch. Cr. L. 1st ed. 861, and R. v. Friend, Russ. & Ry. C. C. 20. Unless the child be of tender years, unable to provide for itself, and is under the control of the defendant, so as to be unable to take any steps by leaving the service, or remonstrating or complaining to a magistrate, mere nonfeasance respecting her would be a mere breach of contract, and not indictable, see R. v. Ridley, and R. v. Friend. (b) As to this part of the charge, see ante, p. 314, 320. (c) Where the offender is a married woman, living with her husband, it is necessary to state (and prove) instead of the matter above placed within brackets, either that the child was imprisoned by her, which is sufficient to show her duty to provide it with food (Reg. v. Elizabeth Edwards, 8 C. & P. 611, Patteson, J.), or to allege as follows:-"the said husband of the said - on the several days and times, and during all the times aforesaid, having provided the said with sufficient meat, drink, and victuals necessary for the maintenance, support, and nourishment of the body of the said —, and with sufficient firing, covering, bedding, and other necessaries proper and requisite for sustaining, supporting, maintaining, clothing, and resting the body of the said and covering the same from the E. R., as the mistress of the said E. W. in that behalf, by reason of all which premises she the said E. W. afterwards, to wit, on, &c. became and was, and for a long time, to wit, the space of six months, then next following, continued to be very weak, sick, and ill, and greatly consumed and emaciated in her body, to wit, at, &c. aforesaid, to the great damage of the said E. W., and against the peace, &c. Indictment for neglecting to provide an Apprentice of tender Years with sufficient Food, Clothing, Bedding, and other Necessaries. That one T. F. late of, &c., at, &c., did take and receive one S. Q. into the dwelling-house of the said T. F. as an apprentice of the said T. F. to be by him treated, maintained, and supported as an apprentice of him the said T. F., and did for a long time have and keep her in the said house as such apprentice as aforesaid, and that afterwards, to wit, on, &c., and on divers other days and times, as well before as after that day, and during the said time he so had and kept her in the said house as such apprentice, the said T. F. did with force and arms unlawfully and injuriously, and without the consent of the said S. Q. and against her will, and maliciously and unlawfully intending to hurt and injure the said S. Q., she the said S. Q. being such apprentice to the said T. F. as aforesaid, and then and there being an infant of tender years, to wit, of the age of - years, and under the dominion and controul of the said T. F. and unable to provide for herself, did neglect and refuse to find and provide for and to give and administer to her, being so had and kept as such apprentice as aforesaid, sufficient meat, drink, victuals, wearing apparel, bedding, and other necessaries proper and requisite for the sustenance, support, maintenance, clothing, covering, and resting the body of the said S. Q., by means whereof she became emaciated and nearly starved to death, and the constitution and frame of her body was greatly hurt and impaired, to the great damage, &c. and against the peace, &c. (d). cold and inclemency of the weather," S. C.; for her crime is the wilfully neglecting to deliver the food to the child after the husband had provided it (R. v. Saunders, 7 C. & P. 279, Alderson, B). A mother would be liable for the consequences of not suckling her unweaned infant if she is able to do so; though if she be married, her husband would be bound to provide food for an older child. See per Patteson, J., Reg. ▼. Edwards. (d) See R. v. Friend, cor. Le Blanc, J. Exeter Ass. 1801; R. & Ry. 20, cited by Lawrence, J., in 2 Campb. 651. There were two indictments for ill usage of two female apprentices of the respective ages of 12 and 14. The wife of Friend was indicted with him, and the offences were charged against both prisoners" and each of them;" the indentures of apprenticeship and assignment of them were given in evidence. Each The apprentice was to serve during the term, |