it is clear, that bringing over money counterfeited according to the similitude of foreign coin was treason within 1 & 2 Ph. & M. c. 11. (s)

The 37 Geo. 3, c. 126, recites, that the practice of bringing into Importing the realm, and uttering within the same, false and counterfeit foreign gold or silver gold and silver coin, and particularly pieces of gold coin commonly not current. foreign coin called louis d'or, and pieces of silver coin commonly called dollars, had of late greatly increased, and that it was expedient that provision should be made more effectually to prevent the same; and then enacts, that "if any person or persons shall bring into this realm any such false or counterfeit coin as aforesaid, (namely, the coin described in s. 2, as any kind of coin not the proper coin of this realm, nor permitted to be current within the same') resembling, or made with intent to resemble, or look like any gold or silver coin of any foreign prince, state, or country, or to pass as such foreign coin, knowing the same to be false or counterfeit, to the intent to utter the same within this realm, or within any dominions of the same; every such person shall be deemed guilty of felony, and may be transported for any term of years not exceeding seven." (t) From the words of the statute, an importation with intent to utter is clearly sufficient, without any actual uttering. The intent must be collected from circumstances; and though an actual uttering may be the best evidence of such intent, it is said to be safest that the indictment should follow the words of the statute. (u) It seems that this statute does not provide for the case of a person collecting the base money therein mentioned, from the vendors of it in this country, with intent to utter it within the realm, or the dominions of the realm. (x)

coin.

Considerable quantities of old silver coin of the realm, or coin Of importing purporting to be such, below the standard of the Mint in weight, light silver were formerly imported, to the public detriment at that time; in consequence of which the 14 Geo. 3, c. 42, prohibited the bringing into the kingdom any such coin, and provided that if any silver coin being or purporting to be the coin of this realm, exceeding in amount the sum of five pounds, should be found by any officer of his Majesty's customs on board any ship, &c., or in the custody of any person coming directly from the water-side; or upon the in

it is said that though the best trial and proof of an intent be by the act done; yet it may also be evinced by a variety of circumstances, of which the jury are to judge. At any rate such intent must be averred in the indictment.

(s) 1 Hawk. c. 17, s. 89. It is to be observed, that the new statute has neither the words "to merchandize or make payment," which were in the 25 E. 3, nor the words "to the intent, to utter or make payment with the same," which were in the 1 & 2 P. & M. The crime, therefore, seems now to consist in importing counterfeit coin knowing it to be counterfeit. C. S. G.

(t) Principals in the second degree, and accessories, are not mentioned in this statute; there may, however, be such principals and accessories, and as no express punishment is pointed out for them, they are punishable, the principals as principals in the first degree according to the general rule (4 Bl. Com. 39), the accessoVOL. L

ries under the 7 & 8 G. 4, c. 28, s. 8, ante,
p. 38, and s. 9, which enacts "that where
any person shall be convicted of any offence
punishable under this act, for which impri-
sonment may be awarded, it shall be lawful
for the Court to sentence the offender to be
imprisoned, or to be imprisoned and kept
to hard labour, in the common gaol or house
of correction, and also to direct that the
offender shall be kept in solitary confine-
ment for the whole or any portion or por-
tions of such imprisonment, or of such
imprisonment with hard labour, as to the
court in its discretion shall seem meet."
By the 1 Vict. c. 90, s. 5, it is enacted, that,
after the 1st of October 1837, "it shall not
be lawful for any court to direct that any
offender shall be kept in solitary confine-
ment for any longer periods than one month
at a time, or than three months in the space
of one year."

(u) 1 East, P. C. c. 4, s. 23, p. 176.
(x) 1 East, P. C. c. 4, s. 23, p. 177.

formation of one or more persons, in any house or other place on
search there made in the manner directed by a statute of 14 Car. 2,
the officer might seize the same; and if upon examination it should
appear to be of the standard weight, it should be restored; but if it
should be less in weight than the standard of the Mint, that is to
say, at and after the rate of sixty-two shillings to every pound troy,
it should be forfeited. This act was revived and made perpetual
by 39 Geo. 3, c. 75; but the recent act, 56 Geo. 3, c. 68, s. 2,
enacts, that so much of the 14 Geo. 3, c. 42, as enacts that
any silver
coin of the realm less in weight than after the rate of sixty-two |
shillings for every pound troy shall be forfeited, and of any act or
acts for reviving or continuing or making perpetual the provisions
of the said act, in this respect, shall from the passing of that act be
repealed.

Of sending counterfeit

coin, &c. out of the kingdom

for the purpose of its being imported into the British colonies in

America, or the West Indies.

SECT. IV.

Of Exporting Counterfeit Money.

THE statute 38 Geo. 3, c. 67, s. 1, enacts, that " All copper coin whatsoever, not being the legal copper coin of this kingdom, and all counterfeit gold or silver coin, made to the similitude or resemblance, or intended to resemble, any gold or silver coin either of this kingdom or of any other country, which shall under any pretence, name, or description whatsoever, be exported or shipped, or laden or put on board any ship, vessel, or boat, for the purpose of being exported from this kingdom to the island of Martinique in the West Indies, or any of his Majesty's islands or colonies in the West Indies, or America, shall be forfeited," &c. And the second section enacts, that "every person who shall so export, or ship, lay, or put on board any ship, vessel, or boat, in order to be so exported, or caused to be shipped, &c. or shall have in their custody, in order to be so exported, any such coin as aforesaid, shall forfeit 2007. and double the value of such coin, to be recovered by bill, suit, action, or information, in any court of record at Westminster."

CHAPTER THE SECOND.

OF FRAUDS RELATING TO BULLION, AND OF COUNTERFEITING

BULLION.

SECT. I.

Of Frauds relating to Bullion.

wares under

BULLION signifies properly either gold or silver in the mass: but is sometimes used to denote those metals in any state other than that of authenticated coin; comprising in this latter sense gold and silver wares and manufactures. Many statutes have been passed for the prevention of frauds with respect to such bullion by creating offences in making, working, putting to sale, exchanging, selling, or export- Making gold ing, any gold or silver manufactures of less fineness than the standards and silver respectively fixed at the time by the several acts. But it is not the true alloy." intended to make any particular mention of those statutes; (a) the punishments inflicted by them being in general certain penalties and forfeitures, or, in default of payment, commitment to the house of correction. It should be observed, however, that the statute 28 Ed. 1, st. 3, c. 20, is still in force, which prohibits any goldsmith from making any vessel or other thing of gold or silver, except it be of good and true alloy, namely, gold not worse than the touch of Paris, and silver of sterling alloy or better; and provides that all silver vessels shall be assayed by the wardens of goldsmiths' company, and marked with the leopard's head. The punishment of a goldsmith so offending against this act is imprisonment and ransom at the king's pleasure; and, as the statute is a prohibitory law, the proper remedy under it is by indictment. (b) Though the description of the offence in this statute is not so large as in the subsequent statutes, it has been held that it is not repealed by any of the subsequent statutes against the same offence, but that they only add accumulative penalties. (c) But the knowingly exposing to sale and selling wrought gold under the sterling alloy for gold of the true standard, though indictable in goldsmiths, is a private imposition only in a common person, and the party injured is left to his civil remedy. (d)

It is conceived also that offenders fraudulently affixing public and authentic marks on goods of a value inferior to such tokens are liable to suffer at common law upon an indictment for a cheat.

(a) See them collected in 1 East, P. C. e. 4, s. 32, p. 188 to 194.

(b) By Lord Mansfield in Rex v. Jackson, Cowp. 297.

(c) Rex v. Jackson, Cowp. 297; 1

East, P. C. c. 4, s. 34, p. 194.

(d) Rex v. Bower, Cowp. 323.

Fraudulently affixing marks indictable at common law.

Of frauds in of bullion.

Joseph Fabian, a working goldsmith, was indicted for falsifying plate, by putting in too much alloy, and then corrupting one of the assay master's servants to help him to the proper marks, with which he stamped his plate, and sold it to the goldsmiths; and being convicted, he was fined 100%. and adjudged to stand three times in the pillory; and was also forejudged of his trade that he should not use that trade again as a master workman. This judgment must have been at common law. (e)

The offences of counterfeiting the assay marks on bullion or plate, or transposing such marks from one piece of manufacture to another, will be mentioned in a subsequent part of the Work.

It was provided by the 15 Car. 2, c. 7, s. 12, that any person the exportation might export any foreign coin or bullion duty free, first making an entry thereof at the custom-house; but under colour of this regulation it was found that English money or wrought plate had been melted down into the form of foreign coin or bullion for the purpose of exportation. The 6 & 7 W. 3, c. 17, and the 7 & 8 W. 3, c. 19, s. 6, contain some enactments for the prevention of this evil. The 6 & 7 W. 3, c. 17, prohibits making ingots or bars of silver in imitation of Spanish bars or ingots (f) and enacts, that no person shall export molten silver, unless stamped at goldsmiths' hall, or without a certificate from one of the wardens of the goldsmiths' company that oath has been made of the same being lawful silver, and that no part thereof was (before it was molten) the current coin of the realm, nor clippings thereof, nor plate wrought within this kingdom. (g) The 7 & 8 W. 3, c. 19, s. 6, provides that no person shall ship, &c. any molten silver, or bullion, unless a certificate be first obtained from the court of the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of London, oath having been made before the court by the owners and two witnesses that the same was and is foreign bullion, and that no part thereof was the coin of the realm, or the clippings thereof, nor plate wrought within this kingdom, &c.; and that such oath shall be circumstantially certified by the said court to the commissioners of the customs, before any cocket shall be granted for shipping the same. The regulations of these statutes are enforced in most instances by pecuniary penalties and forfeitures. Some alteration, however, has been made in them by a recent statute, 43 Geo. 3, c. 49, which reciting that the East India company and others may be possessed of large quantities of foreign molten silver or bullion, brought from parts beyond the seas, and not be able to prove that no part of it was coin of the realm or clippings, nor plate wrought within Great Britain, so as to obtain the necessary certificates for the exportation of it, enacts, that the Treasury may grant licenses for the exportation of molten silver or bullion, and that persons so licensed may export bullion without the usual certificate. The 59 G. 3, c. 49, s. 12, repeals the 6 & 7 W. 3, c. 17, and 7 and 8 W. 3, c. 19, partially, and by s. 13 provides that certain oaths shall be made before the wardens of the company of goldsmiths before the exportation of any molten silver or bullion; but these provisions seem to be repealed by the 1 & 2 Geo. 4, c. 26, s. 4.

(e) Fabian's_case, Old Bailey, Dec. Sess. 1664. 1 East, P. C. c. 4, s. 34, p. 194. Kel. 39.

(ƒ) Sec. 3.

(g) Sec. 5. Other provisions as to the seizure of molten silver or bullion are contained in ss. 6, 13, and 14.

CHAPTER THE THIRD.

OF THE MAKING, MENDING, OR HAVING IN POSSESSION ANY

INSTRUMENTS FOR COINING.

THE 2 W. 4, c. 34, s. 10, enacts," that if any person shall knowingly Making, mendand without lawful authority (the proof of which authority shall lie ing, or having on the party accused,) make or mend, or begin or proceed to make possession of, any coining or mend, or buy or sell, or shall, knowingly and without lawful tools, felony. excuse (the proof of which excuse shall lie on the party accused), have in his custody or possession (h) any puncheon, counter-puncheon, matrix, stamp, die, pattern, or mould in or upon which there shall be made or impressed, or which will make or impress, or which shall be intended to make or impress, the figure, stamp, or apparent resemblance of both or either of the sides of any of the King's current gold or silver coin, (i) or any part or parts of both or either of such sides; or if any person shall, without lawful authority (the proof whereof shall lie on the party accused), make or mend, or begin or proceed to make or mend, or buy or sell, or shall, without lawful excuse (the proof whereof shall lie on the party accused), have in his custody or possession (h) any edger, edging tool, collar, instrument, or engine adapted and intended for the marking of coin round the edges with letters, grainings, or other marks or figures apparently resembling those on the edges of any of the king's current gold or silver coin, (i) such person knowing the same to be so adapted and intended as aforesaid; or if any person shall, without lawful authority, to be proved as aforesaid, make or mend, or begin or proceed to make or mend, or buy or sell, or shall, without lawful excuse, to be proved as aforesaid, have in his custody or possession (h) any press for coinage, or any cutting engine for cutting by force of a screw or of any other contrivance round blanks out of gold, silver, or other metal, such person knowing such press to be a press for coinage, or knowing such engine to have been used, or to be intended to be used for or in order to the counterfeiting of any of the King's current gold or silver coin; (i) every such offender shall, in England and Ireland, be guilty of felony, and in Scotland of a high crime and offence, and, being convicted thereof, shall be liable, at the discretion of the court, to be transported beyond the seas for life, or for any term not less than seven years, or to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding four years." (j)

By sec. 11, "if any person shall, without lawful authority, the proof whereof shall lie upon the party accused, knowingly convey out of any of his Majesty's mints any puncheon, counter-puncheon,

(h) See s. 21, post, 70.
(i) See s. 21, ante, p. 56.

(j) See s. 19, ante, p. 61, as to hard labour.

Conveying

tools or monies out of the mint

without authority, felony,