CHAPTER XLVI PERSONATION ARTICLE 404. PERSONATION TO OBTAIN PROPERTY. EVERY one commits felony, and is liable upon conviction thereof to penal servitude for life, who falsely and deceitfully personates (a.) 1any person, or the heir, executor, or administrator, wife, widow, next of kin, or relation of any person, with intent fraudulently to obtain any land, estate, chattel, money, valuable security, or property; (b.) 2 any owner of any share or interest of or in any stock, annuity, or other public fund transferable at the Bank of England or the Bank of Ireland; (c.) any owner of any share or interest of or in the capital stock of any body corporate, company, or society established by charter or by virtue of an Act of Parliament; (d.) any owner of any dividend or money payable in respect of any such share or interest as aforesaid; and who thereby (in the case of clauses (b.), (c.), and (d.)) transfers or endeavours to transfer any share or interest belonging to such owner, or thereby receives or endeavours to receive any money due to any such owner as if such offender were the true and lawful owner. 1 37 & 38 Vict. c. 36, s. 1. 2 24 & 25 Vict. c. 98, s. 3. Besides these general enactments there are various special Acts punishing personation in particular cases. See 7 Geo. 4, c. 16, s. 38 and 2 Will. 4, c. 53, s. 49 as to the personation of soldiers, and 28 & 29 Vict. c. 124, s. 8 as to the personation of sailors entitled to pay, &c. ; 26 & 27 Vict. c. 73, s. 14 as to the personation of persons entitled to India stock; 30 & 31 Vict. c. 131, s. 35 as to the personation of persons interested in joint stock companies; 33 & 34 Vict. c. 53, s. 4 as to the personation of stock-holders; 53 & 54 Vict. c. 45, s. 9, ante, Art. 155, as to frauds on the police fund by personation. ARTICLE 405. ACKNOWLEDGING RECOGNIZANCE, ETC., IN FALSE NAME. Every one commits felony, and is liable upon conviction thereof to seven years penal servitude, who without lawful authority or excuse (the proof of which is on the party accused) acknowledges any recognizance or bail, or any cognovit actionem, or judgment, or any deed or other instrument before any Court, judge, or other person lawfully authorized in that behalf. ARTICLE 406. PERSONATION IN FRAUD OF THE ADMIRALTY. 2 Every one commits a misdemeanor, and is liable on conviction thereof to five years penal servitude, who in order to receive any pay, wages, allotment, prize-money, bounty-money, grant, or other allowance in the nature thereof, half-pay pension, or allowance from the compassionate fund of the Navy, payable or supposed to be payable by the Admiralty, or any other money so payable or supposed to be payable, or any effects or money in charge or supposed to be in charge. of the Admiralty, falsely and deceitfully personates any person entitled or supposed to be entitled to receive the same. ARTICLE 407. PERSONATION AT ELECTIONS. 3 Every one commits felony, and is liable upon conviction thereof to two years imprisonment and hard labour, who commits the offence of personation or aiding, abetting, 1 24 & 25 Vict. c. 98, s. 34. 2 28 & 29 Vict. c. 124 s. 8. This offence is also punishable on sum mary conviction, see Oke's Magisterial Synopsis, p. 152. 3 46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, s. 6; 35 & 36 Vict. c. 33, s. 24; and Schedule 3 of 46 & 47 Vict. c. 51. It seems that hard labour must be inflicted, as the Act says imprisonment "together with " hard labour. counselling, or procuring that offence at any parliamentary or municipal election. A person is for all purposes of the laws relating to parliamentary and municipal elections deemed to be guilty of the offence of personation who, at an election for a county or borough, or at a municipal election, applies for a ballot paper in the name of some other person, whether that name be that of a person living or dead, or of a fictitious person, or who, having voted once at any such election, applies at the same election for a ballot paper in his own name. A A CHAPTER XLVII. 1 OFFENCES RELATING TO THE COIN 2 ARTICLE 408. INTERPRETATION OF TERMS. IN this chapter the following words and expressions are used in the following senses: 3" Current," applied to coin, means coin coined in any of Her Majesty's mints or lawfully current by virtue of any proclamation or otherwise in any part of Her Majesty's dominions, whether within the United Kingdom or without. "Copper," applied to coin, includes bronze or mixed metal and every other kind of coin inferior in value to silver. "Counterfeit coin" means coin not genuine, but resembling, or apparently intended to resemble, or pass for genuine coin; and includes genuine coin prepared or altered so as to resemble or pass for coin of a higher denomination. 4 A coin fraudulently filed at the edges so as to remove the milling, and on which a new milling has been added to restore the appearance of the coin, is a counterfeit coin. 3" Gild" and "silver," as applied to coin, include casing with gold or silver respectively, and washing and colouring by any means whatsoever with any wash or materials capable of producing the appearance of gold or silver respectively. "Utter" includes "tender" and "put off." Having in possession" includes knowingly and wilfully having (a.) in the possession or custody of any other person; or 13 Hist. Cr. Law, 177-180. 2 24 & 25 Vict. c. 99; and see 46 & 47 Vict. c. 45, s. 2 (Counterfeit Medals Act) in Article 415. 3 24 & 25 c. 99, s. 1. The interpretation clause is rather clumsy, but the text will be found to represent it correctly, though as to the word "possession " in an abridged shape. 4 R. v. Hermann, 1879, 4 Q. B. D. 284. (b.) in any place for the use or benefit of the possessor or any other person. ARTICLE 409. COINING AND POSSESSION OF INSTRUMENTS FOR COINING PENAL SERVITUDE FOR LIFE. Every one commits felony, and is liable upon conviction thereof to penal servitude for life, or (a.) 1 who makes any counterfeit gold or silver current coin ; (b.) 2 who gilds or silvers any counterfeit current coin; or (c.) 2 who gilds or silvers any piece of metal or mixture of metals whatever of a fit size and figure to be coined, with intent that it shall be coined into counterfeit current gold or silver coin; or (d.) 2 who gilds, files, or alters any current silver or copper coin with intent to make it resemble or pass for current gold or silver coin; or 3 (e.) who buys, sells, receives, pays, or puts off any counterfeit gold or silver current coin at a lower rate than it imports or was apparently intended to import, or offers to do any such thing, whether or not such coin was in a fit state to be uttered, and whether or not the counterfeiting thereof was finished; or (f.) 5 who imports or receives into the United Kingdom from beyond the seas any counterfeit current coin knowing it to be counterfeit; or (g.) who makes, mends, begins, or proceeds to make or mend, buys, sells, or has in his custody or possession, (i.) any puncheon, counter-puncheon, matrix, stamp, die, pattern, or mould, in or upon which is made or impressed or which is adapted and intended to make or impress the figure, stamp, or apparent resemblance of both or either of the sides of any current gold or silver coin, or of any coin of any foreign 1 24 & 25 Vict. c. 99, s. 2. 3 Ibid. s. 6. 5 Ibid. s. 7. 2 Ibid. s. 3. |