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CHAPTER THE TWENTY-SECOND.

OF LARCENY AND EMBEZZLEMENT OF NAVAL AND MILITARY

STORES.

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Geo. 4. c.53. Persons stealing or embezzling ammunition or

A LATE statute 4 Geo. 4. c. 53: enacts, "That every person "who shall be lawfully convicted of stealing or embezzling his majesty's ammunition, sails, cordage, or naval or military stores, "or of procuring, counselling, aiding or abetting any such offender "shall be liable, at the discretion of the court, to be transported military beyond the seas for life, or for any term not less than seven stores, may be years, or to be imprisoned only, or to be imprisoned and kept transported "to hard labour in the common gaol or house of correction for for life, or any term not exceeding seven years."

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Some provisions respecting the embezzlement of naval stores, when under the value of twenty shillings, are made by the 1 Geo. 1. stat. 2. c. 25. The third section enacts, "That the principal "officers and commissioners of the navy therein mentioned, or any of "them, may enquire and by warrant under hand and seal empower any person to search for stores and ammunition pertaining to the "navy, which may have been privately embezzled or filched away, "in like manner as justices of peace may do in case of felony, and "may punish the offender by fine, imprisonment, or either of them, (the fine not exceeding twenty shillings, and the imprisonment not exceeding one week) (a) the value of the goods "so embezzled or filched away, not exceeding the sum of twenty "shillings, and may cause the goods to be brought in again; and, "if the offence be of such a nature as requires a higher and severer punishment, may commit the offender to gaol or to the "custody of their messenger till he enters into recognizance, with surety, according to the nature of the offence, to appear and answer in the court of exchequer or other court where his majesty shall question him for the same, within one year following, "on process being duly served upon him for that purpose.'

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The fourth section of this statute recites," that divers ill-dis- S. 4 recites "posed persons upon pretence of carrying his majesty's naval the necessity goods, provisions, victuals, stores and ammunition, from his ma- of justice being more "jesty's yards, wharfs, storehouses or other places, to his ma"jesty's ship or ships, or to such ship or ships as are employed in in many cases

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"his majesty's service, or such persons as are employed to recarry or remove from the said ship or ships such naval stores, "goods, provisions, victuals, stores, and ammunition, to such, his majesty's yards, wharfs, storehouses or other places, do fre"quently imbezil, take and carry them away, where they cannot "be found, and remove themselves to places unknown, before they "can be apprehended or convicted by due process of law, by rea66 son that those witnesses that should prove the said facts are "bound forth to sea, or otherwise employed elsewhere, and it is "found necessary that justice be more speedily done in such "cases than by ordinary course of law it can be:" and then it The treasurer, enacts, "that the treasurer, comptroller, surveyor, clerk of the "acts, and commissioners of the navy for the time being, or any 66 one or more of them, where the goods so imbezilled, taken or the goods em- "carried away, shall be under the value of twenty shillings, shall "have full power and authority, upon the oath of one or more "witnesses (which they or any of them have hereby power to ad"minister) or confession of such party so offending, as aforesaid, or other legal proof thereof, to convict the party or parties so "offending, by writing under his or any of their hands and seals, pose fines, &c. and to impose such fine or fines upon all and every such person. "or persons so offending and convicted, as aforesaid, as to the "said treasurer, comptroller, surveyor, clerk of the acts, and the "commissioners of the navy, for the time being, or any one or "more of them, shall in his or their discretion seem meet; the "said fine or fines not exceeding double the value of the naval "goods, provisions, victuals, stores, or ammunition so imbezilled or carried away; which fine or fines shall be levied by distress "and sale of the goods of such offender, by virtue of the warrant "of such officer or officers who shall so convict the said offender, "directed in manner aforesaid, to the person or persons aforesaid, "returning the overplus, if any be, to the owner of such goods; 66 or in case no sufficient distress can be found as aforesaid, the party or parties so offending shall, by virtue of the warrant of "such officer before whom such person or persons shall be con"victed, be imprisoned in the next gaol for any space of time not "exceeding three months without bail or mainprize.

in a summary way, and im

9 Geo. 3. c. 30. s. 5. As to the apprehension of persons stealing or embezzling naval stores.

55 Geo. 3. c. 108. s. 127.

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The statute 9 Geo. 3. c. 30, s. 5. relates to the apprehension of persons stealing or embezzling naval stores. It enacts "that for the more speedy and effectual bringing to justice persons guilty "of stealing or embezzling his majesty's naval stores, the treasurer, comptroller, surveyor, clerk of the acts, or any commis"sioners of the navy for the time being, may, from time to time "in all places whatsoever, exercise the office of a justice of the peace to all intents and purposes, in causing any person who "shall be charged with stealing or embezzling of any naval stores, "the property of his majesty, to be apprehended, committed, and "prosecuted for the same; and it requires all constables and "other officers to execute and obey all warrants of such persons, "touching any of the matters and things thereinbefore con"tained."

Provision is made for the punishment of persons embezzling military stores, by the proceedings of a court-martial. The sta

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tute 55 Geo. 3. c. 108. s. 127. (b) enacts," that every paymaster Persons em"or other commissioned officer of his majesty's forces, or any care of miliployed in the "storekeeper, or commissary, or deputy or assistant commissary, tary stores, "or other person employed in the commissariat department, or in embezzling, any manner in the care or distribution of any money, provisions, tried by a "forage or stores belonging to his majesty's forces, or for their court-martial "use, who shall embezzle or fraudulently misapply, or cause to be and be trans"embezzled or fraudulently misapplied, or shall knowingly or "wilfully permit or suffer any money, provisions, forage, arms, "clothing, ammunition or other military stores, to be embezzled "or fraudulently misapplied, or to be spoiled or damaged, may be "tried for the same by and before a general court-martial; and it "shall be lawful for such court-martial to adjudge any such pay"master or other commissioned officer, storekeeper or commissary, or deputy or assistant commissary, or other person, to be "transported as a felon for life, or for any certain term of years, "or to suffer such punishment of pillory, fine, imprisonment, dis"missal from his majesty's service, and incapacity of serving his "majesty in any office civil or military, as any such court shall "think fit, according to the nature and degree of the offence, and every such officer or person shall, in addition to any other pu"nishment, make good, at his own expense, the loss and damage "sustained which shall have been ascertained by such court-mar"tial; and the loss and damage so ascertained as aforesaid may "be recovered in any of his majesty's courts of record at West❝minster or in any other courts of law having jurisdiction, where

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any person adjudged by a court-martial to have incurred any "such penalties, or to make good any such losses or damages "shall be resident after the said judgment shall be confirmed and "made known; and after the said sum shall be recovered and "levied, the same shall be applied and disposed of as his majesty "shall direct and appoint.'

The offences of knowingly receiving, or concealing naval or military stores which have been stolen, or of unlawfully having possession of naval or military stores, will be mentioned in a subsequent chapter.

(b) The mutiny act of 1815. A similar enactment is contained in the subsequent mutiny acts.

CHAPTER THE TWENTY-THIRD.

OF LARCENY OF CLOTH AND OTHER ARTICLES IN A PROCESS OF
MANUFACTURE.

7 & 8 Geo. 4. c. 29.

Stealing certain goods in process of manufacture, punishable by transportation for life, or lesser punishment, at the discretion of the court.

Principals in

gree, and accessories.

PARTICULAR provisions have been enacted by several statutes for punishing the embezzlement of articles in a course of manufacture, which as they relate to petty offenders, (principally workmen employed in particular manufactories) and subject them to the summary jurisdiction of justices of the peace, do not come within the scope of this treatise. (a)

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The statute 7 & 8 Geo. 4. c. 29. s. 16. enacts "that if any per66 son shall steal to the value of ten shillings any goods or article "of silk, woollen, linen or cotton, or of any one or more of these "materials mixed with each other, or mixed with any other ma"terial, whilst laid, placed, or exposed during any stage, process, or progress of manufacture, in any building, field, or other place, every such offender being convicted thereof shall be liable to any of the punishments which the court may award as herein"before last mentioned." The reference is to s. 14. by which the offender is 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, 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.

By s. 61. principals in the second degree and accessories before the second de- the fact are punishable in the same manner as principals in the first degree; and accessories after the fact, (except receivers of stolen property) are liable to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding two years.

Cases upon the repealed act 18Geo. 2. c. 27.

Some questions may possibly arise upon the words "laid, placed, 66 or exposed during any stage, process or progress of manu"facture in any building, field, or other place." In a case in which the prisoner was indicted upon a statute 18 Geo. 2. c. 27. now repealed, for stealing yarn out of a bleaching ground, the evidence was that the yarn had been spread upon the ground, but was afterwards taken up and thrown into heaps in order to be carried into the house, in which state some of it was stolen by the

(a) The greater part of them will be found collected and well arranged in 5 Burn. Just. tit. Servants.

prisoner; Thomson, B., held that the case did not come within the statute, as there was no occasion to leave the yarn upon the ground in the state in which it was taken by the prisoner. (b) So in another case upon that statute where the indictment was for stealing calico placed to be printed and dried in a certain building, it was held, that in order to support the capital charge, it was necessary to prove that the building from which the calico was stolen was made use of either for drying or printing calico. (c) But it should be observed, that this repealed statute mentioned particularly a building, &c. made use of by any calico printer, &c. for printing, whitening, bowking, bleaching, or drying.

(b) Hugill's case, cor. Thomson, B., at York, 4 Black. Com. 240. note (8) ed. 1800.

(c) Rex v. Dixon and others, Russ. & Ry. 53.

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