10. When the governor and council deem it necessary to protect the coast of the State from invasion, they may procure, equip, officer, and man such armed vessels as they think expedient, to cruise along the coast of the State, for the purpose of protecting the inhabitants thereof; and fix the relative rank and compensation of the officers, and the number and compensation of seamen employed.13

DISTURBANCE OF PUBLIC MEETINGS.

11. Whoever willfully and unlawfully disturbs or interrupts any assembly of persons lawfully assembled in any hall or other place of meeting, shall be punished by imprisonment not more than thirty days, or by fine not exceeding ten dollars, or both, in the discretion of the court.14

PREVENTION OF PRIZE FIGHTS.

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12. Any person who shall instigate, or in any way instrumental in getting up, or acts as umpire or judge, or is in any way connected with or participant in any prize fight or any premeditated fight between two persons, or any fight between game birds or game cocks, or dogs or bulls, or between dogs and rats or any other animals that shall have been premeditated by any person having custody of such animals, shall upon conviction thereof be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for a term not less than ten days nor exceeding six months, or by fine not exceeding two hundred dollars.15

13. If any person competent to be a witness in civil suits shall make complaint upon oath or affirmation before any judge of any municipal or police court or trial justice that an offense within any of the specifications of the foregoing section, is about to be committed, and setting forth in such complaint the grounds thereof, such magistrate may issue his warrant directed to any officer having power to serve criminal processes, reciting therein the name of the complainant and his residence, and the sub- . stance of his complaint, and therein directing such officer to prevent the violation of any of the provisions of section one of this act, by arresting any person or persons whom he may find willfully violating said provisions of section one, and in case of any such arrest the respondents shall be returned before the judge or trial justice issuing said warrant, for trial.16

13 R. S. c. 123, § 10.-14 Public Laws of 1873, c. 113.-15 Public Laws of 1873, c. 146, § 1.16 Public Laws of 1873, c. 146, § 2.

(e) FORMS OF COMPLAINT FOR OFFENSES AGAINST THE PUBLIC PEACE.

1. Affray. that J. S., &c., and J. W., &c., on, &c., with force and arms, at, &c., being unlawfully assembled together and arrayed in a warlike manner, then and there in a certain public street and highway there situate, unlawfully and to the great terror and disturbance of divers citizens of the said State then and there being, did make an affray by then and there fighting with each other in the public street and highway.

2. Riot and hauling away a wagon.

that R. S., late of, &c., together with two other persons, to the complainant aforesaid unknown, on, &c., at, &c., with force and arms, &c., riotously, routously, and unlawfully to disturb the peace of this State, did assemble themselves together, and so being assembled and met together, a certain wagon of the value of thirty dollars, of the goods and chattels of S. B., then and there being found, then and there with force and arms, &c., riotously, routously, and unlawfully did take and haul away, to the great damage of the said S. B., to the terror of the good citizens of this State, to the evil example, &c.

3. Riot, breaking the windows of a house.

that J. M. and P. C., with certain other wicked and ill-disposed persons, to the number of three and upwards, to the complainant aforesaid unknown, on &c., at, &c., with force and arms, &c., to-wit, with stones, sticks, staves, and clubs, as rioters, routers, and disturbers of the peace of the State, riotously, routously, tumultously, and unlawfully did assemble and gather themselves together, and so being assembled and gathered together, the day and year aforesaid, at the county aforesaid, the doors and windows of the mansion-house of J. L., in the same county standing and being, with clubs, sticks, staves, and stones, then and there riotously, routously, and unlawfully did break, pull down, spoil, and destroy, and the same mansion-house then and there riotously, routously, and unlawfully did enter, and the said J. L. did beat, wound, and ill-treat, and other harms then and there did to the said J. L., to the great damage of the said J. L., to the evil example, &c., to the great terror and disturbance of all the good citizens of the State.

day of -

4. Disturbance of public meeting. that on the in the year of our Lord a certain assembly of persons were lawfully assembled at, in said county, in the hall called the town hall, and were then and there holding a public meeting, to wit, a county convention; and A. B., of —, in said county, laborer, on the day and year aforesaid, with force and arms, at- aforesaid, while the said persons were so assembled as aforesaid, and were so holding said public meeting as aforesaid within the said hall, did come into the said town hall, and did then and there willfully and unlawfully disturb and interrupt said assembly of persons, by then and there [here set forth the particular acts of the respondent], against, &c.

Forms for other offenses may readily be framed by comparison with the foregoing.

CHAPTER XXXVI.

OFFENSES AGAINST CHASTITY, MORALITY, AND DECENCY.

ADULTERY, INCEST, POLYGAMY, GROSS LEWDNESS, AND FORNI

CATION.

1. Whoever commits adultery shall be punished by imprisonment not less than one, nor more than five years; and when only one of the parties is married, and when they have been legally divorced from the bonds of matrimony, and afterwards cohabit, each shall be deemed guilty of adultery.1

(a) In a criminal prosecution under this section, a marriage in fact, as distinguishable from one inferable from circumstances, must be proved.

(b) To prove that the ceremony was performed, and that cohabitation for a long period followed, without showing that the person by whom it was so performed was clothed with the requisite authority for that purpose, is not sufficient evidence of the marriage."

(c) Nor is a copy of the record of the marriage, without proof of identity.

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(d) But the marriage, whether solemnized within the State or elsewhere, may be proved by the voluntary and deliberate confession of the defendant.*

(e) When the defendant (Ham), about twenty years before the offense was committed, in contracting for the hire of a house, stated that he had but a small family, "a wife and one child," and afterwards moved into the house with a woman whom he called "Miss Ham;" with whom, as his wife, he lived several years and then deserted, it was holden not sufficient proof of marriage.1

(f) An indictment charging that the defendant, on the 25th day of March, 1851, committed the crime of adultery with E. W., the wife of S. H. W., she being a married woman and the lawful wife of said S. H. W., is bad for not alleging that she was a married woman when the alleged offense was committed.5

(g) But one charging that the defendant, on the first day of November, 1852, and on divers other days and times, &c., did commit the crime of adultery with L. H., the wife of one M. H.,

1 R. S. c. 124, § 1.-2 State v. Hodgskins, 19 Me. 155.- Wedgewood's Case, 8 Me. 57. Ham's Case, 11 Me. 391; State v. Libbey, 44 Me. 469.-State v. Thurston, 35 Me. 205.

he the said defendant being then and there a married man and having a lawful wife alive, —it is sufficiently alleged that the defendant was married to some other person than L. H. at the time of the alleged offense."

2. When persons within the degrees of consanguinity or affinity, in which marriages are declared incestuous and void, intermarry, or commit fornication or adultery with each other, they shall be punished by imprisonment not less than one, nor more than ten years."

3. Whoever commits the crime against nature, with mankind or with a beast, shall be punished by imprisonment not less than one, nor more than ten years.

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4. If any person, except one legally divorced on his or her own petition, or one whose husband or wife has been continually absent for seven years and not known to him or her to be living within that time, having a husband or wife living, marries another married or single person; or any unmarried person knowingly marries the husband or wife of another, when such husband or wife is thereby guilty of polygamy, he shall be deemed guilty of polygamy, and punished by imprisonment not more than five years, or by fine not exceeding five hundred dollars; and the indictment for such offense may be found and tried in the county where the offender resides, or where he is apprehended."

5. If any man and woman, one or both being at the time married to another person, lewdly and lasciviously cohabit; or, married or unmarried, are guilty of open, gross lewdness and lascivious behavior, they shall each be punished by imprisonment not more than five years, or by fine not exceeding three hundred dollars.10

(h) In the trial of an indictment founded on this section, the prisoner's confession of the fact of his marriage is sufficient proof of the fact.11

6. If an unmarried man commits fornication with an unmarried woman, they shall each be punished by imprisonment not more than sixty days, and by fine not exceeding one hundred dollars.12

State Hutchinson, 36 Me. 261.-7 R. S. c. 124, § 2. R. S. c. 124, § 3.R. S. c. 124, § 4.-10 R. S. c. 124, § 5.-11 Cayford's Case, 7 Me. 57.-12 R. S. c. 124, § 6.

CONCEALMENT OF BIRTHS AND PROCURING ABORTIONS.

7. If any woman is willingly delivered in secret of the issue of her body, which would be a bastard if born alive, and conceals the death thereof, so that it is not known whether it was born dead, or alive and was murdered, she shall be punished by imprisonment not more than three years, or by fine not exceeding one hundred dollars; and she may be charged with such offense, and also with murder of such child, in the same indictment, and convicted and punished for either, according to the verdict of the jury.13

(i) In the trial of an indictment founded on the first clause of § 7, the accused will be entitled to an acquittal, if it be made to appear that the child was born dead.14

8. Whoever administers to any woman pregnant with child, whether such child is quick or not, any medicine, drug, or other substance, or uses any instrument or other means, unless the same were done as necessary for the preservation of the mother's life, shall be punished, if done with intent to destroy such child, and thereby it was destroyed before birth, by imprisonment not more than five years, or by fine not exceeding one thousand dollars; if done with intent to procure the miscarriage of such woman, by imprisonment less than one year, and by fine not exceeding one thousand dollars.15

(j) The using of any means, with intent to destroy the child of which a female is pregnant, and the destroying of the child thereby before its birth, unless done to preserve the life of the mother, constitute a felony.1

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(k) The using of means, with intent to procure the miscarriage of a pregnant female, and the procuring of the miscarriage thereby, unless done to preserve the life of the mother, is a misdemeanor, 16

(1) Procuring an abortion is an offense, whether the child had quickened or not, and whether with or without the consent of the mother. 17

HOUSES OF ILL-FAME,

9. Whoever keeps a house of ill-fame, resorted to for the purpose of prostitution or lewdness, shall be punished

13 R. S. c. 124, § 7.-14 State v. Kirby, 57 Me. 30.-15 R. S. c. 124, § 8.-18 Smith v. State, 33 Me. 48.-17 Smith v. State, supra.