ARSON, a crime which has been described as the malicious and voluntary burning of the house of another (3 Co. Inst. 66). At common law and by statute it is an offence of the degree of felony. The common-law offence of arson (which has been greatly enlarged by statute) required some part of the house to be actu ally burnt; neither a bare intention nor even an actual attempt by putting fire in or towards it will constitute the offence, if no part was actually burnt, but the burning of any part, however trifling, is sufficient, and the offence is complete even if the fire is put out or goes out of itself. The burning must be malicious and wilful, otherwise it is only a trespass. If a man by wilfully setting fire to his own house burn the house of his neighbour also, it will be a felony, even though the primary intention of the party was to burn his own house only. The word house, in the definition of the offence at common law, extends not only to dwelling-houses, "but to all outhouses which are parcel thereof, though not adjoining thereto." Barns with corn and hay in them, though distant from a house, are within the definition.
The varieties of the offence are specified in the British Mali cious Damage Act 1861. The following crimes are thereby made felonies: (I) setting fire to any church, chapel, meeting-house or other place of divine worship; (2) setting fire to a dwelling house, any person being therein; (3) setting fire to a house, out house, manufactory, farm-building, etc., with intent to injure or defraud any person; (4) setting fire to buildings appertaining to any railway, port, dock or harbour; or (5) setting fire to any public building. In these cases the act provides that the person convicted shall be liable, at the discretion of the court, to be kept in penal servitude for life, or for any term not less than three years, or to be imprisoned for any time not exceeding two years, with or without hard labour, and, if a male under 16 years of age, with or without whipping. Setting fire to other buildings, and setting fire to goods in buildings under such circumstances that, if the building were thereby set fire to, the offence would amount to felony, are subject to the punishments last enu merated, with this exception that the period of penal servitude is limited to 14 years. The attempt to set fire to any building, or any matter or thing not enumerated above, is punishable as a felony. In R. v. Manning, 1872 (L.R. I C.C.R. 338), it was held that an unfinished house was a building within the meaning of the act. The setting fire to crops of hay, grass, corn, etc., is punishable by penal servitude for any period not exceeding 14 years, but setting fire to stacks of the same, or any cultivated vegetable produce, or to peat, coals, etc., is regarded as a more serious offence, and the penal servitude may be for life. For the attempt to commit the last two offences penal servitude is limited to seven years. Setting fire to mines of coal, anthracite or other mineral fuel is visited with the full measure of penalty, and in the case of an attempt the penal servitude is limited to 14 years. By the Dockyards, etc., Protection Act 1772 it is a felony pun ishable by death wilfully and maliciously to set fire to any of His Majesty's ships or vessels of war, or any of His Majesty's arsenals, magazines, dockyards, rope-yards, victualling offices or buildings therein, or any timber, material, stores or ammunition of war therein or in any part of His Majesty's dominions. If the person guilty is subject to naval discipline, he is triable by court-martial, and if found guilty, a sentence of capital punish ment may be passed. The Malicious Damage Act 1861, s. 43, also includes as a felony the setting fire to any ship or vessel, with intent to prejudice any owner or part owner of the vessel, or of any goods on the same, or any person who has underwritten any policy of insurance on the vessel, or any goods on board the same.
In Scotland the offence equivalent to arson in England is known by the more expressive name of fire-raising. (X.) United States.—In the United States arson is now a statutory crime in most jurisdictions. Some statutes have enlarged it to in clude the burning of all sorts of property, in some jurisdictions to include the burning of any building of any nature whatsoever. The usual definition when enlarged by statute includes the burning of a dwelling, house, barn, stable, store, outhouse, shop, office, warehouse, steamboat, vessel, canal boat, church, meeting-house, school-house, public building, water-craft or railroad car. These are the more serious offences, the lesser usually being the burning of any fences, woods, stacks of hay, grain or straw or growing crops. The penalty of the greater offences is regulated by the statutes, anywhere from one to 20 years' imprisonment, the lesser offences usually less than one year or fine or both. The statutes sometimes make "an attempt to commit the crime" equal to the crime of arson, which is another deviation from the common law. Some statutes make it arson for the owner to burn his own build ing or property for the purpose of defrauding another, e.g., to collect insurance. (J. P. EA.)