BLACKMAIL, in English law, a term used with three special meanings at different times. (I) The primary meaning of "black mail" was rent paid in labour, grain or baser metal, i.e., money other than sterling money, called reditus nigri in contradistinc tion to rent paid in silver or white money (mailles blanches). (2) In Scotland and the northern counties of England it signified a tribute in money, corn, cattle or other consideration exacted from farmers and small owners by freebooters in return for immunity. By a statute of 1601 it was made a felony without benefit of clergy to receive or pay such tribute, but the practice lingered until the union of England and Scotland in 1707. (3) The word now signifies extortion or attempted extortion of money or prop erty by threats, and the criminal offence is now dealt with by ss. 29, 3o and 31 of the Larceny Act, 5916. Under S. 29 every per son who utters, knowing the contents thereof, any letter or writing demanding of any person with menaces, and without any reasonable or probable cause, any property or valuable thing, or accusing or threatening to accuse any other person of any serious or infamous crime with intent to extort or gain any prop erty or valuable thing, or accuses or threatens to accuse with like intent another person of a like crime is guilty of a felony and liable to penal servitude for life. It has been held by the Court of Criminal Appeal in Rex v. Dymond, 26 Cox C.C. 621, that it is no defence to a charge of this description that the person hon estly believes that he has reasonable or probable cause for demand ing the money, but that the offence is constituted if it is proved that the accused uttered the writing, demanded property or a val uable thing with menaces, knew the contents of the writing, and had no reasonable or probable cause for making the demand. Again, it was held in Rex v. Denyer, 28 Cox C.C. 153, that where a letter was uttered demanding money with threats it was imma terial that the motive in writing the letter was the protection of trade interests. By the same section a similar penalty may be in flicted where a person, with intent to defraud or injure, by un lawful violence or by accusing or threatening to accuse a per son of a like crime, compels or induces the execution, alteration or destruction of valuable securities. Section 3o deals with de manding with menaces with intent to steal, where the maximum period of penal servitude is five years, and s. 31 with threatening to publish or proposing to abstain from publishing libellous or other matter with intent to extort. This last is declared to be only a misdemeanour and the maximum imprisonment is for a term not exceeding two years. (W. DE B. H.) In America.—In American law blackmail, or extortion, which is frequently treated as a synonymous term, is, obtaining or en deavouring to obtain money or property or to procure any wrong ful act by threats or intimidation. The threat may be to accuse of a crime, do an injury, publish a libel or to bring disgrace and shame upon the person threatened. It may be a threat to injure a third party as well as to injure the person from whom the money is demanded. In some jurisdictions a distinction is made between intimidation under colour of official right and other threats or intimidation. The term extortion is confined to the former and blackmail to the latter. In other jurisdictions, blackmail by written threat is made a more serious offence than by oral threats, the latter being classed as a misdemeanor, the former as a felony. It is not blackmail to demand in good faith indemnity for a wrong actually suffered even though legal proceedings to enforce the demand might in fact bring shame and disgrace upon the person addressed. (B. RE.)