HOMICIDE, manslaughter, against the life of another, is either with or without ma lice; that which is without malice is call ed manslaughter, or sometimes chance medley, or chaud-medly, by which is un detntood such killing as happens either on a sulden quarrel; or in the commission of an unlawful act, without any deliberate intention of doing any mischief at all. Hence it follows, that there can be no ac cessaries to this offence before the fact, because it must be done without preme ditation; but there may be accessaries af ter the fact. The only difference between murder and manslaughter is, that murder is upon malice aforethought, and man slaughter upon a sudden occasion, as if two meet together, and striving for the wall, the one kills the other, this is man slaughter and felony. And if they had, on that sudden occasion, gone into the field and fought, and the one had killed the other, this had been but manslaugh ter, and no murder ; because all that fol lowed was but a continuance of the first sudden occasion, and the blood was never cooled till the blow was given.
Chance, or chaud-medley. Authors of the first authority disagree about the ap plication of this word. By some it is ap plied to homicide by misadventure, by others to manslaughter. The original meaning of the word seems to favour the former opinion, as it signifies a sudden or casual meddling or contention ; but ho micide by misadventure supposes no pre vious meddling or falling out.
Murder is the highest crime against the law of nature that a man is capable of committing. It is when a man of sound memory, and at the age of discretion, un lawfully kills another person under the king's peace with- malice aforethought, either expressed by the party,or implied by the law, so as the party wounded or hurt die of the wound or hurt within a year and a day, the whole day on which the hurt was done being reckoned the first.
By malice express, is meant a deliber ate intention of doing any bodily harm to another, to do which, by law, a person is not authorized. And the evidences of such malice must arise from external circum stances discovering that inward intention ; as lying in wait, menacings antecedent, former grudges deliberate compassings, and the like, which are various, according to the variety of circumstances. Malice
implied, is where a person voluntarily kills another without any provocation. For in this case the law presumes the act to be malicious.
If a man kill another, it should be in tended, prima facie, that he did it mali ciously, unless he can make the contrary appear, by shewing that he did it on a sudden provocation, or the like. And when the law makes use of the term man lice aforethought, as descriptive of the crime of murder, it must not be under stood in that narrow restrained sense, to which the modern use of the word malice is apt to lead one, a principle of malevii 'epee to particulars ; for the law, by the term malice, in this instance, means, that the fact has been attended with such cir cumstances, as are the ordinary symptoms of a wicked heart, regardless of social duty, and fatally bent upon mischief.
The law so far abhors all duelling in cold blood, that not only the principal who actually kills the other, but also his seconds are guilty of murder, whether they fought or not ; it is holden that the seconds of the person killed are also equally guilty, in respect to the counte nance which they give to their principals in the execution of their purpose, by ac companying them therein, and being rea. dy to bear a part with them. Also it seems agreed, that no breach of a man's word or promise, no trespass either to land or goods, no affront by bare words.or ges • tures, however false or malicious it may be, and aggravated with the most provok will excuse him from being guilty of murder, who .is so far transported thereby, as immediately to attack the person who offend, in. such a manner as manifestly endangers his life, without giving him time to put himself upon his guard, if he kill him in pursu ance of such assault, u hether the person slain did at all fight in his defence or not.