LARCENY (ante) is the wrongful taking and carrying away by one person of the personal property of another, with a felonious intent to convert such property to his own use against the consent of the owner. By the common law larceny was either com pound. i.e., the taking and carrying away with felonious intent of personal property from the person or house of the owner; or, otherwise, simple. Simple larceny was called grand larceny where the value of the stolen property was more than twelve pence; and petit where the value was less. What may be the sulf/ect of larceny ? Only personal property can be the subject of larceny. injuries to the realty a remedy must be sought in trespass. Thus, if one enter upon another's premises and sever and carry away growing crops from the soil or fruit from the trees, he is not guilty of larceny, but is chargeable in trespass for goods carried away; but if an interval elapse after the sever ing and acts of trespass, and he come upon the premises and carry away the property, now detached from the realty, be is guilty of larceny if other necessary elements of the offense, as intent, etc., concur. By the common law undomesticated animals (fens naturce) were not the subject of larceny; nor even when domesticated unless their flesh be used for food, so that there was no such right of property in a dog, for instance, as that larceny of him could be committed. The property taken must have some value, however small; but the common law refused to recognize any value or to make assign able evidences of debt or mere rights to the recovery of debt. so that there could be no larceny of account-books, or notes, or mere personal securities of any kind. But it is otherwise by statute law, which has also removed in most of the United States the dis tinction between different degrees of larceny, wherever such distinction has obtained. What constitutes larceny? The property must be actually taken and carried away; must be in the absolute possession of the thief; the taking and carrying must be against the consent of the owner, and must be accompanied by a simultaneous felonious intent at the time the property is taken. Every larceny includes a trespass, i.e., an unlawful act, with force real or implied, to another's property, so that the intent necessary to consti tute that offense really comprehends two separate intents, viz., an intent to commit trespass upon personal property of another, and an intent to deprive him of his property.
As trespass is a necessary part of larceny, and possession on the part of the owner is necessary in order to maintain an action of trespass. there can be no trespass against, and consequently no larceny from, an owner not in possession of the property taken. Thus, a common-carrier does not commit larceny if he steal a bundle which has been intrusted to him, for he and not the owner has the leml possession of the property as a result of his contract with the owner. The carrier having possession of, and a special property in, the goods. cannot commit trespass. But if he tear the bundle open and steal goods contained in it he coinmits larceny; for by breaking open the bundle he terminates his con tract with the owner and loses his right to the possession of the goods, the taking and con version of which added to his act of trespass, make him guilty of larceny. According to this rule, if a carrier takes the whole bundle he does not commit larceny; it is otherwise, if he break the bundle open and carry off a part of its contents. A servant who is intrusted by his master with the care of goods has no legal possession, and is chargeable with lar ceny of such goods. A special property with possession, such as that of a bailee makes an ownership sufficient to charge with larceny any person taking and carrying away the personal property over which such ownership extends. Thus, the finder of lost goods is answerable only to their rightful owner, and has a full title as against others; and one stealing stolen goods from a thief is chargeable with larceny. But a tinder of stolen goods who subsequently converts them to his own use is not chargeable unless at the time of taking he had an intent to permanently deprive the owner of his property. The taking necessary to constitute larceny must be against the owner's consent, and if such consent be had, though fraudulently gained, there will be no larceny, but an obtaining of goods by false pretenses. But it has been held that there is a distinction between the cases of an owner who by fraudulent representations is induced to transfer his goods, and who intends and expects to be divested of his rights of property in them, and the ease of an owner who parts for a time, as he supposes, with his property; while at the same time the person who gets possession of the goods intends to convert them to his •awn use and to deprive the owner permanently of them. It is held that the latter case may be larceny.