According to the law of England, all persons above the age of seven years, ex cept such as by reason of unripeness, weakness, unsoundness, disease, or delu sion of mind, are incapable of discern ing, at the time they do an act, that the act is contrary either to the law of God or the law of the land, are criminally responsible for such act ; but temporary incapacity wilfully incurred by intoxi cation or other means is no excuse. An infant of the age of seven and under fourteen years, however, is to be pre sumed to be incapable of committing a crime until the contrary be proved. Duress, also, inducing a well-grounded fear of death or grievous bodily harm, will excuse a person acting under such duress in all cases except treason and murder ; and a married woman commit ting any offence, except those last-men tioned, if her husband be present at the time, shall be presumed to have acted under his coercion, and be entitled to an acquittal, unless it appear that she did not so act. A married woman also shall not be liable to conviction for receiving her husband or any other person in his presence and by his authority.
The following provisions are of general application. By the stet. 7 Will. IV. & 1 Viet c. 90, s. 5, it is enacted that no court shall direct any offender to be kept in solitary confinement for any longer period than one month at a time or than three months in the space of one year. Whenever, therefore, in the following statement solitary confinement is men tioned as part of the punishment for any offence, the periods during which it may be inflicted are to be understood as re gulated by the above provision.
By the statute 7 Will. IV. & 1 Viet.
c. 85, s. 11, power is given to the jury on the trial of any person for any felony whatever, where the crime charged shall include an assault against the person, to acquit of the felony, and to find a verdict of guilty of assault against the person in dicted, if the evidence shall warrant such finding ; and thereupon the court may imprison the person so found guilty of an assault for any term not exceeding three years, with or without hard labour or so litary confinement, or with both.
By the stet. 1 Geo. IV. c. 57, s. 3, it is provided that where the punishment of whipping on female offenders formed, be fore the passing of that act, the whole or part of the sentence to be pronounced, the court may pass sentence of confinement to hard labour for any time not exceeding six months nor less than one month, or of solitary confinement, in lieu of the sentence of being whipped. In all cases, therefore, where whipping is mentioned to be part of the punishment, without its being restricted to males, the above pro vision operates.
By the 3 & 4 Vict. c. 111, made per petual by 5 & 6 Vict. c. 85, members of joint-stock or other banking companies, consisting of more than six persons, com mitting offences against or with intent to injure or defraud such co-partnerships, are made liable to the same punishments as if they had not been or were not members of such co-partnerships.
In the following statement the general description only is given of any particular offence. It is to be observed, however, that where a crime is defined by statute, the enactment in most cases comprises, in fact, many other offences distinct from the general one, though in nature connected with it. For the details of such enact ments, reference must be made to the statutes cited at the end of each offence.
With respect to these statutes, those which define the crime, as well as those which declare the punishment, are re ferred to wherever the statutes are dis tint, and these are arranged as regards any particular crime in the order of date ; and generally, but not universally, where statutes of both descriptions are referred to, those by which the crime is defined stand the first in order. The following statement contains no offence contained in any merely temporary act, or in any local or private act, of a date to the period since which such acts have been printed separately from the public general acts.
I. TauesoNs.—(Capita/.) The following treasons are punishable with death,* viz.: 1. Compassing the death of the king (which term includes a queen regnant) or of his queen, or their• eldest son and heir ; violating the king's companion, (1. e. his wife) during the coverture, or the king's eldest daughter unmarried, or the wife of the king's eldest son and heir ; levying war against the king in his realm, or being adherent to the king's enemies in his realm, giving them aid and com fort in the realm or elsewhere, and being thereof attainted of open deed ; or slaying the chancellor, treasurer, or the king's justices of the one bench or the other ; justices in eyre or justices of assize, or any other justices assigned to hear and determine, being in their places doing their offices.t (25 Edw. Ill. st. 5, c. 2.) 2. Endeavouring to prevent the person next in succession to the crown, according to the Acts of Settlement, from succeeding thereto. (1 Anne, st. 2, c. 17, s. 3.) 3. Affirming, by writing or printing, that any other person has a right to the crown otherwise than according to the Acts of Settlement and the Acts for the Union of England and Scotland ; or that the crown, with the authority of parlia ment, is unable to limit the descent of the crown. (6 Anne, c. 7, s. 1.) 4. Compassing or intending the death or destruction, or any bodily harm tending to death or destruction, maim or wound ing, imprisonment or restraint of the person of the king ; or to deprive or de pose him from the crown ; or to levy war against him, within the realm, in order to compel him to change his measures or counsels, or in order to overawe the parlia ment; or to move any foreigner to in vade any of the British dominions ; such compassing or intention being expressed by publishing some printing or writing, or by some overt act or deed. (36 Geo. III. c. 7, s.1, made perpetual by 57 Geo. III. c. 6.) 5. Being married to, or being con cerned in procuring the marriage of any issue of her present majesty whilst such issue are under eighteen (in case the crown shall have descended to any such before that age), without the consent in writing of the regent and the assent of both Houses of Parliament. (3 & 4 Vict.
c. 52, s. 4.) 6. Knowing any person to have com mitted any of the before-mentioned capi tal treasons, receiving, relieving, comfort ing, or assisting him, or aiding his escape from custody.
7. Bringing into the realm papal bulls or other writings or instruments from the See of Rome; or publishing or putting in use any such bulls, writings, or instru ments.* (13 Eliz. c. 2, ss. 2 and 3.) Besides the last-mentioned offence, there also existed till quite recently several other capital treasons relating to the See of Rome; but these were repealed by the 7 & 8 Vict. c. 102.