MINAL.] By 7 Wm. IV. & 1 Vict. c. 89, § 5, it is made felony punishable by death to exhibit false lights or signals with intent to bring any ship or vessel into danger, or to do anything tending to the imme diate loss or destruction of ships or vessels in distress. [Lew, CRIMINAL, p. 189.] And by the 4th section it is made felony punishable by death to set fire to, cast away, or destroy any ship or vessel, either with intent to murder any person or whereby the life of any person shall be endangered.
The legislature has in certain cases given relief to persons whose property has been subject to petty but wilful ag gressions, by summary conviction (7 & 8 Geo. IV. c. 30, § 24) before a justice of the peace, on which the offender must forfeit and pay such sum of money as shall appear to him a reasonable compen sation for the damage, injury, or spoil committed, not exceeding 51., to be paid, in the case of private property, to the party aggrieved, except where such party is examined in proof of the offence ; and in such cases, or in the case of property of a public nature, or wherein any public right is concerned, the money is to be applied towards the county-rate or bo rough-rate ; and if such sums of money together with costs (if ordered) are not paid either immediately or within such period as the justice may appoint, the justice may commit the offender to the common gaol or house of correction, to be kept to hard labour for any term not exceeding two calendar months, unless such sum and costa be sooner paid. This enactment does not extend to any case where the party trespassing acted under a fair and reasonable supposition that he had a right to do the act complained of, or to any trespass, not being wilful and malicious, committed in hunting, fishing, or in the pursuit of game.
By the 28th section any person found committing any offence against this act, whether punishable upon indictment or upon summary conviction, may be im mediately apprehended without a war rant, by any peace-officer, or the °wort of the property injured, or his servant, or any person authorized by him, and forth with taken before some neighbouring justice of the peace.
These summary proceedings before ma gistrates must be commenced within three calendar months from the commission of the offence. The capital felony of de stroying ships of war is mentioned in LAW, CRIMINAL, p. 189.
All the other malicious injuries to pro perty except those here enumerated are non-capital felonies; and the punishments for these several offences, and the statutes relating to them, are mentioned in Lew, CRIMINAL, under Felonies, Non-capital,' and Misdemeanours,' p. 190, 194, 196, 198, 201, 202, 203, 206, 215.
The provisions of the law of France with respect to malicious injuries to pro perty are to be found in the 3rd section of liv. iii. of the Code Penal, entitled ` Destructions, Degradations, Dommages.' Capital punishment is inflicted only against those who set fire to buildings, ships, warehouses, wood-yards (chantiers), forests, underwoods, or crops growing or cut down, or to any combustible matter placed so as to communicate fire thereto. Minor offences In forests are provided for by titre 12 of the Code Forestier.