A bill embodying the provisions of the Act of Crimes and Punish ments,' subject to such omissions as were recommended by the Commie eioners, was introduced, at the end of the session of 1844,in the House of Lords by Lord Brougham, but was ultimately withdrawn at the instance of the Lord Chancellor, who undertook to issue a cornmiasion for the purpose of revising it, that duty being too laborious for any government to grapple with, and if their report should be favourable to Its adoption, to found one or more government measures upon it, as should be thought most expedient A commission was accordingly appointed for this, amongst other purposes, 1845, but no practical result followed. The members of the old commission made a report containing a digest of the law of procedure as regards indictable offences (a most difficult and laborious undertaking).
Besides the `Act of Crimea and Punishments.' and the Digest of the Law of Procedure, several other most important reports emanated from the original Criminal Law Commission. It was upon their recommendation that the Acts of the first year of her present Majesty's reign, repealing the punishment of death in the case of between thirty and forty crimes, were founded. It was a report of theirs which mainly contributed to the alteration of that harsh and inconsistent rule of our law which denied a prisoner his full defence by counsel upon a charge of felony. They also made a very elaborate and valuable report upon the Consolidation of the General Statute. Law, and a report upon the subject of Juvenile Offenders—in all, the number of reports which issued from the commission between the period of its first appointment in 1823 and its termination in the year 1845 was eight.
A sum exceeding 05,0001. has been spent en various commissions, which have been issued during the last thirty years for the consolidation or codification of the criminal Ism ; but that object has not yet been attained, nor have really practical measures been adopted for such an annual revision of our statutes as would In a few years naturally produce their consolidation. if not a codification of the law itself. it is thought, however, that the well-grounded impatience of the House of Commona cannot much lonier delay the passing of general acts consolidating and so far codifying the criminal law ; on this ground it is desirable to abstain from any attempt to enumerate those alterations in details which have been made from time to time. One or two points, only need be referred to. The summary jurisdiction recently conferred on magistrates in petty sea:dons is noticed under Lanerxv ; the liability of trustees to prosecution for breach of duty, under the head Titmeritss. Great improvements were effected in the procedure of the courts which take cognisance of crimes by the statute 14 & 15 Viet. c. 100, which abolished all technical objections for misnomers or nondescriptions, and invested the judges with ample powers of ameild.
went. A court of criminal appeal ill MCA involving questions of law has been established. Finally, transportation as a punishment to be ordered by the court has been abolished by the statute 20 & 21 Viet. e. 3. Penal Serritude, as it is termed, created by statute 16 & 17 Vict. c. 99, has been substituted ; hut criminals sentenced to long terms of penal servitude continue to be transported as before.
Procedure.
Where nil indictable crime has been or is suspected to have been conimitted, the ordinary mode of bringing the accused to justice is as follows :—Unless lie surrender himself, he is, in the first place, to be aninnioned by some magistrate, having jurisdiction, to appatr before hire, or, as is more generally the case, a warrant for hie apprehension Is to be procured from some such magistrate. In order to time issuing of a warrant there turret be an information laid on oath. Instead of a warrant the justice may, in hie discretion, and on a mere charge or complaint, without a written Information or oath, issue a summons in the first instance. After a summons duly issued and served upon the Accused, lie is to appear according to its directions, or in default the magistrate may issue his warrant to apprehend him (11 and 12 Vict., c. 42). After a warrant duly granted, whether a summons have been previously issued or not, the person to whom it is directed is to proceed to arrest the accused (and if for treason, felony, or breach of the peace, may do so on any day, and at any time of the day or night), and to take him to jail or before some magistrate having jurisdiction, accord ing to the import of the warrant, and that without any unnecessary delay. It is also lawful for a constable or private person who sees a felony committed, or attempted to be committed, or a dangerous wound given, to arrest the offender, without warrant ; also any person whom lie reasonably suspects of having committed a felony which has actually been committed, and persons found committing thefts or mali cious injuries to property and some other offences, and by the statute, 14 & 15 Vict., c. 18, any one may apprehend a person found commit ting any indictable offence in the night. A constable may also, with out warrant, arrest on a reasonable charge made of a felony committed or dangerous wound given, although it afterwards appear that none such had been actually committed or given ; also for a breach of the peace committed in his view ; but (except in the case of one of the metropolitan police, who may under certain circumstances do so upon a charge made of an aswavated assault [see 2 & 3 Vict., c. 47]), not for one committed out of his view. Justices of the peace, sheriffs, coro ners, and all other peace officers, have, it would appear, the like power to arrest as constables.