Flftlily, there must be an intent wholly to deprive the owner of the goods stolen of his property therein, which intent constitutes the fraudulent and felonious character of the act. The most common motive for a theft, and the ordinary mode of depriving the owner of his property in the thing stolen, are the conversion of it to the use of the taker ; and Blackstone and others have considered that such con version to the use of the thief, or some benefit to be derived to him, is essential to the completion of the offence, agreeably to the definition of fartunt in the civil law, " contrectatio rei fraudulosa lucri facicndi causfi." Bnt it appears to be now settled that a wrongful destruction of the goods taken, whereby the owner is wholly deprived of his pro perty therein, is sufficient to constitute this offence, although no benefit is sought to be derived to the taker. Persons convicted of simple larceny were, by the 7 & 8 Geo. IV. c. 29, made liable, at the discretion of the court, to be transported for seven yeard, or to be imprisoned with hard labour for a term not exceeding two years, and, if males, to public whipping in addition to imprisonment ; but the punishment of transportation was taken away by the 12 & 13 Vict. c. 11. The court is empowered to sentence the offenders to be kept in solitary con finement for any period not more than one month at a time, or ,than three months in the space of one year. (7 Will. IV. & 1 Viet. c. 90,s. 5.) Where the party convicted is a person already under sentence for another crime, the court may award the sentence for the subsequent offence, to commence at the expiration of the former sentence.
Larceny by clerks and servants is punishable by penal servitude, or by imprisonment. (7 & 8 Geo. IV. c. 29, s. 46.) The Post-Office Act, 7 Will. IV. and 1 Viet. c. 36, s. 26, makes the stealing and embezzling of post letters, letter-bags, &c., felony, punish able with a greater or less degree of eeverity,according to the nature of the offence and the existence or non-existence of a confidential character in the guilty party. [PosT-OFFice.] Stealing in a dwelling house to the amount of five pounds, or when accompanied by menaces or threats, or when any one is put in bodily fear, is punishable by penal servitude or imprisonment with hard labour. As cattle aro necessarily left in fields, and upon commons and wastes, without any person to attend them, the legislature has interfered to protect pro perty of this description by heavier punishments than those inflicted in other cases of larceny. Cattle-stealers were by several statutes excluded from benefit of clergy ; and upon the abolition of the distinction between capital and dergyable felonies by 7 & 8 Geo. IV. c. 29, stealing any horse, mare, gelding, colt, or filly, or any bull, cow, ox, heifer, or calf, or any ram, ewe, sheep, or lamb, or wilfully killing such cattle with intent to steal the carcase or akin or any part of the cattle so killed, was made a felony punishable with death. But now,
under 7 Will. IV. & 1 Vict. c. 90, and subsequent statutes, the punishment of this offence is penal servitude for not more than fifteen years, or imprisonment not exceeding three years. Housebreak ing is another instance of larceny committed under aggravated circum stances. [HOUSEBREAKING.] A person guilty of larceny may be indicted for the offence at tho suit of the crown [INDremiewr] ; and he might formerly have 'been appealed or accused in a private action brought by the party injured [APPEAL] to punish the offender and obtain restitution. The appeal is now taken away ; but the party injured, and indeed any other person, may prefer a.bill of indictment without the leave or even the know ledge of the crown or its officers. But the crown may interpose by entering a nolle prosequi before judgment, or by pardoning the offender afterwards ; whereas, in an appeal, the crown could neither stop tho proceedings nor pardon the appellee, whose life after conviction and judgment was wholly at the mercy of the appellant. After conviction the prosecutor may in general maintain an action for the value of the property taken, a right, however, which is seldom exercised, as the offender is seldom possessed of property, and, upon conviction, tho property of the felon is forfeited to the crown.
Simple larcenies, where the value of the property does not exceed five shillings, or where the age of the offender does not exceed sixteen, may now be tried and'Eummarily determined, with the consent of the accused person, by magistrates in petty sessions, the punishment in such cases being limited to six months' imprisonment. (10 & 11 Vict. c. 82; 13 & 14 Viet. c. 37; 18 & 19 Vict. c. 126.) Persons confessing charges of simple larceny, larceny from the person, or as .clerk or servant, may under the Last-named statute be similarly punished by the same tribunal (Blackstone's `Commentaries; Mr. Kerfe edition, vol. iv. p. 333.) II. Compound larceny is where the crime of larceny is accompanied by circumstances which the legislature has considered as aggravating the offence and requiring an increase of punishment.
Stealing from the person of another, whether openly or clandestinely, is a felony now punishable by penal servitude or imprisonment. To constitute this offence, the thing stolen must be completely removed from the person of the owner, though such complete removal is not necessary in cases of simple larceny. It is no answer to the charge, that such force or fear was used as would make the offence amount to robbery. [RormEnr.]