AID AND COMFORT. Help ; support ; assistance; counsel; encouragement.
The constitution of the United States, art. 3, s. 3, declares that adhering to the enemies of the United States, giving them aid and comfort, shall be trea son. These words, as they are to be understood in the constitution, have not received a full judicial construction ; but see Young v. U. S., 97 U. S. 39, 24 L. Ed. 992, as to their meaning in the Act of Con gress, March 12, 1863. See also Lamar v. Browne, 92 U. S. 187, 23 L. Ed. 650; U. S. v. Klein, 13 Wall. (U. S.) 128, 20 L. Ed. 519; Hanauer v. Doane, 12 Wall. (U. S.) 347, 20 L. Ed. 439; Carlisle v. U. S., 16 Wall. (U. S.) 147, 21 L. Ed. 426; Witkowski v. U. S., 7 Ct. of Cl. 398; Bond v. U. S., 2 Ct. of Cl. 533. They import help, support, assistance, counte nance, encouragement. The voluntary execution of an official bond of a commissioned officer of the Confederacy from motives of personal friendship, is giving aid and comfort; U. S. v. Padelford, 9 Wall.
(U. S.) 539, 19 L. Ed. 788; as is the giving of me chanical skill to build boats for the Confederacy ; Gearing v. U. S., 3 Ct. of Cl. 172. The word aid, which occurs in the stat. Westm. I. c. 14, is ex plained by Lord Coke (2 Inst. 182) as comprehend ing all persons counselling, abetting, plotting, as senting, consenting, and encouraging to do the act (and he adds, what is not applicable to the crime of treason), who are not present when the act is done. See also 1 Burn, Just. 6, 6; 4 Bla. Com. 37, 38.
To constitute aid and comfort it is not essential that the effort to aid should be successful and ac tually render assistance; U. S. v. Greathouse, 4 Sawy. 472, Fed. Cas. No. 15,254.