Reports from Commissionres (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1839 Excerpt: ...grievance, such as to pull down all inclosures, or to burn all meeting-houses, has been held to be treason in the article of levying war against the king, though there has been no direct intention or design whatever against the State or the person of the Sovereign. This construction is said to be founded upon the doctrine, that by reason of the universality of the design, such acts and conduct amount to what in ancient times was called an " accroachment of royal power," and constitute what Hawkins describes as "an insolent invasion of the king's prerogative by attempting to do that by private authority which he by public justice ought to do." Nor is this doctrine antiquated or obsolete; it is contained in modern text-books of the best authority; and on the trials under the special commission at Bristol for the riots which occurred at that place in 1831, some of the prisoners indicted for a capital felony under the Riot Act urged a plausible objection to the charge, that inasmuch as the evidence showed an intention to destroy all gaols and all buildings of a particular class, the generality of the design constituted the crime of treason, and consequently that the felony was merged in the higher offence. Just and powerful arguments have been raised against these constructions of the Case of Pardons, G Co. 136. t It is worthy of remark that Lord Coke (3 Inst. p. 16) and other writers of authority assert that counterfeiting the Kind's coin, 'was treason at common law; if so, the offence still continues to be treason, notwithstanding; the recent statute. J Hawkins, P. C., b'.i. c. 17, s. 2. Statute of Treasons whenever they have been attempted to be enforced; it m;iy be reasonably doubted whether they could or ought to be enforced at the prese...