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buying and felling again the fame thing in the fame market, or by any fuch like devices, are highly criminal; and all fuch acts anciently came under the general notion of foreftalling, which included all kinds of offences of this nature. Foreftalling was defcribed by ftat. 5 and 6 Edw. VI. c. 14. to be the buying or contracting for any merchandize or victual coming in the way to market; or diffuading perfons from bringing their goods or provifions there; or perfuading them to enhance the price, when there; any of which practices make the market dear to the fair trader. Regrating was defcribed by the fame ftatute to be the buying of corn, or other dead victual, in any market, and felling it again in the fame market, or within four miles of the place; for this alfo enchances the price of the provifions, as every fucceflive feller muft have fucceffive profit. Ingroffing was alfo defcribed to be the getting into one's poffeffion, or buying up large quantities of corn or other dead victuals with intent to fell them again. This must of course be injurious to the public, by putting it into the power of one or two rich men to raise the price of provifions at their own difcretion. And fo the ingroffing of any other commodity, with an intent to fell it at an unreafonable price, is an offence indictable and finable at the common law. The general penalty for thefe three offences by the common law (for all the ftatutes concerning them were repealed by the 12 Gco. III. c. 71.) is, as in other minute mifdemeanors, difcretionary fine and imprifonment. The repeal of the ftatutes mifled many perfons into an opinion that the penalty of the law against thefe offences was also abolished, but the court of king's bench decided otherwife, and in fome cafes inforced fevere punishments.

COMBINATIONS TO RAISE THE PRICE OF VICTUALS. The intent of the laws against foreftalling, ingroffing, and regrating evidently is, to prevent the undue enhancement of the neceflaries of life. To this end many ftatutes ftill exist, enabling magiftrates to regulate the price of many commodities, not by any arbitrary flandard of their own furmifing or inventing, but according to the evidence of facts and visible state of the market. They alfo are empowered to exercife an infpection over those who fell certain commodities by weight and measure, preventing the arts of fraud, and punishing those who feek to enrich themselves by difhonefty. Yet, as the vigilance of the most upright magiftrates might be evaded by the efforts of many difhoneft individuals, combinations among victuallers or artificers, to raife the price of provisions, or any commodities, or the rate of labour, are in many cafes feverely punished by particular statutes; and in general, by 2 and 3 Edw. VL

c. 15. with the forfeiture of 10l. or twenty days imprisonment, with an allowance only of bread and water, for the first offence; 20. or the pillory, for the fecond; and 40%. for the third, or elfe the pillory, lofs of one ear, and perpetual infamy. Many offences are committed in matters relating immediately to the adminiftration of juftice.

PERJURY. Perjury, by the common law, is faid to be a wilful falfe oath, by one who, being lawfully required to depofe the truth in any proceeding in a courfe of justice, fwears abfolutely in a matter of fome confequence to the point in queftion, whether he be believed or not.

The perjury must be wilful; that is, the offence must be committed with fome deliberation; for if, upon the whole circumstances of the cafe, it appears probable that it was owing rather to weakness than to perverseness, that it was occafioned by furprize, or inadvertency, or a mistake of the true ftate of the question, it will not amount to voluntary and corrupt perjury. Falfe oaths, to fall within the denomination and punishment of perjury, must be taken before those who are intrusted with the adminiftration of public juftice, in relation to fome matter before them in debate. And not only fuch persons are indictable for perjury, who take a false oath in a court of record, but also all thofe who forfwear themselves in a matter judicially depending before any court of equity, or spiritual court, or any other lawful court, whether the proceedings therein be of record or not, or whether they concern the intereft of the king or fubject. Nor is the punishment confined to fuch oaths as are taken upon judicial proceedings, but extends to all fuch as any way tend to abuse the administration of juftice. But no oath in a mere private matter, howfoever wilful or malicious it may be, is punishable as perjury in a criminal profecution; for private injuries are left to be redreffed by private actions; and upon this ground it has been holden, that a falfe oath taken by one upon the making of a bargain, that the thing fold is his own, is not punishable as perjury; nor does it extend to any promiffory oaths; confequently no officer, public or private, who neglects to execute his office in pursuance of his oath, or acts contrary to the purport of it, is indictable for perjury in refpect of fuch oath; yet his offence is highly aggravated by being contrary to his oath, and therefore he is liable to the feverer fine on that account. No oath taken before perfons acting merely in a private capacity, or before those who take upon them to administer oaths of a public nature, without legal authority for fo doing, or before those who are authorized to adminifter fome kind of oaths,

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but not those which happen to be taken before them, or even before thofe who take upon them to administer justice by virtue of an authority feemingly colourable, but in truth unwarranted and merely void, can ever amount to perjuries in the eye of the law, because they are of no force, but altogether idle. It is faid not to be eflentially neceffary that the fact fworn fhould be falfe; for how foever the thing fworn may happen to prove agreeable to the truth, yet if it were not known to be fo by him who fwears it, his offence is altogether as great as if it had been falfe, in as much as he wilfully fwears, that he knows a thing to be true, which at the fame time he knows nothing of, and impudently endeavours to perfuade thofe before whom he fwears to proceed upon the credit of a depofition, which any ftranger might make as well as he. It is alfo said, that no oath fhall amount to perjury unless it be fworn abfolutely and directly; and therefore, that he who fwears a thing according as he thinks, remembers, or believes, cannot in refpect of fuch an oath be found guilty; but perhaps this opinion is not altogether warranted, as it has, in feveral instances, been decided, that belief was to be confidered as an abfolute term, and that an indictment might be fupported upon it. If the oath for which a man is indicted of perjury, be wholly foreign from the purpose, or altogether immaterial, and neither any way pertinent to the matter in question, nor tending to aggravate or extenuate the damages, nor likely to induce the jury to give a readier credit to the fubstantial part of the evidence, it cannot amount to perjury, becaufe it is merely idle and infignificant.

SUBORNATION. Subornation of perjury is the offence of procuring another to take fuch a falfe oath, as conftitutes perjury in the principal.

The punishment of perjury and fubornation, at common law, has been various. It was anciently death; afterwards banishment, or cutting out the tongue; then forfeiture of goods; and now is fine and imprisonment, and never more to be capable of bearing teftimony. By the ftat. 5 Eliz. c. 9. if the offender is profecuted, it inflicts the penalty of perpetual infamy and a fine of 40/. on the fuborner; and in default of payment, imprisonment for fix months, and to ftand with both ears nailed to the pillory. Perjury itself is thereby punished with fix months imprisonment, perpetual infamy, and a fine of 20/. or to have both ears nailed to the pillory; but the profecution for the offence is ufually carried on at common law; efpecially as, to the penalties before inflicted, the 2 Geo. II. c. 25. fuperadds a power, for the court to order the offender

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to be fent to the houfe of correction for a term not exceeding feven years, or to be transported for the fame period, and makes it felony without clergy to return or escape before the time is expired. Different acts of parliament also affign to various modes of perjury and fubornation exprefs and peculiar punishments. Thus by 31 Geo. II. c. 1o. taking or procuring any perfon to take a falfe oath for the purpose of obtaining the probate of a will, or letters of administration, in order to receive the pay or prize money of failors, is felony without clergy. By 28 Geo. II. c. 13. for the relief of infolvent debtors; if any fheriff or other officer perjure himself, in taking the oaths directed by the act, he fhall forfeit 500l. And if the offence be committed by a prifoner or other perfon intending to take the benefit of the act, it is felony without clergy.

By the 23 Geo. II. c. 11. the juftices of affize or nifi prius, or general gaol delivery, or any of the great feflions of Wales, or of the counties palatine; are authorised (fitting the court, or within twenty-four hours after) to direct any perfon examined as a witness upon any trial before them, to be profecuted for perjury, in cafe there fhall appear a reasonable cause; and affign to the party injured, or other perfon undertaking such profecution, counfel who fhall do their duty without any fee, gratuity, or reward. Such profecution is alfo exempted from tax, or duty, and fees of court, and the clerk of the affize is ordered to give the profecutor a certificate of the fame, with the counfels' names, &c. And by 12 Geo. I. c. 29, if any perfon convicted of perjury, or fubornation of perjury, fhall act or practife as an attorney or folicitor, or agent, in any suit or action, in any court of law or equity, the judge or judges fhall, upon complaint or information, examine the matter in a fummary way in open court, and if it shall appear that the party has offended contrary to this act, fhall caufe him to be tranfported for feven years.

BARRATRY. Common barratry is the offence of frequently exciting and stirring up fuits and quarrels, either at law, or otherwife. The punishment, in a common perfon, is by fine and imprisonment; but if the offender belongs to the profeffion of the law, he may be difabled from practifing for the future. And indeed the 12 Geo. I. c. 29., places attornies and folicitors, convicted of barratry, on the fame footing as thofe who are guilty of perjury or fubornation. To this head may also be referred the offence of fuing another in the name of a fictitious plaintiff, either one not in being at all, or one who is ignorant of the fuit; in the king's fuperior courts it is, as a high contempt, to be punifhed at their difcretion; but in courts of a lower degree, where the authority of the judges is not VOL. II. equally

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equally extenfive, it is directed by ftatute 8 Eliz. c. 2. to be punished by fix months imprisonment, and treble damages to the party injured.

MAINTENANCE. Maintenance is an officious intermeddling in a fuit that no way belongs to one, by maintaining or affifting either party with money or otherwife, to profecute or defend it. The punishment by common law is fine and imprisonment; and by ftat. 32 Hen. VIII. c. 9., a forfeiture of 10l.; but a man may lawfully maintain the fuit of his near kinsman, servant, or poor neighbour, out of charity and compassion.

CHAMPERTY. Champerty, campi-partitio, is a fpecies of maintenance, and punished in the fame manner; being a birgain with a plaintiff or defendant, campum partire, to divide the land or other matter fued for between them, if they prevail at law; whereupon the champertor is to carry on the party's fuit at his own expence. In another fenfe of the word, it fignifies the purchafing of a fuit, or right of fuing, a practice much abhorred by the law. Hitherto alfo must be referred the provifion of the ftatute 32 Hen. VIII. c. 9. that no one fhall fell or purchafe any pretended right or title to land, unlefs the vendor has received the profits for one whole year before fuch grant, or has been in actual poffeffion of the land, or of the reverfion or the remainder, on pain that both purchafer and vendor fhall each forfeit the value to the king and the profecutor.

COMPOUNDING PENAL ACTIONS. By 18 Eliz. c. 5., if any perfon informing under pretence of any penal law, makes any compofition without leave of the court, or takes any money or promise from the defendant to excufe him, he fhall forfeit iol., shall stand two hours upon the pillory, and shall be for ever difabled to fue on any popular or penal statute.

EMBRACERY. Embracery is an attempt to influence a jury corruptly to one fide by promifes, perfuafions, entreaties, money, entertainments, and the like. The punishment for the perfon embracing is by fine and imprisonment; and for the juror fo embraced, if it be by taking money, perpetual infamy, imprisonment for a year, and forfeiture of the tenfold value. The falfe verdict of jurors, whether occafioned by embracery or not, was anciently confidered as criminal, and therefore exemplarily punished by attaint.

BRIBERY. This offence, as applied to courts, is when a judge or other perfon concerned in the adminiftration of jus-. tice takes any undue reward to influence his behaviour in his office. It is punished, in inferior officers, with fine and imprifonment; and in those who offer a bribe, though not taken, the fame; but in judges, especially the fuperior ones, it has always been looked upon as a heinous offence, and the chief

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