fonating a proprietor thereof, to receive or transfer fuch annuities, stock, or dividends; alfo on the perfonating, or procuring to be perfonated, any feaman or other perfon, entitled to wages or other naval emoluments, or any of his perfonal reprefentatives; and the taking, or procuring to be taken, any false oath in order to obtain a probate, or letters of administration, in order to receive fuch payments; and the forging, or procuring to be forged, and likewife the uttering, or publishing, as true, of any counterfeited feaman's will or power to which may be added, though not strictly reducible to this head, the counterfeiting of mediterranean paffes, under the hands of the lords of the admiralty, to protect one from the piratical states of Barbary b; the forging or imitating of any ftamps to defraud the public revenue; and the forging of any marriage register or licence : all which are by diftinct acts of parliament made felonies without benefit of clergy. By ftatutes 13 Geo. III. c. 52 & 59. forging or counterfeiting any stamp or mark to denote the ftandard of gold and filver plate, and certain other offences of the like tendency, are punifhed with tranfportation for fourteen years (18). By ftatute 12 Geo. III. c. 48. certain frauds on the stamp-duties, therein defcribed, principally by ufing the fame ftamps more than once, are made fingle felony, and liable to transportation for seven years. And the fame punishment is inflicted by ftatute 13 Geo. III. c. 38. on fuch as counterfeit the common feal of the corporation for manufacturing plate-glafs, (thereby erected,) or knowingly demand money of the company by virtue of any writing under fuch counterfeit feal (19). Stat. 8 Geo. I. c. 22. 9 Geo. I. C. 12. 31 Geo. II. c. 22. § 77. a Stat. 31 Geo. II. c. 10. 9 Geo. III. c. 30. b Stat. 4 Geo. II. c. 18. (18) And by 24 Geo. III. feff. 2. c. 53. fuch offences are made capital felonies. (19) And by 24 Geo. III. feff. 2. c. 37. to forge the fuperscription of any letter in order to avoid the pay ment of the poftage, is a felony punished by transportation for feven years. THERE 249 THERE are also certain other general laws, with regard to forgery; of which the first is 2 Geo. II. c. 25. whereby the first offence is forging or procuring to be forged, acting or affifting therein, or uttering or publishing as true any forged deed, will, bond, writing obligatory, bill of exchange, promiffory [250] note, indorsement or affignment thereof, or any acquittance or receipt for money or goods, with intention to defraud any perfon, (or corporation,) is made felony without benefit of clergy. And by ftatute 7 Geo. II. c. 22. and 18 Geo. III. c. 18. it is equally penal to forge or cause to be forged or utter as true a counterfeit acceptance of a bill of exchange, or the number or principal fum of any accountable receipt for any note, bill, or any other fecurity for money; or any warrant or order for the payment of money, or delivery of goods (20). So that, I believe, through the number of thefe general and special provifions, there is now hardly a cafe poffible to be conceived, wherein forgery, that tends to defraud, whether in the name of a real or fictitious perfon', is not made a capital crime (21). (20) The judges have decided that an order to a fhopkeeper in a forged name to deliver goods to the bearer is not a forgery within the statute; but a warrant or order within the ftatute 7 Geo. II. c. 22. must import that the perfon giving fuch warrant or order has, or at least claims, an interest in the money or goods, which are the subject-matter of that warrant or order, that he has or at leaft affumes a difpofing power over fuch money or goods, and takes upon himself to transfer the property, or cuftody of them to the perfon in whofe favour fuch warrant or order is made. And it must be directed to the Mitchell's cafe, Foft. 120. fon, who has the cuftody of the goods. Clench's cafe, Leach, 437. But a draft upon a banker in the name of a perfon who kept no cash at the banker's fhop, is a forgery within the ftatute, as it affumes that there was cafh kept at the house, which the drawer had authority to difpofe of. Locket's cafe, Ibid. 89. pcr. (21) It has frequently been determined that drawing, indorfing or accepting a bill of exchange in a fictitious name is a forgery. Belland's THESE are the principal infringements of the rights of property which were the laft fpecies of offences against individuals or private fubjects, which the method of our diftribution has led us to confider. We have before examined the nature of all offences against the public, or commonwealth; against the king or fupreme magistrate, the father and protector of that community; against the univerfal law of all civilized nations; together with fome of the more atrocious offences, of publicly pernicious confequences, against God and his holy religion. And these several heads comprehend the whole circle of crimes and mifdemefnors, with the punishment annexed to each, that are cognizable by the laws of England. Bolland's cafe, &c. Leach, 78. 159. 192. It is alfo forgery to fabricate a will by counterfeiting the name of a pretended teftator, who is still living. Cogan's cafe, Ibid. 355. If a perfon puts his own name to an inftrument, representing himself to be a different person of that name with an intent to defraud, he is guilty of forgery. 4 T. R. 28. A bill of exchange may be produced in evidence against a prifoner profecuted for the forgery of it, and he may be convicted upon the ufual evidence of the forgery, though it has never been ftamped pursuant to the ftamp acts. Hawkefwood's cafe, Ibid. 221. CHAPTER THE EIGHTEENTH. OF THE MEANS OF PREVENTING OFFENCES. Warten with I propofed to confider the fubject of this E are now arrived at the fifth general branch, or head, book of our commentaries; viz. the means of preventing the commiffion of crimes and mifdemefnors. And really it is an honour, and almoft a fingular one, to our English laws, that they furnish a title of this fort: fince preventive juftice is upon every principle of reafon, of humanity, and of found policy, preferable in all refpects to punishing justice 2; the exécution of which, though neceffary, and in it's confequences a fpecies of mercy to the commonwealth, is always attended with many harsh and difagreeable circumstances. THIS preventive juftice confifts in obliging thofe perfons, whom there is a probable ground to suspect of future misbehaviour, to stipulate with and to give full affurance to the public, that fuch offence as is apprehended shall not happen; by finding pledges or fecurities for keeping the peace, or for their good behaviour. This requifition of furetics has been feveral times mentioned before, as part of the penalty inflicted upon fuch as have been guilty of certain grofs mifdemefnors: but there also it must be understood rather as a caution against the repetition of the offence, than any immediate pain or punishment. And indeed, if we confider all human [252] punishments in a large and extended view, we fhall find them all rather calculated to prevent future crimes, than to a Beccar. ch. 43. expiate expiate the past: fince, as was obferved in a former chapter, all punishments inflicted by temporal laws may be classed under three heads; fuch as to tend to the amendment of the offender himself, or to deprive him of any power to do future mischief, or to deter others by his example: all of which conduce to one and the fame end, of preventing future crimes, whether that be effected by amendment, difability, or example. But the caution, which we speak of at present, is fuch as is intended merely for prevention, without any crime actually committed by the party, but arifing only from a probable fufpicion, that fome crime is intended or likely to happen; and confequently it is not meant as any degree of punishment, unless perhaps for a man's imprudence in giving juft ground of apprehenfion. By the Saxon conftitution thefe fureties were always at hand, by means of king Alfred's wife inftitution of decennaries or frankpledges; wherein, as has more than once been observed, the whole neighbourhood or tithing of freemen were mutually pledges for each other's good behaviour. But this great and general fecurity being now fallen into difufe and neglected, there hath fucceeded to it the method of making fufpected perfons find particular and special fecurities for their future conduct of which we find mention in the laws of king Edward the confeffor "; " tradat fidejuffores "de pace et legalitate tuenda." Let us therefore confider, first, what this fecurity is; next, who may take or demand it; and lastly, how it may be discharged. 1. THIS fecurity confifts in being bound, with one or more fureties, in a recognizance or obligation to the king, entered on record, and taken in some court or by fome judicial officer; whereby the parties acknowlege themselves to be indebted to the crown in the fum required, (for inftance 100%) with condition to be void and of none effect, if the party fhall appear in court on fuch a day, and in the mean time shall keep the peace; either generally, towards the king, 253 See pag. 11. See Vol. I. pag. 114. sep. 18. and |