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some other offences are made piracy also: if any natural born subject commit any act of hostility upon the high seas, against others of his majesty's subjects, under colour of a commission from any foreign power; this, though it would only be an act of war in an alien, shall be construed piracy in a subject. And farther, any commander, or other seafaring person, betraying his trust, and running away with any ship, boat, ordnance, ammunition or goods; or yielding them up voluntarily to a pirate; or conspiring to do these acts; or any person assaulting the commander of a vessel, to hinder him from fighting in defence of his ship, or confining him, or making or endeavouring to make a revolt on board, shall, for each of these offences be adjudged a pirate, felon, and robber, and shall suffer death, whether he be principal, or merely accessory by setting forth such pirates, or abetting them before the fact, or receiving or concealing them or their goods after it. And the statute 4 Geo. I. c. 11. expressly excludes the principals from the benefit of clergy. By the statute 8 Geo. I. c. 24. the trading with known pirates, or furnishing them with stores or ammunition, or fitting out any vessel for that purpose, or in any wise consulting, combining, confederating, or corresponding with them; or the forcibly boarding any merchant vessel, though without seizing or carrying her off, and destroying or throwing any of the goods overboard, shall be deemed piracy and such accessories to piracy as are described by the statute of king William, are declared to be principal pirates, and all

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pirates convicted by virtue of this felons without benefit of clergy. statutes also, (to encourage the defence of merchant vessels against pirates) the commanders or seamen wounded, and the widows of such seamen as are slain, in any piratical engagement, shall be entitled to a bounty, to be divided among them, not exceeding one fiftieth part of the value of the cargo on board: and such wounded seamen shall be entitled to the pension of Greenwich hospital; which no other seamen are, except only such as have served in a ship of war. And if the commander shall behave cowardly, by not defending the ship, if she carries guns or arms, or shall discharge the mariners from fighting, so that the ship falls into the hands of pirates, such commander shall forfeit all his wages, and suffer six months imprisonment. Lastly, by statute 18 Geo. II. c. 30. any natural born subject, or denizen, who in time of war shall commit hostilities at sea against any of his fellow subjects, or shall assist an enemy on that element, is liable to be tried and convicted as a pirate.

These are the principal cases, in which the statute law of England interposes, to aid and enforce the law of nations.

CHAPTER VI.

OF HIGH TREASON.

THE third general division of crimes consists of such as more especially affect the supreme execu

tive

power, or the king and his government, which amount either to a total renunciation of that allegiance, or at least to a criminal neglect of that duty which is due from every subject to his sovereign. Every offence more immediately affecting the royal person, his crown, or dignity, is in some degree a breach of this duty of allegiance, whether natural and innate, or local and acquired by residence and these may be distinguished into four kinds. 1. Treason. 2. Felonies injurious to the king's prerogative. 3. Præmunire. 4. Other misprisions and contempts. Of which crimes the first and principal is that of treason.

Treason, proditio, in its very name imports a betraying, treachery, or breach of faith. As this is the highest civil crime which (considered as a member of the community) any man can possibly commit, it ought therefore to be the most precisely ascertained. For if the crime of high treason be indeterminate, this alone (says the president Montesquieu) is sufficient to make any government degenerate into arbitrary power. And yet, by the ancient common law, there was a great latitude left in the breast of the judges, to determine what

was treason, or not so: whereby the creatures of tyrannical princes had opportunity to create abundance of constructive treasons; that is, to raise, by forced and arbitrary constructions, offences into the crime and punishment of treason, which never were suspected to be such. But, however, to prevent the inconveniences which began to arise in England from this multitude of constructive treasons, the statute 25 Edw. III. c. 2. was made; which defines what offences only for the future should be held to be treason. This statute must therefore be our text and guide, in order to examine into the several species of high treason. And we shall find that it comprehends all kinds of high treason under seven distinct branches.

CHAPTER VII.

OF FELONIES INJURIOUS TO THE KING'S
PREROGATIVE.

I PROCEED now to consider such felonies as are more immediately injurious to the king's prerogative.

These are, 1. Offences relating to the coin, not amounting to treason. 2. Offences against the king's council. 3 The offence of embezzling or destroying the king's armour or stores of war. To which may be added a fifth, 5. Desertion from the king's armies in time of war.

1. Offences relating to the coin, under which may be ranked some inferior misdemeanors, not amounting to felony. It is enacted by statute 15 & 16 Geo. II. c. 28. that if any person shall utter or tender in payment any counterfeit coin, knowing it so to be, he shall for the first offence be imprisoned six months; and find sureties for his good behaviour for six months more: for the second offence, shall be imprisoned two years, and find sureties for two years longer: and, for the third offence, shall be guilty of felony without benefit of clergy. Also if a person knowingly tenders in payment any counterfeit money, and at the same time has more in his custody; or shall, within ten days after, knowingly tender other false money; he shall be deemed a common utterer of counterfeit money, and shall for the first offence be imprisoned one year, and find sureties for his good behaviour for two years longer; and for the second, be guilty of felony without benefit of clergy. By the same statute it is also enacted, that, if any person counterfeits the copper coin, he shall suffer two years imprisonment, and find sureties for two years more. By statute 11 Geo. III. c. 40. persons counterfeiting copper halfpence or farthings, with their abettors; or buying, selling, receiving, or putting off any counterfeit copper money, (not being cut in pieces or melted down) at a less value than it imports to be of; shall be guilty of single felony. And by a temporary statute (14 Geo. III. c. 43.) but since made perpetual by 39 Geo. III. c. 74. if any quantity of money, exceeding the

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