in which letters are sent or conveyed by the post, or from any post-boy, post-rider, or letter-carrier, employed in any business relating to the post-office, or from out of any post-office, or house or place for the receipt or delivery of letters and packets sent by the post; or from out of any coach, cart, or other conveyance, by which letters are sent by the post, any letter, packet, bag or mail of letters, although such robbery, stealing, or taking, shall not appear or be proved to be a taking from the person, or upon the king's highway, or to be a robbery committed in any dwelling-house, or any coach-house, stable, barn, or any out-house belonging to a dwelling-house, and although it should not appear or be proved that any person was put in fear by such robbery, &c.; or if any person shall be aiding or assisting in the committing of any of said offences; or if any person shall receive any such mail or bag of letters, or any letter or packet, or any article or thing therein contained, or which shall have been feloniously taken out therefrom, or which shall have been otherwise feloniously taken as aforesaid, knowing the same to bave been stolen or feloniously taken; such offender shall be guilty of felony without benefit of clergy. The 23 & 24, 23&24 Geo. 3. Geo. 3. c. 17. s. 30. Ir. (as amended by the 38 Geo. 3. c. 47. s. 1. Ir.) further enacts, that no person shall wit- Persons opening or embezzling tingly, willingly, or knowingly, open, embezzle, or de- letters, &c. afstroy, or cause, procure, or permit or suffer to be open-livered into the ed, &c. any letter or packet after the same shall be deli- post office, &c. guilty capitally. vered into the general or other post-office, or into the hands of any person employed for the receiving or carrying post letters, and before delivery to the persons to whom directed, or for their use, except by an express warrant in writing, under the hand and seal of the lord lieutenant; or except in cases where the party to whom such letter or packet shall be directed, or who is hereby chargeable with the payment of the postage thereof, shall refuse or neglect to pay the same; and except such letters or packets as shall be returned for want of true directions, and where the party, to whom the same is or are directed, cannot be found; and every person offending c. 17. s. 30. Ir. ter they are de *By 38Geo. 3. herein, [*or who shall be aiding or assisting in commitc. 47. s. 1. Ir. ting any of said offences,] shall be guilty of felony without benefit of clergy. Stealing pump from vessel in distress, or doing any thing tending to the loss of such ves sel, a capital felony. 12 Ann. st. 2. The statutes which respect the king's right, by virtue of his prerogative, to wreck of the sea, have been already referred to (vol, 1, p, 188-9.) but it was reserved for this place to state the provisions of the several statutes, English and Irish, which were framed for the prevention of c. 18. s.5. Eng. wrecks, and the preservation of the property in thein. By the 12 Ann. st. 2. c. 18. s. 5. Eng. if any person shall make, or be assisting in making any hole in the bottom, side, or any other part of any ship ar vessel in distress, (viz. in danger of being stranded or run on shore, or being stranded or run on shore,) or shall steal any pump belonging to any vessel so in distress, or shall be aiding or assisting in the stealing such pump, or shall wilfully do any thing tending to the immediate loss or destruction of such ship, &c. such person shall be guilty of felony without benefit of clergy. And by s. 4. in case any goods shall be found upon any person that were stolen ing the goods of or carried off from any such vessel so in distress, he, on vessels wrecked, whom such goods shall be found, shall immediately, on demand, deliver the same to the owner thereof, or to such person by such owner authorized to receive the same, or in default thereof, shall be liable to pay treble the value of such goods, to be recovered in an action by such owner. And the 26 Geo. 2. c. 19. Eng. further enacts (s. 1.) that if any person shall plunder, steal, take Stealing any away or destroy any goods or merchandize, or other efgoods, &c. from fects, from or belonging to any ship or vessel which tress, or prevent shall be in distress, or which shall be wrecked, lost, ing the escape of stranded or cast on shore, in any part of his majesty's s. 4. Persons secret c. how pun ished. 26 Geo.2.c. 19. s. 1. Eng. vessels in dis any person therefrom, or dominions, (whether any living creature be on board putting out false lights, a capital such vessel or not,) or any of the furniture, tackle, apfelony. parel, provision, or part of such vessel; or shall beat or wound with intent to kill or destroy, or shall otherwise wilfully obstruct the escape of any person endeavouring to save his life from such vessel, or the wreck thereof; or if any person shall put out any false light with intention to bring any vessel into danger; such offender shall be s. 2. goods of small s. 3. Jurisdiction of in respect to guilty of felony without benefit of clergy. Provided (s. 2.) that when goods or effects of small value shall be stranded, lost or cast on shore, and shall be stolen without circumstances of cruelty, outrage, or violence; then Proviso as to any person may prosecute such offence by way of in- value. dictment for petit larceny; and the offender shall suffer as in cases of petit larceny. By s. 3. it shall be lawful for any justice of peace, upon information on oath of any part of the cargo or effects belonging to any vessel justices of peace lost or stranded upon or near the coasts aforesaid, being searching for unlawfully carried away or concealed in any house, barn, part of cargo. or other place, or of some reasonable cause of suspicion thereof, to issue his warrant for the searching of such house, &c. as in other cases of stolen goods: and if the same shall be found in such house, &c. or upon or in the custody or possession of any person not legally authorized or entitled to keep or withhold the same; and the owner or occupier of such house, &c. or the person upon whom or in whose custody, &c. the same shall be found, shall not immediately, upon demand, deliver the Persons with same to the lawful owner thereof, or to such other per- found, how son as shall be lawfully authorized to demand the same; or shall not give a good account to the satisfaction of such justice how he came by or became possessed thereof; such justice shall, upon proof of such refusal, commit the said offender to the common gaol for 6 months, or until he shall have paid to such lawful owner, or to the person lawfully authorized to receive the same, treble the value of the goods so by him unlawfully detained. And by s. 4. if any person shall offer or expose to sale any goods belonging to any vessel lost, stranded, or cast on shore as aforesaid, and unlawfully taken away, or rea- who may seixe sonably suspected so to have been; it shall be lawful for such goods exposed to sale. the person to whom the same shall be so offered for sale, or any officer of the customs or excise, or any constable or other peace officer, to stop, take and seize, such ef fects; and he shall, with all convenient speed, carry the same, or give notice of such seizure, to some justice of peace; and if the person who shall have offered such goods to sale, or some other person on his behalf, shall whom any part dealt with. 5. 4. not such seizure. $. 8. Proceeding upon not appear before said justice within 10 days next after such seizure, and make out, to the satisfaction of such justice, the property of said goods to be in him, or in the person by whom he was employed to sell the same; then said goods shall, by order of said justice, be forthwith delivered over to or for the use of the rightful owner, upon payment of a reasonable reward for such seizure, (to be ascertained by such justice) to the person who seized the same; and such justice shall commit the person who shall have so offered or exposed the said goods to sale, to the common gaol for 6 months, or until he shall have paid to the lawful owner, or to the person lawfully authorized to receive the same, treble the value of the said goods so unlawfully offered to sale. And by s. 8. if oath shall be made before any magistrate empowered to take the same, of any such plunder or theft, and the examination in writing thereupon shall be delivered to the [*clerk of the peace] of the county, &c. wherein such fact shall be committed, or to his deputy; or if oath shall be made before any such magistrate of the breaking any ship contrary to the [+12 Aun. st. 2. c. 18.] supra, and the examination in writing thereupon taken shall be delivered to such [*clerk of the peace] or his deputy, then such [*clerk of the peace] shall cause the offender to be forthwith prosecuted for the same, either in the county where the fact shall be committed, [for in any county next adjoining; in which adjoining county any indictment may be laid by any other prosecutor; and if the fact be committed in Wales, then the prosecution shall be carried on in the next adjoining English county;] and the necessary charges of such prosecutions by the [*clerk of the peace] shall be paid by the treasurer of the county, &c. where the fact shall be com§ “Grand jury mitted, to such amount as the [§justices of peace in their 23 & 24 Geo. 3. general or quarter sessions] shall order; and if such Duty of clerk of the peace in respect to prosecuting such offenders. at the assizes," c. 48. Ir. [*clerk of the peace] sball neglect or refuse to carry on such prosecution in due manner, he shall forfeit £100. "Clerk of the crown." in 23 & 24-Geo. 3. c. 48. Ir. The 23 & 24 Geo. 3. c. 48. Iṛ. here refers to the 4 Geo. 1. c. 4. Ir. No such clause as this is contained in the 23 & 24 Geo, 3. c. 48. Ir. ..to to any person who shall sue by action of debt, &c. in any court of record at [*Westminster.] "Dublin," in 23 & 24 Geo.3. c. 48. Ir. Offences in re spect to wrecks, how punished in Geo. 1. c. 4. s. 4. 5 & 6. Ir. 23 & 24 Geo.3. 48.8. 1. 2. 3. & 4. Ir. In Ireland the 4 Geo. 1. c. 4. Ir. contains clauses corresponding to those of the 12 Ann. st. 2. c. 18. s. 4 & 5. Eng. ante p. 958.but further enacts (s. 6.) that if any per- Ireland. son shall put forth any false or treacherous lan- 4 thorns, lights or fires, with intention to subject any ship or vessel to danger or shipwreck, he shall be guilty of felony without benefit of clergy. And the 23 & 24 Geo. 3. c. 48. Ir. has followed the 26 Geo. 2. c. 19. s. 1. 2. 3. 4 & 8. Eng. supra, with such deviations only as are noted in the margin. And the 15 & 16 Geo. 3. c. 33. Ir. fur- 15&16 Geo. 5. ther enacts, that every person who shall get or have in c. 33, s. 1. Ir. his custody or possession, any part of any ship or vessel Funishment for in distress, or stranded, wrecked, or driven on shore, or not giving notice of any part of the tackle, furniture, sails, ammunition or cargo of any wreck or cargo in the pos thereof, or of the goods belonging to such vessel, know- session of any ing the same so to be, shall, within 3 days next after person. such person shall knowingly have got or had the same in his custody, &c. give notice to a justice of peace of the county in which such person shall be resident, or to the next residing officer of his majesty's revenue, that he bath part of such vessel, or of the tackle, &c. or goods, in his custody, &c. and the place where the same shall be deposited at the time of giving such notice; upon pain of suffering imprisonment for such time not exceeding 6 months, as the judge of assize before whom such person shall be convicted shall think fit. And by s. 2. every person who shall so have any part of such vessel, or of the tackle, &c. or goods, in his custody, &c. shall deliver the same within 48 hours after demand, any part of and without wilful embezzlement, to any justice of peace of the county where the same shall be, or to any officer of the revenue who shall demand the same; and every person who shall neglect, refuse, or omit to deliver the same as aforesaid, shall be deemed to have stolen the same, and shall be adjudged guilty of felony and it shall be sufficient in any indictment for any offence against this act, to aver and prove that such parts of any vessel, or the tackle, &c. had been on board or did be s. 2. Felony to secrete wreck or cargo. long |