hard labour, or to be fined any sum not exceeding £200. who

commits bribery, undue influence, or treating at or in respect of any election of any member to serve in Parliament, or any municipal election.

ARTICLE 144.

OFFENCES AT ELECTIONS.

1 Every one is guilty of a misdemeanor, and is liable to imprisonment with hard labour for two years, if he is a returning officer or an officer or clerk in attendance at a polling station, or for six months if he is any other person, who (a.) without due authority supplies any ballot paper to any person; or

(b.) fraudulently puts into any ballot box any paper other than the ballot paper which he is authorized by law to put in; or

(c.) fraudulently takes out of the polling station any ballot paper; or

(d.) without due authority destroys, takes, opens, or otherwise interferes with any ballot box or packet of ballot papers then in use for the purposes of the election.

ARTICLE 145.

DEFINITION OF OFFICE.

The word " office" in Articles 146 and 147 includes

2

Every office in the gift of the Crown or of any officer appointed by the Crown, and all commissions, civil, naval, and military, and all places or employments in any public department or office whatever in any part of her Majesty's dominions whatever, and all deputations to any such office and every participation in the profits of any such office or deputation.

1 35 & 36 Vict. c. 33, s. 3; as to forging ballot papers, &c., see post, Art. 394.

25 & 6 Edw. 6, c. 16; 49 Geo. 3, c. 126, s. 1.

ARTICLE 146.

SELLING OFFICES.

1 1 Every one commits a misdemeanor who does any of the following things in respect of any office, or any appointment to or resignation of any office, or any consent to any such appointment or resignation, that is to say, every one who directly or indirectly

(a.) sells the same, or receives any reward or profit from the sale thereof, or agrees to do so:

(b.) purchases, or gives any reward or profit for the purchase thereof, or agrees or promises to do so.

2 Whoever commits either of these misdemeanors upon its commission forfeits to the Queen any right which he may have in the office, and is disabled to hold it for life, and it is not lawful for the Queen to dispense him from such disability.

3

ARTICLE 147.

MAKING INTEREST FOR OFFICES FOR REWARD.

Every one commits a misdemeanor who does any of the following things directly or indirectly:

(a.) Receives or agrees to receive any reward or profit for any interest, request, or negotiation about any office, or under pretence of using any such interest, making any such request, or being concerned in any such negotiation:

(b.) Gives or procures to be given any profit or reward, or makes or procures to be made any agreement for the giving of any profit or reward for any such request or negotiation as aforesaid :

1 49 Geo. 3, c. 126, s. 3, greatly condensed.

2 5 & 6 Edw. 6, c. 16, s. 1; 49 Geo. 3, c. 126, s. 2; Ingram's Case, 1604, 3 Inst. 154. The 5 & 6 Edw. 6, c. 16, s. 1, is repealed as to offices in the Customs, by 6 Geo. 4, c. 105, s. 10. It was, however, extended to offices in the Customs as well as to many others, by 49 Geo. 3, c. 126. I do not quite understand the result of this. The present Customs Act, 39 & 40 Vict. c. 36, throws no light on the subject.

3 49 Geo. 3, c. 126, s. 4.

(c.) Solicits, recommends, or negotiates in any manner as to any appointment to or resignation of any office in expectation of any reward or profit:

(d.) 1 Keeps any office or place for transacting or negotiating any business relating to vacancies in or the sale or purchase of or appointment to or resignation of offices.

1 49 Geo. 3, c. 126, s. 5.

3 PERJURY is an assertion upon an oath duly administered in a judicial proceeding, before a competent Court, of the truth of some matter of fact, material to the question depending in that proceeding, which assertion the assertor does not believe to be true when he makes it, or on which he knows himself to be ignorant.

4 In this definition, the word "oath" includes every affirmation which any class of persons are by law permitted to make in place of an oath.

5 The expression " duly administered" means administered

1 Many cases of offences resembling, or punishable as, perjury, are to be found in the statutes which are not mentioned in this chapter. An Act not otherwise connected with criminal law may make some form of false declaration, &c. an offence, and though such offences are numerous they are not important, and are therefore omitted from the text. A great many of them would have been merged into the Perjury Bill of 1894 had that measure become law. Its effect in that direction would no doubt have been useful. It may be added that the repealing Schedule of the Bill referred to nearly 140 enactments, and was not then quite exhaustive. It is probable that a similar Bill will soon be passed, when some of the above chapter will become obsolete.

2 See 3 Hist. Cr. Law, pp. 240-50.

3 3rd Inst. 164-167; 1 Hawk. P. C. 429-435; 3 Russ. Cr. 1, &c., and see note, 5th Report, C. L. C. p. 23. Draft Code, s. 119.

4 Many statutes to this effect have been passed. See in particular 5 & 6 Will. 4 c. 62, s. 21; 51 & 52 Vict. c. 46 and 52 & 53 Vict. c. 63, s. 3, and see statutes as to particular religious bodies collected in 3 Russ. Cr. 26-9.

5 14 & 15 Vict. c. 99, s. 16, passed to remove doubts in the question by whom an oath might be administered, 3 Russ. Cr. 3. As to Commissioners see 52 Vict. c. 10, s. 7, as to arbitrators, 52 & 53 Vict. c. 49, s. 22. As to using a form binding on the witness's conscience see 1 & 2 Vict. c. 105; Omichund v. Barker, 1744, 1 Atk. 21.

in a form binding on his conscience, to a witness legally called before them, by any Court, judge, justice, officer, commissioner, arbitrator, or other person, who by the law for the time being in force, or by consent of the parties, has authority to hear, receive, and examine evidence.

1 The fact that a person takes an oath in any particular form is a binding admission that he regards it as binding on his conscience.

2 The expression "judicial proceeding” means a proceeding which takes place in or under the authority of any Court of justice, or which relates in any way to the administration of justice, or which legally ascertains any right or liability.

3 A proceeding may be judicial although the person accused in it was brought before the Court by which the proceeding is held by an irregular warrant.

4 The word "fact" includes the fact that the witness holds any opinion or belief.

5 The word "material" means of such a nature as to affect in any way, directly or indirectly, the probability of anything to be determined by the proceeding, or the credit of any witness, and a fact may be material although evidence of its existence was improperly admitted.

Illustrations.

(1.) A swears that certain goods are of a certain value. 6 A is entirely ignorant upon the subject.

A is guilty of

perjury whether the goods are of that value or not.

The goods are not of that value, and A knows it. A has committed perjury.

7 The goods are of that value, but A believes that they are A has committed perjury.

not.

1 Sells v. Hoare, 1822, 3 B. & B. 232.

2 Illustrations (2), (3), (4).

3 R. v. Hughes, 1879, 4 Q. B. D. 614.
4 Illustration (5).

5 Illustrations (6), (7).

6 R. v. Mawbey, 1796, 6 T. R. at p. 637.

7 Gurney's Case, 1611, 3 Inst. 166.