WHENEVER it is stated that any offender is liable, on conviction of any offence, to a specified term of penal servitude as a maximum punishment, the meaning (unless any qualification is specified) is that he may be sentenced to that or to any shorter term of penal servitude not being less than five years, or, instead of such term of penal servitude, to imprisonment for any term not exceeding two years, with or without hard labour. If the maximum punishment specified is a term of imprisonment with hard labour or a fine, the meaning (unless any qualification is specified) is that the offender may be sentenced to that or to any shorter term of imprisonment, with or without hard labour, or to any smaller fine. If the maximum punishment specified is a term of hard B labour (as distinguished from imprisonment with hard labour) the meaning is that the offender must be sentenced to imprisonment with hard labour, but may be sentenced for any term not exceeding the term specified. SOLITARY CONFINEMENT AND WHIPPING. The letter S at the end of a reference to a statute means that an offender against the enactment referred to may be sentenced to solitary confinement. The letter W that such offender may, if a male under sixteen years of age, be sentenced to whipping. PENAL SERVITUDE AND TRANSPORTATION. In cases in which the punishment appointed for an offence by statute is transportation, penal servitude has been uniformly substituted. In cases in which the minimum amount of penal servitude is three years, five years has been uniformly substituted, in order to give the effect of 16 & 17 Vict. c. 99; 20 & 21 Vict. c. 3; and 27 & 28 Vict. c. 47, s. 2; which substituted penal servitude for transportation, and a minimum term of five for a minimum term of three years penal servitude. MINIMUM PUNISHMENTS. It is enacted by 9 & 10 Vict. c. 24, s. 1, that "in all cases where the Court is now (June, 1846) by law empowered or required to award a sentence of transportation exceeding seven years, it shall be lawful for such Court at its discretion to award a sentence of transportation for a term of years not less than seven years, or to award such sentence of imprisonment for any period not exceeding two years, with or without hard labour, as shall to the Court in its discretion appear just under all the circumstances." The effect of this enactment is given when necessary by substituting the expression "shall be liable to a maximum punishment of years penal servitude," for the expres sion "shall be liable to be transported for years." To avoid constant repetition of the same references, the Acts mentioned under this and the last heading are not referred to in the notes giving the authorities for the various articles hereinafter contained. ALTERATIONS IN LANGUAGE OF STATUTES. The future and the past future are uniformly altered to the present tense. Where "shall" is used as an imperative "must" is substituted. Where the language of a statute appeared needlessly verbose for common purposes, the leading word or an equivalent is preserved in the text, and the words omitted are inserted in a foot note for reference if necessary. The language of the statutes is in most cases rearranged for the sake of clearness; but the words "redrawn," "condensed," or others of the same sort, indicate the cases in which the greatest alterations have been made. DRAFT CODE. The expression "Draft Code" means the Draft Code appended to the Report of the Criminal Code Commission published in 1879, and marked C. 2345. CHAPTER I. 1OF PUNISHMENTS. ARTICLE 1. PUNISHMENTS. THE following punishments are inflicted by the law of England for the crimes hereinafter defined :-Death, penal servitude, imprisonment, detention in a reformatory school, subjection to police supervision, whipping, fines, putting under recognizance. ARTICLE 2. PUNISHMENT OF DEATH. 2 The punishment of death is inflicted by hanging the offender by the neck till he is dead. ARTICLE 3. PUNISHMENT OF PENAL SERVITUDE. 3 The punishment of penal servitude consists in keeping the offender in confinement and compelling him to labour in the manner and under the discipline appointed by the Acts. relating to penal servitude. See 1 Hist. Cr. Law, ch. xiii. p. 457; see Draft Code, Pt. II., ss. 7–18. As to treatment of prisoners under sentence of death in prison, see 28 & 29 Vict. c. 126, Sch. 1. 61. As to the history of the punishment of death and benefit of clergy, see 1 Hist. Cr. Law, 457-80. 316 & 17 Vict. c. 99; 20 & 21 Vict. c. 3; 27 & 28 Vict. c. 47; and see 5 Geo. 4, c. 84. The subject of the nature of the punishment of penal servitude is discussed at length in R. v. Mount, L. R. 6 P. C. 283. See, too, 1 Hist. Cr. Law, 480-483. ARTICLE 4. PUNISHMENTS OF IMPRISONMENT. 1 The punishment of imprisonment consists in the detention of the offender in prison, and in his subjection to the discipline appointed for prisoners during the period expressed in the sentence. Imprisonment is of three kinds : (i.) Imprisonment with hard labour. (iii.) Imprisonment as a misdemeanant of the first division. Imprisonment of the. first and second kinds may, in the cases hereinafter specified, be accompanied or not with solitary confinement. ARTICLE 5. IMPRISONMENT TO BE SEPARATE. 2 All prisoners sentenced to imprisonment with or without hard labour must be prevented from holding any communication with each other, either by every prisoner being kept in a separate cell by day and by night, except when he is at chapel or taking exercise, or by every prisoner being confined to his cell and being subjected to such superintendence during the day as will, consistently with the provisions of the Prisons Act, 1865, prevent his communication with any other prisoner. ARTICLE 6. HARD LABOUR. 3 Hard labour is of two classes, consisting (1.) Of work at the tread-wheel, shot-drill, crank, capstan, 1 See 28 & 29 Vict. c. 126. As to the history of the punishment of imprisonment, see 1 Hist. Cr. Law, 483-7. 2 28 & 29 Vict. c. 126, s. 17. This has practically superseded sentences of solitary confinement. 28 & 29 Vict. c. 126, s. 19. |