The Sun.
London, England, 1846-06-15 00:00:00

CRIMINAL LAW.

The following is the second report "to the Queen's
Most Excellent Majesty, in her High Court of Chan-
cery," of the Criminal Law Commissioners:—
We, your
,Majesty's Commissioners, appointed by
your Majestys commission, bearing date the 22d day
of February, in the Bth year of your Majesty's reign,
in presenting our second report to your Majesty,
humbly beg to observe that by the original com-
mission issued by his late Majesty, certain Commis-
sioners therein named were required " to digest into one
statute all the statutes and enactments touching crimes,
and the trial and punishment thereof ; and also to
digest into one other statute all the provisions of the
common or unwritten law touching the same, and to in•
quire and report how far it may be expedient to combine
both those statutes into one body of the criminal law,
repealing all other statutory provisions ; or, hew far it
may be expedient to pass into a law the first mentioned
only of the said statutes, and generally to inquire end
report how far it may be expedient to consolidate the
other branches of the existing statute law, or any of
them." The former commission having expired upon
the demise of the Crown, your Majesty was graciously
pleased to issue a new commission in the same terms as
that issued by his late Majesty.
Under these two commissions the Commissioners,
having considered the matters referred to them, gave
their opinion in favour of the utility of framing a digest
of the criminal law, and stated various arguments in
support of their views on the subject. They also pre
sented a complete digest of the criminal law. In frams
ing this digest the Commissioners, in several instances,
judged it expedient not to present the existing provisions
of the law, but certain modifications thereof, of which
they deemed the advantage to be manifest. And they,
moreover, suggested various other modifications of the
existing law, which they thought were proper to be
made, but which they did not think fit to introduce into
then:digest, on account of the limited nature of their
authority. _ _

Your present Commissioners have proceeded to exe-
cute the enlarged powers of the present commission, by
which they are directed not simply to digest the law in
its present state, but, also, in consolidating its provisions,
to put into a form suitable for being passed by the Le-
gislature such modifications of the actual law as they
judge expedient to submit for the adoption of Par-
liament.
They entirely agree with the Commissioners acting
under the preceding commissions in their opinion re-
garding the importance of framing a digest of the crimi-
nal law. The propriety of rendering that law more ac-
cessible to the community, they think, cannot admit of
doubt. An ascertained text will also afford more easy
means of future alteration, whereby the inconveniences
of the law may be rectified, and it may be adapted
to meet new circumstances and exigencies, with-
out impairing the uniformity of the system. As
to which point it is observable, that a great num-
ber of the definitions and punishments of offences
has been enacted in statutes, passed at different periods,
without due regard to the general principles of the law,
or the consistency of particular provisions. It is con-
ceived, also, that judicial magistrates will be greatly
assisted by having an authentic and systematic text of
the law to which they can refer, though in the applica-
tion of it to particular cases, considerable scope must
always remain for the exercise of judgment and explana-
tory exposition (as is now the case), by those entrusted
with its administration. With respect to the mode in
which future additions to and alterations of the law may
be made, your Commissioners concur in opinion with
the preceding Commissioners, that it would be desirable
that such alterations and additions should be notified to
the public by means of the Gazette, or some other
official document, and that at the end of some fixed
period, e. g., three years, they should, by the authority
of Parliament, be embodied in the digest. On this sub-
ject, however, and that, generally, of the utility of a
digest of the criminal law, your Commissioners beg to
refer more particularly to the reports of the preceding
Commissioners.

Your Commissioners concur in general with the mo-
difications of the existing law adopted or suggested by
the preceding Commissioners ; they think, also, that
some further modifications are essential, in order to
render the criminal law of the country suitable to the
present state of society, and conformable to enlightened
principles of jurisprudence. A simple digest of the
actual law. without any modification, would, they appre-
hend, exhibit many imperfections, which, it cannot be
doubted, it must be thought highly expedient to remove.
Without adverting to all the defects in various branches
of the existing law, or anticipating at length what will
be more particularly considered in the course of this re-
port, it must surely be deemed expedient to modify
several of the present provisions of the law concerning
accessories after the fact—the justifications and extenua-
tions of homicide—the protection of officers of law whilst
engaged in the execution of warrants or other legal pro-
cess,—maritime coercion,—the punishment of accidental
injuries without reference to the intention of the proba-
ble consequences of actions,—that relic of barbarism, the
law of mayhem,—besides several other existing pro-
visions, of which modifications are submitted to the pre-
sent report.
On some matters, though we do not feel entire confi-
dence in our recommendations, we conceive that advan-
tage may arise from submitting enactments founded on
our opinions, the rejection of which, if unapproved of,
will not be attended with any material delay or incon-
venience; and the task of reducing into a statutory
form the will of the Legislature, when it is ascertained,
as regards any alterations, cannot occupy considerable
time. Of matters of this latter description, the new pro-
visions submitted by your Commissioners on the law re-
garding duels are offered with great hesitation, not so
much on account of doubts entertained by the Commis-
sioners, as because it is a subject deeply affecting the in-
terests of society, and upon which public opinion is much
divided.
As the modifications of the existing law proposed by
the former and your present Commissioners occasionally
affect principles of the deepest importance and most ex-
tensive influence, their consideration has necessarily,
occasioned much research and consultation, and has con-
sumed much longer time than if the labours of your
Commissioners had been confined simply to forming a
digest of statutes, the principles laid down in text
writers of authority, and the decisions applicable to the
subjects treated of in the present report.
In their present report, your Commissioners humbly
submit to your Majesty the draft of a Bill, framed in a
shape to be passed by the Legislature, for the purpose
of consolidating all the provisions of law as modified by
your Commissioners regarding the general matters
treated of in the preliminary chapter of the schedule to
that Bill, and the definitions and punishments of the
offence of homicide' and other offences against the
person. To particular articles of the schedule notes are
appended, indicating where the existing law has been
modified, and the nature of the particular modification ;
and the Bill and the schedule, without notes, are again
given is the appendix. Where the subjects to
which the articles relate have been discussed by the
previous Commissioners, references have been given to
the reports in which those discussions are contained ;
and where it has been thought necessary, the sentiments
of the present Commissioners, in reference to the pro-
posed modifications, have been expressed.
Although your Commissioners have lost no time
in submitting this portion of their labours to your
Majesty, and have, in pursuance of the authority under
which they act, framed the draft of the Bill now sub-
mitted to your Majesty, they submit that it will
not be expedient to pass such Bill into a law before
the whole digest is completed. For it is obvious that,
in order to secure entire uniformity of principle and ar-
rangement, it is very expedient that the Commissioners
should have examined the whole subject as well
the part relating to procedure as that regarding the
substantive law. Much of useful generalisation may
thus also be effected, tending materially to render the
digest more accessible and intelligible. It can scarcely
fail to happen that any one chapter of the digest may
be rendered more precise and unobjectionable in every
respect after the Commissioners shall have diligently
scrutinised and reduced into proper articles all the other
chapters ; and until the view of the Commissioners,
with reference to the mutual dependency of the several
chapters and their general arrangement, shall be fully
developed by the completion of the work, it is very
probable that erroneous judgments may be formed of
the practical operation and sufficiency of detached parts.
DRAFT OF A BILL INTITULED "AN ACT FOR CONSOLI-
DATING AND AMENDING SO MUCH OF THE CRIMINAL
LAW AS RELATES TO INCAPACITY TO COMMIT CRIMES,
DURESS, THE ESSENTIALS OF A CRIMINAL INJURY,
CRIMINAL AGENCY AND PARTICIPATION, AND HOMI-
CIDE AND OTHER OFFENCES AGAINST THE PERSON."
Be it enacted, &c.
1. That the schedule to this Act annexed shall be
deemed and taken to be parcel of this Act, and that the
four chapters of the same, and the ten sections of the
said chapters, and the 146 articles of the said sections,
and the headings thereof, and the numbers thereof,
respectively, shall be deemed to be taken and enacted
by this present Act, as if each and every of the
said chapters, sections, articles headings, and
numbers had been expressly and in terms
herein recited, with the usual words and in the usual
ft otyrs
st every sht
hce) f
::i
i ee n
na ctment, or declaration, or proviso, as the
case may be ; and that from the passing of this Act
one guilty of any offence described in, or defined
schedule,appointed shall
inrespect
ebsep liable ef
suchto
such
offepnuenei.shment
2.
whereb That after the passing of this Act, the rule of law
y a married woman charged with the commission
e her husband be present at the
toifmaen,ypererismume eiad n
to have acted under his coercion, unless
it appear that she did not so act
and all rules of law
contrary ,
to the provisions of chap. 1. of the said schedule
shall be, and the same are hereby repealed and an.
nulled

3. That no person shall, after the passing of this Act,
be liable to prosecution by an indictment or information
in respect of any offence against the person not ingluded
in the said schedule,

---
4. Provided that nothing hereinbefore contained shall
exempt any person from prosecution by indictment or
information in respect of any offence against the person
not included in the said schedule in any case where, by
pecially punishable on account of the
any Act or Acts of Parliament, persons committing such
or the place wherein such offence is
partyoffence
a gaarrn made sm

Cominitied.t
5. Provided also that nothing herein contained shall

* Upon the subject of martial coercial, see the note to
article of section 1, of chap 1 of the schedule.
f The necesity for this provision as an exception to
section 3, is occasioned by the limited nature of the
digest now submitted to your Majesty, should it be pro-
posed to pass it into a law before the completion of the
whole digest of crimes and punishments. No such
clause would be necessary if the whole digest were com-
pleted. The following are examples of the offences to
which the above provision is intended to apply, viz.,
treason in shooting at the Queen, the offence of striking
ajudge whilst in the execution of his office, &c.