Evening star., 1901-12-19
ANOMALIES OF THE LAW
Ih1ngs Which Cannot he Stolen apf
Rules That May BE Defed.


From Tit-Bis
In no branch of the law are such curious
points to be found or a greater number of
anomalies to be met with than in the GRIM
inal branch thereof
1T may be news to some peopTe for in
stance, 20 know that there are a number
VI tnlngs In existence which cannot he
stoIeh, such as corpse, animals ferae ma :
turae' le, animals wild in a state Of ma
ture with certain exceptions created by
statute, soil of the earth 1ac. To attempt
10 steal nothing would appear, on the face
oI IT, TO be an 1mpossibility, much less a
CRIME put a man indicted for attempting
% PICK lady's pocket which was subse-
luently found to be empty was found guilty
et an attempt to commit theft" though
IN fact, there was nothing In the pocket to
steal.
ANY one lucky enough to pick up a soy
ere1gn lying in the road will be glad to hear
'hat II at the time Of finding 1t he had no
reasonable means of discovering the owner
or 1t, and also If he did not at the same
Time conceive the idea of appropriatine it
to himself he will not be guilty Of stealing
II ne keeps his lucky find, even If the right
ful owner is discovered and claims it.
Most people walking in the country must
nave noticed on numerous occasions boa rds
VI paacards posted up in woods, fields, &C.
HoLlylnS IN large letters that "trespasserS
VIII be prosecuted" but few are aware
tnat sucn notices are utterly useless and
no one need feel the least alarm thereat
tnere being no such offense known in GRIM
maj law as such trespass, and a person
could never be prosecuted for such an Of
ienses They are, in fact, In the words OF
the eminent jurist, Sir Frederick Pollock,
In his wellknown work '.PolIock on Torts ;,
wooden falsehood."
II Is a common fallacy to imagine that
tne crime OF forgery consists in signing
anothers name, though, in fact, committing
forgery consists in making and uttering
any taise instrument in writing with at
tempt to defraud; thus, it NAV be for
gerry to omit word from a document, and
IL Will be matter of considerable surprise
70 many to learn that it is possible for a
person, however, who fraudulently inserts
another's name a picture, thereby selling
II as the work of some other artist is not
instrument in writing"
The crime of perjury also does not ouit O
Ht IN With the generally accepted idea
which is that II person, after being sworn
on oath TO speak the truth, swears falsely
ne is guilty OF such offense. This is correct
with the important qualification that the
tact the witness has sworn to must be
material to the case. Thus, If a witness on
peing duiy sworn gave false address on
untrue, would not amount to perjury as
the place where the witness lived would be
quite immaterial.
Ihat person may be guilty of perjury
though speaking the truth may seem a
curious anomaly, but such, nevertheless.
Is the fact, as the test of perjury is not
whether person Is speaking what he be-
leVes to be the truth; So if witness. for
instance, on being asked, What colored
tie was the prisoner wearing when YOU
met hfm!" replied red" when, in fact,
he did not really notice, he would be guilty
OF perjury, even though the prisoner was In
reality, wearing red tie when the witness
met him.
Numerous other instances Of crimes which
present similar curious points to the above
might be given, and, in passing, persons
taking out fnsurances against burglary
might note that this crime can only he
committed between the hours of pm. and
a.m.; that breaking into q house by means
or an open door, or window, Is not bur-
glary, although entering a house by sliding
down the chimney is.
We must not conclude this article with
| out short reference to a comparatfyely
recent case In which a man, not possess
ing the means to pay, entered restau-
rant, Where he ordered and ate a good din
ner; as, however, he was unable to pay for
the same he was given In charge, and SUBJ
sequently indicted for obtaining goods by
false pretenses." The case resulted in the
prisoners acquittal on the ground that he
| had not been guilty Of any false pre-
lenses.
This lucky Individual, therefore. had a
good meal on the cheap, but we should not
advise any enterprising reader to emulate
his example. as, although he could not in
| aeeo e ne prosecuted for obtaining goods by
Ialse pretenses, 1t seems that he will still
be crimfnally liable under the bankruptcy
act for obtaining credit by fraudulent
means.