Art. 3. or any receipt, release, or defeasance, or any writ, process, or C. 214. public record, shall be deemed guilty of the crime of larceny ; and every such offender, and any person present aiding and abetting in any such larceny, or accessary thereto before the fact, by counselling, hiring, or otherwise procuring the same to be done, who before any court having jurisdiction thereof, shall be duly convicted of either of the felonies or offences aforesaid, shall be punished, when the money, goods, or other article or articles stolen, shall not exceed in amount or value the sum of one hundred dollars, by solitary imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, and by confinement afterwards to hard labour for a term not exceeding one year, or by fine not exceeding one hundred dollars, and imprisonment in the common gaol for a term not exceeding one year; and when the money, goods, or other article or articles stolen, shall exceed in amount or value the sum of one hundred dollars, then by solitary imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, and by confinement afterwards to hard labour for a term not exceeding three years, to be ordered by the court before whom the conviction may be, according to the degree and aggravation of the offence." of several 3. Sect. 2 provides, the Supreme Judicial Court shall Jurisdictions have exclusive jurisdiction of all larcenies, where the property courts. stolen shall be alleged to exceed $100 in value, and concurrent jurisdiction with the Common Pleas and Municipal Court in Boston where under $100 in value. And each justice of the peace has jurisdiction where the same does not exceed in value $5; and any one convicted in the Common Pleas or Boston Municipal Court of any larceny, as principal or accessary, before or after the fact, may be punished by fine not above $100, and imprisonment in the common gaol not above a year, one or both. And any person convicted before a justice of the peace of any larceny, as principal or accessary, before or after the fact, may be punished by fine not exceeding $5, and imprisonment in the common gaol not above twenty days, one or both. 4. Sect. 3, punishes a "person having been before con- Two or more victed of the crime of larceny, or as accessary thereto before larcenies. the fact," who afterwards shall commit, or be a like accessary to another larceny, and duly convicted thereof in the Supreme Judicial Court; or any person convicted before that court at one and the same term thereof, as principal or as accessary before the fact, in three distinct larcenies, as a common and notorious thief, by solitary imprisonment not above a year, and hard labour not less than three or above fifteen years. 5. Sect. 4 enacts, "that if any person in the night-time Larceny in shall break and enter any shop, warehouse, or office, not ad- the night in a shop &c., vessel &c. CH. 214. joining to or occupied with a dwelling-house, or any ship or Art. 3. vessel lying within the body of the county, and shall there commit a larceny," such offender, aiders, &c. accessaries before the fact, shall be punished by solitary imprisonment not above a year, and hard labour not above fifteen years. Entering a dwellinghouse in the night without breaking &c. Larceny in Assault and robbery. Other larcenies. Assault with intent to steal. 6. Sect. 5 enacts, "that if any person in the night-time shall enter without breaking, or in the day-time shall break and enter any dwelling-house, or out-houses thereto adjoining or occupied therewith, or any office, shop, warehouse, ship or vessel, as aforesaid, the owner or other person being therein and put in fear," such offender, aiders, &c. and accessaries, before the fact, shall be punished by solitary imprisonment not above a year, and hard labour not above ten years. § 7. Sect. 6 enacts, "that if any person in the day-time shall commit any larceny, in any dwelling-house, office, shop, warehouse, ship, or vessel, as aforesaid, or in the night-time shall break and enter any church, meeting-house, court-house, town-house, college, or academy, or other building erected for public uses, or any mill, malt-house, store, barn, or stable, and shall commit any larceny therein," or be aiding &c. or accessary before the fact, he shall be punished by solitary imprisonment not above six months, and hard labour not above five years. 8. Sect. 7 enacts, "that any person who shall, by force and violence, or by other assault, and putting in fear, feloniously steal, rob, and take from the person of another any money, goods, bank-note, bill of exchange, or other negotiable bill, note, or order, due or in force, or any other property which may be the subject of larceny, shall be adjudged guilty of the crime of robbery; and every such offender, and any person present, aiding and abetting in the commission of such felony, or accessary thereto before the fact, by consulting, hiring, or procuring the same to be done, who in the Supreme Judicial Court shall be duly convicted of either of the felonies or offences aforesaid, shall be punished by solitary imprisonment for such term, not exceeding two years, and by confinement afterwards to hard labour for life." 9. Sect. 8 enacts, "that if any person shall commit any other larceny from the person of another, either by openly and violently, or privily and fraudulently, every such offender," his aiders &c. or accessary before the fact, shall be punished by solitary imprisonment, not above a year, and hard labour not above five years. § 10. Sect. 9 enacts, "that if any person with a dangerous weapon, or other actual violence, and with intent to rob or steal, in manner aforesaid, shall assault another, every such offender," his aiders, and accessaries before the fact, shall be deemed felonious assaulters, and punished as aforesaid &c. Сн. 214. Art. 3. felon or re § 11. Sect. 10 enacts, "that if any person shall knowingly harbour, conceal, or maintain any principal felon, or accessary Concealing a before the fact, in any robbery or larceny committed in any ceiving stolmanner aforesaid, or shall receive, or shall aid in concealing, en goods. any money, goods, or other articles stolen as aforesaid, knowing the same to have been so stolen in any such manner as aforesaid, every such offender upon due conviction of either of the offences aforesaid, shall be deemed an accessary after the fact to the same robbery or larceny ;" punishable by solitary imprisonment not above six months, by hard labour not above three years, or by fine not above $500, and imprisonment in the common gaol not above three years, or either of them. 12. Section 11 enacts, and any such receiver of stolen How one is goods may be prosecuted therefor, for a misdemeanor, though prosecuted for receiving the principal felon may not have been prosecuted or convict- stolen goods. ed; and the punishment is as of an accessary after the fact. more than once. 13. Section 19 provides, if one be convicted of receiving Receiving stolen goods, and afterwards knowingly receive stolen goods, or stolen goods aid in concealing them; or if one in the same term of the Supreme Judicial Court be convicted in three distinct acts of receiving or concealing stolen goods, he shall be deemed a common receiver of stolen goods, and be punished by solitary imprisonment not above a year, and by hard labour not less than three nor above ten years. § 14. Section 13 enacts, "that when any person convicted First convicfor the first offence as a receiver of stolen goods, or as acces- tion of receiving stolsary after the fact, in any simple larceny, and not adjudged to be a common receiver of stolen goods, shall make satisfaction to the party injured by such larceny, to the full amount of the money, goods, or articles, stolen and not restored," the court shall exempt such receiver or accessary from the penalty of confinement to hard labour. 15. Section 14 makes provision for recompensing the Prosecutor to prosecutor, after conviction. Court may make him a reasonable be recompensed. allowance, at their discretion, not exceeding his actual expenses, and a reasonable allowance for his time and trouble, to be paid out of the county treasury, to be reimbursed to it by the State. to secure the 16. Section 15; this section provides, whenever an offi- Officer arrestcer arrests the person charged with larceny, as he is directed ing the thief to do, he is to secure the goods alleged to be stolen, found in property alpossession of the accused person, or waived by him or her, leged to be in flying from justice; and make an inventory of them, and annexed to the officer's return. Owner getting a conviction &c., has his goods restored immediately after conviction. stolen. Сн. 214. Sect. 16 provides, when the convict is sentenced to hard labour, the person stolen from is to be indemnified out of his earnings; and if committed to the common gaol, in execution, then to be Owner how ordered to pay such person the full amount stolen, and not restored or satisfied; and if not able to make this satisfaction, then by service &c.;-not to be held in gaol above thirty days &c. ; costs to be paid by service, in certain cases, &c. &c. indemnified &c. Mass. Act, Larcenies at fires, by the 4th section of this act, are punMar.10, 1797. ished as other larcenies are. And persons are deemed guilty of larceny, who, at fires, receive goods or take them, the property of others, and who do not return them or make them known in the manner specified. § 17. On examining the statutes, largely cited in this chapter, and which in practice will be the grounds of numerous prosecutions, it will be observed that those of them passed by Congress are entirely new, having their origin solely under the Constitution of the United States; that though the statute of Massachusetts, passed in March, 1805, is generally a revision of the act passed in 1785, and of one passed March 9, 1785, to punish robbery, yet this act of 1805, contains some new provisions and distinctions; that though the acts of 1785, are generally revisions of the Provincial acts on these subjects, passed 1692, 1711, 1716, 1736, and 1761, yet also these acts last passed contain provisions the former did not; and though these Province acts are generally revisions of those of the Colony, yet these latter contained but a part of the provisions and distinctions of the former. This generally has been the case in the revisions of our laws. Every revision, almost of them, on any subject, has made them more voluminous. Nor have any of our statutes made a distinction as to grand or petty larceny, or goods stolen, of a value over or under 12d. In the English books the nature of both is the same, and in them the difference is only as to the punish ment. In these statutes there will be observed several expressions, the subjects of numerous and important decisions in the Eng-lish books, to which those decisions will usefully apply in the United States; such as, "intent to steal;" "the personal goods of another;" "feloniously taken or stolen;""feloniously take and carry away," "night time;"" dwelling-house," and out-buildings, parcel thereof; "and put in fear;" "force and violence;"" and putting in fear;" "from the person of - another;" receiving stolen goods. Though this long act is cited, and is all statute law, it may be usefully cited as including almost all the distinctions that can arise in cases of larceny, and as, in fact, a valuable abridgment of the common law cases as to houses and other buildings, and different vessels &c., Art. 4. and different kinds of property, the subject of theft, and the CH. 214. various situations of it when stolen; also receiving stolen goods, several grades of punishment, &c. ART. 4. American adjudged cases. 245, Com Smith & al. 1. This was an indictment against the defts., for that they 1 Mass. R. feloniously broke and entered the dwelling-house of J. Colby, monwealth v. and feloniously stole, among other things, thirty Spanish milled dollars, against the form of the statute &c. He was acquitted of all but the simple larceny. Judgment was arrested as to the money, because the value of it was not laid in the indictment; it was amended by consent. " is sufficient without a more monwealth v. 2. The indictment came up on an appeal, and the court 1 Mass. R. was of opinion that the indictment for larceny, alleging that 337, Comthe deft. stole " a bank-note of the value of of the Richards. goods and chattels of particular description of the note. §3. This was an indictment against Trimmer and wife, and 1 Mass. R. Patience Whitney, for breaking &c. a "store with intent to 476, Comsteal, and stealing &c., on the statute." Held, the wife was Trimmer not chargeable for a larceny jointly with her husband: 2. & al. That removing a plank loose, and not fixed to the freehold, in a partition wall of a building, is not a breaking within the statute. Nolle prosequi, as to the wife. The indictment amended by consent. See East's C. L. 558, 559. monwealth v. wealth v. An § 4. In this case goods were stolen in New Hampshire and 2 Mass. R.14, brought into Massachusetts. The court held, an indictment Commonlay against a receiver of them here. And the receiver was drews. sentenced to pay the treble value. See 1 Hal. P. C. 507, 409, Com carrying into another county is as a new caption. § 5. The deft. was indicted for receiving stolen goods, the 2 Mass. R. property of A. To this indictment the deft. pleaded in bar a monwealth v. former indictment, conviction, and judgment, for receiving Andrews. stolen goods, the property of B; and alleged, that the two parcels were received by him of the same person at the same time, and in the same package, and that the act of receiving them was one and the same. This plea was adjudged insufficient. The court never recommend a nolle prosequi to the government's counsel but at their instance. This decisionseems to have been on the ground, that the receiving of goods stolen by one of two distinct persons makes two distinct offences, though the goods were stolen by one act, at one time; for being stolen from two persons, each having separate property, the thief is guilty of two crimes. As if the watch of A and the watch of B are both in one box, and C by one and the same act steals them both, he is guilty of two distinct crimes. |