ous lan guage.(i) lenge the said A. B. to fight a duel with him, &c. against the peace, &c. For as- That R. B. late of, &c. being a disturber of the peace of our saulting a person and said lord the king, on, &c. with force and arms, at, &c, aforesaid, provoking in and upon one W. C. in the peace of God and our said lord the to fight by opprobri- king then and there being, did make an assault, and with threats and opprobrious language, then and there wickedly and maliciously did stir up, provoke, and excite him the said W. C. to fight a battle against him the said R. B. and further, that the said R. B. afterwards, to wit, on the same day and year abovementioned, at, &c. aforesaid, came with force and arms, and with threats and opprobrious language then and there wickedly and maliciously did stir up, provoke, and excite him the said W. C. then and there being in the peace of God and of our said lord the king, to fight against him the said R. B. a duel with swords and pistols, and other wrongs to the said W. C. then and there did, to the great damage and terror of him the said W. C. in contempt, &c. to the evil example, &c. and against the peace, &c. a game For sendThat G. S. late of, &c. esquire, being a person of quarrelsome ing a challenge and turbulent temper and disposition, and a disturber of the about mo- peace of our said lord the king, on, &c. with force and arms, at, ney lost at &c. in, &c. unlawfully and maliciously did challenge J. M. escalled pass quire, a peaceable subject of our said lord the king, to fight with dice. On 9 Ann. c. 14. him the said J. M. on account of money then and there won by s. 8.(j) the said J. M. of the said G. S. by then and there gaming and playing at dice with the said G. S. at a certain game called pass dice, or hazard, (k) to the great damage of the said J. M. in contempt, &c. and against the peace, &c. and also against the form of the statute, &c. And the jurors, &c. do further present, that the said G. S. being such person as aforesaid, afterwards, that is to say, on, &c. with force and arms, at, &c. unlawfully and maliciously did provoke the said J. M. to fight him the said G. S. on account of money then and there won by the said J. M. of the said G. S. by then and there playing at dice with the said G. S. (i) See a similar precedent, Cro. C. C. 102. (j) See similar precedents, 4 Wentw. 317.2 Starkie, 407. see the act recited and notes ante 833'.on assaults on account of money won at gaming. (*) As to stating the name of the game, see ante 833". at a certain game called pass dice, to the great damage of, &c. in contempt, &c. and against the peace, &c. and also against the form, &c. [Counts for an assault on account of money won at play, were added as ante 833*.] * INDICTMENTS FOR MALA PRAXIS. [*863] midwife the de art that That A. the wife of T. A. late of, &c. gentleman, being a per- Against a son of a wicked mind and disposition, and unlawfully, wickedly, for enand injuriously minding and intending to impose upon and de-gaging ceive divers liege subjects of our said lord the king, under the livering of false colour and pretence that she the said A. A. was well skilled a woman, and so unin the art, profession, or calling of a midwife, and that she was of skilfully sufficient knowledge and ability to undertake and practice the said using the art, profession, or calling, and to execute and perform the duties she died. of such art, and also unlawfully, &c. going about and causing and (1) procuring herself the said A. A. to be engaged, retained and employed by divers liege subjects of our said lord the king, in the delivery of pregnant women, for large sums of money to be paid to her the said A. A. for such her pretended skill in the said art, &c. of a midwife, on, &c. with force and arms, at, &c. unlawfully did set up and practice the said art of a midwife. And the jurors, &c. do further present, that the said A. A. so having set up, used, and practised the said art, &c. on, &c. at, &c. in pursuance of her aforesaid wicked intentions, did cause and procure herself the said A. A. to be retained and employed in the said art, &c. to deliver one M. D. then the wife of J. D. of the parish and county aforesaid, butcher, of a certain male child with which she the said M. D. was then and there pregnant, for a certain large sum of money to be thereupon paid to her the said A. A. for her attendance on the said M. D. and for her skill and ability in the said (From 4 Wentw. 360. see other precedents, Vet. Int. 231. Trem, P. C. 242. art, &c. of a midwife, and the said A. A. then and there unlawfully, &c. did undertake to deliver the said M. D. of the said male child with which she was then pregnant as aforesaid, and did then and there unlawfully, &c. falsely pretending that she the said A. A. was of sufficient skill and ability and of sufficient knowledge in the said art, &c. of a midwife to execute and perform the same. And the jurors, &c. do further present, that the said A. A. not regarding the life of the said M. D. or of the child with which she was so pregnant as aforesaid, and being wholly unskilled in the said art, &c. of a midwife, and of no ability to perform and execute the duties thereof, and neglecting and re[*864] fusing necessary advice and * assistance, on, &c. aforesaid, at, &c. aforesaid, in, for, and about the delivery of the said M. D. of the said child with which she was so pregnant as aforesaid, with force and arms unlawfully, wickedly, ignorantly, rashly, injuriously, unskilfully, improperly, unnecessarily, and contrary to good practice in the said art, &c. of a midwife, did then and there cut off, tear off, pull off, separate, sever, and dismember, the left arm of the said child with which she the said M. D. was so pregnant as aforesaid, and of which child the said M. D. was then and there about to be delivered, and did also then and there unskilfully, &c. and contrary, &c. make use of and apply in and about the said delivery of the said M. D. certain destructive instruments, to wit, a certain instrument called perforating scissars, and also a certain other instrument called a crotchet, and the said several instruments called perforating scissars and a crotchet, did then and there unskilfully, &c. and contrary, &c. introduce, make use of, and apply in and to the womb and body of the said M. D. and with the said destructive instruments called perforating scissars and a crotchet, did then and there unlawfully, &c. and contrary, &c. break in pieces, crush, and destroy, the ribs and other parts of the body of the said male child, with which she the said M. D. was so pregnant, and of which she was so then and thereabout to be delivered as aforesaid, within the womb and body of the said M. D.; by reason and means of which said unlawful, wicked, injurious, &c. cutting off the arm of the said child as aforesaid, and also of the said unlawful, &c. use and abuse of the said several instruments called, &c. as also by reason and means of the breaking in pieces, crushing, and destroying the ribs and other parts of the body of the said child as aforesaid, within the womb and body of the said M. D. as aforesaid, the womb, vagina abdomen, and other parts of generation, and of the body of the said M. D. were by the broken bones of the said child, and by the said instruments called, &c. then and there greatly torn, lacerated, extended, wounded, injured, and hurt, and a great and violent effusion and discharge of blood from the womb and body of the said M. D. was thereby then and there occasioned, of which said tearing, laceration, extension, wounding, injuring, and hurting of the womb, vagina abdomen, and other parts of generation, and other parts of the body of the said M. D. as aforesaid, and of the great and violent effusion, &c. of blood from the womb and body of the said M. D. occasioned thereby as aforesaid, she the said M. D. from, &c. until, &c. at, &c. did languish, and languishing did live, on which said day of, &c. she the said M. D. at, &c. of the said laceration, &c. of the womb, &c. and of the body of the said M. D. in manner and form aforesaid, and of * the great and violent ef- [*865] fusion, &c. of blood, from the womb and body of the said M. D. died; to the great scandal, infamy and disgrace of human nature, and of the midwives of this kingdom, to the very great damage of the said J. D. in evil example, &c. and against the peace, &c. [*866] * OFFENCE OF LIBEL.(m) PRELIMINARY NOTES UPON THE OFFENCE, MODES OF PROSECU- Offence. Offence. In briefly considering the offence of Libel, we will inquire, 1st. by what mode of expression a libel may be conveyed; 2dly, of what kind of defamation it must consist; 3dly, how plainly it must be expressed; 4thly, what mode of publication is essential; 5thly, who are liable to be punished for a libel criminally, either as composer or publisher. The I. By what mode of expression a libel may be conveyed. most simple idea of libel is where the defamatory matter is reduced into writing. But the exhibition of a picture, intimating that which in print would have been libellous, is equally criminal, 2 Campb. 512. 5 Co. 125. but see 3 Campb. 323. So the fixing a gallows at a man's door, the burning him in effigy, or the exhibiting him in any ignominious manner, is indictable as a libel, Hawk. b. 1. c. 73. s. 2. 11 East, 227. But mere opprobrious words, unless they are spoken of a magistrate in his official capacity, or tend immediately to provoke a challenge, are not punishable or criminal in the temporal courts, 3 Salk. 190. 2 Campb. 142. II. What kind of defamation a libel must contain. There is, perhaps, no branch of the law which it is so difficult to reduce to any exact principles, or to compress within a small compass as the requisites of libel. All publications denying the Christian religion to be true—all works casting gross ridicule on the church of England-all writings subversive of morality, and tending to inflame the passions by indecent language-are indictable at com. (m) As to this offence in general, see Hawk. b. 1. c. 73. Com. Dig. Libel. Bac. Abr. Libel. Holt on Li bels. George on Libel. Starkie on Siander. Burn J. Libel. Williams J. Libel. Dick. J. Libel. |