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But if a person intending to burn the house of a particular person accidentally burns another's he commits the offence. 3 Inst. 67; 2 Bishop Cr. Law 27.

The offence must have been committed without legal justification or excuse and without colour of right. Sec. 541.

A man is presumed to intend the natural and probable consequences of his own voluntary act. Therefore, if one kindles a fire in a stack situated so that it is likely to communicate and does communicate in fact to an adjoining building, he is chargable with burning the building. R. v. Cooper, 5 C. & P. 535.

But where a sailor entered a part of a vessel to steal rum there stored, and while he was tapping a cask a lighted match, which he held, came in contact with the rum and a fire resulted which destroyed the vessel, it was held that it was not arson. R. v. Faulkner, 13 Cox C.C. 550.

A wife, called as a witness against her husband on a charge under this section was held incompetent under the Canada Evidence Act to disclose a communication made by her husband in the presence or hearing of herself and a third party which she would not undertake to say was not intended for her to hear. R. v. Wallace (1903), 6 Can. Cr. Cas. 323.

Damaging property.]-See sec. 510 as to the indictable offence of mischief by wilfully destroying or damaging property; and see sec. 539 as to summary conviction for malicious injury to property where the damage is less than $20.

Extradition.]—Arson is an extraditable offence between the British possessions and the United States of America under the Ashburton treaty of 1842.

arson.

512. Every one is guilty of an indictable offence and liable Attempt to to fourteen years' imprisonment who wilfully attempts to set commit fire to anything mentioned in the last preceding section, or who wilfully sets fire to any substance so situated that he knows that any thing mentioned in the last preceding section is likely to catch fire therefrom. 55-56 V., c. 29, s. 483.

Attempts to set fire.]-If B, under A.'s direction, arranges a blanket saturated with oil so that if it is set on fire the flame will be communicated to a building and then lights a match and holds it until it is burning well and then puts it down to within an inch or two of the blanket, when the match goes out; A. is guilty of an attempt to set fire to the building. R. v. Goodman, 22 U.C.C.P. 338.

Setting Other Fires.

513. Every one is guilty of an indictable offence and liable Penalty. to fourteen years' imprisonment who wilfully sets fire to,

(a) any crop, whether standing or cut down, or any wood, Crop.
forest, coppice or plantation, or any heath, gorse, furze or

fern; or,

(b) any tree, lumber, timber, logs, or floats, boom, dam or Trees, etc., slide, and thereby injures or destroys the same. 55-56 V., dam or slide. c. 29, s. 484.

Attempt.

Recklessly setting fire to forests.

May be

tried summarily.

Threats to burn.

Setting fire to crops.]-In R. v. Dossett (1846), 2 C. & K. 306, the accused was indicted for setting fire to a rick of straw. The rick was set on fire by the prisoner having fired a gun very near to it, and evidence was offered to shew that the rick had been on fire the day previous, and that the prisoner was then close to it with a gun in his hand. There was no other evidence offered to shew that the prisoner had on the day previous fired the gun or set fire to the rick. The evidence, however, was received as tending to shew that the rick was fired at the time charged wilfully.

Colour of right.]-See sec. 541.

514. Every one is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to seven years' imprisonment who wilfully attempts to set fire to anything mentioned in the last preceding section, or who wilfully sets fire to any substance so situated that he knows that any thing mentioned in the last preceding section is likely to catch fire therefrom. 55-56 V., c. 29, s. 485.

515. Every one is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to two years' imprisonment, who, by such negligence as shows him to be reckless or wantonly regardless of consequences, or in violation of a provincial or municipal law of the locality, sets fire to any forest, tree, manufactured lumber, square timber, logs or floats, boom, dam or slide, on the Crown domain, or on land leased or lawfully held for the purpose of cutting timber, or on private property on any creek or river, or rollway, beach or wharf, so that the same is injured or destroyed.

2. The magistrate investigating any such charge may, in his discretion, if the consequences have not been serious, dispose of the matter summarily, without sending the offender for trial, by imposing a fine not exceeding fifty dollars, and in default of payment by the committal of the offender to prison for any term not exceeding six months, with or without hard labour. 55-56 V., c. 29, s. 486.

Where the defendant set fire to a summer-house in a wood, and the fire was thence communicated to the wood, he was held to be properly convicted on an indictment charging him with setting fire to the wood. R. v. Price, 9 C. & P. 729.

516. Every one is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to ten years' imprisonment who sends, delivers or utters, or directly or indirectly causes to be received, knowing the contents thereof, any letter or writing threatening to burn or destroy any building, or any rick or stack of grain, hay or straw or other agricultural produce, or any grain, hay or straw

or other agricultural produce in or under any building, or any ship or vessel. 55-56 V., c. 29, s. 487.

Threats to burn.]—It is for the trial judge to determine whether the document is capable of bearing the meaning assigned to it, and it is then for the jury to say whether under the circumstances it has that meaning or not. Regina v. Coady (1882), 15 Cox C.C. 89; Regina v. Carruthers (1844), 1 Cox C.C. 138.

Comparison of a disputed writing with any writing proved to the satisfaction of the court to be genuine shall be permitted to be made by witnesses; and such writings, and the evidence of witnesses respecting the same, may be submitted to the court and jury as evidence of the genuineness or otherwise of the writing in dispute. Can. Evid. Act, sec. 8.

Threats verbally made to burn the complainant's buildings are not indictable under the Criminal Code, and give rise only to proceedings to force the offender to give security to keep the peace. Ex parte Welsh (1898), 2 Can. Cr. Cas. 35 (Que.).

Binding over to keep the peace.]-Upon complaint by or on behalf of any person that on account of threats made by some other person or on any other account, he, the complainant is afraid that such other person will burn or set fire to his property, the justice before whom such complaint is made may, if he is satisfied that the complainant has reasonable grounds for his fears, require such other person to enter into his own recognizances or to give security to keep the peace, and to be of good behaviour for a term not exceeding twelve months. Section 748 (2).

Railways, Mines and Electric Plant.

517. Every one is guilty of an indictable offence and liable Injuries to five years' imprisonment who, in manner likely to cause danger to valuable property, without endangering life

person,

affecting railways,

or likely to

endanger

(a) places any obstruction upon any railway, or takes up, property. removes, displaces, breaks or injures any rail, sleeper or other matter or thing belonging to any railway; or,

(b) shoots or throws anything at an engine or other railway vehicle; or,

(c) interferes without authority with the points, signals or other appliances upon any railway; or,

(d) makes any false signal on or near any railway; or,

(e) wilfully omits to do any act which it is his duty to do; or,

(f) does any other unlawful act.

2. Every one who does any of the acts in this section men- With intent. tioned with intent to cause such danger is liable to imprison

ment for life. 55-56 V., c. 29, s. 489.

See also secs. 282 and 283.

Where an indictment charges substantially the same offence as that charged in the indictment on which the accused was given in charge on a

Obstructing railways.

Penalty.

Damaging goods on railway, etc.

Wasting liquors.

Penalty.

former trial but adds a statement of intention or circumstances of aggravation tending if proved to increase the punishment, the previous acquital or conviction is a bar to such subsequent indictment. Section 909 (1).

Evidence.]-The act must have been done without legal justification or excuse and without colour of right. Section 541. It will be observed that the term "wilfully" appears only in sub-paragraph (e) of this section.

518. Every one is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to two years' imprisonment who, by any act or wilful omission, obstructs or interrupts, or causes to be obstructed or interrupted, the construction, maintenance or free use of any railway or any part thereof, or any matter or thing appertaining thereto or connected therewith. 55-56 V., c. 29, s. 490.

To constitute an offence the act must be done without legal justification or excuse and without colour of right. Section 541.

A drunken man got upon the railway and altered the signals and thereby caused a luggage train to pull up and proceed at a very slow pace. It was held upon a case reserved, that this was the causing of an engine and carriage using a railway to be obstructed. R. v. Hadfield, 11 Čox C.C. 574. A person improperly went upon a line of railway and purposely attempted to stop a train approaching, by placing himself on the space between two lines of rails, and holding up his arms in the mode adopted by inspectors of the line when desirous of stopping a train; it was held also to be the offence of unlawfully obstructing an engine or carriage using a railway. R. v. Hardy, 11 Cox C.C. 656.

519. Every one is guilty of an offence and liable, on summary conviction, to a penalty not exceeding twenty dollars over and above the value of the goods or liquors so destroyed or damaged or to one month's imprisonment with or without hard labour, or to both, who,

(a) wilfully destroys or damages anything containing any goods or liquors in or about any railway station or building or any vehicle of any kind on any railway, or in any warehouse, ship or vessel, with intent to steal or otherwise unlawfully to obtain or to injure the contents, or any part thereof; or,

(b) unlawfully drinks or wilfully spills or allows to run to waste any such liquors, or any part thereof. 55-56 V., c. 29, s. 491.

520. Every one is guilty of an indictable offence and liable With intent to seven years' imprisonment who, with intent to injure a mine to injure

mine or oil

well.

Conveying

substance

into.

or oil well, or obstruct the working thereof,

(a) causes any water, earth, rubbish or other substance to be conveyed into the mine or oil well or any subterranean channel communicating with such mine or well; or,

(b) damages any shaft or any passage of the mine or well; Damaging

or,

shaft.

(c) damages, with intent to render useless, any apparatus, Damaging building, erection, bridge or road belonging to the mine or apparatus. well, whether the object damaged be complete or not; or, (d) hinders the working of any such apparatus; or, Hindering (e) damages or unfastens, with intent to render useless, any working of. rope, chain or tackle used in any mine or well or upon any Damaging way or work connected therewith. 55-56 V., c. 29, s. 498. Colour of right.]-If the act be done with a colour of right it is no offence. Section 541; R. v. Matthews, 14 Cox C.C. 5.

Apparatus, building or erection.]—A trunk of wood used to convey water to wash the earth from the ore is an "erection" belonging to the mine within this section. Barwell v. Winterstoke, 14 Q.B. 704; and so is a scaffold erected at some distance above the bottom of a mine for the purpose of working a vein of coal on a level with the scaffold. R. v. Whittingham, 9 C. & P. 234.

tackle.

521. Every one is guilty of an indictable offence and liable Penalty. to two years' imprisonment who wilfully,

(a) destroys, removes or damages anything which forms Damaging part of, or is used or employed in or about any electric or telegraph, telephone or magnetic telegraph, electric light, telephone or fire-alarm, fire alarm. or in the working thereof, or for the transmission of electricity for other lawful purposes; or,

tion.

(b) prevents or obstructs the sending, conveyance or delivery Obstructing of any communication by any such telegraph, telephone or communicafire-alarm or the transmission of electricity for any such electric light, or for any such purpose as aforesaid.

2. Every one who wilfully, by any overt act, attempts to Attempts. commit any such offence is guilty of an offence and liable, on

summary conviction, to a penalty not exceeding fifty dollars, Penalty. or to three months' imprisonment with or without hard labour.

55-56 V., c. 29, s. 492.

To constitute an offence the act must be done without legal justification or excuse and without colour of right. Section 541.

Vessels and Rafts.

522. Every one is guilty of an indictable offence and liable Penalty.

to imprisonment for life who wilfully,

(a) casts away or destroys any ship, whether complete or Casting unfinished; or,

27-CRIM. CODE.

away ship.

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