BREACH OF THE PEACE.

See under Apprehension and in Index.

An assault is a breach of the peace: see Assault. No indictment for a mere breach of the peace seems to be known, but note in s. 2 of the Treason A. 1842, with intent to break the public peace.'

BRIBERY.

Common law] Bribery is a misdemeanour punishable at common law. Bribery in strict sense is taken for a great misprision of one in a judicial place, taking any valuable thing whatsoever, except meat and drink of small value, of any one who has to do before him in any way, for doing his office, or by colour of his office, but of the King only. But bribery in a large sense is sometimes taken for the receiving or offering of any undue reward by or to any person whatsoever, whose ordinary profession or business relates to the administration of public justice, in order to incline him to do a thing against the known rules of honesty and integrity. . . . Also, bribery sometimes signifies the taking or giving a reward for offices of a public nature.' 2 Hawk. P. C. 1, 67, 1-3, founded on 3 Inst. 145. See Offices, &c.

Attempt] An unsuccessful attempt to bribe is a misdemeanour, as where a bribe is offered to a judge, and refused by him. 3 Inst. 147. So is an attempt to bribe the first lord of the treasury or a privy counsellor, for the purpose of procuring an office. Vaughan's case, 4 Burr. 2494, 1769, where L. Mansfield said, 'Wherever it is a crime to take, it is a crime to give.' So an attempt to bribe an elector to a corporation is punishable. Plympton's case, 2 L. Raym. 1377, 1725. Bribery or promising money (not necessarily to a particular individual) at the election of an assistant overseer is an offence at common law. Lancaster, 16 Cox C. C. 737, 1890.

'By far the most important aspect of the law of bribery in modern times is its relation to elections': Encyc. Laws E., art. Bribery.

Elections-treating] By the Corrupt Practices Prevention A. 1883, 46-7 V. 51, 1:—

(1) Any person who corruptly, by himself or by any other person, either before, during, or after an election, directly or indirectly gives or provides, or pays wholly or in part the expense of giving or providing any meat drink entertainment or provision to or for any person, for the purpose of corruptly influencing that person or any other person to give or refrain from giving his vote at the election, or on account of such person or any other person having voted or refrained from voting, or being about to vote or refrain from voting at such election, shall be guilty of treating.

(2) And every elector who corruptly accepts or takes any such meat, drink, entertainment or provision shall also be guilty of treating.'

Treating intended to secure general popularity and so to influence votes is corrupt treating and a corrupt practice. The essence of the offence. is that it should be corrupt. Treating, in fact, is often innocent, and primâ facie it will be taken so to be': 12 Halsbury, 290; see ib. a valuable note d. Incidental refreshments (bare hospitable attention) hardly constitute treating. A promise to treat may be corrupt. In each case it is a question of fact, and the whole of the circumstances must be looked at. Ib. 291.

Undue influence] S. 2. 'Every person who shall directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf, make use of or threaten to make use of any force, violence, or restraint, or inflict or threaten to inflict, by himself or by any other person, any temporal or spiritual injury, damage, harm, or loss upon or against any person in order to induce or compel such person to vote or refrain from voting, or on account of such person having voted or refrained from voting at any election, or who shall, by abduction, duress, or any fraudulent device or contrivance impede or prevent the free exercise of the franchise of any elector, or shall thereby compel, induce, or prevail upon any elector either to give or to refrain from giving his vote at any election, shall be guilty of undue influence.'

By s. 64 person' includes associations,' whether corporate or not, and its members are liable to punishment.

'A threat of withdrawing the church bread [from a baker]' or defendant's own custom would be an infraction of' an earlier Act if done with a view to induce a person to vote or to abstain from voting,'

just as it would be if a landlord were to say to his tenant, if you do not vote for so and so, I will turn you out of your house': per L. Campbell C.J., Barnwell, 5 W. R. 557, 1857.

Corrupt practice] S. 3. The expression 'corrupt practice,' as used in this Act, means any of the following offences, namely, treating and undue influence as defined by this Act, and bribery and personation, as defined by the enactments set forth in Part III. of the Third Schedule to this Act, and aiding, abetting, counselling, and procuring the commission of the offence of personation, and every offence which is a corrupt practice within the meaning of this Act shall be a corrupt practice within the meaning of the Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868,' i.e. bribery, treating or undue influence by statute or ' recognised by the common law of Parliament': s. 2.

Bribery defined] The Acts (other than Scottish) referred to as being in Part III. of the Third Schedule are 17-18 V. 102, 2, 3; 30-1 V. 102, 49; and 35-6 V. 33, 24. Of these, 17-18 V. 102, 2, runs: "The following persons shall be deemed guilty of bribery, and shall be punishable accordingly:-1. Every person who shall, directly, or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf, give, lend, or agree to give or lend, or shall offer, promise, or promise to procure, or to endeavour to procure any money or valuable consideration, to or for any voter, or to or for any person on behalf of any voter or to or for any other person, in order to induce any voter to vote, or refrain from voting, or shall corruptly do any such act as aforesaid, on account of such voter having voted or refrained from voting at any election; 2. Every person who shall, directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf, give or procure, or agree to give or procure, or offer, promise, or promise to procure or to endeavour to procure, any office, place, or employment to or for any voter, or to or for any person on behalf of any voter, or to or for any other person, in order to induce such voter to vote, or refrain from voting, or shall corruptly do any such act as aforesaid, on account of any voter having voted or refrained from voting at any election; 3. Every person who shall, directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf, make any such gift, loan, offer, promise, procurement, or agreement as aforesaid, to or for any person, in order to induce such person to procure or endeavour to procure, the return of any person to serve in parliament, or the vote of any voter at any election; 4. Every person.

who shall, upon or in consequence of any such gift, loan, offer, promise, procurement, or agreement, procure or engage, promise, or endeavour to procure, the return of any person to serve in parliament, or the vote of any voter at any election; 5. Every person who shall advance or pay, or cause to be paid, any money to or to the use of any other person, with the intent that such money or any part thereof shall be expended in bribery at any election, or who shall knowingly pay or cause to be paid any money to any person in discharge or repayment of any money wholly or in part expended in bribery at any

election.

S. 3 is: The following persons shall also be deemed guilty of bribery and shall be punishable accordingly:-1. Every voter who shall, before or during any election, directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf, receive, agree, or contract for any money, gift, loan, or valuable consideration, office, place, or employment, for himself or for any other person, for voting or agreeing to vote, or for refraining or agreeing to refrain from voting at any election; 2. Every person who shall, after any election, directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf, receive any money or valuable consideration on account of any person having voted or refrained from voting, or having induced any other person to vote or refrain from voting, at any election.'

By s. 10, no indictment for bribery or undue influence is triable at Q. S.

Payment of rates] Bribery under s. 49 of 30-1 V. 102, the Representation of the People A. 1867, is the corrupt payment of rates to enable the ratepayer to be registered as a voter; the ratepayer, if a party to the transaction, is also guilty.

Personation (false)] is separately treated; but see Punishment, below.

Agent] Leatham, 3 E. & E. 658; 30 L. J. Q. B. 205; 8 Cox C. C. 498; 7 Jur. N. S. 674; 3 L. T. 504, 1860, was an indictment for having in 1859 paid to A. money with the intent that it should be applied in bribery at an election. There were several other counts in which defendant was charged with actual bribery of several voters: he was found guilty generally. Objection was taken that as defendant was found guilty on the first count, he could not also be guilty of the offences charged in the other counts, as it appeared that there was but one act, namely, the payment of the money by defendant to A. the agent, who actually bribed the different voters without consulting defendant, but the court thought that this objection, if available at all, was only available at the trial by application to compel the prosecutor to elect on which of the charges, that of advancing money for bribery or that of bribing each individual, he would proceed; and the court said that it was quite possible that one act might produce several distinct offences. Another objection was, that as the evidence was that defendant had paid the money to A., and A. had employed subordinates to bribe, defendant could not be found guilty of having bribed the voters himself. But the court thought that bribing by an agent was bribing by the principal expressly within the A., and on general principles of law. At a later stage of the proceedings, 3 L. T. 777; 30 L. J. Q. B. 205, it was held that, because the defendant had, at the inquiry, by the commissioners into the corrupt practices, referred

to and stated the substance of two letters, one of which was produced, between himself and his agent, these letters were not thereby rendered inadmissible against him on an indictment for bribery, under 15-16 V. 57, 8; one judge remarked that discoveries, e.g. of stolen property or a body, caused by statements of confessions or prisoners, were admissible when the statements themselves were not.

Criminal liability must not be confused with the special statutory penalties incidental to electoral agency.

Elections-common law] Bribery at elections for parliament is also a crime at common law, and it was held that 2 G. 2, 24, rpd., which imposed a penalty on such offence, did not affect that, per L. Mansfield, Pitt, 3 Burr. 1339; 1 W. Bl. 380, 1762. Smith and Hollis, 20 St. Tr. 1225, 1776, were informations for general bribery against the two members for Hendon: both were convicted. The following cases were decided on old statutes. Where money is given it is bribery, although the person giving it take a note from the voter, which he promises to deliver up when the elector has voted, and although he votes for the other side. Sulston v. Norton, 3 Burr. 1235; 1 W. Bl. 317, 1761. 'If I lay a wager of five guineas that he does not vote for me, it is a bribe. Anon., Lofft, 552, 1774; Hawk. P. C. 1, 67, 10 n. A bet between two voters on the event of an election is illegal: Allen v. Hearn, 1 T. R. 56, 1785; or between a voter and non-voter: ib. per Buller J.

Where a voter received money after an election for having voted for a candidate, but no agreement was made before the election, it was held not to be within 2 G. 2, 24, 7, rpd. L. Huntingtower v. Gardiner, 1 B. & C. 297, 1823.

Whether personation is a common law offence is doubtful: 1 Russ. Cri. 642.

Indictments] An allegation that an election for members of parliament, defendant was guilty of corrupt practices against the form of the statute in that case made and provided,' was held by a large majority of judges to be defective because too general (though cured after the verdict that he had offered money for votes), Stroulger. A prosecution may be ordered for a corrupt practice' under 47-8 V. 70, 28, without specifying the particular corrupt practice and an indictment charging any number of the corrupt acts under the A. of 1884, in a corrupt practice' is good, and it need not, through sub-s. 5, aver facts to give the court of trial jurisdiction where the alleged offence to be tried was committed in another jurisdiction.

Venue] Where a commissioner ordered a trial at Derby Assizes for bribery alleged only at a Nottingham municipal election it was not necessary that the indictment should first be found by a Nottingham grand jury; 'Derbyshire to wit' in the margin was sufficient. Riley and Campion, 17 Cox C. C. 120; 59 L. J. M. C. 122, 1890: C. C. R. See also 46-7 V. 51, 50.

6

Time limit] By 46-7 V. 51, 51 (1): A proceeding against a person in respect of the offence of a corrupt or illegal practice or any other offence under the Corrupt Practices Prevention Acts or this Act shall be commenced within one year after the offence was committed, or, if it was committed in reference to an election with respect to which an