Another for taking money to compound a qui tam action.

King's courts at Westminster, take upon himself to make composition with the said C. D. for the said supposed offence lastmentioned, and did then and there take and receive of the said C. D. a large sum of money, to wit, ten pieces of gold coin of the proper coin of this kingdom, called guineas, of the va lue of 10l. 10s. of lawful money of Great Britain as and for a reward for his the said T. N.'s forbearing to prosecute the said T. B. for the said last-mentioned supposed offence, against the form, &c. and against the peace, &c.

....

County of
That O. P. &c. being an evil disposed
(to wit.) person, and not regarding the statute
in such case made and provided, nor fearing the pains and
penalties therein contained, heretofore, to wit, on, &c.
with force and arms at, &c. upon and by colour and pre-
tence of a certain matter of offence, then and there pretend-
ed to have been committed by one Q. R. against a certain
penal law, i. e. by and upon colour and pretence that the
said Q. R. being a person vending and exposing to sale
foreign and British lace, had not caused the words "dealer
in Foreign and British lace," to be painted or written in
large or legible characters over the door of the said shop,
but had neglected so to do, against the form of a certain
statute made and passed in the forty-fourth year of the
reign of his present Majesty, entituled an act, &c. [here set
forth the title of the act,] unlawfully, wilfully and corruptly
did compound and agree with the said Q. R. who was then
and there surmised to have offended against the same sta-
tute in manner aforesaid, for the said pretended offence,
and did thereupon then and there take of and from the
said Q. R. a certain sum of money, to wit, the sum of ...
of lawful, &c. as and by way of composition for the said
pretended offence, and in order to prevent an information
from being laid against the said Q. R. for the same, with-
out the consent of any of his Majesty's courts at Westmin-
ster, and without any lawful authority for so doing, to the
great hindrance and obstruction of public justice, in con-
tempt, &c. to the evil example, &c. against the form, &c.
and against the peace, &c.

County of.

CONSPIRACY.*

of an indictment for con

The jurors for our Lord the King General form } (to wit.) upon their oath present, that A. B., late of, &c. [here state the names and additions of all the de-spiracy. fendants,] being persons of evil minds and dispositions, on, &c. with force and arms, at, &c. [the venue,]† unlawfully and wickedly [or if the conspiracy be malicious, say, "falsely and maliciously"] did conspire, combine, confederate, and agree together, ‡ to [here state the object of the conspiracy, as in the following precedents.] And the jurors aforesaid, upon their oath aforesaid, do further present, that the said A. B., &c. in pursuance of and according to the said conspiracy, combination, confederacy, and agreement between them the said A. B., &c. as aforesaid had, did, § on, &c. at, &c. [the place where the overt act took place,] [here set out the overt acts of conspiracy,] to the great damage of, &c. [the party immediately injured,] to the evil example of all others, and against the peace of our said Lord the King, his

The crime of conspiracy, according to its modern interpretation, may be of two kinds, viz. against the public, or against individuals. Those of the former description are again divisible into conspiracies at common law, and conspiracies by statute, such as combinations among workmen to raise wages. Those of the latter are too numerous, and of too great variety, to be comprised within any catalogue admissible here. Suffice it, therefore, to observe, in general terms, that conspiracies against the public may be such as injure public trade, endanger public health, violate public morals, insult public justice, or infringe upon public police those against individuals may be nearly, and with few exceptions, (13 E. R. 228.) every thing which has a direct tendency to injure them in property, person, or character, contrived or carried on by means of a confederacy. Under a head or title so comprehensive, a proper selection of precedents must necessarily be peculiarly arduous. Such only have been chosen as the compiler's judgment deemed most generally useful at country sessions.

+ The venue must be laid where the conspiracy is entered into, not where it takes effect. 1 Ld. Raym. 370.

may

The fact of conspiracy need not be proved, but be inferred from circumstances. 1 Black. R. 392.

§ The conspiracy is the gist of the indictment, and is itself a consummate offence; therefore it is not necessary that any act should have been done in consequence of it, or that any one was actually aggrieved. 1 Leach, 39.

crown, and dignity. [Add a second count, stopping at the statement of the conspiracy, omitting the overt acts, and concluding as above.]

Indictment at County of..

common law for a conspi

racy among workmen to

the time of la

bour.

That A. B., late of, &c. [and others, (to wit.) S setting out all their names and additions,] on, &c. in the...... year of the reign of our Sovereign raise their wa- Lord George the Third, &c. being workmen and jourges and lessen neymen in the art, mystery, and manual occupation of a wheelwright, and not being content to work and labour in that art and mystery by the usual number of hours in each day, and at the usual rates and prices for which they and other workmen and journeymen were wont and accustomed to work, but falsely and fraudulently conspiring and combining unjustly and oppressively to increase and augment the wages of themselves and other workmen and journeymen in the said art, and unjustly to exact and extort great sums of money for their labour and hire in their said art, mystery, and manual occupation from the masters who employ them therein, on the same day and year, at, &c. aforesaid, together with divers other workmen and journeymen in the same art, mystery, and manual occupation, whose names to the jurors aforesaid, are as yet unknown, unlawfully did assemble and meet together, and so being assembled and met, did then and there unjustly and corruptly conspire, combine, confederate, and agree among themselves, that none of the said conspirators after the same ...day of......would work at any lower or lesser rate than five shillings for hewing of every hundred of spokes for wheels, and eight shillings for making of every pair of hinder wheels, for and or on account of any master or employer whatsoever in the said art, mystery, and occupation, and also that none of the said conspirators would work day work, or labour any longer than from the hour of six in the morning till the hour of seven in the evening in each day, from thenceforth, to the great damage and oppression not only of their masters employing them in the said art, mystery, and manual occupation, but also of divers others of

.....

his Majesty's liege subjects; to the evil example, &c. and against the peace, &c.

That T. B., late of, &c. [setting out For a conspi

} all the names and additions,] together racy by jour

the

neymen manu

raise the price of labour, pre

and vent others from working,

the and breaking and open a prison.

Second count

and for the riot,

County of...... (to wit.) with divers other evil disposed persons, to the number facturers to of one thousand and more, whose names are to jurors aforesaid as yet unknown, on, &c. with force arms, at, &c. being workmen and journeymen in art, mystery, and manual occupation of weavers, not being content to work and labour in that art mystery at the usual rates and prices for which they and &c. other such workmen and journeymen had been wont and accustomed to work, but unlawfully devising and intending unjustly and oppressively to augment and increase the wages of themselves and other workmen and journeymen in the said art, mystery, and manual occupation, and unlawfully and unjustly to exact and extort great sums of money for their labour and hire in the said art, mystery, and manual occupation, from the masters who employed them therein, did unlawfully, unjustly, and corruptly combine, conspire, consult, consent, and agree among themselves to demand, exact, and obtain for themselves and other workmen and journeymen in the said art, mystery, and manual occupation from the masters who employed them therein, greater wages, hire, and reward for their labour and work as such workmen and journeymen, than the usual and customary wages, hire, and reward, then usually paid for their labour and work as such workmen and journeymen by the masters who employed them as such workmen and journeymen in the said art, mystery, and manual occupation. And the jurors, &c. do further present, that in pursuance of the said conspiracy, combination, and agreement, and in order to carry their said intentions into effect, the said T. B., &c. with the said other evil disposed persons, whose names are to the said jurors as yet unknown, did then and there, and for a long time before and afterwards, desist from, and totally leave and refuse to continue their labour and work as such work

men and journeymen, and did then and there and on divers other days and times, as well before as afterwards, in a violent and tumultuous manner meet and assemble together, at, &c. aforesaid, and divers other places, and also then and there and on divers other days, as well before as after, go about from place to place and to the warehouses and workshops of divers masters and persons employing such workmen and journeymen in the said art, mystery, and manual occupation, and particularly to the warehouse and workshop of one D. R. and one H. R,, being masters and persons as aforesaid, with intent and in order to alarm and terrify the said D. R. and H. R., and other such masters and employers, and by threats and menaces to cause and procure the said D. R. and H. R., and other such masters and employers, to give greater wages, hire, and reward to such workmen and journeymen for their labour and work as such workmen and journeymen than the usual and customary wages, hire, and reward, then usually paid for their labour and work as such workmen and journeymen by the masters who employed them as such journeymen and workmen in the said art, mystery, and manual occupation, and did then and there cause and procure, and compel divers such workmen and journeymen to leave and desist from the work and labour in which they were respectively employed as such workmen and journeymen, and did then and there with force and arms, seize, take, and carry away from divers workmen and journeymen in the said art, mystery, and manual occupation, divers shuttles of and belonging to such workmen and journeymen respectively, and by them respectively used in their work and labour as such workmen and journeymen, and did also then and there, and on divers other days, as well before as after, unlawfully, riotously, and tumultuously assemble and gather themselves together, at, &c. aforesaid, and divers other places in the said county, and remain and continue together for divers long spaces of time, to wit, the space of twelve hours cach of the said days, and during all those times make divers great riots, routs, tumults, and disturbances, to the great terror of all the licge and peaceable subjects of our