Matthews v. State

The defendant was indicted in the Columbia circuit court, tried and convicted of larceny. A motion was made in arrest of judgment which was overruled, and the defendant appealed to this court.

The indictment charges the defendant with having stolen a hog, and the objection to its sufficiency is, that it does aver that the hog was either under twelve months old, or was marked.

It is true that hogs and cattle over one year old, running in the woods unmarked or branded, if taken by one not the owner, such taking is not larceny, but this is a separate and distinct act from that which declares the…