Chapman v. Commonwealth
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
IN ERROR. This was' a writ of error to the judges of the Court of Common Pleas, holding a Court of Oyer and Terminer for the county of Bucks, to remove the record of an indictment against Henry Chapman, for arson.
Read the full summary
IN ERROR. This was' a writ of error to the judges of the Court of Common Pleas, holding a Court of Oyer and Terminer for the county of Bucks, to remove the record of an indictment against Henry Chapman, for arson. The indictment was as follows: “ The. grand inquest' of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, inquiring for the body of the county of Bucks, upon their oaths and solemn affirmations respectively do present, th'at Henry Chapman, late of the said county, labourer, on the thirteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and-thirty-nine, with force and arms, at…
1Per curiam
The word “ maliciously,” in the first count, may pass as an equivalent for the word “ wilfully;” but the words “ barrack, rick, or stack, of hay, grain, or bark,” ás much import a barrack of hay or grain, as they do a rick or stack of hay of grain. They were used elliptically in the context, to avoid repetition. The statute is an amplification of the act of 1767, under a mitigated punishment; and it is to be remarked, that it was not indictable on that act, though it is so now, to- burn a barn, “ unless it had hay or corn therein.” It is not credible, therefore, that the legislature did not…
2Cited by4 opinions
- Ike v. StateMississippi Supreme Court · 1872
- State v. SmithSupreme Court of Iowa · 1870
- Rhoads v. First National BankNorth Dakota Supreme Court · 1917
- State v. AbbottSuperior Court of New Hampshire · 1855