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§ 43.—Criminal Offences.

Another class of important duties, appertaining to the Magistrates, is the trial of Criminal Offences. We have before defined this kind of offence. It is an offence against the Queen, that is, against the whole community, of which the Queen is the head. These are the offences which, with their respective punishments, are written in the first part of this book.

These offences affect society at large, and not only the single individual who suffers the wrong. The man who commits one of these offences has insulted and page X injured the community. The Law therefore does not allow such offences to he atoned for by the payment of money to the individual who was specially injured by the offence, but directs that the offender shall make satisfaction for his offence, either by taking his money, which goes to the Queen, or by imprisoning his body; and, in cases of heinous crime, such as Murder, he himself is made the payment and his life is forfeited. The money payments required by the Law as satisfaction for Criminal Offences are called "Fines." The offender is said to be "fined"