Note 42 — Chapter V

Before 1772, this was not a crime at all but only a civil trespass; the Waltham Black Act (1722) 9 George I, c. 22 made it a felony punishable with death without benefit of clergy. This continued to be the law in England until the Act (1827) 7, 8 George IV, c. 27 (Imp.), and in Upper Canada until 1841.