Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/104

88 ring their lives, being not within the michief, are not within the remedy.

2.&ensp; which treats of things or perons of an inferior rank, cannot by any general words be extended to thoe of a uperior. So a tatute, treating of “deans, prebendaries, parons, vicars, and others having piritual promotion,” is held not to extend to bihops, though they have piritual promotion; deans being the highet perons named, and bihops being of a till higher order.

3.&ensp; tatutes mut be contrued trictly. Thus the tatute 1 Edw. VI. c. 12. having enacted that thoe who are convicted of tealing hores hould not have the benefit of clergy, the judges conceived that this did not extend to him that hould teal but one hore, and therefore procured a new act for that purpoe in the following year. And, to come nearer our own times, by the tatute 14 Geo. II. c. 6. tealing heep, or other cattle, was made felony without benefit of clergy. But thee general words, “or other cattle,” being looked upon as much too looe to create a capital offence, the act was held to extend to nothing but mere heep. And therefore, in the next eions, it was found neceary to make another tatute, 15 Geo. II. c. 34. extending the former to bulls, cows, oxen, teers, bullocks, heifers, calves, and lambs, by name.

4.&ensp; againt frauds are to be liberally and beneficially expounded. This may eem a contradiction to the lat rule; mot tatutes againt frauds being in their conequences penal. But this difference is here to be taken: where the tatute acts upon the offender, and inflicts a penalty, as the pillory or a fine, it is then to be taken trictly: but when the tatute acts upon the offence, by etting aide the fraudulent tranaction, here it is to be contrued liberally. Upon this footing the tatute of 13 Eliz. c. 5. which avoids all gifts of goods, &c, made to defraud cre- ditors