Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/430

 414 term, a circulation could be kept up between the army and the people, and the citizen and the oldier be more intimately connected together.

keep this body of troops in order, an annual act of parliament likewie paes, "to punih mutiny and deertion, and for the better payment of the army and their quarters." This regulates the manner in which they are to be dipered among the everal inn-keepers and victuallers throughout the kingdom; and etablihes a law martial for their government. By this, among other things, it is enacted, that if any officer and oldier hall excite, or join any mutiny, or, knowing of it, hall not give notice to the commanding officer; or hall deert, or lift in any other regiment, or leep upon his pot, or leave it before he is relieved, or hold correpondence with a rebel or enemy, or trike or ue violence to his uperior officer, or hall diobey his lawful commands; uch offender hall uffer uch punihment as a court martial hall inflict, though it extend to death itelf.

expedient the mot trict regulations may be in time of actual war, yet, in times of profound peace, a little relaxation of military rigour would not, one hould hope, be productive of much inconvenience. And, upon this principle, though by our tanding laws (till remaining in force, though not attended to) deertion in time of war is made felony, without benefit of clergy, and the offence is triable by a jury and before the judges of the common law; yet, by our militia laws before-mentioned, a much lighter punihment is inflicted for deertion in time of peace. So, by the Roman law alo, deertion in time of war was punihed with death, but more mildly in time of tranquillity. But our mutiny act makes no uch ditinction: for any of the faults above-mentioned are, equally at all times, punihable with death itelf, if a court martial hall think proper. This dicretionary power of the court martial is indeed to be guided by the directions of the crown; which, with regard to Rh