Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (4th ed, 1770, vol IV).djvu/18

6 treaon in imagining the king's death involves in it conpiracy againt an individual, which is alo a civil injury : but as this pecies of treaon in it's conequences principally tends to the diolution of government, and the destruction thereby of the order and peace of ociety, this denominates it a crime of the highet magnitude. Murder is an injury to the life of an individual ; but the law of ociety coniders principally the los which the tate utains by being deprived of a member, and the pernicious example thereby let, for others to do the like. Robbery may be conidered in the ame view : it is an injury to private property ; but, were that all, a civil atisfaction in damages might atone for it : the public michief is the thing, for the prevention of which our laws have made it a capital offence. In thee gros and atrocious injuries the private wrong is wallowed up in the public : we eldom hear any mention made of atisfaction to the individual ; the atisfaction to the community being o very great. And indeed, as the public crime is not otherwie avenged than by forfeiture of life and property, it is impoible afterwards to make any reparation for the private wrong ; which can only be had from the body or goods of the aggreor. But there are crimes of an inferior nature, in which the public punihment is not o evere, but it affords room for a private compenation alo : and herein the distinction of crimes from civil injuries is very apparent. For intance ; in the cae of battery, or beating another, the aggreor may be indicted for this at the uit of the king, for diturbing the public peace, and be punihed criminally by fine and imprionment : and the party beaten may alo have his private remedy by action of trepas for the injury, which he in particular utains, and recover a civil atisfaction in damages. So alo, in cae of a public nuance, as digging a ditch acros a highway, this is punihable by indictment, as a common offence to the whole kingdom and all his majety's ubjects : but if any individual utains any pecial damage thereby, as laming his hore, breaking his carriage, or the like, the offender may be compelled to Rh