Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (4th ed, 1770, vol IV).djvu/230

218 of the king's peace by uch aault and battery; a civil action, for the pecial damage utained by the party injured; and a uit in the eccleiatical court, firt, pro correctione et alute animae by enjoining penance, and then again for uch um of money as hall be agreed on for taking off the penance enjoined: it being uual in thoe courts to exchange their piritual cenures for a round compenation in money ; perhaps becaue poverty is generally eteemed by the moralits the bet medicine pro alute animae.

VIII. two remaining crimes and offences, againt the perons of his majety's ubjects, are infringements of their natural liberty: concerning the firt of which, fale imprionment, it's nature and incidents, I mut content myelf with referring the tudent to what was oberved in the preceding volume, when we conidered it as a mere civil injury. But, beides the private atisfaction given to the individual by action, the law alo demands public vengeance for the breach of the king's peace, for the los which the tate utains by the confinement of one of it's members, and for the infringement of the good order of ociety. We have before een, that the mot atrocious degree of this offence, that of ending any ubject of this realm a prioner into parts beyond the eas, whereby he is deprived of the friendly aitance of the laws to redeem him from uch his captivity, is punihed with the pains of praemunire, and incapacity to hold any office, without any poibility of pardon. Inferior degrees of the ame offence of fale imprionment are alo punihable by indictment (like aaults and batteries) and the delinquent may be fined and imprioned. And indeed there can be no doubt, but that all kinds of crimes of a public nature, all diturbances of the peace, all oppreions, and other midemenors whatoever, of a notoriouly evil example, may be indicted at the uit of the king. Rh