Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (4th ed, 1770, vol IV).djvu/49

Ch.3 cipal. If A then advies B to kill another, and B does it in the abence of A, now B is principal, and A is acceory in the murder. And this holds, even though the party killed be not in rerum natura at the time of the advice given. As if A, the reputed father, advies B the mother of a batard child, unborn, to trangle it when born, and he does o; A is acceory to this murder. And it is alo fettled, that whoever procureth a felony to be committed, though it be by the intervention of a third peron, is an acceory before the fact. It is likewie a rule, that he who in any wie commands or counels another to commit an unlawful act, is acceory to all that enues upon that unlawful act; but is not acceory to any act ditinct from the other. As if A commands B to beat C, and B beats him o that he dies ; B is guilty of murder as principal, and A as acceory. But if A commands B to burn C's houe; and he, in o doing, commits a robbery; now A, though acceory to the burning, is not acceory to the robbery, for that is a thing of a ditinct and unconequential nature. But if the felony committed be the ame in ubtance with that which is commanded, and only varying in ome circumtantial matters ; as if, upon a command to poion Titius, he is tabbed or hot that he dies; the commander is till acceory to the murder, for the ubtance of the thing commanded was the death of Titius, and the manner of it's execution is a mere collateral circumtance. 3. acceory after the fact may be, where a peron, knowing a felony to have been committed, receives, relieves, comforts, or aits the felon. Therefore, to make an acceory ex pot facto, it is in the firt place requiite that he knows of the felony committed. In the next place, he mut receive, relieve, comfort, or ait him. And, generally, any aitance whatever given to a felon, to hinder his being apprehended,  Dyer. 186. 2 Hawk. P. C. 316. Foter. 125. 1 Hal. P. C. 618. 1 Hal. P. C. 617. 2 Hawk. P. C. 319.

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