FORESTALLING.

By false reports to lower the price of our native commodities, is fineable. So also all endeavors to enhance the common price of any merchandize, and all practices which have an apparent tendency thereto, are punishable by fine and, imprisonment. No one can lawfully buy within the county, any merchandize in gross, and sell the same in gross again, without being liable to indictment; and the bare engrossing of a whole commodity, with intent to sell at an unreasonable price, is indictable.

The statutes made against this offence are local statutes, confined to England and Wales, and therefore not in force here.

FORGERY.

Forgery at the common law, is the fraudulent making or altering of a writing, to the prejudice of another man's right. For which the offender may suffer fine, imprisonment, and pillory.

By statute, if any person shall forge or counterfeit the stamp, note, or receipt of any inspector, or offer for sale or payment, or demand of any inspector, tobacco, or any such forged note or receipt, knowing it to be such; or shall cause to be exported any hogshead or cask of tobacco stamped with a forged or counterfeit stamp, or shall take any stave, plank, or heading out of any hogshead of tobacco, stamped according to law, after such hogshead shall have been delivered from any of the public warehouses, every person so offending, and being thereof legally convicted, shall be adjudged a felon, and suffer as in cases of felony. And if any inspector's note shall be lost or destroyed, the owner thereof may, on oath before a magistrate, obtain a certificate from the justice administering such oath, and shall thereby be entitled to receive the tobacco for which the lost note was given; and if any person shall be convicted of producing a forged certificate, in such case, knowing the same to be forged, he shall suffer as in case of wilful and corrupt perjury-Acts 1777, c. 12.

If any person or persons, of their own head and imagination, or by false conspiracy or fraud with others shall wittingly and falsely forge or make, or cause or wittingly assent to be forged or made, or shall show forth in evidence

knowing the same to be forged, any deed, lease, or will, or any bond, writing obligatory, bill of exchange, promisory note, or assignment thereof, or any acquittance or receipt for money or goods, or any receipt or release for any bond, note, bill, or any other security for the payment of money, or any order for the payment of money or delivery of goods, with intent, in either or any of the said instances, to defraud any person or corporation, and shall thereof be convicted, in any of the superior courts of law in this state, such person so offending, shall, for the first offence, be adjudged to stand in the pillory one hour and receive thirty-nine lashes on his bare back, and be imprisoned not less than six months, and fined at the discretion of the court; and for the second offence, shall, on conviction, suffer death without benefit of clergy.Acts 1801, c. 6. .

See Counterfeiting, Marriages.

FORNICATION See Vice and Immorality.

FRAUD.

Fraud, covin, collusion, and deceit are often used as synonymous words, and in whatever shape or form they appear, are always deemed odious in the eye of the law.

Gross frauds are punishable by way of indictment-See Cheats.

And it is declared by act of assembly, that when any fraud or deceit shall be committed in or upon any of the public officers of this state, the person appointed to, or who has the charge of such office, shall give immediate information thereof to the attorney or solicitor general, as the case may be, whose duty it shall be when such fraud or deceit shall be an indictable offence to take all legal measures to prosecute the person or persons so offending, with effect.

As to the civil restraints imposed by our acts of assembly in cases of fraudulent conveyances and concealment of property, the following is a summary.

Every feoffment, gift, grant, alienation, bargain & conveyance of lands or chattels, by writing or otherwise; and every bond, suit, judgment, and execution, made or had to or for any intent or purpose to delay, hinder, or defraud creditors and others of their lawful actions, debts, and accounts, shall be deemed and taken (only as against that person or persons

his or their heirs, executors, administrators, or assigns, whose actions, suits, debts, accounts, damages, penalties, & forfeitures shall relieve by such covenous or fraudulent devices and practices, or shall or might be in any wise disturbed, hindered, delayed, or defrauded,) to be utterly void. Any the parties to such fraudulent feoffments, &c. as aforesaid, and being privy and knowing of the same, who shall wittingly put in use, maintain, avow, justify, or defend the same, as true, and done, had, or made bona fide, and upon good consideration ; or shall alien or assign any lands or chattels to him or them, conveyed as aforesaid, shall forfeit the real value of said lands and tenements, goods and chattels, one moiety thereof to the state, and the other to the party grieved.

When the Sheriff of any county of this state, returns on an execution in his hands that there is no property to be found belonging to the defendant, in his county, and it is suggested by the plaintiff that the defendant has fraudulently made away with his property, for the purpose of avoiding the payment of the execution, notice in the nature of a scire facias, on motion of the party plaintiff shall be directed by the court to issue to the person in whose hands such property is supposed to be held, and on the return of the scire facias, execu ted as another original process, an issue shall be made up whether any fraud or concealment of his property hath been made by the defendant to the person cited, or whether the same hath been made over to avoid the recovery aforesaid, without just and valuable consideration; and if the jury shall find such fraud, concealment, or making over as aforesaid, they shall also specify the property so fraudulently concealed or made over, and execution shall issue against the same in the hands of the person notified.

Upon any judgment of any court of record in this state, if the plaintiff will, by himself or his agent or attorney in fact, make an affidavit stating that the defendant has no visible property to satisfy the same, or on which an execution can be levied, and that he has good reason to believe that the defendant bas fraudulently conveyed his property to avoid or delay the payment of his just debts, or that some other person is in possession of property belonging to the defendant, and conceals the same, the court in which the said judgment hath been or shall be rendered, shall at any time while said judgment is in force, order a scire facias to be issued against and served on the person claiming any estate real or personal, under any such conveyance; or against any person charged in the affidavit with concealing any money or estate, for the use

of the defendant, or for the purpose of avoiding or defraying the payment of his just debts; in which he shall be commanded to appear at the next succeeding term, and declare upon oath, in writing, whether he holds, or is in possession of,

or claims title to any money, goods, or other estate, real or

personal, under any conveyance made by the defendant uponany secret trust; and whether he holds any money or estate, or did at the time of rendering said judgment, or has at any time since, under a secret delivery, to hold the same for the use of the defendant or any other person, to enable him to avoid the payment of his just debts. And if the scire facias shall be returned, served by the delivery of a copy to the party against whom it issues, or by leaving a copy at his dwelling, and the party shall appear, the court shall proceed to require a declaration, from him on oath as aforesaid; and if he acknowledge that he does hold or claim property of the defendant in manner aforesaid, the court shall order the same to be delivered up or made subject to the judgment of the plaintiff; or in case the same or any part thereof shall be money, or in case any part of the property shall have been used, wasted or destroyed by the party, the court may give judgment for the plaintiff against such party, for the amount of the money then held, or which has been used, as also for the value of any property (to be ascertained by a jury) used wasted, or destroyed, and acknowledged as aforesaid to have been received in manner and for the use aforesaid, but in case any person called into court in manner aforesaid, shall deny the said suggestions, the plaintiff may, if he thinks proper, require an issue to be made up, and the facts tried by a jury as in other cases, and judgment shall be given accordingly with costs; and if a verdict and judgment shall be given in favour of the person so called in, or if he be discharged by his declaration on oath, without the trial of an issue, he shall be entitled to the same costs as if he had been originally sued in said action.

If the party, notified as aforesaid, shall fail to appear, the plaintiff may enter against him a judgment by default. But before executing any writ of inquiry, or entering up final judgment, a second scire facis shall issue to the party requiring him to appear or show cause why final judgment should not be entered up for the amount of the plaintiff's demand, or the amount charged in the affidavit to be in the hands or possession of such party: upon service of which scire facias the plaintiff may enter up judgment against said party with costs.

When a judgment shall be given by a justice of the peace out of court, the plaintiff may make a similar affidavit; upon which he shall be entitled to carry up to the next succeeding court of pleas and quarter sessions to be held for the county in which said judgment is given, with the affidavit, the judg ment, and all papers relating thereto; and upon which the said court, upon motion made by the plaintiff, shall order a scire facias in manner aforesaid, which shall be proceeded on in the same manner as if the suit had been originally instituted in said court.

All conveyances made fraudulently to children or otherwise with an intention to defeat the widow of her dower, are void.

FREE NEGROES, MULATTOES, AND PERSONS OF MIXED BLOOD.

Any free negro or mulatto intermarrying or cohabiting with any slave, without consent in writing of the owner, attested by two justices of the peace, shall pay to the owner ten pounds; and on failure to pay, shall serve the owner one year.

Any free negro or mulatto entertaining a slave in his or her house, during the Sabbath or in the night, between suñset and sunrise, shall pay twenty shillings for the first offence, and forty shillings for every after offence, to be recovered on con-viction before a justice of the peace, subject to appeal; and being unable to pay the fine, the constable attending at such conviction, shall hire out such free negro or mulatto, to the person who will take him or her for the shortest space of time in payment of the fine and costs, previously advertising the same ten days at least at the door of the courthouse, and other public places of the county; and the hirer shall pay at the time and place of hiring, the fine and costs.

The master or commander of a vessel entertaining any slave, negro, or mulatto on board his vessel, or any merchaut or trader within this state, harbouring or trading with any slave, free negro, or mulatto, in their storehouses, shops, or tenements wherein they keep goods and merchandize, at any time between sunset and sunrise, or on the Sabbath, unless belonging to the vessel, or having a pass from the owner or some justice of the peace, expressing the time when and the business for which they go; such slave, negro, or mulatto found on board any vessel, in any bay, harbour, creek or river at the times aforesaid, shall be presumed to have been disposing of stolen goods; and the inaster or commander of the