in the same manner as any other property belonging or due to the state. Read 4 Bl. Comm., pp. 297–299. 2 H. P. C., pp. 124–149. 1 Chitty C. L., pp. 92-106. 1 Arch. Cr. Pr., pp. 184-210. 1 B. & H. L. C. C., pp. 228–260. § 488. Of Informations. : Prosecution is the formal accusation of the alleged offender. It may take place before the arrest, and a warrant may be issued thereupon; or it may be made after the arrest, and when the accused is brought into the court which has final jurisdiction over his offence. It is of three kinds Information; Indictment; and Presentment. An information is a written accusation, presented under oath, by a proper public prosecutor, to a court having jurisdiction of the offence charged therein. This is the mode of prosecution usually adopted in cases of small magnitude, though, in some States, it is used almost to the exclusion of every other. Read 4 Bl. Comm., pp. 301, 308-310. 2 H. P. C., p. 156. 1 Chitty C. L., p. 166. 1 Arch. Cr. Pr., pp. 227-229. 1 Whart. C. L., pp. 211-214. 1 Bish. C. P., §§ 141-153, 712-715. § 489. Of Indictments. Grand-Jury. An indictment is a written accusation, presented by a grand-jury, under oath and upon the suggestion of the public prosecutor, to a court having jurisdiction of the offence charged therein. A grand-jury is a body of men, legally selected from among the people of a county, to inquire what offences have been committed therein. When assembled in court, they are duly sworn, and instructed in their duty by the judge. An indictment, framed by the public prosecutor against the alleged offender, is then laid before them, together with the evidence in support thereof. (If twelve of the grand-jury agree that the evidence is sufficient to put the accused upon his trial, the foreman endorses the indictment as a true bill, and it is returned to court, in order that the offender may be tried thereon. If twelve do not agree that the evidence is sufficient, the indictment is endorsed and returned as not a true bill, and the accused is either discharged, or held to await action on a new indictment. > Read 4 Bl. Comm., pp. 302-306.' 1 Chitty C. L., pp. 161–163, 305–325. § 490. Of Presentments. A presentment is a written accusation, presented by a grand-jury, under oath and of their own motion, to a court having jurisdiction of the offences charged therein. It is rarely employed except in cases of public nuisance, or of some dangerous and wide-spreading evil. Upon the preferment of such an accusation, the court usually orders an indictment to be framed, and issues a warrant thereon for the arrest of the alleged offender. Read 4 Bl. Comm., pp. 301, 302. 2 H. P. C., pp. 152-155. 1 Chitty C. L., p. 163. 1 Arch. Cr. Pr., p. 342. 1 Bish. C. P., §§ 136-140. § 491. Of the Requisites of an Indictment. Except that one is presented by the public prosecutor, and the other by a grand-jury, an indictment and an information are substantially the same. Each must contain a statement of all the facts and circumstances, necessary to constitute the crime, with such particularity and certainty, that the accused may know the nature of the crime, with which he is charged, and what he has to answer; that the jury may be warranted in their conclusion of guilty or not guilty upon the premises delivered to them; that the court may see, upon the record, a definite offence upon which judgment may be rendered; and that the record of conviction or acquittal may be pleaded in bar to a subsequent prosecution for the same offence. Read 4 Bl. Comm., pp. 306, 307. 1 Chitty C. L., pp. 168–176. 1 Whart. C. L., §§ 285-304. 1 Bish. C. P., §§ 77-88, 318-359. 2 B. & H. L. C. C., pp. 94–163, 172–181. § 492 Of the Description of the Accused. The rules, which have been established for the purpose of securing this particularity and certainty, relate especially to the description of the accused, of the place where and time when the criminal act was committed, of the property or person injured, and of the acts constituting the crime itself. The name of the accused must be stated at length, if it be known, and should be repeated in every distinct allegation. If he be known by different names, they should be stated under an alias. If his name be not known he should be described under some name, and if he plead under that name, it will be taken as his true His place of residence should also be stated, if known; if not known, he may be described as a transient person. one. Any mistake, in these matters, can be taken advantage of only by plea in abatement, which will result in the correc tion of the error. Read 2 H. P. C., pp. 175–177. 1 Chitty C. L., pp. 202-211. § 493. Of the Description of the Venue. The venue, or place of trial of the accused, must be in the same county where the crime was committed, and this must appear on the face of the indictment. If it does not so appear, the indictment may be quashed for want of jurisdiction, or a plea to the jurisdiction may be successfully interposed. It will also be invalid on demurrer, motion in arrest of judgment, or writ of error. If the mortal blow, in murder, is given in one county, and the victim dies in another, the venue must be laid either in the county where the blow was given, or in that where the death occurred. If goods are stolen in one county and carried into another, the venue may be laid in either. Read 2 H. P. C., pp. 180, 181. 1 Chitty C. L., pp. 177-202. 1 Arch. Cr. Pr., pp. 230-254, 279–282. 1 Whart. C. L., §§ 277-284. 1 Bish. C. P., §§ 45-76, 360-385. § 494. Of the Description of the Date of the Criminal Act. Some particular day, month, and year must be alleged as the date of each particular independent act, involved in the crime charged, and this date must show the act, as alleged, to have been committed within the time allowed Where the crime is created by the statutes of limitation. by a statute, it must also be laid as committed after the enactment of the statute. In burglary, the act must be alleged to have been at or between such hours as are within the night season. In murder, the day of the stroke and of the death must both be stated, and the death must appear to have been within a year and a day after the mortal blow. Read 2 H. P. C., pp. 177-179. 1 Chitty C. L., pp. 217-227. 1 Arch. Cr. Pr., pp. 275–278. 1 Whart. C. L., §§ 261-276, 444 a-451. 1 Bish. C. P., §§ 386-414. § 495. Of the Description of the Person or Property Injured. When the criminal act consists in some injury to property, the property injured must be particularly described. In arson and burglary, the house, the town in which it is situated, the name of its owner, and other particulars sufficient to distinguish it from every other house, must be clearly stated. In theft and robbery, the articles stolen must be described in detail, with their value and the name of the owner. If his name be not known, the indictment should so declare. The party injured by the crime must be described by his name, if known; otherwise, as a person unknown. Read 2 H. P. C., pp. 181-183. 1 Chitty C. L., pp. 211-217. § 496. Of the Description of the Criminal Act. Technical Words. Each and every act, necessary to constitute the crime, must be so particularly and accurately stated as to fix and |