Or, if any judge or judicial or executive officer shall, by the exercise of any act of his office or the threat thereof, prevent, or endeavour to prevent any person from exercising any of the rights declared in the parts of the constitution above recited, he shall be fined not less than three hundred nor more than one thousand dollars, shall suffer imprisonment not less than sixty days nor more than six months, in simple imprisonment or close custody, at the discretion of the court, and be suspended for four years from the exercise of his political rights.

Art. 241. Nothing in this chapter contained shall render it unlawful for any person, who is apprehensive that a libel is about to be published, or that any literary property is about to be invaded by any publication, from endeavouring to prevent it by threats of a suit or prosecution, or from commencing such suit or prosecution for any such libel, should it be published, or for such invasion of literary property, should it be made.

Art. 242. The constitution having declared, that no law shall ever be made to restrain the right to examine the proceedings of the legislature, or any branch of the government, any judicial or executive officer or other person, who, under pretence or colour of any existing law, or laws that may hereafter be passed, shall prevent, restrain, or attempt to restrain or prevent the exercise of the right asserted in that part of the constitution above recited in this article, shall be fined not less than three hundred nor more than one thousand dollars.

Art. 243. If any court, judge or other officer, shall enjoin, restrain or prevent the printing and publishing of any WRITING whatever, under the allegation, whether true or false, that such writing contains a libel or seditious words, or under any other pretext, or for any other reason than is contained in the next article, the judges of such court assenting to such order, and the judge (if done out of court) or other officer, offending against this article, shall severally be fined not less than five hundred nor more than one thousand dollars, and shall be suspended from their political rights for two years.

Art. 244. It is no infringement of the last article to grant an injunction against the publication of any literary work, on the application of a person who shall satisfy the court or judge granting the injunction, that he is the author or proprietor of the work intended to be published, and that the publication will be injurious to his rights; nor shall it be considered as a breach of the said article for a court of justice, in which any one shall be convicted of publishing a libel, to require security in the manner directed by the chapter of this code concerning libels, nor for a magistrate to make an admonition in the manner provided by the Code of Procedure against the publication of a libel or publication against decency.

3 A

TITLE IX.

OF OFFENCES AFFECTING PUBLIC RECORDS.

Art. 245. If any one shall FORGE, or FRAUDULENTLY carry away, deface or destroy any PUBLIC RECORD, or shall FORGE any official CERTIFICATE of any OFFICER having the custody of any public records of registry, he shall be imprisoned at hard labour not less than seven nor more than fifteen years, and shall forfeit his political rights.

Art. 246. TO FORGE, in the sense in which that word is employed in this chapter, is to make a false record or official certificate, or without authority to alter a true one in such a manner as that, if such false record were true or such alteration were legally made, some public or private right, or the condition of some individual, or the rights or immunities of some society, corporation, or general description of individuals, or some purpose of public utility, would be injured, altered or destroyed, or some right, immunity, privilege, condition or property would be vested, by such false or altered record.

Art. 247. The public and private rights mentioned in the last preceding article, are all those that are protected by the penal code, or for an injury to which a private suit is given by the civil code.

Art. 248. If any officer intrusted with the custody of PUBLIC RECORDS, shall commit any FORGERY of or upon such records, shall intentionally destroy or deface them, or conceal or carry them away, so that persons interested therein cannot have access to them, or shall advise or consent to such forgery, destruction, concealment or carrying away: or,

Shall fraudulently make and certify any entry or other act on such records in the name of one who was not present, or did not consent to such act: or,

Shall place any ACT, either AUTHENTIC or under PRIVATE SIGNATURE, on such register or record, under a date at which it was not registered or recorded, with intent to take away a right, give an illegal advantage to any one: or,

Shall knowingly permit any one falsely to PERSONATE another in the execution of any act entered or to be entered on any such register or record; he shall be imprisoned at hard labour not less than seven nor more than fifteen years.

Art. 249. If any such officer as is described in the last preceding article shall, undesignedly, but through want of proper care, suffer the records intrusted to him, or any part of them, to be altered, defaced, taken away or lost; or shall negligently do any act, by virtue or under colour of his office, which he is not authorized to do, or omit to do some official act which he ought to do, by either of which acts or omissions any one is INJURED in his property, condition or reputation, he shall be fined not less than one hundred nor more than four hundred dollars.

Art. 250. If any notary or other officer, authorized by law to reduce to writing any authentic acts, or receive and record any acts under private signature, shall falsely, in his official capacity, certify any thing to be true which is false, whereby any one is injured in his property,

condition or reputation, he shall be fined not less than one hundred nor more than four hundred dollars, shall be imprisoned close castody not less than sixty days nor more than o year.

Art. 251. If the offence described in the last preceding article be FRAUDULENTLY committed, the punishment, in addition to the fine, shall be imprisonment at hard labour not less than seven nor more than fifteen years.

Art. 252. If any one shall use any record of any act, so forged, or fraudulently entered, made, registered or recorded, or any such false declaration, as is described in this chapter, either by offering the same in a court of justice, or endeavouring by any other means to procure any advantage therefrom, knowing such act to be forged, or fraudulently entered or recorded, or such certificate to be false; he shall be fined not less than six hundred nor more than two thousand dollars, and imprisoned at hard labour not less than seven nor more than fifteen years.

TITLE X.

OF OFFENCES AGAINST THE CURRENT COIN AND PUBLIC SECURITIES.

CHAPTER I.

Of offences against the current coin of the state.

Art. 253. Whoever shall counterfeit any GOLD OR SILVER COIN, whether such coin be of the United States, or of any other government; or, Whoever shall PASS, or offer to pass any such counterfeit coin, knowing it to be counterfeit ;

Shall be imprisoned at hard labour not less than seven nor more than fifteen years.

Art. 254. Whoever, with the intention of committing the crime of counterfeiting, or of aiding therein, shall have in his possession any die, or other instrument, such as is usually employed solely for the coinage of money, or shall make or repair any such die or other instrument, or shall prepare, or have in his possession and conceal any base metal prepared for coinage, shall be imprisoned at hard labour not less than two nor more than four years; provided, that if any of the acts specified in this article shall be accompanied by circumstances which. would render the accused liable, as an accomplice, for either of the crimes designated in the first article of this chapter, he may be prosecuted for such offence.

Art. 255. To counterfeit, under the provisions of this section, means, to make in the semblance of a true gold or silver coin, one having in its composition a less proportion of the precious metal, of which the true coin intended to be imitated is composed, than is contained in such true coin, with intent that the same should be passed as true, either in the United States or elsewhere. To alter any coin of a lower value,

with the like intent, so as to make it resemble one of a higher value, is also a counterfeit. It is no necessary, to constitute the offence, that the resemblance should be perfect.

Art. 256. The gold or silver coins mentioned in this chapter mean any pieces of gold or silver, or of which gold or silver is the principal component part, and which pass as money in the United States, or in any foreign nation, although such pieces may not be made current by any law of the United States.

Art. 257. Whoever shall have in his possession any counterfeited gold or silver coins, with intent to pass them as true, or to cause them to be passed either in the United States or any other nation, he shall be imprisoned at hard labour not less than two nor more than four years.

Art. 258. If any one shall, with intent to profit, diminish the weight of any gold or silver coin, and shall afterwards pass it for the same value it had before it was so diminished, or shall send or carry it to be so passed to any other place, whether in the United States or elsewhere, he shall be fined not less than two hundred, nor more than five hundred dollars, and be imprisoned not less than one nor more than three years.

Art. 259. To constitute the crime of PASSING, under the provisions of this section, it is not necessary that the counterfeit coin should have been given at the full value of the true coin of the same denomination; the crime is complete by delivering the counterfeit coin, knowing it to be counterfeit, to another, if such delivery is made either for the purpose of defrauding the person to whom it is delivered, or for the purpose of enabling him to deceive others.

Art. 260. The general provisions in this code, relative to attempts to commit offences, and to accomplices and accessaries, apply to the offences mentioned in this chapter.

CHAPTER II.

Of offences against the public securities.

Art. 261. All offences coming under this head are provided for in the chapter concerning offences against the public revenue, or in that concerning offences affecting written contracts.

TITLE XI.

OF OFFENCES AFFECTING THE PUBLIC REVENUE.

Art. 262. If any OFFICER, or other person legally empowered to receive any money, or SECURITY FOR MONEY, for the state, or for any public corporation, shall illegally appropriate any such moneys or securities for

money to his own use, or to the use of any other person, and shall, by rendering false accounts, or producing false vouchers, or in any other manner endeavour to conceal such illegal appropriation, with intent to defraud the state or the public corporation, to whom the said moneys belonged, of the same, or any part thereof, he shall pay a fine equal to double the yearly emolument of his office, shall be imprisoned not less than two nor more than six months, and shall forfeit his political rights. Art. 263. No public officer or other person who is or shall be authorized to collect or receive moneys, or securities for the payment of money for the state or any public corporation, shall appropriate the same, or any part thereof, to his own use, or to the use of any other person, even although he may intend to restore the same; and whoever shall offend against this article, if he do not pay the sum so illegally appropriated within three days after demand made by a person legally authorized for that purpose, shall pay a fine equal to double the amount which he shall neglect to pay, and be suspended from his political rights for not less than two nor more than four years.

Art. 264. Although any person who may offend against the provisions of the last preceding article, shall, before the expiration of the three days after demand, or even before any demand, replace or repay the money or security so illegally appropriated, he shall pay a fine equal to the amount of the said money, or the value of the said security.

Art. 265. In order to render offences against the preceding articles more difficult, and to detect them when they occur, every such receiver of moneys or public securities, who shall receive any sum or sums of money, or any such security, whenever and as often as they in the whole shall amount to the value of three hundred dollars, shall, within three days after such receipt, either pay or deliver the same to the officer appointed by law to receive the same, or deposite the same in some incorporated bank, if any be within three leagues of the place of such receiver's abode, to his credit, in the capacity or office in which he shall receive the same: and such money or security shall not be drawn out but by a draft or order specifying to whom and for what purpose it is to be paid. And any such officer or other person shall, for any offence against this article, pay a fine not less than two hundred nor more than six hundred dollars.

Art. 266. If the receiver of any such moneys or securities reside more than three leagues from the place where such bank is kept, he shall have fifteen days to make the deposite, payment or delivery, mentioned in the last preceding article; and in cases where greater distance than twenty leagues, or difficulty of travelling may render it necessary, in the opinion of the treasurer of the state, to enlarge such time in any particular case, he may at his discretion extend it so as not to exceed thirty days.

Art. 267. If any person, employed to receive taxes or other moneys due to the state or any public corporation, shall EXTORT or attempt to extort, from any one a larger sum than is due; or shall demand or receive any sum of money, emolument, service or favour, as a consideration for granting any delay in the collection of such dues, or for doing or omitting to do any act whatever in relation to the collection of such money, other than such emolument as may be allowed by law, he shall pay a fine not less than one-half nor more than the whole of the amount of his yearly emoluments, be dismissed from his office, and rendered