See also:

• CONSPIRACY (from Lat. conspirare, literally to breathe together, to agree, combine, and especially to form a secret plot)

CONSPIRACY (from See also:

• LAT

Lat. conspirare, literally to breathe together, to agree, combine, and especially to See also:

• FORM (Lat. forma)

form a See also:

• SECRET (Lat. secretum, hidden, concealed)

secret See also:

• PLOT
• PLOT, ROBERT (164o-1696)

plot)  , in See also:

• ENGLISH

English See also:

• LAW
• LAW (0. Eng. lagu, M. Eng. lawe; from an old Teutonic root lag, " lie," what lies fixed or evenly; cf. Lat. lex, Fr. loi)
• LAW, JOHN (1671—1729)
• LAW, WILLIAM (1686-1761)

law, an agreement between two or more persons to do certain wrongful acts, which may not, however, be punishablewhen committed by a single See also:

• PERSON, OFFENCES AGAINST THE

person, not acting in See also:

• CONCERT (through the French from Lat. con-, with, and certare, to strive)

concert with others . The following are enumerated in See also:

• TEXT (Lat. textum, woven fabric, from texere, to weave)

text-books as the things, an agreement to do which, made between several persons, constitutes the offence of See also:

• CONSPIRACY (from Lat. conspirare, literally to breathe together, to agree, combine, and especially to form a secret plot)

conspiracy: (1) Falsely to See also:

• CHARGE
• CHARGE (through the Fr. from the Late Lat. carricare, to load in a carrus or wagon; cf. " cargo ")

charge another with a See also:

• CRIME (Lat. crimen, accusation)

crime punishable by law, either from a malicious or vindictive See also:

• MOTIVE (from Lat. movere, to move)

motive or feeling towards the party, or for the purpose of extorting See also:

• MONEY

money from him; (2) wrongfully to injure or See also:

• PREJUDICE (Lat. praejudicium)

prejudice a third person or any See also:

• BODY

body of men in any other manner; (3) to commit any offence punishable by law; (4) to do any See also:

• ACT (Lat. actus, actum)

act with See also:

• INTENT (from Lat. intend ere, to stretch out, extend, particularly in the phrase intendere animum, to turn one's mind to, purpose)

intent to pervert the course of See also:

• JUSTICE (Lat. justitia)

justice; (5) to effect a legal purpose, with a corrupt intent or by improper means; to which are added (6) conspiracies or combinations among workmen to raise See also:

• WAGES (the plural of " wage," from Late Lat. wadium, a pledge, O. Fr. wagier, gagier)

wages . The See also:

• DIVISION (from Lat. dividere, to break up into parts, separate)

division is not a perfect one, but a few examples under each of the heads will indicate the nature of the offence in English law . First, a conspiracy to charge a See also:

• MAN
• MAN, ISLE OF (anc. Mona)

man falsely with any See also:

• FELONY (0. Fr. felonie, from felon, a word meaning " wicked," common to Romanic languages, cf. Italian fella, fellone, the ultimate origin of which is obscure, but is possibly connected either with Lat. fel, gall, or fallere, to deceive. The English " fel

felony or See also:

• MISDEMEANOUR (from O. Fr. mes- and demener, to conduct oneself ill)

misdemeanour is criminal; but an agreement to prosecute a man who is guilty, or against whom there are reasonable grounds for suspicion, is not . Under the second See also:

• HEAD (in 0. Eng. heafad; the word is common to Teutonic languages; cf. Dutch hoofd, Ger. Haupt, generally taken to be in origin connected with Lat. caput, Gr. KerbOvi7)
• HEAD, SIR EDMUND WALKER, BART
• HEAD, SIR FRANCIS BOND, BART

head the text-books give a See also:

• GREAT

great variety of examples,—e.g. See also:

• MOCK

mock See also:

• AUCTIONS

auctions, where sham bidders cause the goods to go off at prices grossly above their See also:

• WORTH
• WORTH, CHARLES FREDERICK (1825-1895)

worth; a conspiracy to raise the See also:

• PRICE
• PRICE, BARTHOLOMEW (1818–1898)
• PRICE, BONAMY (1807-1888)
• PRICE, RICHARD (1723-1791)

price of goods by spreading false rumours; a conspiracy by persons to cause themselves to be reputed men of See also:

• PROPERTY

property, in See also:

• ORDER
• ORDER (through Fr. ordre, for earlier ordene, from Lat. ordo, ordinis, rank, service, arrangement; the ultimate source is generally taken to be the root seen in Lat. oriri, rise, arise, begin; cf. " origin ")
• ORDER, HOLY

order to deceive tradesmen . These examples show how wide the law stretches its conception of criminal agreement . The third head requires no explanation . A conspiracy to See also:

• MURDER

murder is expressly made punishable by penal See also:

• SERVITUDE (Lat. servitus, from service, to serve)

servitude and imprisonment (The Offences against the Person' Act 1861) . A curious example of conspiracy under the See also:

• FOURTH

fourth head is the See also:

• CASE
• CASE, JOHN (d. 1600)

case in which several persons were convicted of conspiracy to procure another to rob one of them, so that by convicting the robber they might obtain the See also:

• REWARD

reward given in such cases . The See also:

• COMBINATION (Lat. combinare, to combine)

combination to effect a lawful purpose with corrupt intent or by improper means is exemplified by agreements to procure See also:

• SEDUCTION (from Lat. seducere, to lead astray)

seduction, &c . The most important question in the law of conspiracy, apart from the See also:

• STATUTE

statute law affecting labourers, is how far things which may be lawfully done by individuals can become criminal when done by individuals acting in concert, and some See also:

• LIGHT

light may be thrown on it by a See also:

• SHORT, FRANCIS JOB (1857– )

short statement of the See also:

• HISTORY

history of the law . In the See also:

• EARLY
• EARLY, JUBAL ANDERSON (1816-1894)

early See also:

• PERIOD
• PERIOD (Gr. irepioSos, a going or way round, circuit, aepi, round, and &Sis, way, road)

period of the law down to the 17th See also:

• CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century, conspiracy was defined by the See also:

• ORDINANCE
• ORDINANCE, or ORDONNANCE

Ordinance of Conspirators of 13o5:—" Conspirators be they that do confedr or bind themselves by See also:

• OATH (0. Eng. ddh)

oath, See also:

• COVENANT
• COVENANT (an O. Fr. form, later convenant, from convenir, to agree, Lat. convenire)

covenant, or other See also:

• ALLIANCE

alliance, that every of them shall aid the other falsely and maliciously to indite, or cause to indite, or falsely to move or maintain pleas, and also such as cause See also:

• CHILDREN, LAW RELATING TO

children within See also:

• AGE (Fr. age, through late Lat. aetaticum, from aetas)

age to See also:

• APPEAL

appeal men of felony, whereby they are imprisoned and sore grieved, and such as retain men in the See also:

• COUNTRY (from the Mid. Eng. contre or contrie, and O. Fr. cuntree; Late Lat. contrata, showing the derivation from contra, opposite, over against, thus the tract of land which fronts the sight, cf. Ger. Gegend, neighbourhood)

country with liveries or fees to maintain their malicious enterprizes, and this extendeth as well to the takers as to the givers." The offence aimed at here is conspiracy to indict or to maintain suits falsely; and it was held that a conspiracy under the act was not See also:

• COMPLETE

complete, unless some suit had been maintained or some person had been falsely indicted and acquitted .

A See also:

• DOCTRINE

doctrine, however, See also:

• GREW, NEHEMIAH (1641-1712)

grew up that the agreement was in itself criminal, although the conspiracy was not actually completed (Poulterer's case, 1611) . This See also:

• DEVELOPED

developed into the See also:

• RULE

rule that any agreement to commit a crime might be prosecuted as a conspiracy . A still further development of this doctrine is that a combination might be criminal, although the See also:

• OBJECT

object apart from combination would not be criminal . The cases bearing on this question will be found arranged under the following heads, and in See also:

• CHRONOLOGICAL

chronological order, in the Law of Criminal Conspiracies and Agreements, by R . S . See also:

• WRIGHT, CARROLL DAVIDSON (1840-1909)
• WRIGHT, CHAUNCEY (1830-1875)
• WRIGHT, JOSEPH (1734-1797)
• WRIGHT, SILAS (1795-1847)
• WRIGHT, THOMAS (1809–1884)
• WRIGHT, THOMAS (1810—1877)
• WRIGHT, WILLIAM ALDIS (1836– )

Wright (See also:

• LONDON

London, 1873): Combinations against See also:

• GOVERNMENT
• GOVERNMENT (0. Fr. governement, mod. gouvernement, O. Fr. governer, mod. gouverner, from Lat. gubernare, to steer a ship, guide, rule; cf. Gr. xv(3epvav)

government; combinations to defeat or pervert justice; combinations against public morals or decency; combination to defraud; combination to injure otherwise than by See also:

• FRAUD (Lat. fraus, deceit)

fraud; See also:

• TRADE (O. Eng. trod, footstep, from tredan, to tread; in M. Eng. the forms teed, trod and trade appear, the last in the sense of a beaten track)
• TRADE, BOARD OF

trade combinations . " It is conceived," says the author, " that on a See also:

• REVIEW (Fr. revue, from revoir, to see again, Lat. re and videre)

review of all the decisions, there is a great preponderance of authority in favour of the proposition that, as a rule, an agreement or combination is not criminal unless it be for acts or omissions (whether as ends or means) which would be criminal apart from agreement." A dictum of See also:

• LORD
• LORD (O. Eng. hldford, i.e. hldfweard, the warder or keeper of bread, hlIf, loaf; the word is not represented in any other Teutonic language)
• LORD, JOHN (1810-1894)

Lord See also:

• DENMAN, THOMAS, 1ST BARON (1779-1854)

Denman's is often quoted as supplying a See also:

• DEFINITION (Lat. definitio, from de-finire, to set limits to, describe)

definition of conspiracy . It is, he says, either a combination to procure an unlawful object, or to procure a lawful object by unlawful means; but the exact meaning to be given to the word " lawful " in this See also:

• ANTITHESIS (the Greek for " setting opposite ")

antithesis has nowhere been precisely stated . A thing may be unlawful in the sense that the law will not aid it, although it may not expressly punish it . The extreme limit of the doctrine is reached in the See also:

• SUGGESTION

suggestion that a combination to hiss an actor at a See also:

• THEATRE (BEarpov, " a place for seeing," from OeacOae)

theatre is a punishable conspiracy . The application of the wide conception of conspiracy to trade disputes and to See also:

• CIVIL

civil questions arising out of contracts for service is dealt with under the headings LABOUR LEGISLATION, STRIKES AND See also:

• LOCK (from the O. Eng. loc.; the word appears, in different forms, in many Teutonic languages, but with such various meanings as " hole," Ger. Loch, " lid," Swed. lock, &c.; probably the original was a root meaning " to enclose ")
• LOCK, MATTHIAS

LOCK-OUTS and TRADE UNIONS . The criminal See also:

• SIDE
• SIDE (mod. Eski Adalia)

side is regulated by the Conspiracy and See also:

• PROTECTION

Protection to Property Act 1875, which enacted that "an agreement or combination by two or more persons to do, or procure to be done, any act in contemplation or furtherance of a trade dispute between employers and workmen shall not be indictable as a conspiracy, if such act committed by one person would not be punishable as a crime .

When a person is convicted of any such agreement or combination to do an act which is punishable only on See also:

• SUMMARY

summary conviction, and is sentenced to imprisonment, the imprisonment shall not exceed three months, or such longer period, if any, as may have been prescribed by the statute for the See also:

• PUNISHMENT (from Lat. punire, to punish, from poena, punishment, Gr. 7rocvil)

punishment of the said act when committed by one person." The effect of the act of 1875 in See also:

• CONJUNCTION (from Lat. conjungere, to join together)

conjunction with the Employers and Workmen Act of the same See also:

• YEAR

year is that See also:

• BREACH (Mid. Eng. breche, derived from the common Teutonic root brec, which appears in " break," Ger. brechen, &c.)

breach of See also:

• CONTRACT
• CONTRACT (Lat. contract us, from contrahere, to draw together, to bind)

contract between See also:

• MASTER (Lat. magister, related to tnagis, more, as the corresponding minister is to minus, less; the English form is due partly to the O. Eng. maegister, and partly to O. Fr. maistre, mod. maitre; cf. Du. meester, Ger. Meister, Ital. maestro)

master and workmen is to be dealt with as a civil and not as a criminal case, with two exceptions . A person employed on the See also:

• SUPPLY (through Fr. from Lat. supplere, to fill up)

supply of See also:

• GAS

gas and See also:

• WATER

water, breaking his contract with his employer, and knowing, or having reasonable cause to believe, that the consequence of his doing so, either alone or in combination with others, will be to deprive the inhabitants of the See also:

• PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place wholly or to a great extent of their supply of gas or water, shall be liable on conviction to a See also:

• PENALTY (Lat. poena, punishment)

penalty not exceeding £20, or a See also:

• TERM

term of imprisonment not exceeding three months . And generally any person wilfully and maliciously breaking a contract of service or See also:

• HIRING (from O. Eng. hyrian, a word common to many Teutonic languages cf. Ger. heuern, Dutch huren, &c.)

hiring, knowing or having reasonable cause to believe that the probable consequences of his so doing either alone or in combination with others will be to endanger human See also:

• LIFE

life or cause serious bodily injury, or to expose valuable property whether real or See also:

• PERSONAL

personal to destruction or serious injury, shall be liable to the same penalty . By See also:

• SECTION
• SECTION (Lat. sectio, cutting, secare, to cut)

section 7 every person who, with a view to compel any other person to abstain from doing or to do any act which such other person has a legal right to do or abstain from doing, wrongfully and without legal authority, (1) uses violence to or intimidates such other person, or his wife and children, or injures his property; or (2) persistently follows such other person about from place to place; or (3) hides any tools, clothes or other property owned or used by such other person, or deprives him of or hinders him in the use thereof; or (4) watches or besets the See also:

• HOUSE
• HOUSE (O. Eng. hiss, a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Dut. huis, Ger. Haus; in Gothic it is only found in gudhiss, a temple; it may be ultimately connected with the root of " hide," conceal)

house or other place where such other person resides, or See also:

• WORKS

works, or carries on business, or happens to be, or the approach to such house or place; or (5) follows such other person with two or more other persons, in a disorderly manner, in or through any See also:

• STREET
• STREET, GEORGE EDMUND (1824-1881)

street or road, shall be liable to the before-mentioned penalties . Of course a combination to do any of these acts would be punishable as a conspiracy, as mentioned in section 3 above . See also:

• SEAMEN, LAWS RELATING TO

Seamen are expressly exempted from the operation of this act . The exceptions as to contracts of service for the supply of gas and water, &c., were supported by the circumstances of the London gas stokers' case in 1872 . Conspiracy at See also:

• COMMON

common law is a misdemeanour, and the punishment is See also:

• FINE

fine or imprisonment, or both, to which may be added hard labour in the case of any conspiracy to cheat and defraud, or to extort money or goods, or falsely to accuse of any crime, and to obstruct, pervert, prevent or defeat the cause of justice . Conspiracy to murder, whether the victim be a subject of the See also:

• KING
• KING (O. Eng. cyning, abbreviated into cyng, cing; cf. O. H. G. chun- kuning, chun- kunig, M.H.G. kiinic, kiinec, kiinc, Mod. Ger. Konig, O. Norse konungr, kongr, Swed. konung, kung)
• KING [OF OCKHAM], PETER KING, 1ST BARON (1669-1734)
• KING, CHARLES WILLIAM (1818-1888)
• KING, CLARENCE (1842–1901)
• KING, EDWARD (1612–1637)
• KING, EDWARD (1829–1910)
• KING, HENRY (1591-1669)
• KING, RUFUS (1755–1827)
• KING, THOMAS (1730–1805)
• KING, WILLIAM (1650-1729)
• KING, WILLIAM (1663–1712)

king or See also:

• RESIDENT

resident in his dominions or not, is, by the Offences against the Person Act 1861, punishable by penal se1vitude . See also:

• UNITED

United States.—The most generally accepted definition of conspiracy in the United States is " a combination of two ormore persons by some concerted See also:

• ACTION

action to accomplish some criminal or unlawful purpose, or to accomplish some purpose not in itself criminal or unlawful by criminal or unlawful means "; though in some states, e.g . See also:

• COLORADO

Colorado, it is not conspiracy under the statute to do a lawful act in an unlawful way (Lipschitz v . See also:

• PEOPLE

People [1898] 25 See also:

• COL
• COL (Fr. for " neck," Lat. collum)

Col .

261) . In some states an overt act must be shown (N.Y . See also:

• PEN (Lat. penna, a feather, pen)

Pen . See also:

• CODE (Lat. codex)

Code, § 171) . This is so in the Federal Courts, United States v . McCord (72 Fed . R . 159) . Conspiracy out of the See also:

• STATE
• STATE, GREAT OFFICERS OF

state to do any act which if done within the state would be See also:

• TREASON (Fr. trahison, Lat. traditio)

treason is punishable by imprisonment not exceeding ten years (ibid . § 169) . The United States Revised Statutes, § 5440, make any conspiracy to commit an act, declared by any law of the United States to be a crime, an offence against the United States, e.g. a conspiracy to See also:

• PLUNDER

plunder a wrecked See also:

• VESSEL (O. Fr. vaissel, from a rare Lat. vascellum, dim. of vas, vase, urn)

vessel within the See also:

• ADMIRALTY, HIGH COURT OF

admiralty and maritime See also:

• JURISDICTION
• JURISDICTION, CRIMINAL LAW, DIVORCE

jurisdiction of the United States (U.S. v . Sandie, 7 Fed .

R . 715), conspiracy to violate the postal See also:

• LAWS

laws (Re Renkle [1903] 125 Fed . R . 996), to violate the See also:

• REVENUE
• REVENUE (0. Fr. revenu, from revenir, to return)

revenue laws (U.S. v . See also:

• COHN, FERDINAND JULIUS (1828-1898)
• COHN, GUSTAV (184o– )

Cohn [1904] 128 Fed . R . 615) . It is not essential that the object be accomplished (Radford v . U.S . [1904] 129 Fed . R . 49) .

A conspiracy to depress the See also:

• MARKET (Lat. mercatus, trade or place of trade)

market price of stock by circulating false reports that the See also:

• COMPANY

company was going into the hands of a receive is indictable under N.Y . Pen . Code, § 168 (People v . See also:

• GOSLIN, or GAUZLINUS (d. c. 886)

Goslin 1901] 67 N.Y . App . D: 16, affirmed 171 N.Y . 627) .