32 Mass. 231 | Mass. | 1834
delivered the opinion of the Court. This is an information founded upon St. 1817, c. 191, § 2, which provides, that all sums of money drawn by any citizen of the commonwealth, in any unauthorized lottery, and received, shall be forfeited and may be recovered to the use of the commonwealth, by indictment in any court of competent jurisdic tian. There are several other statutes on the subject of lotteries, intended to restrain and prohibit unauthorized lotteries, but the one cited is the only one which declares this particular forfeiture, or directs the mode of prosecution by which it shall be recovered.
The Court are of opinion, that the case before us falls under the rule first above stated. If the drawing and receiving prize money in an unauthorized lottery, is, by this statute, made an offence, which is doubtful, it is a new offence, not before punishable, a particular forfeiture is declared, and a mode of recovering it, prescribed, and to that, we think, the commonwealth must resort as the only remedy.
Judgment arrested
But see St. 1833, c. 148, § 5, passed after the offence in question wag committed; also Revised Stat. c. 132, § 8.