On thе trial it was insisted by the defendant’s counsel, and the judge was required so to instruct the jury, that if the facts charged' in the indictment were all true, they nevertheless constituted in law no offence of which they could find the defendant guilty. His Honor refused this prayer, and instructed the jury, that, il the facts charged were proved to their satisfaction, it was their duty to find him guilty. The same ground of defence hаs been taken here by way of a motion in arrest of judgment; but we are of opinion that in whatever form presented, it is not tenable.
The argument is, that the offence of riding or going about armed with unusual and dangerous weapons, to the terror of the péople, was created by the statute of Northampton, 2nd Edward the 3d, ch. 3d, and that, whether this statute was or was not formerly in force in this State, it certainly has not been since the first of January, 1838, at which day it is declared in the Revised Statutes, (ch. 1st, sect. 2,) that the statutes оf England or Great Britain shall cease to be of force and effect here. We have been accustomed tо believe, that the statute referred to did not create this of-fence,(but provided only special penalties and modes of proceeding for its more effectual suppression, and of the correctness of this belief we can see no reason to doubt. All the elementary writers, who give us any information on the subject, concur in this representation, nor is there to be found in them, as far as we are aware of, a dictum or intimation to the contrary. Blackstone states, that “ the offenсe of riding or going armed with dangerous or unusual weapons, is a
It was objected belo w, and the objection has been also urged here, that the eourt erred in admitting evidence of the declarations of the defendant, set forth in the сase, because those, or some of them at least, were acknowledgments of a different offence from thаt charged. But these declarations were clearly proper, because they accompanied, explained, and characterized the very acts charged. They were not received at all as admissions either of the offence under trial, or any other offence. They were constituent parts of that offence.
It has been remarked, that a double-barrelled gun, or any other gun, cannot in this country come under the description of “ unusual weapons,” for there is scarcely a man in the community who does not own and occasionally use a gun of some sort. But we do not feel the force of this criticism. A gun is an “ unusual weapon,” wherewith to be armed and clad. No man amongst us carries it about with him. as one of his every day accoutrements — as a part of his dress— and never we trust will the day come when any deadly weapon will be worn or wielded in our peace loving and law-abiding State, as an appendage of manly equipment.— But although а guu is an “unusual weapon,” it is to be remembered that the carrying of a guu ‘per se constitutes no
Oour opinion is, that there is no error in the sentence below. This decision will be certified to the Superior Court of Anson accordingly.
Per Curiam.. Ordered accordingly..