Odger's English Common Law

THE NATURE OF A CRIME. 107
others who have undertaken to supply gas or water, alone or with others
wilfully and maliciously breaks his contract of service, knowing or having
reasonable cause to believe that the probable consequence will be to
deprive the inhabitants wholly or to a great extent of gas or water.
Where a person wilfully and maliciously breaks his contract of service,
knowing or having reason to believe that the probable consequence will be
to endanger human life or cause serious bodily injury, or expose valuable
property to destruction or serious injury.
In some cases the same transaction may be a crime, a tort
and also a breach of contract. Thus, if a lease contains
the usual covenants by the tenant that he will keep the
premises in repair and yield them up at the end of the
term in good repair, and the tenant on the determination
of his tenancy wilfully breaks the windows and doors and
makes a hole in the roof of the demised premises, he
commits a breach of covenant ; he also commits the tort
of waste and is guilty of the misdemeanour of maliciously
injuring property,
A crime, then, is the breach of a duty imposed by law for
the benefit of the community at large—the breach of a duty
owed to the public, and therefore a wrong done to the public.
And a wrong will be done to the public, not merely where
the offence causes damage or inconvenience, but also where it
is of a public evil example, such as the exhibition or sale of
obscene pictures and literature or any other act of public
indecency. So, too, any act calculated to endanger human
life or to provoke a breach of the peace will be a crime,
although no death or breach of the peace should result.
Again, a mere omission may sometimes be a crime ; as where
a man neglects his duty and thereby causes injury to another
or serious inconvenience to the public.
Thus, in order to constitute wilful obstruction of a highway within
Bection 72 of the Highway Act, 1835, 1 it is not necessary that there should
be any act of commission ; the offence will be complete, if the person
whose duty it is to remove an obstruction caused by an accident or by
some other person omits to do so after notice. 2
Again, a signalman, who causes a collision between two trains by neglect-
ing to alter the signals, may be guilty of manslaughter. So, it is an
i 5 & 6 WiU. IV. c. 60.
2 Gully v. Smith (1883), 12 Q. B. D. 121.