Odger's English Common Law

108 THE NATURE OF A CRIME.
indictable offence for a parent who has the means of supporting his child
to neglect to provide sufficient food, clothing and shelter for it whilst it is
of tender years and unable to take care of itself.
It is not necessary to constitute a crime that the act com-
mitted should be in itself vicious or sinful ; it is enough that
the State has thought fit to forbid it. Many acts which are
not in themselves morally reprehensible have for various
reasons been forbidden by the State. As a rule, when the
State forbids an act, it expressly declares a punishment for
the offender ; but if no such punishment be stated in the
statute, disobedience to it is nevertheless punishable as a
misdemeanour.
" Wherever a statute prohibits a matter of public grievance to the liberties
and security of a subject, or commands a matter of public convenience, as
the repairing of the common streets of a town, an offender against such
statute is punishable by way of indictment for his contempt of the statute, 1
unless such method of proceeding do manifestly appear to be excluded by
it." 2 But if a statute creates a new offence and in the same section pro-
vides a method of procedure other than by indictment in case of disobe-
dience, the method prescribed in the section must be followed, and the
person aggrieved cannot proceed by way of indictment.
i R. v. Buchanan (1846), 8 Q. B. 883.
2 2 Hawk. P. C, o. 25, s. 4.