Odger's English Common Law

ROUT AND RIOT AT COMMON LAW. 163
same as that for an unlawful assembly, except that by virtue
of the Hard Labour Act, 1822, 1
rioters may be sentenced to
imprisonment with hard labour.
"A riot is a disturbance of the peace by three persons at
the least, who, with intent to help one another against any
person who opposes them in the execution of some enterprise
or other, actually execute that enterprise in a violent and
turbulent manner to the alarm of the people." 2
It is not
necessary to constitute this crime that personal violence should
have been committed, or that a house should have been pulled
down or a fence demolished, provided some act has been done
towards the accomplishment of the common purpose and that
by that act reasonable persons have been put in terror. It is
sufficient if one person of ordinary firmness and courage be
in fact terrified. 3
In a well-known case it was held "that there are* five
necessary elements of a riot :
—
(i.) number of persons, three at least
(ii.) common purpose ;
(iii.) execution or inception of the common purpose ;
(iv.) an intent to help one another by force if necessary
against any person who may oppose them in the execution
of their common purpose
;
(v.) force or violence not merely used in demolishing,
but displayed in such a manner as to alarm at least one
person of reasonable firmness and courage." 4
In that case a number of youths were congregated together at nine
o'clock at night in a road in a low neighbourhood, shouting and using
rougli language. In this road was a house with a yard. Some of the
youths stood with their backs against the wall of this yard, and others ran
against them or against the wall with their hands extended. After they
had been doing this for a quarter of an hour, about twelve feet of the wall
collapsed. As soon as it fell the caretaker of the house came out, and the
youths at once ran away in different directions. Such conduct was held
not to constitute a riot ; for there was no evidence of any intention on
their part to help one another by force, if necessary, against any person
1 3 Geo. IV., c. 114.
s Per Charles, J., in R. v. Cunninghame Graham (1888), 16 Cox, at p. 427.
> It. v. Langford (1842), Car. & M. 602.
* Per cur. in Field v. Receiver of Metropolitan Police, [1907] 2 K. B. at p. 860.
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