Odger's English Common Law

394 BURGLARY AND HOUSEBREAKING.
of wishing to speak to some member of the household ; or bribe a servant
to let him into the house, in which case the servant will also be guilty of
burglary as a principal in the second degree.
Again, there will be a constructive breaking where the accused gains
admittance by threatening to burn down the house or by other threats of
violence, which put the inmates into such fear that they open the door to
him. 1 So also if the accused puts a child through an open window in order
that he may run round and open the door, he is guilty of a constructive
breaking of the house.
Where the prisoner asked the manager of a shop with whom he was on
friendly terms to hand him the keys of the shop in order that he might
make duplicate keys and so obtain entrance to the premises, and the owner
of the shop authorised the manager to hand over the keys in the hope of
catching the prisoner, and the prisoner subsequently broke and entered the
premises by means of such duplicate keys with felonious intent, he was held
to be guilty of housebreaking. 2
There will be a sufficient entering if the prisoner has in-
serted into the house any part of his body, or a revolver or
other weapon held in his hand and used for the purpose of
intimidating any person in the house. So if he inserts any
instrument for the purpose of removing any goods ; but it is
not enough that an instrument used to break the house open
or part of such an instrument has come inside the house.
Lastly, the entry must' be made with the intention of
committing some felony inside the dwelling-house. But the
offence of burglary is complete as soon as the breaking and
entering have been effected, whether the ulterior felony be
committed or not. Most burglaries are planned with the
object of committing larceny ; but an intention to commit any
felony will suffice. If the entry, however, be made with
the intention of committing merely a misdemeanour or a tort,
there is no burglary even if some felony be in fact committed
after the accused has entered the house.
It is always a question for the jury whether the accused
entered with the necessary intent. They may infer an
intention to commit a felony from the fact that the prisoner
after entering did commit one. But this is not conclusive.
Thus, if a tramp opens the door of a dwelling-house, and
enters merely to obtain shelter for the night, but afterwards
1 Ii. v. Swallow (1813), 2 Russell on Crimes, 6th ed., 8.
2
It. v. Chandler. 1 19131 l K - B
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