Online Encyclopedia

Search over 40,000 articles from the original, classic Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition.

CORPORAL PUNISHMENT

Online Encyclopedia

Originally appearing in Volume V07, Page 190 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

» Make a correction to this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.

Encyclopedia Home :: COR-CRE

Spread the word:

del.icio.us it!

See also:

CORPORAL

CORPORAL See also:
PUNISHMENT (from Lat. punire, to punish, from poena, punishment, Gr. 7rocvil)
PUNISHMENT , chastisement inflicted by one See also:

PERSON, OFFENCES AGAINST THE

person on the See also:

BODY

body (corpus) of another. By the See also:

COMMON

common See also:

law of See also:

England, See also:

Scotland and See also:

Ireland, the infliction of corporal punishment is illegal unless it is done in self-See also:

defence or in defence of others, or is done either by some person having punitive authority over the person chastised or under the authority of a competent See also:

court of See also:

JUSTICE (Lat. justitia)

justice. Corporal punishment in defence of self or others needs no comment, except that, like all other acts done in defence, its See also:

JUSTIFICATION

justification depends on whether or not it was reasonably necessary for the See also:

PROTECTION

protection of the person attacked. Among persons invested with punitive authority, mention must first be made of parents and guardians, and of teachers, who have, by implied delegation from the parents, and as incidental to the relation of See also:

MASTER (Lat. magister, related to tnagis, more, as the corresponding minister is to minus, less; the English form is due partly to the O. Eng. maegister, and partly to O. Fr. maistre, mod. maitre; cf. Du. meester, Ger. Meister, Ital. maestro)

master and See also:

PUPIL (Lat. pupillus, orphan, minor, dim. of pupus, boy, allied to puer, from root pm- or peu-, to beget, cf. "pupa," Lat. for " doll," the name given to the stage intervening between the larval and imaginal stages in certain insects)

pupil, See also:

POWERS, HIRAM (1805-1873)

powers of reasonable corporal punishment. Such powers are not limited to offences committed by the pupil upon the premises of the school, but extend to acts done on the way to and from school and during what may be properly regarded as school See also:

HOURS, CANONICAL

hours (Cleary v. See also:

Booth, 1893, I Q.B. 465). The rights of parents, guardians and teachers, in regard to the chastisement of See also:

CHILDREN, LAW RELATING TO

children, were expressly recognized in See also:

ENGLISH

English law by the Prevention of See also:

CRUELTY (through the O. Fr. crualte, mod. cruaute, from the Lat. crudelitas)

Cruelty to Children See also:

ACT (Lat. actus, actum)

Act 1904 (§ 28). Poor law authorities and managers of reformatories are in the same position in this respect as teachers. The punitive authority of elementary school teachers is subject to the regulations of the See also:

EDUCATION

education authority: that of poor law authorities to the regulation of the See also:

Home See also:

OFFICE (from Lat. officium, " duty," " service," a shortened form of opifacium, from facere, " to do," and either the stem of opes, " wealth," " aid," or opus, " work ")

Office and the See also:

LOCAL

Local See also:

Government See also:

BOARD (O. Eng. bord)

Board. A master has a right to inflict moderate chastisement upon his apprentice for neglect or other misbehaviour, provided that he does so himself, and that the apprentice is under See also:

AGE (Fr. age, through late Lat. aetaticum, from aetas)

age (Archbold, Cr. Pl., 23rd ed., 795).

Where a legal right of chastisement is exercised immoderately, the person so exercising it incurs both See also:

CIVIL

civil and criminal liability. In some of the older English legal authorities (e.g. See also:

Bacon, Abridg. tit. " See also:

Baron and Feme," B), it was stated that a See also:

HUSBAND

husband might inflict moderate corporal punishment on his wife in See also:

order to keep her " within the See also:

BOUNDS, BEATING THE

bounds of See also:

DUTY (from " due," that which is owing, O. Fr. deu, dil, past participle of devoir; Lat. debere, debitum; cf. " debt ")

duty." But these authorities were definitely discredited in 1891 in the See also:

case of R. v. See also:

Jackson (1 Q.B. 671). By the unmodified See also:

MAHOMMEDAN

Mahommedan law, a husband may administer moderate corporal punishment to his wife; but it is doubtful whether this right could be legally exercised in See also:

BRITISH

British See also:

India (See also:

Wilson, See also:

DIGEST

Digest of Anglo-Mahommedan Law, and ed., pp. 153, 154)• In See also:

Hawkins's Pleas of the See also:

CROWN

Crown (Bk. 1, c. 63, § 29) it is laid down that " churchwardens, and perhaps private persons, may See also:

WHIP

whip boys playing in See also:

church" during divine service. But while the right to remove such offenders is undoubted, the right of castigation could not now safely be exercised. At common law the master of a See also:

SHIP

ship is entitled to inflict reasonable chastisement on a See also:

SEAMAN, OWEN (1861– )

seaman for See also:

GROSS

gross See also:

BREACH (Mid. Eng. breche, derived from the common Teutonic root brec, which appears in " break," Ger. brechen, &c.)

breach of duty.

But such offences are now specially provided for by the See also:

MERCHANT (O. Fr. marcheant, modern marchand; from Lat. mercari, to trade, merx, goods, merchandise)

Merchant See also:

SHIPPING

Shipping Act 1894 (§§ 220-238); and where the provisions of that See also:

STATUTE

statute are available, corporal punishment would probably be illegal. As to corporal punishment in the See also:

army and See also:

NAVY

navy, see articles MILITARY LAW ; NAVY. In civil prisons, whether they are convict prisons or local prisons, corporal punishment may not be inflicted except under See also:

SENTENCE (Lat. sententia, a way of thinking, opinion, judgment; vote, sentire, to feel, think)

sentence of a competent court, or except in the case of prisoners under sentence of penal See also:

SERVITUDE (Lat. servitus, from service, to serve)

servitude, or convicted of See also:

FELONY (0. Fr. felonie, from felon, a word meaning " wicked," common to Romanic languages, cf. Italian fella, fellone, the ultimate origin of which is obscure, but is possibly connected either with Lat. fel, gall, or fallere, to deceive. The English " fel

felony, or sentenced to hard labour, who have been guilty of See also:

mutiny or incitement to mutiny, or of gross See also:

PERSONAL

personal violence to an officer or servant of the See also:

PRISON (derived through the Fr. from the Lat. prehensio, seizure)

prison (Act of 1898, § 5). Flogging for these offences in prison may not be inflicted except by order of the board of visitors or visiting See also:

COMMITTEE (from commute, an Anglo-Fr. past participle of commettre, Lat. committere, to entrust; the modern Fr. equivalent comite is derived from the Eng.)

committee of the prison, made at a See also:

MEETING (from " to meet," to come together, assemble, 0. Eng. metals ; cf. Du. moeten, Swed. mota, Goth. gamotjan, &c., derivatives of the Teut. word for a meeting, seen in O. Eng. Wit, moot, an assembly of the people; cf. witanagemot)

meeting specially constituted, and confirmed by a secretary of See also:

state (Prison Act of 1898, § 5; Convict Prison Rules 1899; Stat. R. and O. 1899, No. 321, rr. 77-79; Local Prison Rules 1899 ; Stat. R. and O. 1899, No. 322, rr. 84, 85).

The mode of inflicting the punishment is prescribed by the Convict Prison Rules (rr. 82-85) and the Local Prison Rules (rr. 88-91), which limit the number of strokes and prescribe the See also:

INSTRUMENT (Lat. instrumentum, from insincere, to build up, furnish, arrange, prepare)

instrument to be used for inflicting them, the See also:

cat or See also:

birch for prisoners over 18, and the birch for prisoners under 18. Corporal punishment for breaches of prison discipline in Scottish prisons is not authorized by any statute nor under the Scottish Prison Rules (see Stat. R. and O. Revised, ed. 1904, vol. X. tit. " Prison, Scotland," p. 6o). In Irish convict prisons corporal punishment may be inflicted by order of justices specially appointed by the See also:

lord-See also:

LIEUTENANT

lieutenant under §3 of the Penal Servitude Act 1864, but the Irish Prison Rules of 1902(Stat.R.and O.19o2,No. 59o)contain no reference to this See also:

POWER [WILLIAM GRATTAN] TYRONE (1797-1841)

power.

At common law, courts of justice had See also:

jurisdiction to impose a sentence of See also:

WHIPPING, or FLOGGING

whipping on persons convicted on See also:

INDICTMENT (from Anglo-Fr. enditernent, enditer, to charge; Lat. in, against, dictare, declare)

indictment for See also:

PETTY, SIR WILLIAM (1623-1687)

petty See also:

LARCENY (an adaptation of Fr. larcin, O. Fr. larrecin, from Lat. latrocinium, theft, latio, robber)

larceny or misdemeanours of the meaner See also:

KIND (O. E. ge-cynde, from the same root as is seen in " kin," supra)

kind (see i See also:

Bishop, Amer. Cr. Law, 8th ed., § 942). But they do not now impose such sentence except under statutory authority. The whipping of See also:

WOMEN

women was absolutely prohibited in 182o by the Whipping of See also:

FEMALE

Female Offenders Abolition Act of that See also:

YEAR

year. But there are numerous statutes authorizing the See also:

IMPOSITION (from Lat. imponere, to place or lay upon)

imposition of a sentence of whipping on male offenders. The following cases may be noted. 1. Adults: ' (a) who are incorrigible rogues (See also:

VAGRANCY (formed from " vagrant," wandering, unsettled; this word appears in Anglo-Fr. as wakerant and O.Fr. as wancrant, and is probably of Teut. origin, cf. M.L.G. welkern, to walk about; it is allied to Eng. " walk," and is not to be directly referred

Vagrancy Act 1824, § ro) ; (b) who See also:

DISCHARGE (adapted from the O. Fr. discharge, modern decharge, from a med. Lat. discargare, to unload, dis- and earn care, to load, cf. " charge ")

discharge See also:

FIRE (in O. Eng. f j'r; the word is common to West German languages, cf. Dutch vuur, Ger. Feuer; the pre-Teutonic form is seen in Sanskrit pu, pavaka, and Gr. irup; the ultimate origin is usually taken to be a root meaning to purify, cf. Lat. purus)

fire-arms, &c., with See also:

INTENT (from Lat. intend ere, to stretch out, extend, particularly in the phrase intendere animum, to turn one's mind to, purpose)

intent to injure or alarm the See also:

SOVEREIGN

sovereign (See also:

TREASON (Fr. trahison, Lat. traditio)

Treason Act 1842, § 2, and see 8 St. Tr. N.S. 1, and O'See also:

CONNOR (or O'CONNOR), BERNARD (1666-1698)

Connor's Case, 1872, ib. p.

3 n.); (c) who are guilty of See also:

ROBBERY (from O. Fr. rober, to steal)

robbery with violence (Larceny Act 1861, § 43), or offences against § 21 of the Offences against the Person Act of 1861; there has been much controversy as to whether the Garrotters Act of 1861, which authorized the ordering of more than one whipping in the case of an offender over 16 years of age, was the effective cause of the diminution of the offences against which it was directed, but the best judicial See also:

OPINION (Lat. opinio, from opinari, to think)

opinion is in the affirmative. 2. See also:

MALES

Males under sixteen: (a) in any of the cases above noted ; (b) for many statutory offences, e.g. larceny (Larceny Act 1861), malicious damage (Malicious Damage Act 1861, § 75; Criminal Law See also:

AMENDMENT (through the O. Fr. amender, to correct, from Lat. mendum, a fault)

Amendment Act 1885, § 4); (c) by courts of See also:

SUMMARY

summary jurisdiction (Summary Jurisdiction Act 1879, §§ ro, 11, and 1899; First Offenders Act 1887); if a boy is over 7 and under 12, not more than 6 strokes, if he is over 12, but under 14, not more than 12 strokes may be inflicted ; the birch-See also:

rod is to be used, and the punishment is to be given by a See also:

POLICE (Fr. police, government, civil administration, a police force, Gr. sroXumeia, constitution, condition of a state, roars, city, state)

police See also:

constable in the presence of a See also:

SUPERIOR

superior officer, and of the See also:

PARENT, SIMON NAPOLEON (1855– )

parent or. See also:

GUARDIAN

guardian if he See also:

DESIRE

desire it. In Scotland the whipping of male offenders under 14 is regulated by the Prisons (Scotland) Act 186o, § 7 , the Whipping Act 1862, and § 514 of the See also:

Burgh Police (Scotland) Act 1892; and offenders over 16 may not be whipped for offences against person or See also:

PROPERTY

property (Whipping Act 1862, § 2). In Ireland the law is in substance the same as in England; for See also:

SPECIAL

special statutes see See also:

OFFICIAL (Late Lat. QJicialis, for class. Lat. apparitor, from officium, office, duty)

official See also:

INDEX

Index to Statutes (ed. 1905), p. 985, See also:

art. Punishment, 6. The flogging of women is prohibited throughout British India (See also:

CODE (Lat. codex)

Code of Criminal See also:

PROCEDURE (Fr. procedure, from Lat. procedere, to go for-ward)

Procedure, Act v. of 1898, § 393) and the British colonies, where the infliction of corporal punishment by judicial order is in the See also:

main regulated on the lines of See also:

MODERN

modern English legislation. In some British colonies the See also:

list of offences punishable by whipping is larger than in England (see See also:

QUEENSLAND

Queensland Criminal Code 1899, arts. 212, 213, 216). In the See also:

UNITED

United States whipping is not a legal punishment under the Federal Law (Revised Stats.

U.S. § 5327). But in some of the states of the See also:

Union whipping is inflicted under statute, and is not held cruel or unusual within the Federal Constitution (1 Bishop, Amer. Crim. Law, 8th ed., § 947). In See also:

DELAWARE

Delaware wife-beating and certain offences against property by males are punishable with flogging ; and in See also:

MARYLAND

Maryland the same punishment is applicable for wife-beating. Flogging is in force as a disciplinary measure in some penal institutions. It has been suggested by See also:

LAURENT, FRANCOIS (1810–1887)

Laurent (Principes de See also:

DROIT (Fr. for " right," from Lat. directus, straight)

droit civil See also:

FRANCAIS, ANTOINE, COUNT (1756-1836)

francais (187o), vol. iv. § 275) that the See also:

EXPRESS (through the French from the past participle of the Lat. exprimere, to press out, by transference used of representing objects in painting or sculpture, or of thoughts, &c. in words)

express See also:

DEFINITION (Lat. definitio, from de-finire, to set limits to, describe)

definition in the See also:

French Code Civil (arts. 371 et seq.) of parental rights over children excludes the power of corporal punishment. But this view is not generally accepted. The parental right of moderate chastisement is expressly reserved in the Civil Code of See also:

Spain (art.

155, 2). Flogging is not recognized as a legal punishment by the French Code Penal, nor by the Penal Codes of See also:

Germany, See also:

Italy, Spain or See also:

PORTUGAL

Portugal. (See also WHIPPING OR FLOGGING.) (A. W.

End of Article: CORPORAL PUNISHMENT

Additional information and Comments

There are no comments yet for this article.

» Add information or comments to this article.

Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML.

Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide.
Do not copy, download, transfer, or otherwise replicate the site content in whole or in part.

Links to articles and home page are always encouraged.

[back]
CORPORAL

[next]
CORPORATION (from Lat. corporare, to form into a bo...