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DECEMBER TERM, 1877.
451

The Territory vs. Bannigan.


specially provided the regular term of office of all county- township and precinct officers, when elected for a fall term, shall commence on the first Monday of January next succeeding their election." The words, "when elected for a full term," necessarily excludes those not elected for a full term, and the fair and reasonable inference is that they are left to enter upon the duties of their office at once.

All the Justices concurring, the judgment of the court below is

Affirmed.


The Territory v. Bannigan.

1. MURDER: indictment: sufficiency. An indictment for murder in the common law form charging the crime to have been committed "wilfully, feloniously and with malice aforethought," is sufficient under the statute without an allegation of "premeditated design to effect the death of the person killed."

2. -: -: -. Murder under the statute not being divided into degrees, and the statutory definition including, in the different subdivisions, both expre»s and implied malice; and malice aforethought, as it has for so long time been construed and come to be understood, embracing both, they arc the most apt and appropriate words to be used by the pleader in charging the crime.

3. INDICTMENT: statutory words. The rule that the indictment should bring the offense within the words of the statute declaring it, held applicable in its strict terms to cases where the offense is created by statute; or where the punishment has been increased and the pleader seeks to bring the prisoner within the enhanced punishment; or where new ingredients have been added, either limiting or enlarging the original constituent elements of the crime.

4. MANSLAUGHTER: premeditation: passion and provocation. While the statute defines homicide to be manslaughter when perpetrated without a design to effect death, still if it was perpetrated in the heat of passion engendered by a sudden and sufficient provocation, even though the accused at the instant, and in his frenzy, intended to take life, the law will interpose and say there was no intent, no premeditated design such as is essential to constitute murder.

5. -: provocation: cooling time. No precise or definite rule can be laid down as to the time within which the blood should cool; each case must be governed by its own circumstances, the character and temperament of the man» the nature of the provocation, etc. Quere:—That the question, what is a sufficient cooling time? and the question, what is a sufficient provocation? are both of law, not of fact.