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Part of the goods or merchandises belonging to
such ship or vessel, the person or persons guilty
thereof shall in all respects be deemed and punished
as pirates aforesai d". It would thus appear to have
been necessary in the opinion of the legislation to
reinforce the common law by statute in order to punish
as pirates persons who had accomplished considerably
more by their violent acts than is alleged in the
present indictment. A distinction must be noted
between statutes providing for the punishment of
piracy and other statutes, e.g., the Piracy Act,
1850, 13 and 14 Vict., c.26, which provides for an
inquiry by the High Court of Admiralty in England
and other courts of Admiralty in His Majesty's
dominions beyond the seas, held to determine whether
persons attached or engaged with by His Majesty's
ships were pirates and to ascertain the number of
pirates captured or engaged. It is not only from
the language of English statutes that assistance is
obtainable in this matter. As appears in the report
of an American case "The United States of America
v. Smith" (5 Wheaton, 153) (and also from reference
to Kent's "Commentaries on American Law" vol. 1,
p.185) that Congress taking action under a constit u-
tional power given "to define and punish felonies
on the high seas and offences against the law of
nations" had passed an act providing "that if any
shall upon the high seas commit the crime
person.
of piracy as defined by the law of nations.....such
offender.....shall......be punished with death."