having the effect that the attainted person could neither inherit lands from his ancestors nor transmit them to any heir. But this was altered as regards England and Ireland in 1870 by the statute 33 and 34 Vict., c. 23. The convict suffers forfeiture and is disqualified for any public office; the court may order him to pay the costs of his conviction, and his whole property is transferred to administrators named by the Crown, who administer it and retransfer the surplus to his heirs and representatives.
There are certain minor offenses which are called misprision of treason, being those closely bordering on treason. (See Misprision.) Such are offenses which consist in the bare knowledge and concealment of treason, without any degree of assent thereto, for any assent makes the party a principal traitor. The punishment of misprision of treason was loss of goods and lands during life.
In the United States treason may be either against an individual State or against the United States. In the former case it may be an offense at common law, although the Constitution or statutes of most of the States define the crime and provide a punishment. Most of these provisions, however, are modeled after the provisions of the United States Constitution defining treason. The Constitution of the United States (Art. 3, sec. 3) provides that treason against the United States shall “consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to or giving aid and comfort to their enemies.” It is further provided that no person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the overt act or upon confession in open court. The penalty is death or imprisonment and fine at the discretion of the court. Levying war within the meaning of this provision must be a defiance of public government by armed force, and must amount to more than a mere riot or an interference with the execution of the laws for some private purpose. The acts of the defendant must also proceed beyond mere preparation, as by enlistment of men for military service. They must meet or be assembled for a treasonable purpose and some act done toward executing with force their purposes. Thus an assembly of men arrayed in a military manner for the purpose of overawing the public and finally assailing the Government is levying war upon the Government, although no actual blow is struck. Adhering to or giving aid and comfort to the enemies of the United States means more than mere sympathy with enemies of the Government: it must be the voluntary giving of actual assistance to those who are waging war against the United States.
Most of the State Constitutions contain provisions similar to the clause of the United States Constitution, defining treason against the State and providing a punishment. Generally they provide that treason against a State may be committed by armed opposition to its laws or by forcibly attempting to overthrow or usurp the Government. In practice, the common law of crime and the statute law of crime in the several States have been found adequate to punish crime of a treasonable nature without resorting to prosecution for treason, and there have been few prosecutions for the specific offense of treason against a State. See Attainder; cf. Præmunire.
TREASURE ISLAND. A romance of adventure by Robert Louis Stevenson (1883). Though intended for boys, it first attracted the attention of the general public to his work.
TREASURER, Lord High. Formerly, the third great officer of the Crown in England, who was sole head of the King's exchequer. The office was originally held by one person, but in 1612 James I. put it in commission; and from the accession of George I. (1714) down to the present time, it has been the practice to vest the office in a board of Lords Commissioners of the Treasury.
TREASURE-TROVE (treasure, from OF. tresor, Fr. trésor, It., Sp. tesoro, from Lat. thesaurus, from Gk. θησαυρός, treasure, treasure-chest, storehouse, from τιθέναι, tithenai, to put, place + trove, from OF. trover, trouver, Fr. trouver, to find). In the common law of England, hidden treasure of gold, silver, and bullion accidentally found in the earth, the owner of which cannot be ascertained. Treasure-trove belongs to the Crown, and in certain districts the right to claim it has been granted to the nobility. In order to come within this rule, the treasure must be concealed, as distinguished from that which is casually lost and remains on the surface, as to which a different rule applies. A finder of treasure-trove is bound by law to give notice of his discovery to the proper officials of the Crown, and his failure to do so may subject him to fine and imprisonment. However, the present policy of the English Government is to allow a finder to keep treasure thus discovered, less a small percentage of its value to be paid to the Crown, unless it is of some value as an object of historical or antiquarian interest, in which cases it is claimed by the Crown in order to be preserved in the national museums. By the Treasure-Trove Act of India the finder may keep it if no owner is found, in which ease the latter is entitled to three-quarters and the finder to one-quarter of its value.
Although there are some dicta to the effect that the common law as to treasure-trove applies in the United States, the right is seldom, if ever, enforced, if it exists. See Finding.
TREASURY, Department of the. The executive department of the Government of the United States controlling the national finances. It was established by act of Congress in September, 1789, and was the successor of the Treasury Department created by the Congress of the Confederation in 1781, of which Robert Morris was for a time superintendent. It is the most extensive and complex of the executive departments and in rank stands next to the Department of State. It is presided over by a Secretary appointed by the President, who is a member of the Cabinet (salary, $8000), and second among the Cabinet officers in the line of succession to the Presidency. The department as originally established consisted of a Secretary, a Comptroller, an Auditor, a Treasurer, a Register, and an Assistant Secretary, together with a few clerks. From this small beginning the department has grown to be a vast establishment employing some 5000 persons at Washington with numerous bureaus, branches, and offices throughout the country. The only qualification for the office of Secretary of the Treasury is the negative
