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Injuries to electric or magnetic telegraphs.
Summary proceedings.
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37. Whosoever shall unlawfully and maliciously cut, break, throw down, destroy, injure, or remove any battery, machinery, wire, cable, post, or other matter or thing whatsoever, being part of or being used or employed in or about any electric or magnetic telegraph, or in the working thereof, or shall unlawfully and maliciously prevent or obstruct in any manner whatsoever the sending, conveyance, or delivery of any communication by any such telegraph, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and being convicted thereof shall be liable, at the discretion of the court, to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding two years, with or without hard labour: Provided, that if it shall appear to any justice, on the examination of any person charged with any offence against this section, that it is not expedient to the ends of justice that the same should be prosecuted by indictment, the justice may proceed summarily to hear and determine the same, and the offender shall on conviction thereof, at the discretion of the justice, either be committed to the common gaol or house of correction, there to be imprisoned only, or to be imprisoned and kept to hard labour, for any term not exceeding three months, or else shall forfeit and pay such sum of money, not exceeding ten pounds, as to the justice shall seem meet.
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