The English law concerning arson was consolidated by 7 & 8 Geo. IV. c. 30, which was repealed and re-enacted by the Malicious Damage Act 1861. The common-law offence of arson (which has been greatly enlarged by the act of 1861) required some part of the house to be actually burnt; neither a bare intention nor even an actual attempt by putting fire in or towards it will constitute the offence, if no part was actually burnt, but the burning of any part, however trifling, is sufficient, and the offence is complete even if the fire is put out or goes out of itself. The burning must be malicious and wilful, otherwise it is only a trespass. If a man by wilfully setting fire to his own house burn the house of his neighbour also, it will be a felony, even though the primary intention of the party was to burn his own house only. The word _house_, in the definition of the offence at common law, extends not only to dwelling-houses, "but to all out-houses which are parcel thereof, though not adjoining thereto." Barns with corn and hay in them, though distant from a house, are within the definition. The different varieties of the offence are specified in the Malicious Damage Act 1861. The following crimes are thereby made felonies: (1) setting fire to any church, chapel, meeting-house or other place of divine worship; (2) setting fire to a dwelling-house, any person being therein; (3) setting fire to a house, out-house, manufactory, farm-building, &c., with intent to impose and defraud any person; (4) setting fire to buildings appertaining to any railway, port, dock or harbour; or (5) setting fire to any public building. In these cases the act provides that the person convicted shall be liable, at the discretion of the court, to be kept in penal servitude for life, or for any term not less than three years (altered to _five_ years by the Penal Servitude Acts Amendment Act 1864), or to be imprisoned for any time not exceeding two years, with or without hard labour, and, if a male under sixteen years of age, with or without whipping. Setting fire to other buildings, and setting fire to goods in buildings under such circumstances that, if the building were thereby set fire to, the offence would amount to felony, are subject to the punishments last enumerated, with this exception that the period of penal servitude is limited to fourteen years. The attempt to set fire to any building, or any matter or thing not enumerated above, is punishable as a felony. Russell says (_Crimes_, p. 1781) that the term building is no doubt very indefinite, but it was used in 9 & 10 Vict. c. 25, s. 2; and it was thought much better to adopt this term and leave it to be interpreted as each case might arise, than to attempt to define; as any such attempt would probably have failed in producing any expression more certain than the term "building" itself. In _R._ v. _Manning_, 1872 (L.R. 1 C.C.R. 338), it was held that an unfinished house was a building within the