TRESPASSING
[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.] SIR,--The advice given to your readers to the effect that trespassing is an offence is open to question.
A tort is a civil wrong and not necessarily an offence. It is true that some torts constitute an offence, such as assault, but this does not apply to all and trespass is not one of them.
An offence implies a matter in relation to which a person may be criminally prosecuted. Except for one or two special forms of trespass, such as trespass in pursuit of game or trespass on a railway, a prosecution does not lie.
This may sound purely technical, but it has a practical side in that the notice "Trespassers will be prosecuted," so often exhibited, whilst it may have a deterrent effect on the general public, is a misstatement, because trespassers cannot be prosecuted for a simple trespass.—Yours faithfully,
27 Sefton Drive, Liverpool, 8. J. W. THURSTAN HOLLAND.
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