h) Seditious Conspiracy

By Section 73 it is provided that: “If three or more persons shall unlawfully assemble, or being unlawfully assembled shall continue together with intent by public speeches, exhibition of flags, inscriptions or other means or devices whatever to excite hatred or contempt of the person of His Majesty the King or of His Majesty's Government established in the Island of Malta and Its Dependencies or in any other of the dominions of the British Crown or to excite other persons to attempt the alteration of any matter established by law, otherwise than by lawful means, every person so "offending shall be punished with hard labour or with imprisonment from six to eighteen months" .

The elements of this crime are clear from the very definition of it which the law gives. The persons taking part in the assembly must be not less than three though it is not absolutely essential that all should be tried together. The cannon design must be manifested by any of the means which the law specifies and although the adjective "public" appears used only in connection with the word “speeches”, it is thought that the requirement of publicity applies also to all other means44 .

In connection with this crime the following dictum of Lord Holt is relevant:

“If men shall not be called to account for possessing the people with an ill opinion of the government, no government can subsist; nothing can be worse to any government than to endeavour to procure animosities as to the management of it; this has always been looked upon as - crime, and no government can be safe unless it is punished” (h) Seditious Conspiracy

If two or more persons shall conspire to excite hatred or contempt of the person of His Majesty the King or of His Majesty’s Government or to incite other persons to attempt the alteration of any matter established by law, otherwise than by lawful means, every person so offending shall be punished with hard labour or with imprisonment from six to eighteen months. (Section 74).

Here again the law punishes the mere act of conspiracy having for its object the acts above mentioned. This section does not give a definition of “conspiracy”. But there appears to be no reason why the definition given by Section 58 should not apply, that

44 Falzon, op. cit., pg. 104