Hard Labour

Hard labour, a punishment said to have been intro-duced by 5 Anne, c. 6. By the (English) Criminal Justice Administration Act, 1914, s. 16(1), 'where a person convicted by or before any Court of an offence is sentenced to imprisonment without the option of a fine, the imprisonment may, in the discretion of the court, be either with or without hard labour, notwithstanding that the offence is an offence at common law, or that the statute under which the sentence is passed does not authorize the imposition of hard labour or requires the imposi-tion of hard labour.' Imprisonment for default in payment of a fine is always without hard labour.