The Malicious Damage Act 1861 (24 & 25 Vict c 97) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (as it then was). It consolidated provisions related to malicious damage from a number of earlier statutes into a single Act. For the most part these provisions were, according to the draftsman of the Act, incorporated with little or no variation in their phraseology. It is one of a group of Acts sometimes referred to as the Criminal Law Consolidation Acts 1861. It was passed with the object of simplifying the law. It is essentially a revised version of an earlier consolidation Act, the Malicious Injuries to Property Act 1827 (7 & 8 Geo 4 c 30) (and the equivalent Irish Act), incorporating subsequent statutes. The Act applied in the Republic of Ireland until 1991 and still applies in some Commonwealth countries which were parts of the British Empire in 1861, such as Sierra Leone. Injuries by fire to buildings, and goods therein The following words were repealed for England and Wales by section 83(3) of, and Part I of Schedule 10 to, the Criminal Justice Act 1948: In sections 1 to 10, 14 to 21, 23, 26 to 33, 42 to 48 and 50, the words "and, if a male under the age of sixteen years, with or without whipping" wherever those words occurred In sections 22 and 54, the words from "with or without hard labour" to the end In section 39, the words from "with or without hard labour" to "whipping" Sections 1 to 7 were repealed for England and Wales by section 11(8) of, and Part I of the Schedule to, the Criminal Damage Act 1971. They were repealed for Northern Ireland by the Criminal Damage (Northern Ireland) Order 1977 (S.I. 1977/426) (N.I. 4) Section 1: Setting fire to a church or chapel Section 2: Setting fire to a dwelling house, any person being therein Section 3: Setting fire to a house, outhouse, manufactory, farm building, etc. Indictments of ss. 2 & 3 The following specimen counts were formerly contained in paragraph 14 of the Second Schedule to the Indictments Act 1915 before it was repealed. The following specimen count was formerly contained in paragraph 15 of the Second Schedule to the Indictments Act 1915 before it was repealed. Section 4: Setting fire to any Railway Station Section 5: Setting