What is "high treason"

High \High\, a. [Compar. Higher; superl. Highest.] [OE. high, hegh, hey, heh, AS. he['a]h, h?h; akin to OS. h?h, OFries. hag, hach, D. hoog, OHG. h?h, G. hoch, Icel. h?r, Sw. h["o]g, Dan. h["o]i, Goth. hauhs, and to Icel. haugr mound, G. h["u]gel hill, Lith. kaukaras.]

1. Elevated above any starting point of measurement, as a line, or surface; having altitude; lifted up; raised or extended in the direction of the zenith; lofty; tall; as, a high mountain, tower, tree; the sun is high.

2. Regarded as raised up or elevated; distinguished; remarkable; conspicuous; superior; -- used indefinitely or relatively, and often in figurative senses, which are understood from the connection; as

   1. Elevated in character or quality, whether moral or intellectual; pre["e]minent; honorable; as, high aims, or motives. ``The highest faculty of the soul.''
      --Baxter.

   2. Exalted in social standing or general estimation, or in rank, reputation, office, and the like; dignified; as, she was welcomed in the highest circles.

      He was a wight of high renown.
      --Shak.

   3. Of noble birth; illustrious; as, of high family.

   4. Of great strength, force, importance, and the like; strong; mighty; powerful; violent; sometimes, triumphant; victorious; majestic, etc.; as, a high wind; high passions. ``With rather a high manner.''
      --Thackeray.

      Strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand.
      --Ps. lxxxix. 1

3. Can heavenly minds such high resentment show?
   --Dryden. (e) Very abstract; difficult to comprehend or surmount; grand; noble.

   Both meet to hear and answer such high things.
   --Shak.

   Plain living and high thinking are no more.
   --Wordsworth. (f) Costly; dear in price; extravagant; as, to hold goods at a high price.

   If they must be good at so high a rate, they know they may be safe at a cheaper.
   --South. (g) Arrogant; lofty; boastful; proud; ostentatious; -- used in a bad sense.

   An high look and a proud heart . . . is sin.
   --Prov. xxi.

4. His forces, after all the high discourses, amounted really but to eighteen hundred foot.
   --Clarendon.

   3. Possessing a characteristic quality in a supreme or superior degree; as, high (i. e., intense) heat; high (i. e., full or quite) noon; high (i. e., rich or spicy) seasoning; high (i. e., complete) pleasure; high (i. e., deep or vivid) color; high (i. e., extensive, thorough) scholarship, etc.

   High time it is this war now ended were.
   --Spenser.

   High sauces and spices are fetched from the Indies.
   --Baker.

   4. (Cookery) Strong-scented; slightly tainted; as, epicures do not cook game before it is high.

5. (Mus.) Acute or sharp; -- opposed to grave or low; as, a high note.

6. (Phon.) Made with a high position of some part of the tongue in relation to the palate, as [=e] ([=e]ve), [=oo] (f[=oo]d). See Guide to Pronunciation, [sect][sect] 10, 1

   1. High admiral, the chief admiral.

      High altar, the principal altar in a church.

      High and dry, out of water; out of reach of the current or tide; -- said of a vessel, aground or beached.

      High and mighty arrogant; overbearing. [Colloq.]

      High art, art which deals with lofty and dignified subjects and is characterized by an elevated style avoiding all meretricious display.

      High bailiff, the chief bailiff.

      High Chur`ch, and Low Church, two ecclesiastical parties in the Church of England and the Protestant Episcopal Church. The high-churchmen emphasize the doctrine of the apostolic succession, and hold, in general, to a sacramental presence in the Eucharist, to baptismal regeneration, and to the sole validity of Episcopal ordination. They attach much importance to ceremonies and symbols in worship. Low-churchmen lay less stress on these points, and, in many instances, reject altogether the peculiar tenets of the high-church school. See Broad Church.

      High constable (Law), a chief of constabulary. See Constable, n.,

   2. High commission court, a court of ecclesiastical jurisdiction in England erected and united to the regal power by Queen Elizabeth in 1559. On account of the abuse of its powers it was abolished in 1641. High day (Script.), a holy or feast day. --John xix. 31. High festival (Eccl.), a festival to be observed with full ceremonial. High German, or High Dutch. See under German. High jinks, an old Scottish pastime; hence, noisy revelry; wild sport. [Colloq.] ``All the high jinks of the county, when the lad comes of age.'' --F. Harrison. High latitude (Geog.), one designated by the higher figures; consequently, a latitude remote from the equator. High life, life among the aristocracy or the rich. High liver, one who indulges in a rich diet. High living, a feeding upon rich, pampering food. High Mass. (R. C. Ch.) See under Mass. High milling, a process of making flour from grain by several successive grindings and intermediate sorting, instead of by a single grinding. High noon, the time when the sun is in the meridian. High place (Script.), an eminence or mound on which sacrifices were offered. High priest. See in the Vocabulary. High relief. (Fine Arts) See Alto-rilievo. High school. See under School. High seas (Law), the open sea; the part of the ocean not in the territorial waters of any particular sovereignty, usually distant three miles or more from the coast line. --Wharton. High steam, steam having a high pressure. High steward, the chief steward. High tea, tea with meats and extra relishes. High tide, the greatest flow of the tide; high water. High time.

      1. Quite time; full time for the occasion.

      2. A time of great excitement or enjoyment; a carousal. High treason, treason against the sovereign or the state, the highest civil offense. See Treason. Note: It is now sufficient to speak of high treason as treason simply, seeing that petty treason, as a distinct offense, has been abolished. --Mozley & W. High water, the utmost flow or greatest elevation of the tide; also, the time of such elevation. High-water mark.

         1. That line of the seashore to which the waters ordinarily reach at high water.

         2. A mark showing the highest level reached by water in a river or other body of fresh water, as in time of freshet. High-water shrub (Bot.), a composite shrub ( Iva frutescens), growing in salt marshes along the Atlantic coast of the United States. High wine, distilled spirits containing a high percentage of alcohol; -- usually in the plural. To be on a high horse, to be on one's dignity; to bear one's self loftily. [Colloq.] With a high hand.

            1. With power; in force; triumphantly. ``The children of Israel went out with a high hand.''
               --Ex. xiv. 8.

            2. In an overbearing manner, arbitrarily. ``They governed the city with a high hand.''
               --Jowett (Thucyd. ).

               Syn: Tall; lofty; elevated; noble; exalted; supercilious; proud; violent; full; dear. See Tall.

n. Criminal disloyalty to one's country.

n. a crime that undermines the offender's government [syn: treason, lese majesty]

Treason is criminal disloyalty. Historically, in common law countries, high treason is treason against the state. It was differentiated from petty treason (or petit treason), which was treason against a lesser lawful superior (such as a servant killing his master). Petty treason was restricted to cases of homicide in 1351, and came to be considered a more serious degree of murder.

As common law jurisdictions around the world abolished petty treason, the concept of high treason gradually faded, and today use of the word "treason" generally refers to what was historically known as high treason. In Canadian law, however, there are still two separate offences of treason and high treason, but both of these, in fact, fall in the historical category of high treason. In Canada, the main difference in law between treason and high treason depends on whether the nation is at war. In nations without a common law legal system, the distinction between high and petty treason did not exist.

High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps the best known examples of high treason. High treason requires that the alleged traitor have obligations of loyalty in the state he or she betrayed, but this will usually be satisfied by being present in the state at the time of the offence, or being a citizen of the state if abroad. Foreign spies, assassins, and saboteurs, though not suffering the dishonor associated with conviction for high treason, may still be tried and punished judicially for acts of espionage, assassination, or sabotage, though in contemporary times, foreign spies are usually repatriated in exchange for spies of the mentioned nation held by another nation. High treason is considered a very serious – often the most serious possible – crime, by the civil authorities. A conviction, by a Canadian court, for high treason, results in a mandatory life sentence (albeit with the possibility of parole after 25 years).

Until the 19th century, counterfeiting coins was high treason in the United Kingdom.

High Treason is a 1951 British espionage thriller filmed in the style of such American " docudramas" as The House on 92nd Street and T-Men. It is a sequel to the Oscar-winning 1950 film Seven Days to Noon. Director Roy Boulting, co-director (with his brother John) and co-writer of the first film also directed and co-wrote this one. Frank Harvey, Boulting's co-writer, was also a co-writer of the earlier film. André Morell reprises his role as Detective Superintendent Folland of Scotland Yard's Special Branch from the first film, though in High Treason he is subordinate to the head of Special Branch, Commander Robert "Robbie" Brennan, played by Liam Redmond.

High Treason is a 1929 film based on a play by Noel Pemberton Billing. It was directed by Maurice Elvey, and stars James Carew, Humberstone Wright, Benita Hume, Henry Vibart, Hayford Hobbs, Irene Rooke and Jameson Thomas. Raymond Massey makes his first screen appearance in a small role. The sound film was presented in a London trade show on 9 August 1929, then went into UK general release in silent and sound versions on 9 September 1929. The sound version was released in the US by Tiffany Productions on 13 March 1930. The silent version and a trailer for the sound version are preserved and held by the British Film Institute; the only known surviving original copy of the sound version is a lavender fine grain of the American release version held in the collection of Alaska Moving Image Preservation Association (AMIPA), which has been recently restored by the Library of Congress.

The film is a science fiction drama set in a futuristic 1940 (though this is changed to 1950 in later releases). The plot and aesthetics of the film are heavily influenced by Fritz Lang's Metropolis.

High Treason'' (German:Hochverrat'') is a 1929 German silent drama film directed by Johannes Meyer and starring Gerda Maurus, Gustav Fröhlich and Harry Hardt. The film is set in pre- Revolution Russia. Maurus' performance was contrasted favourably with her appearance in Fritz Lang's Woman in the Moon by the magazine Film und Volk. The film's art direction was by Willi Herrmann.

High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government.

High Treason may also refer to:

In literature:

• "High Treason" (short story), a 1966 story by Poul Anderson
• High Treason, a 1927 play by Noel Pemberton Billing

In film and television:

• High Treason (1929 film), a British adaptation of Billing's play, by Maurice Elvey
• High Treason (1929 German film), a German silent film directed by Johannes Meyer
• High Treason (1951 film), a British espionage thriller by Roy Boulting
• High Treason Pictures, an American film production company
• "High Treason" (The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.), a two-part episode of The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.

Other uses:

• Act of War: High Treason, a 2006 expansion pack for the video game Act of War: Direct Action
• "High Treason", a song from White Line by Memorain
• "High Treason", a song from Did Tomorrow Come... by Sirrah

"High Treason" is a 1966 science fiction short story by Poul Anderson.

The story consists of the last words of Colonel Edward Breckinridge of Earth's space-bound armed forces, as he is about to be executed by being ejected without a space suit into the vacuum of interstellar space. He has been allowed to record his words (and thoughts and images) into a "memory cube", so as to preserve his version of events for posterity.

Humanity is about to lose its war with the alien Morwain. As a desperate last throw, Breckinridge had been ordered to launch an attack which would obliterate all life on a strategic Morwain planet - a planet which Breckinridge had visited before war had broken out and befriended some of its inhabitants, and which is important to Morwain culture and history.

Breckinridge protests to his superior, General Wang, pointing out that until then the war had been conducted "cleanly", mainly in space battles which did not harm civilians. Wang responds that he had lost much sleep over this issue, but that there is no other way to win the war. He offers to relieve Breckinridge, but Breckinridge says he will do it.

However, setting out with sealed orders and the true mission kept secret from his underlings, Breckinridge launches a hopeless attack against a superior Morwain force in a different sector with the explicit intention of having his force be destroyed so that Wang could not use it for the original mission. He hopes to be killed himself, but survives. When he returns with the battered remnants of his force, he is court-martialled on the charge of high treason and sentenced to death. Defeat is now inevitable.

Breckinridge states that his trial had been eminently fair and does not contest the sentence. Still, he considers his decision to have been morally justified, since even defeat and occupation of Earth are preferable to the atrocity of destroying an entire populated planet.

Moreover, Breckinridge feels that Earth's war with the Morwain, which developed and escalated from border disputes and incidents, had been mistaken to begin with - especially since humans and Morwain should have united to confront the danger of the monstrous, Nazi-like Bilturs expanding across space. An atrocity such as Breckinridge had been ordered to commit would have created such bitterness and hatred as to rule out such an alliance.

Throughout his monologue, Breckinridge speaks as a professional military man, despite his act of treason. As such, he expresses strong disdain for the anti-war "Brotherhood of Love" and does not want them to posthumously claim him. This clearly reflects the writer's dislike of the Hippie " Counterculture" and its opposition to the Vietnam War at the time of writing.

Commentator Conrad Hilton wrote:

Poul Anderson's 'High Treason' gives a very sympathetic depiction of a military officer whose act is - from the strict legal point of view - precisely what the story's title says. Still, there are moral considerations which override an officer's duty to obey orders, and there are prices for winning a war which are unacceptable. When faced with the choice of committing an act of genocide or letting Earth lose the war, the protagonist chooses - on his own authority and consulting no one - to let Earth lose the war. Anderson clearly seems to endorse his choice. Reading this story should give a pause to those who hastened to categorize Anderson on the basis of his support for the Vietnam War.