To be paid by the Sheriff within 30 days.

Penalty on

Sheriff not paying

same.

Offenders may be prosecuted in any County in England.

shall be committed, or the party killed or receive such wound,
by the person or persons so apprehending and causing the said
offender to be convicted, or the person or persons so wounded,
or the executors or administrators of the party killed, the Jus-
tices of the said Sessions shall give a certificate thereof to such
person or persons so wounded, or to the executors or admi-
nistrators of the person or persons so killed, by which he or
they shall be entitled to receive of the Sheriff of the said
County the sum of £50, to be allowed the said Sheriff in pass-
ing his accounts in the Exchequer; which sum of £50 the said
Sheriff is hereby required to pay within thirty days from the day
on which the said certificate shall be produced and shewn to
him, under the penalty of forfeiting the sum of £10 to the said
person or persons to whom such certificate is given; for which
said sum of £10, as well as the said sum of £50, such person
and is hereby authorized to bring an action upon the case
may
against such Sheriff, as for money had and received to his or
their use. s. 12.

And for the better and more impartial Trial of any Indictment or Information, which shall be found, commenced, or prosecuted for any the offences committed against this act, be it enacted, that offence that shall be done or committed contrary to every this act, shall and may be inquired of, examined, tried, and determined in any County within that part of the Kingdom of Great Britain called England, in such manner and form as if Attainder not to the fact had been therein committed: Provided, that no atwork Corruption tainder for any of the offences made Felony by virtue of this act, shall make or work any corruption of blood, loss of dower, or forfeiture of lands or tenements, goods or chattels.

of Blood, &c.

Act shall be

read at every

Quarter Ses

s. 14.

This act shall be openly read at every Quarter Sessions, and sions, Leet, &c. at every Leet or Law Day. s. 15.

Persons destroying or damaging Westminster

Bridges (DAMAGING).

The statute 9 G. 2. c. 29. intituled "An act for building a Bridge across the River Thames, from the New Palace Yard, Bridge, or any in the City of Westminster, to the opposite Shore, in the County part thereof, or the Works of Surrey," enacts, that if any person shall wilfully and maliciously pull down or destroy the said Bridge, or any part thereof, or attempt so to do, or unlawfully and without authority from the said Commissioners or their Assessors, remove or take away any works thereto belonging, or in any wise direct or procure

thereto belong

ing, shall be

guilty of Felony without Clergy

the same to be done, whereby the said Bridge or the works thereof may be damaged, or the lives of the passengers endangered; such offender or offenders, being lawfully convicted, shall be adjudged guilty of Felony, and shall suffer Death as a Felon, without Benefit of Clergy. s. 5.

In numerous instances the Destroying or Damaging Bridges is made Felony, in some cases with, in others without Benefit of Clergy; but as the offences are merely local, and frequently created by local and personal acts, they have not been inserted in this collection. A short list, however, is subjoined of some out of these acts.

31 G. 2. c. 20. s. 6.

9 G. 2. c. 29. s. 5.

29 G. 2. c. 86.

12 G. 1. c. 36. s. 3.

30 G. 2. c. 63. s. 19. 131 G. 2. c. 48.

23 G. 2. c. 37. s. 12.

28 G. 2. c. 55.

20 G. 2. c. 22. s. 3.

24 G. 2. c. 36.

31 G. 2. c. 59.

29 G. 2. c. 73. s. 5.

29 G. 2. c. 73.

30 G. 2. c. 59.

18 G. 3. c. 10.

Buckingham.

Whereas for many years past it has been usual in the Administration of Justice to his Majesty's Subjects residing at the different ends of the County of Buckingham, which is of great length, to appoint the Summer Assises at the County Town of Buckingham, and the Winter Assises at Alesbury; and whereas the usage was unnecessarily broken in upon in last Summer: and whereas it will tend to preserve the peace and quiet of the County, to fix the distribution of Justice in its usual channel, within the said County; be it therefore enacted, that after The Assises 1st June 1748, all the Commissions of Assise and Nisi Prius, shall be held and all General Commissions of Oyer and Terminer, and all at the town of Commissions of General Gaol Delivery, which shall be appointed and no other to be held and executed for the said County next after the

Buckingham,

place.

Except in cases of exigencies,

when they may

other convenient

place in that County.

Term of Holy Trinity, shall be held and executed in each year at and in the said Town of Buckingham, and at no other place within the said County of Buckingham; any Law, Statute, Usage, matter, or thing to the contrary notwithstanding. 21 G. 2. c. 12.

Provided and it is hereby enacted and declared, that if at any time hereafter the said Town of Buckingham shall be wholly unfit be held at some for holding the Assises there, by accident of fire, or by means of any contagious or epidemical distemper, or by any other unforeseen cause or exigency, to be made appear before the Lord High Chancellor, or Lord Keeper, or Lords Commissioners for keeping the Great Seal of Great Britain for the time being; that then and in such cases only, it shall and may be lawful to and for the Lord High Chancellor, or Lord Keeper, or Lords Commissioners for keeping the Great Seal of Great Britain for the time being, with the advice of the Justices of Assise, from time to time, in and during the continuance of such respective Exigencies only, and for and at no other time or times, to appoint another convenient place within the said County for holding the said Assises, instead of the said Town of Buckingham; any thing in this present act contained to the contrary notwithstanding. s. 2.

Buggery made
Felony without
Clergy.

Buggery.

For the condign punishment of this detestable and abominable vice, it is enacted, that the same Offence be from henceforth adjudged Felony, and such order and form of process therein to be used against the Offenders as in cases of Felony at the Common Hawk. P. C.6. Law; and that the Offenders, being thereof convict by Verdict, 1 Hale, P. C. 669.

3 Inst. 59.

Coke, 391.

Confession, or Outlawry, shall suffer such Pains of Death, and losses and penalties of their goods, chattels, debts, lands, tenements, and hereditaments, as Felons be accustomed to do according to the order of the Common Law; and that no person offending in any such offence shall be admitted to his Clergy; and that Justices of Peace shall have power and authority to hear and determine the said Offence, as they do use to do in cases of other Felonies. 25 H. 8. c. 6.

The above statute was repealed by statute 1 M. st. 1. c. 1., but revived and made perpetual by 5 Eliz. c. 17.

Bullion and Plate:

I. The Standard of Gold and Silver.

II. Counterfeiting Bullion and the Marks thereon.
III. Exportation of Bullion and Plate.

IV. Illegal Sale or Possession of Bullion.

V. Gilding or silvering certain Copper or Latten Wares.

1. The Standard of Gold and Silver.

Gold and Silver

Wares.

By statute 28 Ed. 1. st. 3. c. 20. no Goldsmith shall make any $ 1. vessel, jewel, or any other thing of gold or silver, except it be of The Standard of good and true allay; viz. gold not worse than the touch of Paris, and silver of sterling allay or of better; and that the same shall be assayed by the Wardens of the Goldsmiths' Company, and marked with the Leopard's head, and any such made otherwise shall be seised; and if he be attainted of the fact, he shall be punished by imprisonment, and ransom at the King's pleasure. By statute 17 Ed. 4. c. 1. it is provided, that no Goldsmith shall sell any gold under the fineness of eighteen Carrats (1), nor silver under the allay of sterling.

§ 2.

§ 3. Allaying Gold

and Silver.

No Finer of gold and silver, nor Parter of the same by fire or water, from henceforth allay any fine silver or gold, ne none sell in any otherwise, ne to any person or persons, but only to the Officers of Mints, Changes, and Goldsmiths within this Realm, for augmentation and amending of Coin and Plate; and that the Master of Mints, Changes, and Goldsmiths, for all such fine gold or silver coming to them, to answer the value as it is worth, according as it is now and hath been in antient time accustomed, after the rate of fineness; ne that no Finer nor Finers, Parter nor Parters, sell to no person, neither to one nor to other, any manner of silver into mass molten and allayed, upon pain of forfeiture of the same, the King thereof to have one half, and the Finder that can prove, and will sue for it in the King's Exchequer, the other half. And if any Finer or Finers, Parter or Parters of of what finegold and silver, either by fire or water, allay or sell any manner fine gold or silver otherwise than it is ordained in this act, he or they to lose the value of the same gold or silver so allayed or sold, the King to have the one half, and the Finder the other. Also all such fine silver as shall be parted and fined as is aforesaid,

(1) See post, statute 39 G. 3. c. 69. under § 6. of this division.

Silver shall be.

ness Gold and

their Mark on

the Plate.

that it be made so fine that it may bear twelve pennyweight of allay in a pound weight, and yet it be as good as sterling, and Finers shall put rather better than worse; and that every Finer put his several mark upon such fine silver, to bear witness of the same to be true as is aforesaid, upon the pain of the value found contrary to be forfeit, the King to have one half, and the Finder the other. And that no Goldsmith within this Realm melt or allay any fine may be melted. silver to be for any works or other intent, but only for making of Amels for divers works of goldsmithery, and for amending of plate, to make it as good as sterling or better, for the common weal of this Realm. 4 H. 7. c. 2.

For what purposes Silver

Silver molten into Mass shall not be sold.

§ 4.

standards of

wrought or manufactured plate continued.

Nor that they sell no fine silver nor other silver allayed, molten into mass, to any person whatsoever they be, nor one Goldsmith to another. This ordinance to be kept by the Goldsmiths in every point, upon pain of forfeiture of the same silver or the value thereof, the King to have one half, and the Finder the other half. s. 2..

The statute 18 Eliz. c. 15. enacts, that the Goldsmith's Wares shall be not less in fineness than 22 carrats of Gold, nor of Silver less than 11 ounces 2 pennyweights.

The statute 6 G. 1. c. 11. recites, that it may be necessary for encouraging the several manufactures of Wrought Plate, to continue both the Standard of Plate of eleven ounces ten pennyweight Troy, and also the Standard of eleven ounces two pennyweight Troy, for the better accommodating the buyers of Plate, and the workers and dealers therein; and then enacts The two different (s. 41.) that from and after 1 June 1720, all silver vessels of Plate, or manufactured of silver, shall not be made less in fineness than that of eleven ounces ten pennyweight of fine silver in every pound Troy, or of silver less in fineness than eleven ounces two pennyweight of fine silver in every pound Troy, which two different standards of Wrought Plate shall be severally and respectively marked with distinguishing marks, that is to The distinguish say, vessels made of Silver Plate or manufactured silver, not less in fineness than eleven ounces ten pennyweight of fine silver in every pound Troy, to be marked with the workman's mark, the mark of the Wardens of the mystery or craft of the Goldsmiths, and with the figure of a Lion's head erased, and the figure of a woman called the Britannia. And all vessels of Silver Plate or manufactured silver, not less in fineness than eleven ounces two pennyweights of fine silver in every pound Troy, and under the degree of eleven ounces ten pennyweight of fine silver in every pound Troy, shall be

marks for the two standards.