An Act to prevent the Election or Appointment of unlawful Assemblies, under Pretence of preparing or presenting Public Petitions, or other Addresses to His Majesty, or the Parliament, passed A. D. 1793.

Whereas the election or appointment of assemblies, purporting to represent the people, or any description or number of the people of this realm, under pretence of preparing or presenting petitions, complaints, remonstrances, and declarations, and other addresses to the King, or to both or either houses of parliament, for alteration of matters established by law, or redress of alledged grievances in church and state, may be made use of to serve the ends of factious and seditious persons, to the violation of the public peace, and the great and manifest encouragement of riot, tumult, and disorder: Be it declared and enacted by the King's most excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the lords spiritual and temporal, and commons in parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, That all assemblies, committees, or other bodies of persons elected, or in any other manner constituted or appointed to represent, or assuming or exercising a right or authority to represent the people of

this realm, or any number or description of the people of the same, or the people of any province, county, city, town, or other district within the same, under pretence of petitioning for, or in any other manner procuring an alteration of matters established by law in church or state, save and except the knights, citizens, and burgesses elected to serve in the parliament thereof, and save and except the houses of convocation duly summoned by the King's writ, are unlawful assemblies; and it shall and may be lawful for any mayor, sheriff, justice of the peace, or other peace officer, and they are hereby respectively authorised and required, within his and their respective jurisdictions, to disperse all such unlawful assemblies, and if resisted to enter into the same, and to apprehend all persons offending in that behalf.

II. And be it further enacted, That if any person shall give or publish, or cause or procure to be given or published, any written or other notice of election to be holden, or of any manner of appointment of any person or persons to be the representative or representatives, delegate or delegates, or to act by any other name or description whatever, as representative or representatives, delegate or delegates of the inhabitants, or of any description of the inhabitants of any province, county, city, town, or other district within this kingdom, at any such as

sembly; or if any person shall attend and vote at such election or appointment, or by any other means vote or act in the choice or appointment of such representatives or delegates, or other persons to act as such, every person who shall be guilty of any of the said offences respectively, being thereof convicted by due course of law, shall be deemed guilty of an high misdemeanor.

III. Provided always, That nothing herein contained shall extend or be construed to extend to or affect elections to be made by bodies corporate, according to the charters and usage of such bodies corporate respectively.

IV. Provided also, That nothing herein contained shall be construed in any manner to prevent or impede the undoubted right of his Majesty's subjects of this realm to petition his Majesty, or both houses, or either house of parliament, for redress of any public or private grievance.