VIII. IX. X. [Rewards for discovering offenders.]

XI. [Any commissioner of the navy, &c., or any justice of the peace, may grant warrants for searching houses, &c., where oath is made that there is reason to suspect stores, belonging to his majesty, are concealed. If any stores or goods (marked as hereinbefore, or in the recited act of 9 & 10 Will. 3, mentioned) shall be found, the offender shall be dealt with according to law; and if, upon such search, or any seizure of stores or goods marked as aforesaid, any not marked shall be found, suspected to belong to his majesty, and the party shall not give a satisfactory account thereof, they shall be forfeited, and he shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor.]

XII. [Persons deputed by the commissioners of the navy, &c., may detain any craft in which may be suspected to be contained any articles stolen from his majesty's vessels, &c., and the parties; who shall be dealt with according to law respecting marked stores; and those not marked, suspected to belong to his majesty, and not satisfactorily accounted for, shall be forfeited, and the party deemed guilty of a misdemeanor. If the persons be convicted of stealing marked articles, or adjudged guilty of a misdemeanor with respect to unmarked ones, the craft in which they are found shall be forfeited.]

XVI. [Penalty on persons adjudged guilty of a misdemeanor before a commissioner or justice of the peace.]

XVIII. [Any commissioner of the navy, &c., or justice of the peace, may determine any complaint (against persons not being contractors, &c.) for unlawfully selling or receiv ing stores not exceeding twenty shillings' value, and may fine the offender ten pounds.]

Stores.

XXIV. Provided always, and it is hereby enacted and Nothing declared, that nothing hereinbefore contained which gives herein shall to any commissioner or justice of the peace power or au- prevent parties acthority to hear and determine offences in a summary way, cused of shall extend or be deemed, construed, or taken to extend, selling or to prevent the party or parties accused of selling or deli- receiving stores, under vering, or of having in his, her, or their custody, posses- the value of sion, or keeping, or of receiving or concealing any of the 20s., from stores marked as above mentioned, under the value of being prosecuted as twenty shillings, from being prosecuted as receivers of receivers of stolen goods under this act, or for unlawfully having the stolen same in his, her, or their custody, or concealing the same goods, so as under the said recited acts of the ninth and tenth years of the offender the reign of King William the Third, the ninth year of the be not twice reign of King George the First, or the seventeenth year of for the the reign of King George the Second, in any court of record, same of oyer and terminer, or otherwise, as they might have been fence. if no such power or authority had been given; or to take away from any person or court whatsoever any power,

punished

Stores.

right, jurisdiction, pre-eminence, or authority, which he or they, or any of them, ought lawfully to have had and enjoyed for the hearing and determining of such offences in case no such power or authority to hear and determine the same in a summary way had been given, so as that the same person shall not be punished twice for the same offence.

& 40 Geo.3,

c. 89, extended to cordage worked

54 Geo. 3, c. 60.

"Whereas the marks usually put to his majesty's cordage are frequently taken out of the same for the purpose of concealing his majesty's property therein; and it is expedient that other marks should be used in his majesty's cordage for Provisions the purpose of denoting his majesty's property therein;" be of the 9 & 10 it therefore enacted, &c., that from and after the passing of W.3, c. 41, and 39 this act, all and every the pains, penalties, forfeitures, regulations, restrictions, powers, provisions, matters, and things, in respect to the making, selling, delivering, receiving, having in possession, and concealing any cordage wrought either with a white thread laid the contrary way, with worst- or with a twine laid to the contrary way, mentioned and ed threads. contained in [9 & 10 Will. 3, c. 41.] and also in [39 & 40 Geo. 3, c. 89.]; or in any other act or acts of parliament; and shall extend to the making, selling, delivering, receiving, having in possession, and concealing any cordage wrought with one or more worsted threads, as fully and effectually, to all intents and purposes, as if the same several pains, penalties, forfeitures, regulations, restrictions, powers, provisions, matters, and things were herein and hereby repeated and re-enacted in respect to such lastmentioned cordage: provided always, that nothing herein contained shall extend, or be construed to extend, to repeal any of the statutes now in force, or any of the clauses, matters, and things, therein contained, in respect to cordage wrought either with a white thread laid the contrary way, or with a twine laid to the contrary way, but that the same marks may be continued to be used to denote his majesty's property in such cordage in the same manner as if this act had not been passed.

Recited acts of 9 & 10

W. 3, c. 41; 9 G. 1, c.8; 17 G. 2, c.

40; 40 G. 3,

55 Geo. 3, c. 127.

I. [Recites the 9 & 10 W. 3, c. 41; 9 Geo. 1, c. 8; 17 Geo. 2, c. 40; 40 Geo. 3, c. 89; 52 Geo. 3, c. 12; 53 Geo. 3, c. 126, and repeals the last-mentioned act, and proceeds.]

And be it further enacted, that from and after the passing of this act, not only the said recited act of the ninth and tenth year of the reign of King William the Third, but also the said several other acts of the ninth year of the reign of King George the First, the seventeenth year of the

Stores.

naval stores,

rized.

reign of King George the Second, and the fortieth year of the reign of his present majesty, hereinbefore recited, so far as the same, severally, relate to his majesty's naval, c. 89, so far ordnance, and victualling stores, therein respectively men- as relates to tioned, and all the pains, penalties, forfeitures, regulations, shall extend restrictions, powers, provisions, clauses, matters, and to all public things therein respectively contained, relating to his ma- stores, and to all perjesty's naval, ordnance, and victualling stores, therein sons interrespectively mentioned, shall extend, and be construed to meddling extend, to all public stores whatsoever, under the care, therewith, superintendence, or control, of any officer or person in the not autho service of his majesty, his heirs, or successors, or employed in any public department, or office, either marked with the marks, or any of them in the said recited acts, or any of them specified, or with the broad arrow, and the letters B. O. or with a crown and the broad arrow, or with his majesty's arms, or with the letters G. R., to denote the property of his majesty, his heirs, or successors, therein, and to all and every person and persons not authorized by the proper officer or officers, person or persons in his majesty's service, in that behalf so to do, using any such marks, or making any goods marked with such marks, or any of them, and to all and every person and persons, in whose custody, possession, or keeping, any such public stores, so marked as aforesaid, shall be found, or who shall willingly or knowingly receive or have in his, her, or their custody, possession, or keeping, or who shall conceal any such public stores so marked as aforesaid, unless such person or persons shall, upon his, her, or their trial, produce a certificate or certificates, under the hand or hands of the proper officer or officers, person or persons in his majesty's service, authorized to grant the same, of such and the like nature as the certificate, in the said recited acts of the ninth and tenth year of the reign of King William the Third, and fortieth year of the reign of his present majesty, mentioned, and to all and every person and persons who shall wilfully and fraudulently destroy, beat out, take out, cut out, deface, obliterate, or erase, wholly or in part, any of the said marks, or cause, procure, employ, or direct any other person or persons so to do, for the purpose of concealing the property of his majesty, his heirs, or successors therein, as fully and effectually, to all intents and purposes, as if all the same several pains, penalties, forfeitures, regulations, restrictions, powers, provisions, clauses, matters, and things in the said several acts contained, so far as the same severally relate to his majesty's naval, ordnance, and victualling stores; and the punishment of persons, offending in manner therein mentioned, were herein and hereby severally repeated and re-enacted, in respect to all other public stores whatsoever.

Stores.

Note.

4 Geo. 4, c. 53.

Whereas, by an act passed in the twenty-second year of the reign of his late majesty King Charles the Second, intituled An Act for taking away the Benefit of Clergy, from such as steal Cloth from the Rack, and from such as shall steal or embezzle his Majesty's Ammunition and Stores, the benefit of clergy is taken away from persons convicted of

stealing or embezzling any of his majesty's sails, cordage, or any other his majesty's naval stores, to the value of twenty shillings; provided that it shall be lawful for the judges to grant a reprieve for the staying of the execution of such offenders, and to cause them to be transported for the space of seven years, and kept to hard labour : And whereas it is expedient that a lesser degree of punishment than that of death should be provided for the offence from which the benefit of clergy is so taken away as aforesaid, and that the same punishment should be extended in manner hereinafter mentioned: be it therefore enacted, &c., that so much of the said recited act as takes away the benefit of clergy from the persons convicted of the offences hereinbefore mentioned, shall be, and the same is hereby repealed; and that, from and after the passing of this act, every person who shall be lawfully convicted of his majesty's ammunition, sails, cordage, or naval or military stores, or of procuring, counselling, aiding, or abetting any such offender, shall be liable, at the discretion of the court, to be transported beyond the seas for life, or for any term not less than seven years, or to be imprisoned only, or to be imprisoned and kept to hard labour in the common gaol, or house of correction, for any term not exceeding seven years.

stealing or embezzling

The clauses which are here omitted have reference to acts which are now repealed.

jurors,

EMBRACERY.

(See also tits. "Maintenance" and "Champerty.")

6 Geo. 4, c. 50.

Embracers, LXI. Provided always, and be it enacted and declared, and corrupt that, notwithstanding any thing herein contained, every punishable person who shall be guilty of the offence of embracery, by fine and and every juror who shall wilfully or corruptly consent imprison

ment.

thereto, shall and may be respectively proceeded against by indictment or information, and be punished by fine and imprisonment, in like manner as every such person and juror might have been before the passing of this act.

"It is provided also, that nothing be demanded nor taken from henceforth, nor levied by the sheriff nor by any other, for the escape of a thief or a felon, until it be judged for an escape by the justices in eyre; and he that otherwise doth, shall restore to him or them that have paid it, as much as he or they have taken or received, and as much also unto the king."

Note. It was adjudged that the jurisdiction of the Court of King's Bench was not restrained by this

5 Ed. 3, c. 8.

statute, that court being itself the highest court of eyre: 1 Russ. 374.

"Item, because that persons indicted of felonies, robberies, and theft, in times past, have removed the same indictment before the king, and there yielded themselves, and by the marshals of the King's Bench have been incontinently let to bail, and after have done many evil deeds, and lain in wait to slay and evil intreat their enditors, and also persons appealed of felony, after the exigent awarded, have yielded themselves before the king, and have been let to bail by the said marshals." "It is accorded and established, that such enditees and appellees shall be safely and surely kept in prison, as belongeth to them according to the charge which the said marshals shall have of the justices. And if any marshal do otherwise, at the complaint of every man that will complain, the justices shall do to him right during the terms; and in the end of the terms, upon their rising, the said marshals shall choose before the said justices, before they depart the places, in what town they will keep such prisoners, at their peril. And in the same town they shall allow to them houses to keep such prisoners at their own costs and charges; and there they shall keep them in prison, and shall not suffer them to go wandering abroad, neither by

G