Public Companies. Bank Stock. South Sea or other authority or instrument, to receive any dividend Public or dividends, on any of the said stocks, annuities, or other Funds and funds, or shall utter or publish, as true, any such letter of attorney, or other authority or instrument, containing such false, forged, or counterfeited name or names, handwriting or hands writing, of such attesting witness or witnesses as aforesaid, knowing such name or names, handwriting or handswriting, to be false, forged, or counterfeited, all and every person or persons whatsoever so offending, and being in due form of law convicted of any such East India offence or offences as aforesaid, shall be adjudged guilty of felony, and shall be transported for seven years, or shall be adjudged to suffer such lesser punishment as the court, before whom such offender or offenders shall be tried, shall think fit to award. II. [Public act.] 35 Geo. 3, c. 66. I. [Recites two Irish acts, by which certain loans were raised for the use of that kingdom, and enacts that it shall be lawful for the governor and company of the Bank of England to apply such money as shall be paid into the Bank of England in pursuance of the said acts, in paying the interest and annuities in pursuance of the said two acts of parliament of Ireland, or either of them, and that the said annuities, and also the said principal sums or stock, and any part or parcel thereof, shall be transferrable at the Bank of England.] Stock. transfers of II. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, Books to that it shall and may be lawful for the governor and com- be kept for pany of the Bank of England to authorize and direct their entering accountant-general for the time being to keep books, annuities, wherein all assignments or transfers of the said annuities, &c. and principal sums or stock, shall be entered and registered, in such manner as the said governor and company shall direct; which entry shall be signed by the parties making such assignments or transfers, or, if such parties be absent, by their respective attorney or attorneys, thereunto lawfully authorized in writing, under his, her, or their hand and seal, or hands and seals, to be attested by two or more credible witnesses; and that the several persons to whom such transfers shall be made, shall respectively underwrite their acceptance thereof, by themselves or by their respective attorney or attorneys thereunto lawfully authorized in manner aforesaid; and that no other method of assigning and transferring the said annuities and principal sums or stock, or any part thereof, or any interest therein, shall be good or available in law Persons forging or III. "And whereas, for the prevention of forgeries and altering, &c. frauds in respect to the receipts, payments, and transfers, receipts made or given in pursuance of this act, it is necessary that the like provisions should be enacted as by the laws now suffer death. or debentures, to Public Persons forging let ters of attorney to transfer stock, &c. or personating pro prietors, to suffer death. Persons in being are already in force respecting stocks, annuities, and other public funds, transferrable at the Bank of England aforesaid;" be it, therefore, further enacted by the authority aoresaid, that from and after the passing of this act, if any person or persons shall forge or counterfeit, or cause or procure, &c. or wilfully act or assist, &c. any receipt or receipts for the whole or any part or parts of the said subscriptions or contributions towards the said two loans, or either of them, or any debenture or debentures purporting to entitle any person or persons, or body politic or corporate whatsoever, to any principal sum, or the interest thereon, or any annuity, or part of any principal sum, interest, or annuity, payable under the said two acts of parliament of Ireland, or either of them, either with or without the name or names of any person or persons, or body politic or corporate, being inserted therein as the subscriber or subscribers, or contributor or contributors, or payer or payers, towards the said two loans, or any part or parts thereof, or shall alter any number, figure, or word therein, or utter or publish as true any such false, forged, counterfeited, or altered receipt or receipts, debenture or debentures, with intention to defraud the governor and company of the Bank of England, or any body politic or corporate, or any person or persons whatsoever, every such person or persons so forging or counterfeiting, or causing or procuring, &c. or wilfully acting or assisting, &c. or altering, uttering, or publishing, as aforesaid, shall be deemed guilty of felony, and shall suffer death as a felon or felons, without benefit of clergy. IV. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that, from and after the passing of this act, if any person or persons shall forge or counterfeit, or procure, &c. or knowingly or wilfully act or assist, &c., any letter of attorney or other authority or instrument, to transfer, assign, sell, or convey, any part or share of or in the principal sums or stock, or the annuities, by this act made or declared transferrable at the Bank of England, or to receive any annuity or annuities, or interest, or dividend or dividends, in pursuance of this act, payable at the Bank of England, or any part thereof, or shall forge or counterfeit, or procure to be forged and counterfeited, or knowingly and wilfully act or assist in the forging or counterfeiting, any the name or names of any the proprietor or proprietors of any such part or share of or in such principal sums, or stock, or annuities, interest, dividend or dividends, as aforesaid, in, or to any, &c. [as in 8 Geo. 1, c. 22, mutatis mutandis. See ante, p. 142. V. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, forging di that, from and after the passing of this act, if any person vidend-war- or persons shall forge, counterfeit, or alter, any dividendwarrant, or warrant for payment of any annuity, interest, rants, &c. to suffer death. or money, payable in pursuance of this act at the Bank of England, or any indorsement thereon; or shall offer, or dispose of, or put away, any such forged, counterfeited, or altered dividend-warrant, or warrant for payment of any annuity, interest, or money, payable as aforesaid, or the indorsement thereon, or demand the money therein contained, or pretended to be due thereon, or any part thereof, of the said governor and company of the Bank of England, or any their officers or servants, knowing such dividend-warrant, or warrant for payment of any annuity, interest, or money, payable as aforesaid, or the indorsement thereon, to be forged, counterfeited, or altered, with intent to defraud the said governor and company of the Bank of England, or their successors, or any other body politic or corporate, or any person or persons whatsoever, every person or persons so offending shall be deemed guilty of felony, and shall suffer death as a felon or felons, without benefit of clergy. Public Funds. any but pro VII. And be it further enacted by the authority afore- Persons said, that, from and after the passing of this act, if any making person or persons, &c. [as in 33 Geo. 3, c. 30, except transters in that for the words there included in brackets, read " prin- prietors' cipal sums or stock, annuity or annuities, by this act made names. or declared transferrable at the Bank of England." See ante, p. 146.] VIII. IX. X. [As in 33 Geo. 3, c. 30, s. 2, 3, and 4, respectively, except as before, and (in the last section) read 66 ing wilfully" for "willingly."] Note. See also 37 Geo. 3, c. 46, which is in the same terms as this act. 2. NOTES AND OTHER SECURITIES OF THE BANK OF ENGLAND. 8 & 9 Will. 3, c. 20. forge or XXXVI. Whereas, of late, divers frauds and cheats have been put upon the governor and company of the Bank of England, by the altering, forging, and counterfeiting of the bank bills and bank notes of the said governor and company, and by the rasing and altering indorsements thereupon, to the great decay of credit; for redressing the Felony to same for the future, be it enacted, &c. that the forging or counterfeit counterfeiting the common seal of the said corporation of the common the governor and company, or of any sealed bank bill, seal or any, made or given out in the name of the said governor and bank note, company for the payment of any sum of money, or of any bank note of any sort whatsoever, signed for the said governor and company of the Bank of England, or the altering or rasing any indorsement on any bank bill or note of any sort, shall be, and is hereby declared and adjudged to be felony, without benefit of clergy. &c. Bank of England Notes. Forging &c. bank bills or notes, felony. 11 Geo. 1, c. 9. VI. Whereas, of late, divers frauds and deceits have been put upon the said governor and company of the Bank of England, and other persons, by the altering, forging, and counterfeiting of the bank bills and bank notes of the said governor and company, and by the erasing and altering the said bills and notes, and the indorsements thereupon, and by the tending in payment, uttering, vending, exchanging, and bartering, of such altered, forged, counterfeited, and erased bills and notes, and the indorsements thereupon, to the prejudice of public credit, and to the great hurt and diminution of trade and commerce; for redressing whereof for the future, be it enacted, &c. that if any person or persons shall alter, forge, or counterfeit any bank bill or bank note, made or given out for the payment of any sum of money, by or for the said governor and company, or any bank note of any sort whatsoever, or shall erase or alter any such bill or note, or any indorsement thereupon, or shall tender in payment, utter, vend, exchange, or barter, any such altered, forged, or counterfeited bill or note, or any erased or altered bill or note, or the indorsement thereupon, or demand to have the same exchanged for ready money by the said governor and company, or their successors, or any other person or persons, (knowing such bill or note, or the indorsement thereupon, so tendered, or demanded to be exchanged, vended, or bartered, to be altered, forged, counterfeited, or erased,) and with intention to defraud the said governor and company, or their successors, or any other person or persons, body politic or corporate; then every such person or persons so offending (being thereof lawfully convicted) shall be, and is hereby declared and adjudged, a felon, and shall suffer as in cases of felony. 13 Geo. 3, c. 79. I. Whereas frauds have lately been committed by forging the notes and bills of the governor and company of the Bank of England, notwithstanding the statutes now in force for punishing and suppressing the same; for the more effectual preventing such practices, be it enacted, &c. Making that from and after the 29th day of September, which shall frames, &c. be in the year of our Lord 1773, if any person or perfor forging notes of the sons (other than the officers, workmen, servants, or agents, Bank of for the time being, of the said governor and company, England, or to be authorized and appointed for that purpose by having in the said governor and company, and for the use of the custody moulds or said governor and company only) shall make or use, or instruments cause or procure to be made or used, or knowingly aid or for that pur- assist in the making or using, or (without being authorized pose,felony and appointed as aforesaid) shall knowingly have in his, her, or their custody or possession, (without lawful excuse, the proof whereof shall lie upon the person accused,) any frame, mould, or instrument, for the making of paper, with the words Bank of England visible in the substance of such paper; or shall make, or cause or procure to be made, or knowingly aid or assist in the making any paper, in the substance of which the said words, Bank of England, shall be visible; or if any person (except as before excepted) after the said 29th day of September, shall, by any art, mystery, or contrivance, cause or procure the said words Bank of England to appear visible in the substance of any paper whatsoever, or knowingly aid or assist in causing the said words, Bank of England, to appear in the substance of any paper whatsoever; every person so offending in any of the cases aforesaid, and being thereof lawfully convicted, shall, for such offence, be deemed and adjudged a felon, and shall suffer death as in cases of felony, without benefit of clergy. Bank of England semble in II. And whereas, unwary and other persons have taken in payment, and otherwise received, notes, inland bills, and bills of exchange, with certain words and characters so nearly resembling the notes and bills of the said governor and company, as to appear to such persons to be the notes or bills of the Bank of England, which, if continued to be done, will be to the great prejudice of public credit: be it therefore enacted by the authority aforesaid, that from and after the said 29th day of September, if any person or per- Engraving sons, without being authorized and appointed as aforesaid, notes to reshall engrave, cut, etch, or scrape in mezzotinto, or shall land bills, cause or procure to be engraved, &c., or shall knowingly &c. aid or assist in the engraving, &c., in or upon any plate of copper, brass, steel, pewter, or of any other metal or mixture of metals, or upon wood, or any other material, or any plate whatsoever, any promissory note, inland bill, or bill of exchange, or blank promissory note, inland bill, or bill of exchange, or part of a promissory note, inland bill, or bill of exchange, containing the words Bank of England, or Bank Post Bill, or any word or words expressing the sum or amount, or any part of the sum or amount, of such promissory note, inland bill, or bill of exchange, in white letters or figures on a black ground; or shall use any such plate so engraved, cut, etched, or scraped in mezzotinto, or shall use any other instrument for the making or printing any such promissory note, inland bill, or bill of exchange, or blank promissory note, inland bill, or bill of exchange, or part of a promissory note, inland bill, or bill of exchange; if any person, without being authorized and appointed as aforesaid, shall, after the 25th day of December, which shall be in the year of our Lord 1773, knowingly have in bis, her, or their custody, any such plate or instrument, or shall knowingly and wilfully utter or publish any such pro |