Page images
PDF
EPUB

Lotteries. births, &c., forfeit five hundred pounds. Contracting for new insurances in offices already set up, forfeit one hundred pounds.]

Act 33 Hen. 8, c.9, against unlawful

more effec

tual.

10 Anne, c. 26 (see 12 Geo. 2, c. 28, next page.)

CIX. [Clause for suppressing unlawful lotteries, and other devices of the same kind.]

8 Geo. 1, c.2 (see 12 Geo. 2, c. 28.]

XXXVI. [Clause for the more effectual suppressing unlawful lotteries, denominated sales, &c. Persons who after Dec. 21, 1721, shall erect any office or place under the denomination of sales of houses, lands, advowsons, presentations to livings, plate, jewels, ships' goods, or other things for the improvement of small sums of money, &c., and shall be thereof convicted, upon the oath or oaths of one or more credible witness or witnesses, by two or more justices of the peace, &c., shall forfeit five hundred pounds, one third to the crown, another to the informer, and the other to the poor, where such offence shall be committed.]

2 Geo. 2, c. 28.

IX. Whereas a good and profitable statute was made in the three-and-thirtieth year of the reign of King Henry the Eighth (among other things) for the debarring of unlawful games,made games; and whereas, by the said statute no power is given unto the justices of the peace to demand and take from persons found playing contrary to law any other security than their own recognizances, that they or any of them shall not from thenceforth use such unlawful games, unless such persons are so found playing contrary to law, upon the view of one or more justice or justices of the peace; for remedy thereof, be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, that where it shall be proved, upon the oath of two or more credible witnesses, before any justice or justices of the peace, as well as where such justice or justices shall find, upon his or their own view, that any person or persons have or hath used or exercised any unlawful game, contrary to the said statute, the said justice or justices shall have full power and authority to commit all and every such offender and offenders to prison without bail or mainprise, unless and until such offender and offenders shall enter into one or more recognizance or recognizances, with sureties or without, at the discretion of the said justice or justices of the peace, that he or they respectively shall not from thenceforth play at or use such unlawful game.

12 Geo. 2, c. 28.

Lotteries, &c.

I. [Recites 10 & 11 Will. 3, c. 17—9 Anne, c. 6, s. 5610 Anne, c. 26, s. 109-8 Geo. 1, c. 2, s. 36—9 Geo. 1, c. 19.] And whereas it is found, by experience, that the said good and wholesome laws have not effectually answered the good ends, intents, and purposes in and by the said acts designed; but that, contrary to the true intent and meaning of the said recited acts, several deceitful games and subscriptions are daily carried on under the denomination of sales of houses, lands, plate, jewels, goods, and other things; and that several printers have printed, published, and caused to be printed and published, proposals or schemes for the sale of such houses, lands, plate, jewels, goods, and other things, to be determined by raffles by mathematical machines or engines and by other indirect ways and means, tending to evade the said good and wholesome laws before mentioned; and whereas several persons have, for many years past, carried on and set up certain fraudulent games and lotteries to be determined by the chance of cards and dice, under the denomination of the games of the ace of hearts, pharoah, basset, and hazard, and thereby defrauded several of his majesty's subjects, ignorant of the great disadvantage adventurers in the said games and lotteries so denominated the games of the ace of hearts, pharoah, basset, or hazard, are under, subject, and liable to; and whereas several doubts have arisen whether the said games of the ace of hearts, pharoah, basset, and hazard, are within the descriptions of the lotteries prohibited by the said recited acts of parliament; and whereas great difficulties have arisen upon the methods of conviction of the offenders against the said acts of parliament: for remedy whereof, and for explaining and making more effectual the said acts of parliament, may it please your most excellent majesty that it may be enacted, and be it enacted, &c., that if any person or persons shall, after the 24th day of June, 1739, erect, set up, continue, or keep 2007. penalany office or place under the denomination of a sale or ty on any sales of houses, land, advowsons, presentations to livings, against this plate, jewels, ships, goods, or other things by way of lot- act. tery, or by lots, tickets, numbers, or figures, cards, or dice; or shall make, print, advertise, or publish, or cause to be made, printed, advertised, or published, proposals or schemes for advancing small sums of money by several persons, amounting in the whole to large sums, to be divided among them by chances of the prizes in some public lottery or lotteries established or allowed by act of parliament, or shall deliver out, or cause or procure to be delivered out, tickets to the persons advancing such sums, to entitle them to a share of the money so advanced according to such proposals or schemes; or shall expose to sale any houses, lands, advowsons, presentations to livings,

offence

&c.

Lotteries, plate, jewels, ships, or other goods, by any game, method, or device whatsoever, depending upon or to be determined by any lot or drawing, whether it be out of a box or wheel, or by cards or dice, or by any machine, engine, or device of chance of any kind whatsoever; such person or persons, and every or either of them, shall, upon being convicted thereof before any one justice of the peace for any county, riding, or division, or before the mayor or other justice or justices of the peace for any city or town corporate, upon the oath or oaths of one or more credible witness or witnesses (which said oaths the said justices of the peace and mayor are hereby authorized, empowered, and required to administer), or upon the view of such justice or justices, or the mayor, justice or justices for any city or town corporate, or on the confession of the party or parties accused, shall forfeit and lose the sum of two hundred pounds, to be levied by distress and sale of the offender's goods, by warrant under the hands and seals of one or more justice or justices of the peace of such county, riding, division, city, or town, where the offence shall be committed; which said forfeitures, when recovered, after deducting the reasonable charges of such prosecution, shall go and be applied, one-third thereof to the informer and the remaining two-thirds to the use of the poor of the parish where such offence shall be committed, excepting the said two-thirds of such forfeitures which shall be incurred by and recovered upon any person or persons within the city of Bath, which said two-thirds shall go and be applied to and for the use and benefit of the poor residing within the hospital or infirmary lately erected for the benefit of poor persons resorting to the said city for the benefit of the mineral waters, after deducting the charges of conviction as aforesaid.

The same, how to be levied and applied.

Games with

of the act.

II. And it is hereby enacted and declared, that the said in the intent games of the ace of hearts, pharaoh, basset, and hazard are, and are hereby declared to be, games or lotteries by cards or dice, within the intent and meaning of the said in part recited acts; and that all and every person or persons who shall set up, maintain, or keep the said games of the ace of hearts, pharaoh, basset, and hazard, shall be subject and liable to all and every the penalties and forfeitures in and by this act inflicted upon any person or persons who shall erect, set up, continue, or keep any of the said games or lotteries in this present act mentioned; and shall be prosecuted and convicted, and the penalties and forfeitures shall be sued for and recovered in like manner as the said penalties and forfeitures are by this act directed to be sued for and recovered.

III. [Fifty pounds' penalty on the adventurers, to be sued for and recovered as aforesaid.]

IV. [Sales by lotteries void, and lands, &c. forfeited.]

V. Provided always, and it is hereby declared and Lotteries, enacted, that if any person or persons shall think him, her, &c. or themselves aggrieved by the judgment or determination

of any justice or justices of the peace, or mayor, as afore- Appeal. said, upon any conviction of, or for, any of the offences in this act, such person or persons may appeal from the said judgment of the said justice or justices, or mayor, to the next general or quarter sessions of the peace for the said county, riding, division, city, or place where such person or persons was or were convicted; but the person and persons so appealing shall, and he, she, and they are hereby directed to give reasonable notice to the prosecutor or prosecutors of such person or persons as shall so appeal, of such his, her, or their intention of bringing and prosecuting such appeal, and shall enter into a recognizance before some justices of the peace for the county, riding, division, city, or place wherein the conviction or judgment was made or given, with two sufficient sureties, on condition to try such appeal at the next quarter sessions which shall be held in and for the county, riding, division, city, or place, wherein such conviction or judgment was made or given, next and immediately after the bringing such appeal; and every such appeal and appeals shall, by the court at the said next general quarter sessions, to which such appeal and appeals is or are made, be then examined, and the matter then finally heard and determined, and not afterwards; and, in case such judgment, determination, or conviction, as aforesaid, shall be then and there affirmed, the party appealing shall pay unto the prosecutor or prosecutors, his, her, or their treble costs; and such prosecutor and prosecutors shall have such remedy for the same as any defendant or defendants hath or have for costs of suit in any other cases by law.

VI. Provided always, and be it further enacted, by the Convicauthority aforesaid, that no such conviction made, or judg- tions. ment given as aforesaid, by this act, shall be set aside by the said court of quarter sessions, for want of form, in case the facts alleged in the said conviction shall be proved to the satisfaction of the said court; nor shall such conviction or judgment be removed or removeable by certiorari, or any other writ or process whatsoever, into any of his majesty's courts of record at Westminster, until such order or other proceedings shall have been first removed to, and judgment and determination given and made thereupon, by such court of quarter sessions as aforesaid.

upon 100%.

VII. Provided also, and be it further enacted, by the Record removeable, authority aforesaid, that no writ of certiorari or other process shall issue or be issuable, to remove the record of any security. such conviction from the said court of quarter sessions, or to remove any order or other proceedings, taken or made by the said court of quarter sessions, upon, touching, or con

Lotteries, cerning such conviction, into any of his majesty's courts of &c. record at Westminster, until the party or parties against

Game of

passage and

whom such conviction shall be made, before the allowance of such writ of certiorari or other process, shall find two sufficient sureties to become bound to the prosecutor in the sum of one hundred pounds, with condition to prosecute the same with effect within six calendar months, and to pay unto the prosecutor or prosecutors, his, her, or their treble costs and charges, in case such orders or conviction shall be affirmed.

VIII. [Offenders not able to pay the penalties to be imprisoned.]

XII. [Limitation of actions, three months-general issue -treble costs.]

13 Geo. 2, c. 19.

IX. Whereas, a good and wholesome law was made in the 12th year of the reign of his present Majesty King George the Second, intituled, "An Act for the more effectual Preventing of excessive and deceitful Gaming ;" but, contrary to the true intent and meaning thereof, some fraudulent and deceitful games have been invented, and a certain game called passage is now daily practised and carried on, to the ruin and impoverishment of many of his majesty's subjects: it is therefore hereby enacted and declared, that the said other games game of passage, and all and every other game and games, with dice, invented or to be invented with one or more die or dice, or prohibited. with any other instrument, engine, or device in the nature of dice, having one or more figures or numbers thereon, (backgammon and the other games now played with the backgammon tables only excepted,) are, and shall be deemed to be games or lotteries by dice, within the intent and meaning of the said in part recited act; and all and every person and persons who shall set up, maintain, or keep any office, table, or place (save and except as in the said in part recited act is provided and declared) for the said game of passage, or for any other such game or games as aforesaid, (backgammon and the other games now played with the backgammon tables only excepted) shall severally forfeit, be subject and liable to, all and every the penalties and forfeitures in and by the said in part recited act inflicted upon any person or persons who shall erect, set up, continue, or keep any of the games or lotteries in the said in part recited act mentioned; and all and every person or persons who shall play, set at stake, or adventure at the said game of passage, or at any other such game as aforesaid (backgammon and the other games now played with the backgammon tables only, excepted,) save and except as in the said in part recited act is provided and declared, he and they respectively shall severally forfeit, be subject and liable to, all and every the

« PreviousContinue »