This Act not to repeal any for mer law, except as is herein particularly expressed; nor to extend to any offence committed against before July 1, 1777. Form aforesaid, to be fairly written upon Parchment, and transmitted to the next General or General Quarter Sessions of the Peace to be held for the County, Riding, Division, City, Liberty, Town, or Place wherein such Conviction was had, to be filed and kept amongst the Records of the said General or General Quarter Sessions; and in case the person or persons so convicted shall appeal from the Judgment of the said Justices to the said General or General Quarter Sessions, the Justices on such General or General Quarter Sessions are hereby required, upon receiving the said Conviction drawn up in the Form aforesaid, to proceed to the hearing and determination of the matter of the said Appeal, according to the Direction of the said Act, any Law or Usage to the contrary notwithstanding. 17 G. 3. c. 56. s. 22. Provided also, that nothing herein contained shall extend, or be construed to extend, to repeal any former Law or Laws now in being, for the punishment of any of the Offences herein above specified, except so far as is particularly expressed by this Act; and no Offender who shall have been proceeded against, upon or by virtue of this Act, for any of the Offences herein specified, shall for the same Offence be afterwards proceeded against upon or by virtue of any such former Law or Laws. s. 23. Provided also, that nothing contained in this Act shall extend to or affect any person or persons for any Offence committed the Act 22 G. 2. or to be committed against the said recited Act of the Twentysecond Year of the Reign of his late Majesty King George the Second, before the said 1st July 1777; but all and ever such Offender and Offenders shail and may be prosecuted and punished in the same manner as if this Act had not been made. s. 24. Limitation of actions. If any Suit or Action shall be commenced or prosecuted against any person or persons, for any thing done or to be done in pursuance of this Act, every such Suit or Action shall be severally brought, laid, and tried in the County or place where the fact was committed, and not elsewhere; and the Defendant or Defendants in every such Action or Suit shall and may General issue. plead the General Issue, and give this Act and the special matter in Evidence at any Trial to be had thereupon, and that the same was done in pursuance of and by the authority of this Act; and if it shall appear to be so done, or if any such Suit or Action shall be brought in any other County or place than where the fact was committed, then the Jury shall find for the Defendant or Defendants; and upon such Verdict, or if the Plaintiff or Plaintiffs shall become nonsuit, or discontinue his, her, or their Action after the Defendant or Defendants shall have appeared, or if, upon Demurrer, Judgment shall be given against the Plaintiff or Plaintiffs, the Defendant or Defendants shall and may recover Treble Costs, and have the like remedy Treble costs. for the same as any Defendant or Defendants hath or have for Costs in other cases at Law. 17 G. 3. c. 56. s. 25. XXI. Accessaries in Larceny and Robbery. (And see title RECEIVING STOLEN GOODS.) § 1. The Statute 23 H. 8. c. 1. s. 3. enacts that no person or persons which hereafter shall happen to be found guilty after the Laws of this Land for any manner of Petit Treason, or for any wilful Murder of malice prepensed, or for robbing of any Churches, Chapels, or other Holy Places, or for robbing of any person or persons in the Dwelling-houses or Dwellingplaces, the Owner or Dweller in the same House, his Wife, his Children or Servants then being within and put in fear and dread by the same, or for robbing of any person or persons in or near about the Highways, or for wilful burning of any Dwelling-houses or Barns wherein any Grain or Corns shall happen to be, nor any person or persons being found guilty of Accessaries to any abetment, procurement, helping, maintaining, or counselling ousted of clergy. of or to any such Petit Treasons, Murders, or Felonies, shall from henceforth be admitted to the benefit of his or their Clergy, but utterly be excluded thereof, and suffer death in such manner and form as they should have done for any the Causes or Offences aforesaid, if they were no Clerks; such as be within Holy Orders, that is to say, of the Orders of Subdeacon or above, only except. certain felonies, § 2. such offenders This Statute was made perpetual by 32 H. 8. c. 3. s. 7. Then the Statute 25 H. 8. c. 3. s. 2. (for the preamble to which see this title Division I. s. 2.) enacts, that every person Extended to and persons that is or hereafter shall be indicted of Petit standing mute Treason, wilful burning of Houses, Murther, Robbery, or Bur- &c. glary, or other Felony, according to the tenor and meaning of the same Statute [23 H. 8. c. 1.], and thereupon arraigned do stand mute of malice or froward mind, or challenge peremptorily above the number of Twenty, or else will not or do not answer directly to the same Indictment and Felony whereupon he is so arraigned, shall from henceforth lose the benefit § 3. Accessary in one county to a felony in another, shall be tried where the offence of accessary took place. if he had directly pleaded to the same Petit Treason, Murder, Robbery, Burglary, or other Felony whereupon he is so arraigned, not guilty, and thereupon had been found guilty after the Laws of the Land. This Statute was also made perpetual by 32 H. 8. c. 3. s. 7. Where it is a common practice amongst errant Thieves and Robbers, that after they have robbed or stolen in one County, they will convey their spoil or part thereof unto some of their Adherents into some other County, who knowing of such Felony willingly and by false covin receiveth the same; in which case, although the principal Felon be after attainted in one County, the Accessary escapeth by reason that he was Accessary in another County, and that the Juries of the said other County, by any Law yet made, can take no knowledge of the principal Felony ne Attainder in the first County; for remedy and punishment of which Offence, be it enacted, that where any Murder or Felony hereafter shall be done in one County, and another person or more shall be Accessary or Accessaries to any such Murder or Felony in any other County, that then an Indictment found or taken against such Accessary and Accessaries upon the circumstance of such matter, before the Justices of the Peace or other Justices or Commissioners to enquire of Felonies in the County where such Offence of Accessary shall be committed, shall be as good and effectual in Law as if such principal Offence had been committed within the same County where the same Indictment against such Accessary shall be found; and that the Justices of Gaol Delivery or Oyer and Terminer or two of them, of or in such County where the Offence of such Accessary shall be hereafter committed, upon suit to them made, shall write to the Custos Rotulor. or Keeper of the Records where such Principal shall be attainted or convicted, to certify them whether such principal be attainted, convicted, or otherwise discharged of such principal Felony; who shall make sufficient Certificate in Writing under their Seal to the said Justices, whether such Principal be attainted, convicted, or otherwise discharged or not; and after such Certificate, the Justices of Gaol Delivery or of Oyer and Terminer, or other then authorized, shall proceed upon every such Accessary in the County where such Accessary became Accessary, in such manner as if both the said Principal Offence and Accessary had been committed in the same County where the Offence of Accessary was committed; and every such Accessary shall answer upon their Arraignments, and receive such Trial, Judgment, Order, and Execution, and suffer such Forfeitures, Pains, and Penalties, as is used in other cases of (And see title Clergy, Benefit of.) per $4. Accessaries to housebreakers, clergy. By the Statute 3 W. & M. c. 9. s. 1. all and every person and persons that shall at any time hereafter rob any other person, or shall feloniously take away any Goods or Chattels &c. ousted of being in any Dwelling House, the owner or any other son being therein and put in fear, or shall rob any Dwelling House in the day time, any person being therein, or shall comfort, aid, abet, assist, counsel, hire, or command any person or persons to commit any of the said offences, or to break any Dwelling House, Shop, or Warehouse thereunto belonging, or therewith used, in the day-time, and feloniously take away any Money, Goods, or Chattel of the value of five shillings or upwards therein being, although no person shall be within such Dwelling House, Shop, or Warehouse, being thereof convicted or attainted, or being indicted thereof shall stand mute or will not directly answer to the Indictment, or shall peremptorily challenge above the number of twenty persons returned to be of the Jury, shall not have the benefit of his or their Clergy. This Statute is continued by Statute 4, 5 W. & M. c. 24. s. 13.; and made perpetual by 6, 7 W. 3. c. 14. s. 1. petty treason, or wilful burn ing, ousted of $ 5. All and every person and persons that shall maliciously Accessaries becommand, hire, or counsel any person or persons to commit fore the fact in or do any Petit Treason, Wilful Murder, or to do any murder, robbery, Robbery in any Dwelling House or Houses, or to commit or do any Robbery in or near any Highway in Eng- clergy. land, or in any other the Queen's Dominions, or to commit or do any Robbery in any places within the Marches of England against Scotland, or wilfully to burn any Dwelling House, or any part thereof, or any Barn then having Corn or Grain in the same, that then every such offender or offenders, being outlawed thereof, or being thereof arraigned and found guilty by the order of the law, or being otherwise lawfully attainted or convicted of the same offence, or being arraigned thereof do stand mute of malice or froward mind, or do challenge peremptorily above the number of twenty persons, or will not answer directly to such offence, shall not have the benefit of his Clergy. 4, 5 P. & M. c. 4. Peers shall be tried by their Peers. s. 2. The Statute 10, 11 W. 3. c. 23. (s. 1.) enacts, that "all and every person and persons that shall at any time and times, by night or in the day-time, from and after May 20, 1699, in any Shop, § 6. Accessaries to larceny above the value of 5s 1 privately in any Warehouse, Coach House, or Stable, privately and feloniously shop, &c. ousted of clergy. steal any Goods, Wares, or Merchandizes, being of the value of five shillings or more (although such Shop, Warehouse, Coach House, or Stable be not actually broke open by such offender or offenders, and although the owners of such Goods or any other person or persons be or be not in such Shop, Warehouse, Coach House, or Stable to be put in fear; or shall assist, hire, or command any person or persons to commit such offence, being thereof convicted or attainted by verdict or confession, or being indicted thereof shall stand mute, or will not directly answer to the Indictment, or shall peremptorily challenge above the number of three and twenty persons returned to be of the Jury, shall by virtue of this Act be absolutely debarred and excluded of and from the benefit of the Clergy. § 7. Accessaries be The Statute 1 Ann. st. 2. c. 9. s. 1. reciting that forasmuch as the Counsellers and Contrivers of Theft and other Felonies, and the Receivers of Goods that have been stolen, are the principal cause of the commission of such Felonies, and, as the law now is, no accessary can be convicted or suffer any punishment where the principal is not attainted, or hath the benefit of his Clergy, enacts, that from and after 12 February 1702, if any Principal fore or after the offender shall be convicted of any Felony, or shall stand mute, fact may be prosecuted although or peremptorily challenge above the number of twenty persons returned to serve of the Jury, it shall and may be lawful to proceed against any Accessary, either before or after the Fact, in the same manner as if such principal Felon had been attainted thereof, notwithstanding any such principal Felon shall be admitted to the benefit of his Clergy, pardoned, or otherwise delivered before Attainder; and every such Accessary shall suffer the same punishment if he or she be convicted, or shall stand mute, or peremptorily challenge above the number of twenty persons returned to serve of the Jury, as he or she should have suffered if the Principal had been attainted. the principal be allowed clergy, pardoned, &c. before attainder. $8. And forasmuch as the said Felons (1) are much encouraged to commit such Burglaries and Felonies because a great number of persons make it a trade to receive and buy of the said Felons the Goods so by them feloniously taken, and also do make it their business to harbour and conceal the said offenders after the said facts, knowing the said Felonies and Burglaries to have been by them committed: be it therefore enacted, that if any (1) The Act in the previous sections mentions burglars and housebreakers. See title REWARDS. |