mitted at sea, benefit of clergy as if committed on land. land; and it is expedient that the said several doubts should be removed, and the provisions of the said act of the thirty-ninth year of the reign of his said late majesty extended, as hereinafter mentioned; be it therefore enacted by the king's most excellent majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the lords spiritual and temporal, and commons, in this present parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, that Persons tried for capital from and after the passing of this act, when any offences comperson or persons shall be tried for any capital shall have the crime or offence committed upon the sea, out of the body of any county of this realm, and within the jurisdiction of the admiralty, by virtue of any commission directed under the said act of the twenty-eighth year of the reign of King Henry the Eighth, and shall be found guilty of any crime or offence which, if committed in or upon the land, would be clergyable, such person or persons shall be entitled to receive the benefit of clergy in respect of such crime or offence, in like manner, and shall be subject to the same punishment for such clergyable crime or offence, as if he, she, or they had committed such clergyable crime or offence in or upon the land. (1) (1) By stat. 7 & 8 Geo. 4. c. 28. s. 12. all offences committed at sea, are now punishable in precisely the same manner, whether by death or otherwise, as if they had been committed upon land. As to benefit of clergy, it has been abolished altogether, by stat. 7 & 8 Geo. 4. c. 28. s. 6; and persons formerly entitled to it, shall now be transported for seven years, or imprisoned for any time not exceeding two years (id. s. 8,), unless otherwise punishable by the statute creating the offence. It may be necessary to mention, that in all cases of offences committed at sea, where the offenders are committed Offences under 43 G. 3. c. 58. com II. And be it further enacted, That all and every the crimes and offences mentioned in the mitted at sea, said act of the forty-third year of the reign of if committed his said late majesty, which, after the passing of this act, shall be committed upon the high seas, punishable as on land; how tried. out of the body of any county of this realm, shall be and they are hereby declared to be offences of the same nature respectively, and to be liable to the same punishments respectively as if they had been committed upon the land in England or Ireland, and shall be inquired of, heard, tried, and determined and adjudged, in the same manner as treasons, felonies, murthers, and confederacies are directed to be by the said act of the twenty-eighth year of the reign of King Henry the Eighth. (2); to Newgate (which is usually the case), such offenders are now triable, not by commissioners appointed under the above statute of Henry 8. but by the Central Criminal Court, by stat. 4 & 5 Wm. 4. c. 36. s. 22. (2) This section, as well as stat. 43 Geo. 3. c. 58. to which it refers, are repealed by stat. 9 Geo. 4. c. 31. s. 1., and other provisions made upon the subject by sects. 11, 12, and 32 of that act. Vide post. 1 GEO. IV. c. 92. An Act for the further Prevention of forging and counterfeiting of Bank Notes. [24th July, 1820.1 WHEREAS the forgery of bank notes hath of late very much increased in this kingdom; and as well for the prevention thereof as to facilitate the detection of the same, the governor and com pany of the Bank of England have, after great consideration, labour, and expense, formed a new plan. (1) for printing bank notes, in which the ground-work of each bank note will be black or coloured, or black and coloured line work, and the words "Bank of England" will be placed at the top of each bank note, in white letters upon a black, sable, or dark ground, such ground. containing white lines intersecting each other, and the numerical amount or sum of each bank note in the body of the note will be printed in black and red register work,, and the back of each note will distinctly show the whole contents thereof, except the number and date in a reversed impression: therefore for the better prevention of the forgery of bank notes, and for the security of the public, be it enacted by the king's most excellent majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the lords spiritual and temporal, and commons, in this present parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, That from and Persons enafter the passing of this act, if any person or any plate for producing an persons (other than the officers,, workmen, impression of vants, and agents for the time being of the said all or any governor and company, to be authorized and ap- the Bank of pointed for that purpose by the said governor and England, company, and for the use of the said governor thority; and company only,) shall engrave, cut, etch, scrape, or by any other art, means, or device make, or shall cause or procure to be engraved, cut, etched, scraped, or by any other art, means, or device made, or shall knowingly aid or assist ser (1) This plan has not as yet been carried. into execution. graving, &c. part of cer tain notes of without au in the engraving, cutting, etching, scraping, or by any other art, means, or device, making, in or upon any plate of copper, brass, steel, iron, pewter, or of any other metal or mixtures of metal, or upon wood or other materials, or any plate whatsoever, for the purpose of producing a print or impression of all or any part or parts of a bank note, or of a blank bank note, of the said governor and company, of the description aforesaid, without an authority in writing from the said governor or using such and company, or shall use any such plate so en plate; or having such plate in custody; or uttering any impression from it; Felony, transporta. tion for four teen years. Persons en graving, &c. graved, cut, etched, scraped, or by any other art, means, or device made, or shall use any other instrument or contrivance for the making or printing any such bank note or blank bank note, or part of a bank note of the description aforesaid; or if any person or persons shall, from and after the passing of this act, without such authority as aforesaid, knowingly and without lawful excuse, have in his, her, or their custody any such plate or instrument, or without such authority as aforesaid, shall knowingly or wilfully utter, publish, dispose of, or put away any such blank bank note, or part of such bank note, of the description aforesaid, every person so offending in any of the cases aforesaid, and being thereof convicted according to law, shall be adjudged a felon, and shall be transported for the term of fourteen years. II. And whereas divers frauds have been pracon any plate tised by making and publishing papers with cerblance of the tain words and characters so nearly resembling any resem of a note of England, authority of the notes of the governor and company of the ground work Bank of England, as to appear to ignorant and the Bank of unwary persons, to be the notes of the said go- without the vernor and company; and it is necessary for the the bank; security of the public, that such practices, as applied to the notes of the said governor and company, of the description aforesaid, should be prevented; be it therefore further enacted, that if any person or persons, from and after the passing of this act, shall engrave, cut, etch, scrape, or by any other art, means, or device make, or shall cause or procure to be engraved, cut, etched, scraped, or by any other art, means, or contrivance made, or shall knowingly aid or assist in the engraving, cutting, etching, scraping, or by any other art, means, or contrivance making, in or upon any plate of copper, brass, steel, iron, pewter, or of any other metal or mixture of metals, or upon wood, or any other materials, or upon any plate whatsoever, any line work, as or for the ground work of a promissory note or bill of exchange, the impression taken from which line work shall be intended to resemble the ground work of a bank note of the said governor and company, of the description aforesaid, (2) or any device, the impression taken from which shall contain the words "Bank of England," in white letters upon a black, sable, or dark ground, either with or without white or other lines therein, or shall contain in any part thereof the numerical sum or amount of any promissory note or bill of exchange in black and red register work, or shall show the (2) See the last section, and the note there. |