s. 2. s. 2. Eng. is provided,* unless such offender shall by such parish, &c. be convicted within 6 months after such offence. And by s. 2. (as amended by the 6 Geo. 1. c. 16.) if any person shall in a riotous, open, tumultuous, or in a se- (6 G-9.1. c.16. cret and clandestine manner, forcibly, or wrongfully and maliciously, and without the consent of the proprietor, Offences how wood-reeve, wood-keeper, or person chiefly entrusted inquirable. with the care and custody of such woods, wood-grounds, parks, chases, coppices or plantations, cut down, destroy, break, bark, throw down, burn, take, deface, spoil, or carry away any wood or springs of wood, under-wood or coppice-wood, or shall in such riotous, forcible, tumultuous, secret or clandestine manner as aforesaid, maliciously break open, &c. any hedges, &c. of such woods, &c. then it shall be lawful for any 2 justices of peace of the county, &c. wherein such offence shall be committed, or for the justices in open sessions, upon complaint by any inhabitant of the aforesaid parish, &c. or of the owner of such tree, wood, wood-ground, park, chase, coppice, or plantation, or of any other, to cause such offender to be apprehended for any of the offences aforesaid, and to hear and finally determine the same: and if such justices shall convict any person of any of said offences, such justices shall commit such offender to the house of correction, to be kept to hard labour for 3 months; and where there are no houses of correction punished. in any county, &c. where such offender shall be con- Offenders how victed, said justices shall commit such offender to such prison as is appointed for other criminals, for 4 months; and shall also order such offender to be publicly whipped by the master of such house of correction, once every month, during such 3 months, in such borough do overthrow the hedge or dike, and it cannot be known by the assize or jury who did overthrow the hedge, &c. and the men of the neighbouring towns will not indict such as be guilty of the fact, the towns near adjoining shall be distrained to raise the hedge and dike at their own costs, and to yield da mages. *The 1 Geo. 1. st. 2. c. 43. Eng. here adds, "and where such offence shall be committed in Scotland, to be recovered by way of summar action, and in the same manner as damages in other cases of riot arely the laws there." which words are not in the 6 Geo. 1. c. 16. Eng. $. 3 ed from of fenders. s. 3. Eng. Persons enforc ing these acts, actions. or corporation, if the offence be committed therein, and not otherwise; or in the market town where such house of correction stands, or in the next market-town next to such house of correction, and in the county where such offence shall be committed, on the market-day of such town, between the hours of 11 and 2; and in such places where there is no house of correction, the said justices shall order such offender to be publicly whipped by the common hangman or executioner, once every month during such 4 months, on the market-day of any Quer?""offence" borough or corporation where such [*offender] shall be committed, or on the market-day of some town, between the hours of 11 and 2. And by s. 3. before any such Security requir offender shall be discharged, he shall find sureties for his good behaviour for 2 years. And by the 6 Geo. 1. 6. Geo. 1. c. 16. c. 16. s. 3. Eng. in case any suit shall be brought against any person for any thing done in pursuance of this act, or of the 1 Geo. 1. st. 2. c. 48. or 13 Edw. 1. st. 1. c. 46, protected against he may plead the general issue, and shall have treble costs of verdict, nonsuit, or discontinuance. And by 29 Geo. 2.c.36. the 29 Geo. 2. c. 36, s. 8. Eng. if any person shall unlawfully cut, take, destroy, break, throw down, bark, Persons cutting, pluck up, burn, deface, spoil, or carry away any tree commons, liable growing in any waste, wood, or pasture, in which any of the 6 Geo. 1. person, &c. hath a right of common, such offender shall be in like manner convicted of such offence, and shall incur the like penalty as directed by the 6 Geo. 1. c. supra. And by s. 6. if any person, after the time limited for appealing to the sessions against any enclosure made in pursuance of this act, shall, either by day or to recompense. night, unlawfully cut, take, destroy, break, throw down, bark, pluck up, burn, deface, spoil, or carry away, any trees growing in any such enclosure, without consent of the owner thereof, such owner shall have such remedy, and receive such satisfaction and recompense from the inhabitants of such parishes, towns, hamlets, villages or places adjoining to such enclosures, and recover such damages against them, and in like manner as directed by the 13 Edw. 1. st. 1. c. 46. E. & I. (vide p. 934.) unless the offender shall be convicted in 6 months after $. S. Eng. &c. trees in to the penalties c. 16. s. G. And owners of commons en closed, entitled f6. the s. 7. Such offences &c. timber trees' the commission thereof. And by s. 7. it shall be lawful for 2 justices of the peace of the county, &c. where the offence shall be committed, or for the justices of how inquirable. such county, &c. in open sessions, on complaint, to cause every such offender to be apprehended for such trespass, and to hear, &c. the same, and inflict the like penalty as directed by the 6 Geo. 1. c. 16. supra. By 6 Geo. 3.c.36. Eng. the 6 Geo. 3. c. 36. Eng. every person who shall in the night time lop, top, cut down, break, throw down, bark, fersons stealing burn, or otherwise spoil or destroy, or carry away any in the nightoak, beech, ash, elm, fir, chesnut, or asp, timber-tree, time, to be transported or other tree standing for timber, or likely to become timber, without the consent of the owner, shall be guilty of felony, and liable to the pains of felony; and the court shall have authority to transport such offender for 7 years. And every person who shall be wilfully aiding, abetting, or assisting in such cutting down, breaking, throwing down, barking, burning, or otherwise spoiling or destroying, or carrying away any such oak, &c. shall be subject to the same punishment as if he had stolen the same. And the 6 Geo. 3. c. 48. Eng. further enacts, that every person who shall wilfully cut or break down, bark, burn, pluck up, lop, top, crop, or otherwise de- Persons carrying away, Sc. face, damage, spoil or destroy, or carry away any tim- timber tree, at ber-tree, or tree likely to become timber, or any part punished. thereof, or the lops or tops thereof, without the consent of the owner, or in any of his majesty's chases or forests, without the consent of the surveyor, or his deputy, or persons entrusted with the care of the same, and shall be convicted on the oath of a witness, before any justice of peace for the county, &c. wherein such offence shall have been committed, shall, for the 1st offence, forfeit such sum not exceeding £20. as to such justice shall seem meet, together with the charges previous to and attending such conviction, to be ascertained by such justice; and upon non-payment thereof, such justice shall commit the offender to the common gaol of the county or place where the offence shall be committed, for any time not exceeding 12 nor less than 6 months, or until the penalty and charges shall be paid; and if any person shall be so convicted of such offence a 2nd time, he shall 6 Geo.3. c. 49. s. 1. Eng. any ''me, how s. 2. be deemed tim ber trees. s. 4. shall forfeit such sum not exceeding £30. as to such justice shall seem meet, together with the charges previous to and attending such conviction, to be ascertained by such justice; and upon non-payment thereof, such justice shall commit the offender to the common gaol of the county or place where the offence shall be committed, for any time not exceeding 18 nor less than 12 months, or until the penalty and charges shall be paid; and if any person so convicted shall be guilty of the like offence a 3rd time, and thereof be convicted [*in like manner,] such person shall be deemed guilty of felony, and the court before whom he shall be tried shall have authority to transport him for 7 years in like manner as other felons. And by s. 2. (as amended by the 13 Geo.3. (+ 13 Geo. 3. c. 33. Eng.) c. 33. Eng.) all oak, beech, chesnut, walnut, ash, elm, What trees shall cedar, fir, asp, lime, sycamore, and birch trees, [†and poplar, alder, larch, maple, and horn beam] shall be deemed to be timber trees within this act. By s. 4. every person who shall go into the woods, underwoods, any wood or un- ar wood-grounds of any of his majesty's subjects, not or having such being the lawful owner thereof, and shall there cut, lop, top, or spoil, split down or damage, or otherwise destroy any kind of wood or under-wood, poles, sticks of wood, green stubs or young trees, or carry or convey away same, or shall have in his custody any kind of wood, &c. and shall not give a satisfactory account how he came by the same, and shall be convicted thereof before a justice of peace, on the oath of a witness, shall forfeit and pay immediately on conviction any sum not exceeding 40s. together with the charges previous to and attending such conviction, to be ascertained by the justice who shall convict the offender; and if any person shall commit any of said offences a 2nd time, and shall be thereof convicted as aforesaid, he shall forfeit any sum not exceeding £5. together with the charges previous to and attending such conviction, to be ascertained as aforesaid; and if any person shall commit any of the offences aforesaid a 3rd time, and be convicted thereof accord Persons taking der-wood, &c. in their posses sion without ac counting for it, how punished. the *This seems a mistake. Vide 2 East P. C. p. 590. s. 5. Jurisdiction of justices. s. 6. enforced. s. 7. structing officens ing to law, he shall be adjudged an incorrigible rogue. By s. 5. the justices of peace for the counties, &c. wherein any of the offences against this act shall be committed, are authorized to put this act in execution, and to administer oaths to witnesses. By s. 6. it shall be lawful for justices, unless the respective forfeitures shall be paid down upon conviction, where not otherwise di- Forfeitures how rected by this act, by warrant under their hands and seals, to commit such offenders, for the 1st offence, to the house of correction for a month, to hard labour, and to be once whipped there, and for the 2nd offence, where not otherwise directed by this act, to the house of correction for 3 months, to hard labour, and to be whipped once in every one of said 3 months. By s. 7. if any person shall hinder or attempt to prevent the seizing or securing any person employed in carrying away any such Penalty for ob timber or other trees, he shall forfeit £10. to the person in seizing of who shall convict such offender; and if said sum be not immediately paid on conviction, such person shall, by the justices before whom he shall be convicted, be committed to the house of correction, to hard labour, for any time not exceeding 6 calendar months. And by s. 8. one moiety of all forfeitures directed to be paid by this act, and not otherwise directed, shall go to the informer, and the other to the person aggrieved. By s. 9. forfeitures. all convictions under this act shall be certified by the justice of peace before whom the same shall be made, Form for conto the next general quarter sessions of the peace, to be victions. filed amongst the records of said sessions; and such conviction shall be fairly written on parchment or paper in a form hereby prescribed, or to the like effect: which conviction shall not be quashed, &c. for want of form, nor be removed by certiorari into the king's bench, but shall be final. fenders. s. 8. Application of 8. 9. Geo. 3. c. 48. And the 9 Geo. 3. c. 41. s. 8. Eng. extends the pro- Provisions of 6 visions of the 6 Geo. 3. c. 48. s. 4. &c. supra, to his ma- 8. 4. extended jesty's forests and chases, and to every person who shall, to the king's without legal authority, by night or day, cut down, de- to hollies, &c. stroy, take, carry, or convey away, any hollies, thorns, 9 Geo. 3.c.41. er quicksets, growing or being upon any of his majesty's forests forests, &c. and s. 8. Eng. |