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tainer, or upon oath made that such copy or copies were denied as aforesaid, shall deny any writ of Habeas Corpus, by this act required to be granted, being moved for as aforesaid, they shall severally forfeit to the prisoner or party grieved, the sum of £500, to be recovered in manner aforesaid.

THE

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shall run into

XI. And be it declared and enacted by the authority aforesaid, That Habeas Corpus an Habeas Corpus according to the true intent and meaning of this act, counties palamay be directed and run into any County Palatine, the Cinque Ports, or tine, and priviother priveleged places within the Kingdom of England, Dominion of leged places. Wales, or Town of Berwick upon Tweed, and the islands of Jersey or Guernsey; any law or usage to the contrary notwithstanding.

XII. And for preventing illegal imprisonments in prisons beyond the seas; (2) Be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That no subject of this realm that now is, or hereafter shall be an inhabitant

or resiant of this Kingdom of England, Dominion of Wales, or No subjects town of Berwick upon Tweed, shall or may be sent prisoner into shall be sent to Scotland, Ireland, Jersey, Guernsey, Tangier, or into parts, garri- foreign prisons. sons, islands, or places, beyond the seas, which are or at any time 2 Vent. 314. hereafter shall be within or without the Dominions of his Majesty, his heirs or successors; (3) and that every such imprisonment is hereby enacted and adjudged to be illegal; (4) and that if any of the said subjects now is, or hereafter shall be so imprisoned, every such person and persons so imprisoned, shall and may for every such imprisonment maintain, by virtue of this act, an action or actions of false imprisonment, in any of his Majesty's Courts of Record, against the person or persons by whom he or she shall be so committed, detained, imprisoned, sent prisoner or transported, contrary to the true meaning of this act, and against all or any person or persons that shall frame, contrive, write, seal or countersign any warrant or writing for such commitment, detainer, imprisonment, or transportation, or shall be advising, aiding, or assisting in the same, or any of them; (5) and the plaintiff in every such action shall have judgement to recover his treble costs, besides damages, which damages so to be given shall not be less than £500; (6) in which action no delay, stay or stop of proceeding by rule, order Penalty for such imprisonment. or command, nor no injunction, protection or privelege whatsoever, nor any other than one imparlance, shall be allowed, excepting such rule of the Court wherein such action shall depend, made in open Court, as shall be thought in Justice necessary for special cause to be expressed in the said rule; (7) and the person or persons who shall knowingly frame, contrive, write, seal, or countersign any warrant for such commitment, detainer, or transportation, or shall so commit, detain, imprison, or transport any person or persons, contrary to this act, or be any ways advising, aiding or assisting therein, being lawfully convicted thereof, shall be disabled from thenceforth to bear any office of trust or profit within the said Realm of England, Dominion of Wales, or town of Berwick upon Tweed, or any of the islands, territories or dominions thereunto belonging; (8) and shall incur and sustain the pains, penalties, and forfeitures limited, ordained, and provided, in and by the statute of provision and Præmunire, made in the 16th year of King Richard the second; (9) and be incapable of any pardon from the King, his heirs or successors, of the said forfeitures, losses, or disabilities, or any of them. XIII. Provided always, That nothing in this act shall extend to give Persons receivbenefit to any person who shall by contract in writing, agree with any ing earnest, upmerchant or owner of any plantation, or other person whatsoever, to be on contracts to be transported, transported to any parts beyond the seas, and receive earnest upon such excepted.

VOL. I.-16.

16 Rich. 2, c. 5

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THE

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Persons con

agreement, altho' that afterwards such person shall renounce such con

tract.

XIV. Provided always, and be it enacted, That if any person or persons lawfully convicted of any felony, shall in open court pray to be transported beyond the seas, and the Court shall think fit to leave him or them victed of felony in prison for that purpose, such person or persons may be transported and praying transportation, into any parts beyond the seas; this act or any thing herein contained to excepted. the contrary notwithstanding.

June 1679, ex

Imprisonments XV. Provided also, and be it enacted, That nothing herein conbefore the 1st of tained shall be deemed, construed or taken to extend to the imprisoncepted. ment of any person before the first day of June, one thousand six hundred and seventy-nine, or to any thing advised, procured or otherwise done relating to such imprisonment; any thing herein contained to the contrary notwithstanding.

Offenders may be sent to be

XVI. Provided also, That if any person or persons at any time resiant tried where in this Realm, shall have committed any capital offence in Scotland or in their offences Ireland, or in any of the islands or foreign plantations of the King, his were commited. heirs or successors, where he or she ought to be tried for such offence,

Prosecutions for

made.

such person or persons may be sent to such place, there to receive such trial in such manner as the same might have been used before the making of this act; any thing herein contained to the contrary notwithstanding.

XVII. Provided also, and be it enacted, That no person or persons offences, within shall be sued, impleaded, molested, or troubled for any offence against what time to be this act, unless the party offending be sued or impleaded for the same within 2 years at the most, after such time wherein the offence shall be committed, in case the party grieved shall not be then in prison; and if he shall be in prison,then within the space of 2 years after the decease of the person imprisoned, or his or her delivery out of prison, which shall first happen.

After the as

XVIII. And to the intent no person may avoid his trial at the assizes sizes proclaim- or general gaol-delivery, by procuring his removal before the assizes, at ed, no prisoner to be removed, such time as he cannot be brought back to receive his trial there; (2) Be but before the it enacted, that after the assizes proclaimed for that county where the judge of assize. prisoner is detained, no person shall be removed from the common gaol upon any Habeas Corpus granted in pursuance of this act, but upon any such, Habeas Corpus shall be brought before the judge of assize in open court, who is thereupon to do what to justice shall appertain. XIX. Provided nevertheless, That after the assizes are ended,

After assizes,

any per

they may have son or persons detained, may have his or her Habeas Corpus, according Habeas Corpus. to the direction and intention of this act.

XX. And be it also enacted by the authority aforesaid, That if any In suits for of fence against information, suit or action shall be brought or exhibited against any perthis law, the defts may plead son or persons for any offence committed or to be committed against the the general is- form of this law, it shall be lawful for such defendants to plead the genesue, &c. ral issue, that they are not guilty or that they owe nothing, and to give such special matter in evidence to the jury that shall try the same, which matter being pleaded had been good and sufficient matter in law, to have discharged the said defendant or defendants against the said information, suit, or action, and the same matter shall be then as available to him or them, to all intents and purposes, as if he or they had sufficiently pleaded, set forth or alledged the same matter in bar or discharge of such information, suit or action.

Persons committed as acces

XXI. And because many times, persons charged with petty treason or felony, or accessories thereunto, are committed upon suspicion only,

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whereupon they are bailable or not, according as the circumstances ma- THE king out that suspicion are more or less weighty, which are best known to the Justices of the peace that committed the persons, and have the examination before them, or to other Justices of the Peace in the County; (2) Be it therefore enacted, That where any person shall appear to be sories before committed by any judge or justice of the peace, and charged as accessory the fact to petty before the fact, to any petty treason or felony, or upon suspicion thereof, treason or feloor with suspicion of petty treason or felony, which petty treason or felony, shall not be ny shall be plainly and specially expressed in the warrant of commitment, bailed otherthat such person shall not be removed or bailed by virtue of this act, or fore this act in any other manner than they might have been before the making of made. this act.

removed or

wise than be

BILL OF RIGHTS, PASSED 1 WILLIAM AND MARY,
SESS. 2, CH. 2, 1689.

AN ACT FOR DECLARING THE RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES OF THE SUBJECT, AND
SETTLING THE SUCCESSION OF THE CROWN.

The heads of abdication.

Dispensing power.

Committing prelates.

Ecclesiastical commission.

Levying money.

Standing army.

Disarming protestants.

Violating elections.

1 W. and M. 1689.

Whereas the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, assembled at Westminster, lawfully, fully, and freely representing all the Estates of the People of this Realm, did, upon the thirteenth day of February, in the Year of our Lord, One Thousand six Hundred and Eighty-eight, present unto their Majesties then called and known by the name and stile of William and Mary, Prince and Princess of Orange, being present in their proper persons, a certain declaration in writing, made by the said Lords and Commons, in the words following, viz:

Whereas the late King James the Second, by the assistance of divers evil counsellors, judges, and ministers employed by him, did endeavour to subvert and extirpate the protestant religion, and the laws and liberties of this kingdom.

1. By assuming and exercising a power of dispensing with and suspending of laws, and the execution of laws, without consent of Parlia

ment.

2. By committing and prosecuting divers worthy prelates, for humbly petitioning to be excused from concurring to the said assumed

power.

3. By issuing and causing to be executed a commission under the great seal for erecting a court called, The court of commissioners for ecclesiastical causes.

4. By levying money for and to the use of the crown, by pretence of prerogative, for other time, and in other manner, than the same was granted by Parliament.

5. By raising and keeping a standing army within this kingdom in time. of peace, without consent of Parliament, and quartering soldiers contrary to law.

6. By causing several good subjects, being protestants, to be disarmed, at the same time when papists were both armed and employed, contrary to law.

7. By violating the freedom of election of members to serve in Parliament.

8. By prosecutions in the court of King's bench, for matters and causes cognizable only in Parliament; and by divers other arbitrary and illegal

courses.

BILL

OF

RIGHTS.

9. And whereas of late years, partial, corrupt, and unqualified personshave been returned and served on juries in trials, and particularly divers Wrong jurors in trials for high treason, which were not freeholders. prosecutions.

10. And excessive bail hath been required of persons committed in Juries. criminal cases, to elude the benefit of the laws made for the liberty of the subjects.

11. And excessive fines have been imposed; and illegal and cruel punishments inflicted.

Excessive bail.

Fines and

12. And several grants and promises made of fines and forfeitures, be- punishments. fore any conviction or judgement against the persons, upon whom the Grants of fines, same were to be levied.

All which are utterly and directly contrary to the known laws and statutes, and freedom of this realm.

And whereas the said late King James the Second having abdicated the government, and the throne being thereby vacant, his highness the prince of Orange (whom it hath pleased Almighty God to make the glorious instrument of delivering this kingdom from popery and arbitrary power) did (by the advice of the Lords spiritual and temporal, and divers principal persons of the commons) cause letters to be written to the lords spiritual and temporal, being protestants, and other letters to the several counties, cities, universities, boroughs, and cinque-ports, for the choosing of such persons to represent them, as were of right to be sent to Parliament, to meet and sit at Westminster upon the two and twentieth day of January, in this year one thousand six hundred eighty and eight, in order to such an establisment, as that their religion, laws, and liberties might not again be in danger of being subverted: upon which letters, elections have been accordingly made;

&c.

And thereupon the said lords spiritual and temporal, and commons, pursuant to their respective letters and elections, being now assembled in a full and free representative of this nation, taking into their most serious consideration the best means for attaining the ends aforesaid; do in the first place (as their ancestors in like case have usually done) for the vin- The subjects rights. dicating and asserting their ancient rights and liberties, declare

1. That the pretended power of suspending of laws, or the execu- No dispensing tion of laws, by regal authority, without consent of Parliament, is power. illegal.

2. That the pretended power of dispensing with laws, or the execution Late dispensing of laws, by regal authority, as it hath been assumed and exercised of late, illegal.

is illegal.

3. That the commission for erecting the late court of commissioners for Ecclesiastical ecclesiastical causes, and all other commissions and courts of like nature, courts illegal. are illegal and pernicious.

4. That levying money for or to the use of the crown, by pretence of Levying prerogative, without grant of Parliament, for longer time, or in other man- money. ner than the same is or shall be granted, is illegal.

5. That it is the right of the subjects to petition the King, and all commit- Right to ments and prosecutions for such petitioning are illegal.

petition.

6. That the raising or keeping a standing army within the kingdom in Standing army. time of peace, unless it be with consent of Parliament, is against law.

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