PART II. CLASS II. Stat. 9 and 10 WILL. III. Cap. 32. Statutes preventive of Blasphemy and Profaneness. ANY person having made profession of the Christian religion, denying any one of the Persons of the holy Trinity to be God, or asserting that there are more Gods than one, or denying the Christian religion to be true, or the holy scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be of divine authority, shall be subject to the disabilities and punishments mentioned in the Act f. But no person shall be prosecuted for words spoken under the Act, but upon information within four days, and prosecution within three months5. And persons convicted of any of such crimes, renouncing their opinions within four months after conviction, shall be discharged from all penalties and disabilities h. Stat. 53 GEO. III. Cap. 160. repeals the preceding and other Acts, imposing disabilities and penalties in respect of the denial of the doctrine of the Trinity i. Stat. 19 GEO. II. Cap. 21. If any person profanely curse or swear, and be convicted thereof on the oath of any one or more witness or witnesses, before one Justice of the Peace for any county, &c. or before the Mayor or other Chief Magistrate of any city or town, or by confession of the party, the person offending shall forfeit, if a day labourer, common soldier, or sailor, one shilling; if any other person under the degree of a gentleman, two shillings; and if of or above the degree of a gentleman, five shillings; for the second offence he shall forfeit double, and for every other offence treble the sum so forfeited k. In case any person shall profanely swear or curse in the presence and hearing of a Justice, &c. he may be convicted Repealed as to the doctrine of the holy Trinity, by stat. 53 Geo. 3. c. 160. p. 363. 8 s. 2. ib. h s. 3. ib. No. 1. No. 2. No. 3. e No. 1. without any proof'; and if any person shall profanely swear and curse in the presence and hearing of any Constable or other Peace Officer, every such Constable, &c. is required (in case such person is unknown) to secure the offender, and carry him before the next Justice, &c. and the Justice is required upon the oath of such Constable to convict the offender in the manner directed by the Act; but in case the person so swearing is known to the Constable, &c. he is required speedily to make information before some Justice, in order that the offender may be convicted m: and every such Justice, &c. shall upon such information cause the offender to appear, and convict him; and if the penalty be not paid, or security given, the offender is to be committed to hard labour for ten days"; and a common soldier or sailor not paying the penalty shall be set in the stocks, for the first offence one hour, and for other offences, whereof he shall be convicted at the same time, two hours°; and any Justice of the Peace, &c. neglecting to do his duty under the Act, shall forfeit 57. P; and any Constable, &c. not doing his duty, shall forfeit 40s.; and for want of goods to answer distress, may be committed to hard labour for one month 9. The eighth section prescribes the form of conviction, and the proceedings therein. And Justices of the Peace, &c. are required to put the Act in force against all persons within their jurisdiction, notwithstanding the Justice may be rated, and pay to the relief of the poor of the place where the offence is committed . PART II. CLASS III. Stat. 1 WILL. and MAR. Cap. 18. Statutes relating to Dissenters. THIS statute provides by its first section, that none of the several statutes therein mentioned, nor any other made against S Papists and Popish recusants, with the exceptions therein mentioned, shall be construed to extend to any person or persons dissenting from the Church of England, who shall take the oaths, and subscribe the declaration therein referred to, which are to be made and taken at the Quarter Sessions. Every person that shall take the oaths and make the declaration, shall not be liable to any penalties under stat. 25 Eliz. c. 1. or 22 Car. 2. c. 1. nor to prosecution in the ecclesiastical court ". But if any assembly of Dissenters be had in a place of worship with the doors locked or fastened, all persons that shall be at the meeting shall not receive any benefit from this law *. Nothing contained in the Act shall be construed to exempt any of the aforesaid persons from payment of tithes or other duties y. Dissenters chosen to bear the offices mentioned, scrupling to take the oaths or other matter or thing required by law, may execute the office by deputy 2. No Dissenter in holy orders, or pretended holy orders, nor any preacher or teacher of a congregation of Dissenters that shall make and subscribe the declaration, and take the oaths at the Quarter Sessions, and shall also subscribe the Articles a, with the exceptions mentioned, shall be liable to the penalties of stat. 17 Car. 2. c. 2. or of 13 and 14. Car. 2. c. 4b. The subscribing the declaration, and taking the oaths, and the subscription to the Articles at the Quarter Sessions, shall be registered c. Every person in pretended holy orders that shall subscribe the Articles with the exceptions mentioned, and also excepting part of the 27th Article, touching infant baptism, The stat. 25 Car. 2. c. 2. constituted one of the exceptions, which statute imposed the necessity of taking the sacrament for certain purposes; but by the stat. of the 9th of Geo. 4. c. 17. that necessity is removed, and a certain declaration is to be made in lieu of the sacramental test. t s. 2. p. 370. ☐s. 4. p. 372. qualified by stat. * s. 5. ib. 7 s. 6. p. 372. * s. 7. ib. stat. 19 Geo. 3. c. 44. p. 378. 52 Geo. 3. c. 155. p. 380. and shall take the oaths, and subscribe the declaration, shall enjoy the privileges of Dissenting Ministers d. Every Teacher or Preacher in holy orders, or pretended holy orders, that is a Minister, &c. of a congregation, that shall take the oaths and subscribe the declaration, and such of the Articles as are required, shall be exempt from serving on a jury, and from parochial offices, and from any ward or hundred office e. A Justice of the Peace may require any person going to any meeting for exercise of religion, to subscribe the declaration, and take the oath or declaration mentioned in the Act, under a certain penalty on refusal f. If any person refuses to take the oaths, that person shall not be admitted to subscribe the declarations, unless he can produce two Protestant witnesses to testify on oath that they believe him to be a Protestant Dissenter, or a certificate under the hands of four Protestant conformists, and also a certificate under the hands and seals of six sufficient men of the congregation to which he belongs, owning him for one of them ; and until such production, the Justice is required to take a recognisance in the sum of 50l. for his producing the same h. The laws made for frequenting Divine service shall be in force against all persons, except they come to some congregation of religious worship allowed by the Acti: the Act does not extend to Papists k. If any person shall willingly come into any church, chapel, or other congregation, permitted by the Act, and disturb the same, or misuse any Preacher, such person shall be bound by recognizance in the sum of 507. and in default of sureties, committed: and upon conviction at the Sessions shall suffer the penalty of 207.1 No congregation for religious worship shall be permitted d s. 10. p. 374. 373. in relief of persons of the baptist persuasion. p. f s. 12. ib. ks. 17. ib. c. 155. p. 385. s. 14. p. 376. b s. 15. ib. es. 11. is. 16. ib. 1 s. 18. p. 377. the penalty is increased to 401. by stat. 52 G. 3. by the Act, until the place of meeting be certified in the manner directed by the Act m. Stat. 19 GEO. III. Cap. 44. Every Dissenter, being a Preacher or Teacher of any congregation of Dissenting Protestants, who, if he scruple to declare and subscribe, (so many of the Articles as are mentioned in the former Act,) shall take the oaths and subscribe the declaration against Popery, and shall also make a declaration according to this Act, shall be entitled to the privileges granted to Protestant Dissenting Ministers: and the Justices at the General Sessions are required to administer such declaration upon his offering to make and subscribe the same, and to keep a register thereof, upon which certain fees are directed to be paid: and the person so qualifying himself shall be exempted from serving in the militia, and from any punishment under the Act of Uniformity. No Dissenting Minister, nor other Protestant Dissenter, who shall take the oaths, &c. shall be prosecuted for teaching youth, as a Tutor or Schoolmaster o. No Dissenter is to hold the mastership of any college or school of royal foundation, or other endowed college or school, unless founded since 1 Will. and Mary, for the use of Protestant Dissenters P. Stat. 52 GEO. III. Cap. 155. No congregation for the religious worship of Protestants, at which there shall be more than twenty persons besides the family or servants of the person in whose house it is had, shall be allowed, unless such place of meeting, if it has not been certified and registered under the former Acts, shall be registered and certified according to the provisions of this Act, under a penalty 9. And every person who shall teach or preach in any congregation in any place, without the consent of the occupier, is subjected to a penalty'. Every person who shall teach or preach in, or resort to any congregation for religious worship of Protestants, whose place of meeting shall be duly certified, shall be as exempt s. 19. ib. 4 s. 2. p. 381. " s. 1. p. 377, 378.. rs. 3. ib. • s. 2. p. 375. P s. 3. p. 379. No. 2. No. 3. |