| |
SMUGGLING ACT 1809
|
| |
C A P. LXII.
|
| |
An Act to amend several Acts for the Prevention of Smuggling; for better securing the Duties on Coals, Culm, and Cinders; and for permitting the Exportation of Salt, Pepper, and Wine, from Guernsey or Jersey to Sark, in small Packages. [3d June 1809.]
|
|
|
45 G. 3. c. 121.
Every Person, (not a Passenger) on board British Vessels required to be licensed by the Admiralty, found within the Limits herein mentioned, from which any Part of the Cargo shall be thrown overboard, shall forfeit 1001. &c.
And may be dealt with as under 45 G. 3. c. 121. § 7; and 47 G. S. ft. 2. c. 66. § 15.
|
‘Whereas the Officers of the Customs and Excise, and other Persons authorized to make Seizures, are frequently prevented from seizing Goods subject to Forfeiture, with which Ships, Vessels, and Boats may have been laden, by reason of the same having been thrown overboard during the Chace; and if such Ships are found light, or the Goods are not afterwards discovered and seized, the Persons on board are not liable to be arrested and detained under the Authority of an Act passed in the Forty-fifth Year of His present Majesty, intituled, An Act for the more effectual Prevention of Smuggling: And whereas it is expedient in certain Cases to make Provision for the Arrest and Detention of Persons on board such Ships, Vessels, and Boats, and for rewarding the Officers by whom such Persons are so arrested and detained;’ 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 whenever any Ship, Vessel, or Boat, belonging in the Whole or in Part to His Majesty’s Subjects, for which the Owner or Owners thereof are required to have a Licence for navigating the same from the Lord High Admiral of Great Britain, or the Commissioners of the Admiralty for the Time being, or other Persons duly authorized to grant the same, shall be found or discovered to have been within Four or Eight Leagues of such Part of the Coasts of Great Britain or Ireland respectively, as are in any Act or Acts of Parliament in force on and immediately before the passing of this Act described and specified as to such respective Distances of Four or Eight Leagues, or found in any Part of the British or Irish Channels, or elsewhere on the High Seas, within One hundred Leagues of any Part of the Coasts of Great Britain or Ireland, and any Person or Persons on board such Ship, Vessel, or Boat, shall, at any Time during the Chace, or previous to such Ship, Vessel, or Boat being taken Possession of, within any or either of such Limits or Distance aforesaid, unship, or throw overboard the Cargo, or any Part of the Cargo, unless through any unavoidable Necessity or Distress, or for the Security or Preservation of the Ship, Vessel, or Boat from the Dangers of the Seas, such Ship, Vessel, or Boat being then laden with a legal Cargo, every Person or Persons found on board being a Subject or Subjects of His Majesty, and who shall not prove that he was only a Passenger on board such Ship. Vessel, or Boat, shall forfeit the Sum of One hardred Pounds, to be recovered as any like Penalty may be recovered under any Act or Acts relating to the Revenue of Customs or Excise in the United Kingdom; and it shall be lawful for the Officer or Officers of the Army, Navy, or Marines, or of the Customs or Excise, by whom such Ship, Vessel, or Boat shall be seized and he and they is and are hereby authorized, empowered, and required to stop, arrest, and detain every such Person being a Subject of His Majesty, and such Person shall be dealt with as any Person is liable to be dealt with by virtue and in pursuance of the said recited Act passed in the Forty-fifth Year of His Majesty’s Reign, for having been taken on board any Ship, Vessel, or Boat liable to Forfeiture by that or any other Act or Acts of Parliament, for being found or having been at Anchor, or hovering within any such Distance of any of the Dominions of His Majesty, with such Goods on board as subject such Ship, Vessel, or Boat, or Goods to Forfeiture; or every such Person, being a Seaman or Seafaring Man, may be dealt with as any Seaman or Seafaring Man may be dealt with by virtue and in pursuance of an Act passed in the Forty-seventh Year of His present Majesty’s Reign, intituled, An Act to make more effectual Provision for the Prevention of Smuggling; and every Officer of the Army, Navy, or Marines, or of the Customs or Excise, shall have the like Powers and Authorities, and be entitled to and receive the like Reward or Rewards for and on account of every Person arrested and detained under the Authority of this Act, as is and are allowed and payable with respect to any Person arrested and detained under the Authority of either of the said recited Acts; as fully and effectually to all Intents, Constructions, and Purposes, as if each and every of the Clauses, Directions, Powers, and Authorities relative thereto were repeated and re-enacted in the Body of this present Act.
|
|
|
47 G. 3. st. 2, c. 60. § 20.
Reward to Officers seizing Spirits concealed under Water, One Moiety of their Value.
|
II. ‘And Whereas by an Act passed in the Forty-seventh Year of His present Majesty’s Reign, intituled, An Act to make more effectual Provision for the Prevention of Smuggling, it is amongst other Things provided in the Case of Seizures of Spirits, Tobacco, or Snuff made at Sea, or in any Port or Harbour, that if any Officer of the Customs or Excise, or other Persons making such Seizure, shall neither seize and prosecute, nor cause to be seized and prosecuted the Ship, Vessel, or Boat, in or on board which such Spirits, Tobacco, or Snuff shall be or shall have been brought, found, or seized, or which shall be used or employed in removing or conveying the same, nor shall stop, arrest, and detain the Persons, or some or one of them, who shall be or shall have been employed in navigating the Ship, Vessel, or Boat, in or on board which such Spirits, Tobacco, or Snuff shall be or shall have been brought, sound, or seized, or in unlading, removing, or carrying such Spirits, Tobacco, or Snuff, nor shall not convey or cause every such Person so arrested or detained to be taken or conveyed before One or more of His Majesty’s Justices of the Peace to be dealt with according to Law, then and in every such Case the Officer of the Customs or Excise, or other Persons making such Seizure, shall be entitled to and shall be paid only One-Fourth Part of the Value at which such Spirits, Tobacco, or Snuff shall be or shall have been respectively estimated or fixed according to the Directions of the said Act: And whereas the pernicious Practice of Smuggling by Means of sinking small Casks of Spirits at Sea, and within the Limits of the Ports of this Kingdom, and getting them up as Opportunity offers, appears to have been much reforted to, and it is therefore expedient to extend and increase the Rewards to Officers of the Customs and Excise, and other Persons legally authorized to make Seizures, by whose Exertion and Diligence such Practice may be counteracted;’ Be it therefore enacted, That in all Cases where any such Officers and Persons as aforesaid shall seize, within the Limits of any of the Ports of this Kingdom, or in any of the British or Irish Channels, or elsewhere on the High Seas, within One hundred Leagues of any Part of the Coasts of Great Britain or Ireland, any Spirits which shall have been sunk or concealed under or in the Water within such Limits or Distance, every such Officer and Person so seizing such Spirits shall be, and he and they is and are hereby allowed One Moiety of the Value at which such Spirits shall be fixed or estimated as aforesaid; any Thing contained in the said recited Act, or in any other Act or Acts of Parliament to the contrary thereof in anywise notwithstanding.
|
|
|
45 G. 3. c. 121. § 7.
47 G. 3. ft. 2. c. 66. § 15.
Persons liable to be detained under recited Acts, who shall be found unfit to serve in the Navy, shall forfeit 100l. &c. and may be held to Bail, or committed by a Justice of Peace.
|
III. ‘And Whereas by the said Act made in the Forty-fifth Year of the Reign of His present Majesty, it was enacted, that every Person being a Subject of His Majesty who should be found or taken on board, or discovered to have been on board any Ship, Vessel, or Boat liable to Forfeiture as therein mentioned, and who should not prove that he was only a Passenger on board such Ship, Vessel, or Boat, and every Person found aiding or assisting in unshipping to be laid on Land, or found carrying, conveying, concealing, or assisting in the carrying away, conveying, or concealing any Foreign Brandy, Rum, Geneva, or Spirits, in that Act mentioned, should forfeit for every such Offence either Treble the Value of the Goods that should be found or taken from such Person or Persons, or the Sum of One hundred Pounds, at the Option and subject to the Election therein mentioned; and that it should be lawful for any Officer or Officers of the Army, Navy, Marincs, Customs, or Excise, and he and they was and were thereby authorized, empowered, and required to stop, arrest, and detain every such Person being a Subject of His Majesty, and to convey the said Person before One or more of His Majesty’s Justices of the Peace residing near to the Port or Place into which such Ship, Vessel, or Boat should be taken or carried, or near to the Place where any such Person should be so taken or arrested, and it should be lawful for such Justice or Justices of the Peace, and he and they was and were thereby required upon Proof on Oath by One or more credible Witness or Witnesses, that such Person was so found or taken, or discovered as aforesaid, unless any such Person found or taken or having been on board of any such Ship, Vessel, or Boat, should prove to the Satisfaction of such Justice that he was only a Passenger on board such Ship, Vessel, or Boat, to hold such Person to bail with Two good and sufficient Sureties in the Sum of One hundred Pounds each for the Appearance of such Person to answer to any Indictment or Information that might be brought against him in that Behalf, and to pay such Penalty and abide any Judgment for any such Offence, and in default of any such Person finding such good and sufficient Bail as aforesaid, or until the same should be found, to commit such Person to any Gaol or Prison or House of Correction to answer as aforesaid; and it is by the said Act provided, that if any such Person so found or discovered and taken as aforesaid, should be capable and desirous of entering and serving as a Seaman or Marine in any of His Majesty’s Ships of War, it should be lawful for the Officer or Officers of the Army, Navy, or Marines, or of the Customs or Excise by whom such Person was taken, arrested, and detained as aforesaid, or for any Justice of the Peace or Magistrate before whom any such Person might be carried, and such Officer or Officers was and were thereby authorized, empowered, and required instead of taking such Person before any Justice or Magistrate, and such Justice or Magistrate was thereby authorized instead of holding any such Person to bail, to carry and convey, or cause to be carried or conveyed such Person on board any of His Majesty’s Ships of War in order to his being entered and received as a Seaman or Marine: And whereas by the said Act made in the Forty-seventh Year of the Reign of His present Majesty, it was enacted, that it shall and may be lawful for any Officer of the Army, Navy, or Marines, or of the Customs or Excise, to detain, or to take and carry any such Person as is therein mentioned, and every Person liable to be arrested and detained under that Act or the said Act made in the Forty-fifth Year of the Reign of His present Majesty, being a Seaman or Seafaring Man, to any Ship or Vessel of War in His Majesty’s Service, or to the Custody of any Officer employed in His Majesty’s imprest Service, and that any such Person being such Seaman or Seafaring Man as aforesaid, might thereupon, if fit and able to serve His Majesty, be impressed into His Majesty’s Naval Service: And whereas some of the Persons so liable to be arrested may be not fit or able to serve His Majesty in his Naval Service, and it is therefore expedient to make such Provision as is herein-after mentioned with regard to such Persons;’ Be it therefore enacted, That from and after the passing of this Act, when any Person liable to be arrested or detained, and arrested or detained, under the said last-mentioned Acts or either of them, shall be found not fit or able to serve His Majesty in his Naval Service, and shall be refused by any proper Naval Officer to be received into any such Naval Service, every such Person shall forfeit and lose the Sum of One hundred Pounds; and it shall and may be lawful to and for any Officer or Officers of the Army, Navy, Marines, Customs, or Excise, and he and they is and are hereby authorized, empowered, and required to convey the said Person before One or more of His Majesty’s Justice or Justices of the Peace, and it shall and may be lawful to and for such Justice or Justices of the Peace, and he and they is and are hereby required upon Proof on Oath by One or more credible Witness or Witnesses, that such Person was so liable to be arrested or detained, and has been so refused as being not fit or able to so serve His Majesty, to hold such Person to bail with Two or more good and sufficient Sureties in the Sum of One hundred Pounds each, for the Appearance of such Person to answer to any Information that may be brought or exhibited against him in that Behalf, and to pay such Penalty, and in default of any such Person finding such good and sufficient Bail as aforesaid, or until the same shall be found, it shall and may be lawful to and for such Justice or Justices to commit such Person to any Gaol or Prison or House of Correction, there to remain until he shall pay the said Penalty, or be delivered by due Course of Law.
|
|
|
Coals, &c. unshipped without the Presence of the proper Officer, shall be forfeited.
9 & 10 W. 3. c. 13.
|
IV. ‘And Whereas by the Laws in force for the better levying the Duties upon Coals, Culm, and Cinders, brought or carried Coastwise, the Meters, Weighers, or Measurers, are required to deliver a Certificate under their Hands of the Sorts, Quantities, and Numbers of Chalders or Tuns of Coals, Culm, and Cinders, which shall be delivered by them from on board any Ship or Vessel, and it is therefore expedient to prevent any Coals, Culm, or Cinders, being unshipped without their Presence or Permission;’ Be it therefore enacted, That, from and after the passing of this Act, in case any Coals, (except Charcoal made of Wood,) or any Culm or Cinders, brought Coastwise from any Port or Place in Great Britain into any Port or Place in England or Wales, shall be unshipped or delivered from any Ship or Vessel, without the Presence or Permission of the Meter or other proper Officer appointed to measure or weigh the same, according to the Directions of an Act passed in the Ninth and Tenth Year of the Reign of His late Majesty King William the Third. intituled, An Act for granting to His Majesty Several Duties upon Coals and Culm, all such Coals, Culm, and Cinders. (whether the Duties shall have been paid or not,) shall be forfeited and lost, and the same shall and may be seized by any Officer or Officers of the Customs.
|
|
|
Recovery and Application of such Forfeitures.
|
V. And be it further enacted, That all Coals, Culm, and Cinders, seized under the Authority of this Act, shall and may be prosecuted, recovered, and disposed of in like Manner, and by such Ways, Means, and Methods, as any Forfeitures incurred for any Offence against the Laws of the Customs may now be prosecuted, recovered, and disposed of, according to the Laws in force on and immediately before the passing of this Act.
|
|
|
Salt, Pepper, and Wine, may be exported from Guernsey or Jersey to Sark, in certain small Quantities, in Boats not exceeding Ten Tons, licensed for the Purpose.
|
VI. ‘And Whereas it is expedient to permit the Exportation of Salt, Pepper, and Wine from the Islands of Guernsey or Jersey, for the Supply of the Island of Sark. in smaller Packages than are now allowed by Law, under certain Regulations and Restrictions;’ Be it therefore enacted, That it shall be lawful to export from either of the Islands of Guernsey and Jersey, at any One Time, any Quantity of Salt not exceeding Ten Bushels, any Quantity of Pepper not exceeding Fifty Pounds Weight, or any Quantity of Wine not exceeding Ten Dozen reputed Quart Bottles, for the Supply of the said Island of Sark, and the said Articles may be so exported in any Boat not exceeding the Burthen of Ten Tons, such Boat having a Licence from the Principal Officers of the Customs at either of the said Islands of Guernsey and Jersey, for the Purpose of being employed in carrying Commodities for the Supply of the said Island of Sark, which Licence such Officer is hereby authorized and required to grant, without taking any Fee or Reward for the same: Provided always, that every such Boat having on board at any One Time any greater Quantity of the respective Articles than what is permitted by this Act, such Articles, if in Packages of less Size or Content than prescribed by the Laws in force, shall be forfeited, and shall and may be seized by any Officer or Officers of the Army, Navy, or Marines, or of the Customs or Excise.
|
