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PIRACY ACT 1837
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C A P. LXXXVIII.
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An Act to amend certain Acts relating to the Crime of Piracy. [17th July 1837.]
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28 H. 8. c. 15.
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11 & 12 W. 3. c. 7.
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4 G. 1. c. 11. s. 7.
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8 G. 1. c. 24.
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13 G. 2. c. 30.
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Repeal of Provisions in recited Acts.
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‘Whereas it is expedient to amend so much of an Act passed in the Twenty-eighth Year of the Reign of King Henry the Eighth, intituled For Pirates, and so much of an Act passed in the Eleventh and Twenfth Years of the Reign of King William the Third, intituled An Act for the more effectual Suppression of Piracy, and so much of an Act passed in the Fourth Year of the Reign of King George the First, intituled An Act for the further preventing Robbery, Burglary, and other Felonies, and for the more effectual Transportation of Felons and unlawful Exporters of Wool, and for declaring the Law upon some Points relating to Pirates, and so much of an Act passed in the Eighth Year of the same Reign, intituled An Act for the more effectual suppressing of Piracy, and so much of an Act passed in the Eighteenth Year of the Reign of King George the Second, intituled An Act to amend an Act made in the Eleventh Year of the Reign of King William the Third, intituled ‘An Act for the more effectual Suppression of Piracy,’ as relates to the Punishment of the Crime of Piracy, or of any Offence by any of the said Acts declared to be Piracy, or of Accessaries thereto respectively:’ Be it therefore enacted by the Queen’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 so much of the said several Acts as is herein-before referred to shall from and after the Commencement of this Act be and the same is hereby repealed.
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Punishment of Piracy when Murder is attempted.
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II. And be it enacted, That from and after the Commencement of this Act whosoever, with Intent to commit or at the Time of or immediately before or immediately after committing the Crime of Piracy in respect of any Ship or Vessel, shall assault, with Intent to murder, any Person being on board of or belonging to such Ship or Vessel, or shall stab, cut, or wound any such Person, or unlawfully do any Act by which the Life of such Person may be endangered, shall be guilty of Felony, and being convicted thereof shall suffer Death as a Felon.
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Persons guilty of Piracy to be transported.
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III. And be it enacted, That from and after the Commencement of this Act whosoever shall be convicted of any Offence which by any of the Acts herein-before referred to amounts to the Crime of Piracy, and is thereby made punishable with Death, shall be liable, at the Discretion of the Court, to be transported beyond the Seas for the Term of the natural Life of such Offender, or for any Term not less than Fifteen Years, or to be imprisoned for any Term not exceeding Three Years.
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Punishment of Accessaries.
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IV. And be it enacted, That in the Case of every Felony punishable under this Act every Principal in the Second Degree and every Accessary before the Fact shall be punishable with Death or otherwise in the same Manner as the Principal in the First Degree is by this Act punishable; and every Accessary after the Fact to any Felony punishable under this Act shall, on Conviction, be liable to be imprisoned for any Term not exceeding Two Years.
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Offences punishable by Imprisonment.
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V. And be it enacted, That where any Person shall be convicted of any Offence punishable under this Act for which Imprisonment may be awarded, it shall be lawful for the Court to sentence the Offender to be imprisoned, or imprisoned and kept to hard Labour, in the Common Gaol or House of Correction, and also to direct that the Offender shall be kept in solitary Confinement for any Portion or Portions of such Imprisonment, or of such Imprisonment with hard Labour, not exceeding One Month at any one Time, and not exceeding Three Months in any one Year, as to the Court in its Discretion shall seem meet.
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Not to affect Powers of 5 & 6 W. 4. c. 38. and 4 G. 4. c. 64.
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VI. And be it further enacted, That nothing in this Act contained shall be construed to extend to the Alteration or Repeal of any of the Powers, Provisions, or Regulations contained in an Act made and passed in the Fifth and Sixth Years of the Reign of His late Majesty King William the Fourth, intituled An Act for effecting greater Uniformity of Practice in the Government of the several Prisons in England and Wales, and for appointing Inspectors of Prisons in Great Britain, or in an Act made and passed in the Fourth Year of His Majesty King George the Fourth, intituled An Act for consolidating and amending the Laws relating to the building, repairing, and regulating of certain Gaols and Houses of Correction in England and Wales.
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Commencement of Act.
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VII. And be it further enacted, That this Act shall commence and take effect on the First Day of October One thousand eight hundred and thirty-seven.
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