about any clock or clocks, watch or watches, shall purloin, imbezzil, secrete, sell, pawn, exchange or otherwise unlawfully dispose of any clock or watch, or any part or parts of any clock or watch, or any gold, silver or other metal or material, or any part thereof, or any diamond or other precious stone, with which such person or persons shall be intrusted by any person or persons practising the said trade or trades, or any part or branch, or parts or branches of such trade or trades, and shall be thereof convicted [&c.] before any one or more justice or justices of the peace of the county [&c.] where such offence shall be committed, or where the person or persons so charged shall reside or inhabit every such offender shall for the first offence forfeit twenty pounds" [the section then provides for the enforcement, and for a second or other subsequent offence]. Sect. 2. Penalty for buying, receiving or taking, by way of gift, pawn, pledge, sale or exchange, or in any other manner, any of the goods or materials aforesaid, knowing the same to be purloined or embezzilled, and for second or subsequent offence. Sect. 3. Appeal to quarter sessions. Sect. 4. Form of conviction. Sect. 5. Warrants for apprehending offenders. 30 GEO. 2, c. 12. An Act to amend an Act made in the Twenty-ninth Year of the reign of his present Majesty, intituled "An Act to render more effectual an Act passed in the Twelfth Year of the Reign of his late Majesty King George, to prevent unlawful Combinations of Workmen employed in the Woollen Manufactures, and for better Payment of their Wages; and also an Act passed in the Thirteenth Year of the Reign of his said late Majesty, for the better Regulation of the Woollen Manufacture, and for preventing Disputes among the Persons concerned therein; and for limiting a time for prosecuting for the Forfeiture appointed by the aforesaid Act in case of Payment of the Workmen's Wages in any other manner than in Money" (1). The only section of this act, if any, capable of being enforced, is sect. 4, which enacts that "if any clothier or maker of any (1) Although the act recited in the title (29 Geo. 2, c. 33) was wholly repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act, 1867, that repeal does not mixed, medley or white broad cloth, shall refuse or neglect to pay to the weaver or weavers employed by him or them, his or their wages or price agreed on in money within two days next after the work shall be performed and delivered to such employer, or some person on his behalf (the same being demanded of such employer or person employed on his behalf), then, and in every such case, every such clothier or person so offending shall for every such offence forfeit and pay the sum of forty shillings, to be recovered in such manner and form, and by such ways and means, and to be paid, applied and disposed of as the several penalties and forfeitures incurred and made payable by the said recited act made in the twenty-ninth year of his present majesty's reign, are thereby directed and appointed to be recovered and applied." It is unnecessary to consider the effect on this section of the repeal of the act referred to, 29 Geo. 2, c. 33, as stated in the note, for practically there is no necessity to resort to this mode of recovering wages. It is possible, however, that resort may be had to this section (which is printed in the revised edition of the Statutes) in certain contingencies. 5 GEO. 3, c. 51. "An Act for repealing several Laws relating to the Manufacture of Woollen Cloth in the County of York,” &c. This act, which was repealed in part by 6 Geo. 3, c. 23, ss. 14, 27, and by 49 Geo. 3, c. 109, s. 2, and sect. 20 of which is repealed by the Conspiracy and Protection of Property Act, 1875, s. 17, ante, p. 204, even assuming that any part of it is practically in force, is too local to admit of further notice here. 14 GEO. 3, c. 25. An Act for the more effectual preventing Frauds and Embezzlements by Persons employed in the Woollen Manufactory (m). Sect. 1. Recites that "frauds are frequently committed and embezzlements made by persons employed in the woollen manu appear to have had the effect of repealing this act. So much however of the 30 Geo. 2, c. 12, as regulates or relates to the payment of the wages of workmen in goods or by way of truck was repealed by 1 & 2 Will. 4, c. 36; and sect. 1 was repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act, 1867. (m) No part of this statute has been repealed. factory, particularly by their secreting, selling, or otherwise illegally disposing of the working tools and materials they are intrusted with, by the weavers taking the biers out of the chains and withholding part of the woof or abb yarn delivered to them, and by the pickers, scribblers and spinners embezzling part of the wool and yarn entrusted to them, and also by damping, steaming and watering the residue in order to make up the deficiency in weight occasioned by such embezzlement, and also by taking off, picking or cutting out the list, forrel or other marks of any piece or pieces of cloth, by means whereof the clothiers sustain great damage and loss; and whereas the abuses committed in the clothing manufacture by persons carrying, collecting, buying and receiving from the labourers employed in that manufacture ends of yarn, wefts, thrumbs, short yarn and other refuse of cloth, drugget and other woollen goods, and goods mixed with wool, have been found very detrimental to the said manufactures; and the said frauds and abuses are frequently carried on and committed so secretly that the laws now in being are by no means sufficient to prevent the same, whereby persons employed in the said manufacture are tempted and encouraged to embezzle, purloin, secrete, sell and detain the goods and materials with which they are intrusted by the clothiers and other woollen manufacturers, so that the cloth made comes out defective in the substance, perfection and excellence intended by the clothier, to the discredit of the manufacturer and injury of the publick:" and enacts, "that if any picker, scribbler, spinner or weaver, or other person or persons whatsoever who shall be any ways employed in or about the making or manufacturing of woollen cloth, or in preparing materials for that purpose, shall not return all working tools or implements, wool, yarn, chain, woof or abb delivered out to be worked up and manufactured, and all such materials as aforesaid, wherewith he, she or they shall be intrusted, or give a satisfactory account touching the same respectively to his, her or their employer, when thereunto required by the person or persons by whom he, she or they shall have been so intrusted, or by his or their known clerk or servant, or shall fraudulently steam, damp or water the wool or yarn delivered to him, her or them to be worked up, or if any person or persons shall take off, cut or pick out the list, forrel or other mark of any piece of cloth, and shall be convicted of any such offence before some justice or justices of the peace for the county [&c.] where the person or persons so offending shall reside every such person so convicted shall be committed to the house of correction for the space of one calendar month." Sect. 2. Power to justice, where persons abscond and sell tools or materials, or fraudulently buy or receive the same, to issue warrant to constable to search; and constable may seize tools, &c. and bring the persons in whose custody they are found before the same or other justice. Sect. 3. Justice to allow a reasonable time for producing persons or witnesses, and accused person to enter into recognizances, with or without sureties, to appear. Sect. 4. Justice upon information may issue warrant to search for and seize refuse of cloth, and to bring persons in whose possession found before him or another justice. Sect. 5. Offenders, on a second offence, to be dealt with by justices at quarter sessions in a summary way, and liable to three months' imprisonment. Sect. 6. If previous conviction at quarter sessions, offender liable to six months' imprisonment and whipping. Sect. 7. Appeal to quarter sessions from summary conviction. Sect. 8. Form of conviction. Sect. 9. Conviction to be returned to sessions. Sect. 10. Information for offences to be within three months. 14 GEO. 3, c. 44. An Act to amend an Act made in the Twenty-second Year of the Reign of his late Majesty King George the Second, intituled "An Act for the more effectual preventing of Frauds and Abuses committed by Persons employed in the Manufacture of Hats, and in the Woollen, Linen, Fustian, Cotton, Iron, Leather, Fur, Hemp, Flax, Mohair and Silk Manufactures, and for preventing unlawful Combinations of Journeymen Dyers and Journeymen Hot Pressers, and of all Persons employed in the said several Manufactures, and for the better Payment of their Wages" (n). Sect. 1. Reciting that the punishments inflicted by the act 22 Geo. 2, c. 27, for reeling false or short yarn, were too severe, on which account offenders went frequently unpunished, and many honest, industrious persons were deterred from spinning, repealed so much of the recited act as subjected any person to punishment for reeling false or short yarn (o). (n) See the recited act 22 Geo. 2, c. 27, ante, p. 215, and note (ƒ). This act (14 Geo. 3, c. 44) made no provision for the recovery of penalties, but this defect was remedied by 15 Geo. 3, c. 14. (0) This section (1) was repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act, 1871, but it is necessary to refer to it to render the rest of the act intelligible. The introduction of steam power and machinery and Sect. 2. Penalties for reeling false or short yarn, not exceeding 20s. and not less than 5s.; for the second offence, not exceeding 57. and not less than 27., and for a third or other offence, one month's hard labour, and to be whipped. Sect. 3. Form of conviction. Sect. 4. Copy of conviction to be delivered to any applicant. Sect. 5. Appeal to quarter sessions. 17 GEO. 3, c. 11. An Act for more effectually preventing Frauds and Abuses committed by Persons employed in the Manufactures of combing Wool, Worsted Yarn and Goods made from Worsted in the Counties of York, Lancaster and Chester. Sect. 1. Recites 22 Geo. 2, c. 27 (p), 14 Geo. 3, c. 44 (q), and 15 Geo. 3, c. 14 (r), and reciting that "the good purposes of the said laws have been greatly frustrated, from the manufacturers of combing wool, worsted yarn and goods made from worsted, being unwilling to expose themselves singly to the loss attending the resentment of the spinners and work people, by prosecuting them for offences against the said acts ;" and that "this important branch of the woollen manufactory will be greatly prejudiced thereby, unless the manufacturers are enabled jointly to carry these laws into effectual execution." The section then provides for a general meeting of the manufacturers of the three counties, and the election of a committee, and the appointment of inspectors. Sects. 2 to 7 relate to meetings and powers of committal. Sect. 8 empowers justices of West Riding to appoint inspectors of worsted yarn, and by sect. 9 committee to station inspectors and allow them salaries. Sect. 10 requires inspectors to use diligence in prosecuting offenders. Sect. 11 contains directions how worsted yarn shall be reeled, and sects. 12-14 impose penalties for false reeling and on agents and persons for having possession of worsted yarn not properly reeled. Sect. 15 provides for the appointment of inspectors on vacancies by death or removal, and sect. 16 for their punishment for screening offenders from other legislation has rendered the act apparently obsolete. The repeal of the general penal provisions of master and servant law, may how ever cause its occasional use again, (r) Ante, p. 221, note (n) |