said Appeal to be null and void Provided alwaies That every such Appeal shall be left with the person or persons so convicting as aforesaid at the time of the making thereof And be it farther Enacted by the Authority aforesaid That the Iustice Iustices of the Peace and chief Magistrate respectively or the respective Constables Headboroughs and Tything-men by Warrant from the said Iustice Iustices or chief Magistrare respectively shall and may with what aid force and assistance they shall think fit for the better Execution of this Act after refusal or denial to enter break open and enter into any house or other place where they shall be informed any such Conventicle as aforesaid is or shall be held as well within Liberries as without and take into their Custody the persons there unlawfully assembled to the intent they may be proceeded against according to this Act And that the Lieutenants or Deputy-Lieutenants or any Commissionated Officer of the Militia or other of his Majesties Forces with such Troops or Companies of Horse and Foot And also the Sheriffs and other Magistrates and Ministers of Iustice or any of them jointly or severally within any the Counties or places within this Kingdom of England Dominion of Wales or Town of Berwick upon Tweed with such other assistance as they shall think meet or can get in readiness with the soonest on Certificate made to them respectively under the Hand and Seal of any one Iustice of the Peace or chief Magistrate of his particular Information or Knowledge of such unlawfull Meeting or Conventicle held or to be held in their respective Counties or Places And that he with such Assistance as he can get together is not able to suppress and dissolve the same shall and may and are hereby required and enjoyned to repair unto the place where they are so held or to be held and by the best means they can to dissolve dissipate or prevent all such unlawfull Meetings and take into their Custsdy such and so many of the said persons so unlawfully Assembled as they shall think fit to the intent they may be proceeded against according to this Act. Provided always That no Dwelling-house of any Peer of this Realm where he or his Wife shall be then resident shall be searched by virtue of this Act but by immediate Warrant from His Majesty under His Sign Manual or in the presence of the Lieutenant or one Deputy-Lieutenant or two Iustices of the Peace whereof one to be of the Quorum of the same County or Riding And be it farther Enacted by the Authority aforesaid That if any Constable Head-borough Tything-man Church-warden or Overseer of the Poor who shall know or be credibly informed of any such Meetings or Conventicles held within his Precincts Parish or Limits and shall not give Information thereof to some Iustice of the Peace or the chief Magistrate and endeavour the Conviction of the Parties according to his Duty but such Constable Head-borough Tything-man Church-warden Overseers of the Poor or any person lawfully called in and of the Constable Head-borough or Tything-man shall willfully and wittingly omit the performance of his Duty in the Execution of this Act and he thereof Convicted in manner aforesaid he shall forfeit for every such Offence the sum of five pounds to de levied upon his Goods and Chattels and disposed in manner aforesaid And that if any Iustice of the Peace or chief Magistrate shall wilfully and wittingly omit the performance of his Duty in the Execution of this Act he shall forfeit the sum of One hundred pounds the one moiety to the use of his Majesty the other moiety to the use of the Informer to be recovered by Action Suit Bill or Plaint in any of His Majesties Courts at Westminster wherein no Essoin Protection or Wager of Law shall lie And be it farther Enacted by the Authority aforesaid That if any person be at any time Sued for putting in Execution any of the Powers contained in this Act otherwise than upon Appeal allowed by this Act such person shall and may plead the General Issue and give the special matter in Evidente and if the Plaintiff be Non-suit or a Verdict pass for the Defendant or if the Plaintiff discontinue his Action or if upon Demurrer Iudgment be given for the Defendant every such Defendant shall have his full treble Costs And be it farther Enacted by the Authority aforesaid That this Act and all Clauses therein contained shall be construed most largely and beneficially for the suppressing of Conventicles and for the Iustification and Encouragement of all persons to be imployed in the Execution thereof And that no Record Warrant or Mittimus to be made by virtue of this Act or any Proceedings thereupon shall be Reversed Avoided or any way Impeached by reason of any Default in form And in case any person offending against this Act shall be an Inhabitant in any other County or Corporation or flie into any other County or Corporation after the Offence committed the Iustice of the Peace or chief Magistrate before whom he shall be convicted as aforesaid shall certifie the same under his hand and seal to any Iustice of Peace or chief Magistrate of such other County or Corporation wherein the said person or persons are Inhabitants or are fled into whith said Iustice or chief Magistrate respectively is hereby Authorized and Required to levy the Penalty or Penalties in this Act mentioned upon the Goods and Chattels of such person or persons as sully as the said other Iustice of Peace might have done in case he or they had been Inhabitants in the place where the Offence was committed Provided also That no person shall be punished for any Offence against this Act unless such Offender be prosecuted for the same within Three months after the offence committed And that no person who shall be punished for any offence by virtue of this Act shall be punished for the same offence by virtue of any other Act or Law whatsoever Provided and be it farther Enacted by the Authority aforesaid That every Alderman of London for the time being within the City of London and the Liverties thereof shall have and they and every of them are hereby Impowered and Required to Execute the same Power and Authority within London and the Liberries thereof for the Examining Convicting and Punishing of all offences within this Act committed within London and the Liberries thereof which any Iustice of Peace hath by this Act in any County of England and shall be subject to the same Penalties and Punishments for not doing that which by this Act is directed to be done by any Iustice of Peace in any County of England Provided and be it Enacted by the Authority aforesaid That if the person offending and Convicted as aforesaid be a Feme-Covert cohabiting with her Husband the Penalties of Five shillings and Ten shillings so as aforesaid incurred shall be levied by Warrant as aforesaid upon the Goods and
as they call it a silent Meeting yet even such Assembly of them seems to be within the first Section and is a Conventicle within the meaning of this Act for 't is a Meeting under colour of the exercise of Religion though none be exercised they pretending that they meet out of Conscience and for such purpose and 't is plainly within the mischief viz. The danger of contriving Mutinies and Insurrections at such Assemblies and there 's as much danger of that in such Congregations as any other and by the design of this Clause such Construction ought to be made as may most suppress the Mischief intended to be remedied by this Act the like equitable Construction ought to be made for the encouragement and justification of the Officers of Justice and others employed in the Execution of this Act the meaning of which is that by no strained interpretation ought such Persons to be brought to damage for any thing done by colour of this Statute and so this Clause requires all incouragement to be given to such Persons by the King's Courts of Record of Westminster upon all occasions and particularly by the next Clause which is that No Record Warrant or Mittimus to be made by virtue of this Act or any Proceedings thereupon shall be reversed avoided or any way impeached for any default in Form i. e. No Record of Conviction Warrant for to disperse a Conventicle or to levy the Penalty by distress or Mittimus to Prison shall c. This extends to all Courts as to the Sessions so to the Kings-Bench or any other Court where such Record c. may be removed or otherwise come in question upon any Action that may be brought against any Person for any thing done in pursuance of this Act although the Court of Kings-Bench may by Certiorari command such Records to be removed thither c. yet it is a good Act of their legal discretion to deny such Certiorari's as of late years is done it being a Writ discretionary and not ex debito Justitiae sent only to certify his Majesty in his said Court of the Proceedings against such a Man and the Justices below are the proper Judges of the Fact and this Act seems to order the final determination of such Offences to the Justices particularly for that this very Law gives an Appeal to the Sessions where the Party hath his advantage for matter of Law as well as Fact but it may be questioned what shall be deemed a default in Form I confess that may be of some difficulty but however by the virtue of this Clause though it be by a Penal Law it ought to be helped by Intendments and Presumptions as much as any Plea in Bar or any other pleading in a Civil Action but to make the best Judgment in this Case will be to compare this Clause with the Statute of Demurrs viz. the 27 Elizabeth cap. 5. where the words are any imperfection defect or want of Form and the words here are by reason of any default in Form which are plainly all one upon the former the rule is whatsoever it is without which the right doth sufficiently appear to the Court it is form within that Law and so è converso whatsoever is wanting or imperfect whereby the right appears not is not remedied as Form within that Statute so here whatsoever it is without which the Offence doth sufficiently appear to the Court that 's Form within our Law so if it appear a Conventicle were held against this Law and the Parties meant to be Convicted were present at it if there be but sufficient exprest that it may appear upon the whole Record the Party Convicted is an Offender against this Law 't will be well enough and there needs no more for which see above under the first Section the description of a Conventicle which will direct you how such a Conviction ought to be made as the President hereafter given you is And in Case any Person offending against this Law shall flie into any other County or Corporation c. This Clause makes provision for the punishment of such Persons Convicted on this Act as are Strangers inhabiting or Fugitives flying into any other County or Corporation that must be meant such Corporation where the Justice Convicting hath no Jurisdiction so as the Penalty cannot be levied by his Warrant and therefore this Paragraph provides that there may be a Certificate made of such Conviction under the Hand and Seal of such Justice as made it that must be meant a Certificate that there is such Conviction made or a transcript thereof under the Justices Hand and Seal not the very Record of Conviction it self for that perhaps may be returned into the Sessions and divers other Persons inhabiting where the Offence was committed may be perhaps Convicted by the same Record and then 't would be inconvenient to transmit that same it may be to any Justice of the Peace of such other County or Corporation and if such Offender be inhabiting or fled into a Corporation where the County Justices have nothing to doe there the Certificate may be to any Justice of that Corporation as well as to the chief Magistrate of the same notwithstanding the wilfull Errour of some who in Corporations would have none but the chief Magistrate of that Corporation as Mayor c. and no other Justice of such place impowered by this Law whereas the whole tenour of the foregoing Sections shews the contrary such Justice is to levy the said Penalties as fully as the Justice Convicting might c. i.e. by Warrant for distress and Sale of the Offenders Goods and Chattels but it may be queried what shall such Foreign Justice doe with Money so levied I think this somewhat plain that he ought to return it to the Justice that did Convict and he to the Quarter Sessions for the place where the Offence was committed and the Foreign Justice must not return it to the Quarter Sessions of his own County and my Reasons are First Because the Convictions are not to be returned thither Secondly A third part of such Penalties is to go to the Poor of the Parish where the Offence was committed Thirdly The third is to go to the Informer or Informers or such other Person c. which distribution the Foreign Sessions cannot conveniently make but then it may be queried what will become of the Parties Appeal how shall that be made I answer if he has the benefit of any as I think he has notwithstanding it must be to the Quarter Sessions of the place where the Offence was committed for the Statute expresly requires it should be delivered to the Justice Convicting he is to take Recognizance for the Prosecution thereof with effect and this with the Conviction he is to return into the Sessions but then it may be again queried how such Offender shall know who is the Justice Convicting for to him he must deliver his Appeal in writing
and that within a week after the Penalty paid or levied I answer that will be known by the Warrant of the Foreign Justice upon which the levy is made for his Warrant either mentions a Conviction by himself or by another Justice of another County or Corporation which will inform him but he must take this Note with him always that his Appeal must be delivered in Person for he himself is to enter into a Recognizance to Prosecute it and this is to be done at the same time before the Justice Convicting the rest of this Pargraph is plain enough SECT 14. PRovided also that no Person shall be punished for any Offence against this Act unless c. Prosecuted within three months 't is not necessary that the Penalties be actually levied within three months nor that a Conviction be made of Record but to fulfill the sense of this Clause I think it sufficient if Information be given to some Justice of a Conventicle already held in order to the making a Conviction of it this being within three months is enough for such Information being in order to a Conviction is a Prosecution within the meaning of this Clause it is not said Convicted but Prosecuted and such Information is a commencement of the Suit this is the primum movens towards a Conviction after the Offence committed as in civil Actions which are limited to be brought within such a time the beginning of a Suit is the suing an Original or other first Writ as Latitat c. If within the time limited is well enough though the Suit be not effectually Prosecuted though there be no Judgment in a long while after so in Capital Criminal Causes which must be Prosecuted within a certain time by the order of any particular Law if an Indictment be found within the certain time if the first Act of the Suit be begun 't is enough though the Party be not Convicted within twice the time so here the same rule will govern no Person shall this extends to an offending Justice or Constable as well as to the Conventicles yet if such Justice Constable or other Officer neglects his Duty against the Tenour of this Act be Indicted or otherwise sued within three Months after such neglect or refusal to doe their Duty it is a sufficient Prosecution within the three months although not Convicted within that time as I said before and that no Person who is punished by this Statute shall be punished for the same Offence by any other Law For the same Offence notwithstanding this a Conventicler may be punished for his absence from Church because such Meeting and his absence are several Offences Shall be punished this doth not hinder but that such Offender may be Prosecuted and punished as at the common Law for any thing prohibited by this Statute which is an Offence at the common Law I say he may be Prosecuted as at common Law if he hath been actually punished for the very same Offence by virtue of this Law but if he hath been once punished by this Law if sued as at common Law or on another Statute he may plead his Conviction and punishment on this thereto but this he cannot do till the Penalty be either levied or paid for till then he is not punished however as I said any Offender within this Law may be sued as at common Law as a Conventicler may for a Riot Rout or unlawfull Assembly and punished for it by Fine or Imprisonment but he shall not be punished both ways and that 's the sole meaning of this Paragraph viz. That such Person should not be double punished for one and the same Offence but yet again if any Preacher Teacher or other Person should at such Meeting speak Seditious or Treasonable words resist the Magistrate coming to disperse them or give opprobrious Language to the Justice or other Officer in the Execution of this Act he may be Indicted and punished for any such Offence and by this Act too SECT 15. PRovided also that every Alderman of London c. Had this Clause not been added it would be no great Question but that they were included in the meaning of this Act for they are the chief Magistrates and Justices of the Place this Proviso therefore seems added for perspicuity and prevention of all scruple and for to empower such of the Aldermen under the Chair as are not Justices of the Peace for it will not be doubted but the Aldermen of Exeter and Bristol and other such like Cities and Counties as are Justices of the Peace are bound by this Act to prevent disperse and suppress such Meetings otherwise the Act would be of least force where 't is most needfull viz. in those Populous Cities where the most idle People likeliest to be seduced whereas in other Counties the common People are generally employed in hard labour either about Husbandry or other painfull Callings and by consequence not so liable to seduction Provided that if the Person Offending and Convicted be a Feme-Covert co-habiting c. In this case Co-habitation as a Wife is a sufficient Evidence her being so and the Justice need look no farther for the Husband 's Goods and Chattels are liable Co-habiting i. e. for the most part or generally for though she be in Countrey House about this Town and her Husband in London yet his Goods will be liable if it had been otherwise 't would have said then Co-habiting or then Personally residing so if the Husband be upon any Occasion from home for Co-habitation here is used only in opposition to a separate living by sentence of Spiritual Court or by agreement of themselves not being apart now and then or at certain Seasons of the year or on an occasional Journey for in all such Cases the Husband is still supposed to have the Command over his Wife so far as to restrain her from breaking this Law and in case she offends 't is to be supposed by his consent or connivance and therefore this Law lays the Punishment upon his shoulders SECT 16. PRovided also that no Peer of this Realm shall be Attached or Imprisoned by force of this Act c. Peer here seems to include all such as by Law are Privileged from Personal Arrests in Civil Actions Attached or Imprisoned is in their Bodies for their Goods may be distrained upon a Conviction for such a Meeting as well as any Commoners this is merely designed to privilege their Persons from all trouble who are Consanguinei Comites Regis and always intended to be busied in arduis negotiis regni in the Service of his most Sacred Majesty SECT 17. PRovided also that this Act nor any thing therein contained shall extend to invalidate or avoid his Majesties Supremacy in Ecclesiastical Affairs but that his Majesty his Heirs and Successours may from time to time and at all times hereafter exercise and enjoy all Powers and Authority in Ecclesiastical Affairs as fully and as amply as