rected to the conftables, church-wardens, and overfeers of the place, cause him to be apprehended, and kept fafely locked up, and, if neceffary, chained, in fome fecure place, within the county or precinct, if his laft legal fettlement was in any parish, or place, within fuch county or precinct; but if fuch fettlement is not there, then he is to be fent to the place of his last legal settlement by a pass, and locked up or chained by warrant of two juftices of the county or precinct to which he is fo fent; and the reasonable charges of removing, keeping, maintaining, and curing him, are to be paid by order of two juftices, directing the church-wardens or overfeers where any of his goods, chattels, lands, or tenements fhall be, to feize and fell fo much of the goods, or receive fo much of the rents of the lands and tenements as is neceffary to pay the fame; and to account for what is fo feized, fold, or received, to the next quarter feffions: but if fuch perfon has not an estate to pay and fatisfy the fame, then fuch charges must be paid by the parish, or place to which he belongs, by order of,two juftices, directed to the churchwardens or overfeers for that purpose.

With refpect to discharged convicts, the 32 Geo. III. c. 45, enacts, that any of his majefty's judges at the affizes, and the juftices at the general or quarter feflion, or any juftice of the peace, may order any convict, upon his difcharge from prifon, to be conveyed by pafs under hand and feal like other perfons to be paffed; and they may do the fame by any perfon acquitted or discharged by proclamation or otherwife, ftating in the pafs the fact of difcharge or acquittal; and the pafs is to be given without any fee.

When vagrants are committed to the houfe of correction, and no fettlement for them can be found, the justices at feffion may continue them in cuftody until they can place them out. And when vagrants who are committed to the house of correction, have any children above seven years old, the juftices at feffion may order them to be placed out as fervants or apprentices till the age of twenty-one, or any lefs time; and if the offender be afterward found with the fame child he fhall be deemed an incorrigible rogue. And if a woman wandering and begging, is delivered of a child, which is likely to become chargeable, the church-wardens and overfeers may take her before a justice, who may commit her till the next feffion, when the may be ordered to be publicly whipped, and further imprifoned for fix months; the church-wardens and overfeers to be repaid their expences by the treasurer of the county, and the child, if a baftard, fhall not be fettled in the place where born, nor fent there for want of fettlement;

but

but the fettlement of the mother fhall be the fettlement of the child.

The punishment of vagrants is in fome cafes very fevere. When an offender is committed by a juftice to the house of correction, until the next general or quarter feffions; and the juftices at fuch feffions adjudge him a rogue, or vagabond, or an incorrigible rogue; they may order him to be detained in the house of correction to hard labour not exceeding two years, nor less than fix months; and during the time of his confinement to be corrected by whipping in fuch manner as they may think fit; and if fuch perfon, being a male, is above the age of twelve years, they may fend him to be employed in his majefty's fervice either by fea or land. And in cafe any incorrigible rogue, fo ordered to be detained. and kept in the house of correction, shall before the expiration of the time break out, or fhall offend again in like manner, he fhall be deemed guilty of felony and transported for any term not exceeding feven years. Thofe who knowingly harbour any rogue, vagabond, or incorrigible rogue, are fubject to a penalty, not lefs than ten fhillings, nor more than forty fhillings, to be paid half to the informer, and half to the poor.

In the offences lately ftated, malice against individuals does not form the principal point of confideration, nor perhaps does it in the cafe of neglecting quarantine, which has been mentioned in this volume, page 277, and which is in fome inftances capital felony. The care to protect the public against the effects of carelefinefs or felfifhnefs which dictated thofe laws, has alfo occafioned various other regulations of a local, and fome of a temporary nature, which it is not neceffary here to enumerate.

Offences against the revenue form a confiderable branch of the criminal and penal code. Some have been already noticed in a general way, as thofe against the customs and excife, at pages 114 and 122; and the ftamp duties, at page 123 of this volume. To enter into a minute detail would extend beyond all reafonable bounds. One however must be noticed.

OWLING. This offence, fo called from its being usually carried on in the night, is the offence of transporting wool or theep out of this kingdom, to the detriment of its staple manufacture. It was forbidden at common law, and more particularly by various ftatutes, which were all repealed by the 28 Geo. III. c. 38. and an infinite variety of regulations and restrictions upon the fubject was confolidated. This act is given almost at length in the fourth volume of Burn,

tit. Woollen Manufacture, c. 2.; but as it contains nearly one hundred long claufes, it is impoffible to give an adequate representation of it in an abridgment: the principal prohibitions are, that if any perfon fhall fend or receive any sheep, on board a fhip or veffel, to be carried out of the kingdom, the fheep and veffel are both forfeited, and the person offending fhall forfeit 37. for every sheep, and fuffer folitary imprisonment for three months. But wether fheep, by a licence from the collector of the customs, may be taken on board for the use of the fhip's company. And every perfon, who fhall export any wool or woollen articles flightly made up, fo as easily to be reduced to wool again, or any fuller's earth, or tobacco-pipe-clay; and every carrier, fhip-owner, commander, mariner, or other perfon, who fhall knowingly atlift in exporting, or in attempting to export these articles, fhall forfeit three fhillings for every pound weight, or the fum of 50l. in the whole, at the election of the profecutor, and fhall alfo fuffer folitary imprisonment for three months. But wool may be carried coaftwife upon being duly entered, and fecurity being given, according to the directions of the ftatute, to the officer of the port whence the fame fhall be conveyed. And the owners of theep, which are fhorn within five miles of the fea, or within ten miles in Kent and Suffex, cannot remove the wool without giving notice to the officer of the nearest port as directed by ftatute.

Offences against trade are also reftricted by law. Those of fraudulent bankruptcy, and fraudulent infolvency, will be confidered in another divifion; and that of ufury has been noticed at page 189 of this volume.

SEDUCING ARTIFICERS. To prevent the effect of those arts by which the kingdom might be deprived of fome of its most valuable fubjects, the legislature has provided feveral statutes against thofe who, by promifes or folicitations, attempt to influence artificers to tranfport themfelves to foreign countries. The 5 Geo. I. c. 27. enacts, that if any perfon fhall contract with, entice, endeavour to perfuade or folicit, any manufacturer or artificer of or in wool, iron, fteel, brafs, or any other metal; clock-maker, watch-maker, or any other artificer or manufacturer of Great Britain, to go out of this kingdom into any foreign country out of his majesty's dominions, he shall be fined any fum not exceeding one hundred pounds for the first offence, and imprifoned three months, and until fuch fine fhall be paid; and if convicted a second time, fined at the difcretion of the court, and imprifoned twelve months, and until fuch fine fhall be paid. And if any of his majefty's fubjects within this kingdom, being fuch artificer or manufacturer as aforefaid, fhall go into any foreign country, to exercife or teach his

trade

trade or manufacture to foreigners; or in cafe any fuch fubjects being in any fuch foreign country, fhall not return into this realm within fix months next after warning fhall be given to him by the embaffador, envoy, refident minifter, or conful of the crown, or any perfon by him authorized, or by one of his majefty's fecretaries of ftate, and from thenceforth continually inhabit and dwell within this realm; then every fuch perfon fhall be incapable of taking any legacy that shall be devifed to him, or of being an executor or administrator; and of taking any lands, tenements, or hereditaments, by defcent, devife, or purchase; and forfeit all his lands, tenements, hereditaments, goods, and chattels to his majesty's use; and fhall from thenceforth be, and be deemed an alien out of his majesty's protection. On complaint made upon oath before any justice of the peace, that any perfon is endeavouring to feduce or draw away any fuch manufacturer or artificer as aforesaid, the juftice may fend forth his warrant to bring the perfon before him; and if it fhall appear that the party is guilty, the justice may bind him to appear at the next affizes, general jail delivery, or quarter feflions of the peace, with reasonable fureties for his appearance; or commit the perfon refufing furety to jail until the next affizes or quarter feffions; and in cafe any fuch artificer or manufacturer shall be convicted upon any indictment of any fuch promife or contract, or preparation to go abroad, he fhall give fuch fecurity not to depart, as the court fhall think reafonable, and be imprisoned until fuch fecurity fhall be given.

By 23 George II. c. 13. the fame offence with respect to any manufacturer, workman, or artificer of or in wool, mohair, cotton, or filk, or any of thofe materials mixed one with another, or in iron, fteel, brafs, or any other metal, or any clock-maker, watch-maker, or any other manufacturer, workman, or artificer in any other of the manufactures of Great Britain or Ireland of what nature or kind foever, and is punished with a forfeiture 500l. for every individual feduced or attempted fo to be, and twelve months imprisonment; and for a second offence 1000l. and two years imprisonment. By the 22 Geo. III. c. 60. the feduction of any artificer or workman concerned or employed, or who fhall have worked at or been employed in printing callicoes, cottons, muflins, or linens of any fort, or in making, or preparing any blocks, plates, engines, tools, or utenfils for fuch manufacture, is punished in the fame manner, and one half of the forfeiture is given to the king, the other to the informer. By 25 Geo. III. c. 67. those who contract with, entice, perfuade, or endeavour to fcduce and encourage any artificer or workman in the iron or

feel

fteel manufactures; or perfons employed in making or preparing any tools or utenfils for fuch manufacture, to go out of Great Britain (except to Ireland) are fubjected to the like penalties, which are to go, one half to the king, the other to fuch officer of the customs as fhall fue and profecute for the fame, after deducting the charges of profecution from the whole.

EXPORTATION OF TOOLS. Against the practice of exporting tools, fo likely to be detrimental to the manufacturing intereft, provifion is made by the 23 Geo. II. c. 13.; the 14 Geo. III. c. 71; the 21 Geo. III. c. 37; the 22 Geo. III. c. 60. and the 25 Geo. III. c. 67. These statutes enact with great minutenefs, that heavy penalties fhall be impofed on those who export the tools employed in most of the manufactures of this kingdom; the penalty is, in moft cafes, forfeiture of the property, and a fine of 200l.; and every care is taken to reftrain captains of fhips from receiving fuch freight on board, and to prevent custom-houfe officers from allowing them to pafs. The number and ftrictness of the acts shew how much importance the legislature has attached to this object.

MONOPOLY. A monopoly is an allowance by the king, to a particular perfon, or perfons, of the fole buying, felling, making, working, or ufing of any thing, whereby the fubject in general is reftrained from the freedom of manufacturing or trading which he had before. Monopoly differs from ingroffing only in this, that monopoly is by patent from the king, and ingroffing by the act of the fubject, between party and party. Monopolies had been carried to an enormous height during the time of Elizabeth, and were heavily complained of by Sir Edward Coke, in the beginning of the enfuing_reign : but were in a great measure remedied by 21 Jas. I. c. 3. which declares them to be contrary to law, and void, (except as to patents, not exceeding the grant of fourteen years, to the authors of new inventions; and except alfo patents concerning printing, faltpetre, gunpowder, great ordnance, and fhot;) and monopolifts are punished with treble damages and double cofts, to those whom they attempt to disturb; and, if they procure any action, brought against them for thefe damages, to be ftayed by any extra-judicial order, other than of the court wherein it is brought, they incur the penalties of a pramunire.

FORESTALLING, INGROSSING, AND REGRATING. Thefe were all offences at the common law; for it was confidered `that all endeavours to enhance the common price of any merchandize, and all kinds of practices which have an apparent tendency thereto, whether by fpreading falfe rumours, or by buying things in a market before the accustomed hour, or by