By sect. 13, "If any person required by this act to make a 31 & 32 Vict. declaration instead of an oath declines or neglects to make such de- c. 72. claration, he shall be subject to the same penalties and disabilities, if any, as he would have been subjected to for declining or neglecting to take the oath for which the declaration provided by this act is substituted." Saving Clauses.] By sect. 14, "Nothing in this act contained shall affect "6. Any oath required to be taken in the army, the marines, the militia, the yeomanry, or the volunteers: "7. The oath taken by aliens on being naturalized, with this ex- "8. The eighteenth section of 'The Merchant Shipping Act, 1854,' "11. Any oath or declaration taken in judicial ratification by "12. Any oath required to be taken by any juror, witness, or other person in pursuance of any act of Parliament or custom as preliminary to or in the course of any civil, military, criminal or other trial, inquest, or proceedings of a judicial nature, including any arbitration, or as preliminary to or in the course of any proceedings before a committee of either house of Parliament, or before any commissioner or other special tribunal appointed by the crown." By sect. 15, "Where a declaration has been substituted for an oath under this act, any person, guild, body corporate, or society which before the passing of this act had power to alter such oath, or to substitute another oath in its place, may exercise a like c. 72. 31 & 32 Vict. power with regard to such declaration." By sect. 16, "Where previously to the passing of this act the taking of any oath formed a condition precedent or subsequent to the attainment by any person of any office, privilege, exemption, or other benefit, and such person is by this act prevented from fulfilling such condition, he shall nevertheless, on complying with the other conditions, if any, attached to the attainment of such office, privilege, exemption, or other benefit, be entitled thereto in the same manner as if the condition relating to such oath, and any directions as to the certificate or registration of the taking of such oath, or otherwise, had been fulfilled or performed." 20 & 21 Vict. c. 83. [See also the 34 & 35 Vict. c. 48, repealing a great number of statutes concerning oaths.] OBSCENE BOOKS. Search Warrant for.] By 20 & 21 Vict. c. 83, s. 1, any metropolitan police magistrate, or stipendiary magistrate, or any two justices of the peace, upon complaint made before him or them upon oath that the complainant had reason to believe and does believe, that any obscene books, papers, writings, prints, pictures, drawings, or other representations, are kept in any house, shop, room or other place within the limits of the jurisdiction of any such magistrate or justices, for the purpose of sale or distribution, exhibition for purposes of gain, lending upon hire, or being otherwise published for purposes of gain (which complainant shall also state upon oath that one or more articles of a like character have been sold, distributed, exhibited, lent or otherwise published as aforesaid, at or in connection with such place, so as to satisfy such magistrate or justices that the belief of the said complainant is well founded), and upon such magistrate or justices being also satisfied that any of such articles so kept for any of the purposes aforesaid are of such a character and description that the publication of them would be a misdemeanor, and proper to be prosecuted as such, 120-may give authority by special warrant to any 120 See the case of Reg. v. Hicklin and another, 37 L. J. (N. S.) M. C. 89, hereon. In that case a society of persons called "The Protestant Electoral Union"-(whose objects were stated to be, amongst others, "to protest against those teachings and practices of the Romanist and Puseyite systems which are un-English, immoral and blasphemous:" to "maintain the Protestantism of the Bible and the liberty of England,” and “to promote the return to Parliament of men who will assist them in these objects; and particularly will expose and defeat the deep-laid machinations of the Jesuits, and resist grants of public money for Romish purposes")-exposed for sale at their office a pamphlet entitled, "The confessional unmasked; showing the depravity of the Romish priesthood, the iniquity of the confessional, and the questions put to females in confession." This pamphlet consisted of extracts from the works of theologians on the constable or police officer into such house, &c., with such assist- 20 & 21 Vict. ance, as may be necessary, to enter in the daytime, and, if neces- e. 83. sary, to use force, by breaking open doors or otherwise, and to search for and seize all such books, &c., found in such house, &c., to carry all the articles so seized before the magistrate or justices issuing the said warrant, or some other magistrate or justices exercising the same jurisdiction;-and such magistrates or justices are thereupon to issue a summons calling upon the occupier of the house, &c. so entered to appear within seven days before such magistrate or two justices in petty sessions for the district, to show cause why the articles so seized should not be destroyed;-and if such occupier, or some other person claiming to be the owner of the said article, shall not appear within the time aforesaid, or shall appear, and such magistrate or justices shall be satisfied that such articles, or any of them, are of the character stated in the warrant, and that such or any of them have been kept for any of the purposes aforesaid, the said magistrate or justices are to order the articles so seized, except such of them as he or they may consider necessary to be preserved as evidence in some further proceeding, to be destroyed at the expiration of the time hereinafter allowed for lodging an appeal, unless notice of appeal as hereinafter mentioned be given, and such articles shall be in the meantime impounded; -and if such magistrate or justices shall be satisfied that the articles seized are not of the character stated in the warrant, or have not been kept for any of the purposes aforesaid, he or they shall forthwith direct them to be restored to the occupier of the house, &c. in which they were seized. [Forms of Complaint, Search Warrant and Orders, pp. 873-875, Oke's “Formulist,” 6th ed.] doctrine and discipline of the Church of Rome, and particularly on the practice of auricular confession. On the side of the page were printed passages in the original Latin, correctly extracted from the works of these writers, and opposite each extract was placed a free translation of it into English. The pamphlet also contained a preface and notes, and comments condemnatory of the tenets and principles of the authors of the works from which the extracts were made. About one-half of the pamphlet related to casuistical and controversial questions which were not obscene, but the remainder of the pamphlet was obscene, relating to impure and filthy acts, words and ideas. A member of the society kept and sold these pamphlets with the purpose of promoting the objects of the society, and exposing what he deemed to be errors of the Church of Rome. Two magistrates, purporting to act under the above-mentioned statute, ordered a number of these pamphlets while in his possession to be seized and destroyed:- Held, that notwithstanding the object of the defendant was not to injure public morals, but to attack the religion and practice of the Roman Catholic Church, this did not justify his act nor prevent it from being a misdemeanor proper to be prosecuted, as the inevitable effect of the publication must be to injure public morality; and although he might have had another object in view, he must be taken to have intended what was the natural consequence of his act, and had therefore been guilty of an offence within the meaning of the statute. 20 & 21 Vict. c. 83. Appeal.] By sect. 4, an appeal is given; it enacts,—that any person aggrieved by any act or determination of such magistrate or justices may appeal to the next general or quarter sessions for the county, &c. in and for which such magistrate or justices have so acted, giving to the magistrate or justices notice in writing of such appeal, and of the grounds thereof, within seven days after such act or determination, and before the next general or quarter sessions [see 12 & 13 Vict. c. 45, s. 1, ante, p. 252, Note 5, as to length of notice before the sessions], and entering within such seven days into a recognizance, with sufficient surety, before a justice of the peace for the county, &c. personally to appear and prosecute such appeal, and to abide the order of and pay such costs as shall be awarded by the quarter sessions,--and the general or quarter sessions shall hear and determine the matter of such appeal, and shall make such order therein as shall to the said court seem meet; and such court, upon hearing and finally determining such appeal, shall and may, according to their discretion, award such costs to the parties appealing or appealed against as they shall think proper; and if such appeal be dismissed or decided against the appellant, or be not prosecuted, such court may order the articles seized forthwith to be destroyed;-provided always, that it shall not be lawful for the appellant on the hearing of any such appeal to go into or give evidence of any other grounds of appeal against any such order, act or determination than those set forth in such notice of appeal. PARLIAMENT. See "Elections (Parliamentary).” PASSPORTS. By the 4th Regulation of the Foreign Office, dated 16th July, 1870, as to the issue of passports, it is provided,-"4. Passports are granted to all persons either known to the secretary of state or recommended to him by some person who is known to him; or upon the application of any banking firm established in London or in any part of the United Kingdom; or upon the production of a certificate of identity signed by any mayor, magistrate, justice of the peace, minister of religion, physician, surgeon, solicitor or notary resident in the United Kingdom." The form of recommendation is as follows: [Name of place and day of the month.] Justice of Peace for hereby certifies that A. B. [christian and surname to be written at full length] (whose signature in full is written in at foot) is a [naturalized, if so British subject, and requires a passport to enable him to proceed to children, maid [or to travel on the continent], [accompanied by his wife and governess, and (Signature of Magistrate) [Christian name and surname (Signature of Applicant.) The stamp duty on passports is 6d. (Stamp Act, 1870, 33 & 34 Vict. c. 97, Sched. "Passport.") PAWNBROKERS. The subject of the liability of pawnbrokers and pawners, as far as it comes within the limits of summary convictions, is fully treated under the head of "Pawnbrokers," ante, Vol. I. pp. 650-658. There are, however, some special matters appertaining to this head to which it will be well here to refer. I. Pawnbrokers' Certificates. II. Other Matters. I. As to Pawnbrokers' Certificates. After the 35 & 36 Vict. c. 93. Licence not to be granted without a Justice's Certificate.] passing of "The Pawnbrokers' Act, 1872" (35 & 36 Vict. c. 93), a pawnbroker's licence is not to be granted to any person except on the production and in pursuance of the authority of a certificate granted under the act; save, that it is not to be necessary for any person being at the commencement of the act a licensed pawnbroker, or for his executors, administrators, assigns or successors to obtain such a certificate (sect. 39). Who to grant Certificates.] Certificates under the act are to be granted (as regards England) in the metropolitan police district by a magistrate sitting in any police court in the metropolis having jurisdiction in the district where the application is made, and in any place within the jurisdiction of a stipendiary magistrate, by that magistrate; and in other places by the justices of the petty sessional division assembled at petty sessions specially convened for that purpose (sect. 40). Form of Duration of Certificate.] A certificate under the act is to be in the form given in the 6th schedule of the act, or to the like effect, and is to be in force for one year from its date (sect. 41). Form of Certificate of Justices. I [or we] [here insert description of the magistrate or justices] do authorize the grant to A. B. of, in the county of of a licence to carry on the business of a pawnbroker within the township of [or parish of day of 18-. |
