High Trea

son.

persons guilty of the like of fence, par. doned.

6 & 7 W. 3, c. 17.

XII. Be it enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That if any person, or persons, being out of prison, shall, from Persons and after the said first day of May, 1695, be guilty of clipguilty of clipping, &c. ping, coining, counterfeiting, washing, filing, or otherwise discovering diminishing the coin of this realm, and afterwards discover two or more two or more person or persons, who already have, or hereafter shall commit any of the said crimes, so as two or more of the person or persons discovered shall be convicted of the same; any such discoverer shall himself have, and is hereby entitled to the gracious pardon of His Majesty, his heirs, and successors, for all such crimes which he or they have committed at any time or times before such discovery Apprentice made: and if the person making such discovery be an apdiscovering, prentice, he shall be deemed and taken, and is hereby declared a freeman; and shall have and may exercise any lawful trade, profession, or mystery, with all liberties and privileges, and in as full and ample manner as if the said person had served the full time of his apprenticeship; any law, seatute, custom, or ordinance, to the contrary, notwithstanding.

made a freeman.

Note. The pecuniary rewards given by this statute for prosecuting to conviction counterfeiters, clippers, washers, filers, and di

minishers of coin are abolished by the 58 Geo. 3, c. 70, which, as far as relates to the acts repealed by it, is still in force.

8 & 9 W. 3, c. 26.

Whereas, notwithstanding the good laws still in force against the counterfeiting of the monies and coins of this realm, yet the said offence doth and is likely to increase, to the manifest wrong and injury both of His Majesty and all his loving subjects, being very much occasioned for want of a due and condign punishment, to be inflicted upon such artificers, and others who, without any lawful authority, do make or use puncheons, stamps, dyes, and other engines and instruments, which are commonly used, or may be made use of, in or about the coining of money: for redress of which, so great and growing a mischief, be it enacted, &c. No smith, that, from and after the 15th day of May, 1697, no smith, &c. except engraver, founder, or other person or persons whatsoever, employed in the Mint, (other than and except the persons employed, and to be &c. shall employed, in or for His Majesty's mint or mints in the Tower make or of London, or elsewhere, and for the use and service mend any of the said mints only, or persons lawfully authorized dye, &c. to stamp any by the commissioners of. the treasury, or Lord High current coin Treasurer of England, for the time being) shall knowingly of gold or make or mend, or begin or proceed to make or mend, or assist in the making or mending of any puncheon, edging-tool, counter-puncheon, matrix, stamp, dye, pattern, or mould &c. nor of steel, iron, silver, or other metal or metals, or of spaud, coining

silver, or make any

gine, nor

such.

or fine founders' earth, or sand, or of any other materials High Treawhatsoever, in or upon which there shall be, or be made son. or impressed, or which will make or impress the figure, stamp, resemblance, or similitude of both or either of the press, nor cutting-ensides or flats of any gold or silver coin, current within this kingdom, nor shall knowingly make or mend, or begin or have in their proceed to make or mend, or assist in the making or mending custody any of any edger or edging tool, instrument, or engine, not of common use in any trade, but contrived for marking of money round the edges with letters, grainings, or other marks or figures resembling those on the edges of money coined in his majesty's mint, nor any press for coinage, nor any cutting engine, for cutting round blanks by force of a screw out of flatted bars of gold, silver, or other metal, nor shell knowingly buy or sell, hide or conceal, or without lawful authority or sufficient excuse for that purpose, knowingly leave in his, her or their houses, custody or possession, any such puncheon, counter-puncheon, matrix, stamp, dye, edger, cutting engine, or other tool or instrument before mentioned; and if any smith, engineer, founder, or other Offenders, person or persons whatsoever, (other than except as afore- of high trea said) shall offend in any the matters or things aforesaid, son, and then all and every such offender and offenders, their coun- shall suffer sellors, procurers, aiders and abettors, shall be, and is, and are hereby adjudged to be guilty of high treason, and being of the said offences, or any of them, convicted or attainted, according to the order and course of the laws of this realm, shall suffer death as in case of high treason.

&c.

death.

out of the

the same,

II. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, Persons that if any person or persons whatsoever, from and after conveying the said 15th day of May, shall, without lawful authority Mint, any for that purpose, wittingly or knowingly convey or assist puncheon, in the conveying out of his majesty's mint in the Tower &c. and of London, or out of any other of his majesty's mints, any concealing puncheon, counter-puncheon, matrix, dye, stamp, edger, to be guilty cutting engine, press, or other tool, engine, or instrument, of high trea used for or about the coining of monies there, or any useful son. part of such tools or instruments, that then as well the said person and persons so offending, their counsellors, procurers, aiders or abettors, and also all and every person and persons knowingly receiving, hiding or concealing the same, shall be, and is and are hereby adjudged to be guilty of high treason, and being of the said offence, or any of them convicted or attainted according to the order and course of the laws of this realm, shall suffer death as in case of high treason.

Like penal

ty on per. sons mark

III. And be it further enacted, &c. that if any person or persons (other than the persons employed in his Majesty's mint or mints, or such as shall have authority from the ing the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury, or Lord High Trea. edges of surer of England for the time being) shall, after the said any coun

terfeit coin,

son.

High Trea- 15th day of May, mark on the edges any the current coin of this kingdom, or if any person or persons whatsoever shall mark on the edges any of the diminished coin of this kingdom, or any counterfeit coin resembling the coin of this kingdom, with letters or grainings, or other marks or figures like unto those on the edges of money coined in his Majesty's Mint, every such offence shall be, and is hereby adjudged to be, high treason, and the offender and offenders therein, his and their counsellors, procurers, aiders, and abettors, being thereof convicted or attainted according to the order and course of the law of this realm, shall suffer death as in case of high treason.

or colour.

ing, gilding, &c. any coin resembling the current coin.

Puncheon, dye, &c.

found in the possession of any per

son not employed in the Mint, may be

seized, and produced

in evidence.

IV. And be it further enacted, &c., that if any person or persons whatsoever, after the said 15th day of May, shall colour, gild, or case over with gold or silver, or with any wash or materials producing the colour of gold or silver, any coin resembling any the current coin of this kingdom, or any round blanks of base metal, or of coarse gold, or coarse silver, of a fit size and figure to be coined into counterfeit milled money, resembling any the gold or silver coin of this kingdom, or if any person or persons shall gild over any silver blanks of a fit size and figure to be coined into pieces resembling the current gold coin of this kingdom, all and every such person and persons so offending, their counsellors, procurers, aiders, and abettors, shall be, and is, and are hereby adjudged to be, guilty of high treason, and, being convicted or attainted thereof, according to the order and course of the laws of this realm, shall suffer death as in case of high treason.

V. And be it further enacted, &c., that if any puncheon, dye, stamp, edger, cutting-engine, press, flask, or other tool, instrument, or engine, used or designed for coining or counterfeiting gold or silver monies, or any part of such tool or engine, shall, at any time after the said 15th day of May, be hid or concealed in any place, or found in the house, custody, or possession of any person or persons whatsoever, not then employed in the coining of money in any of his Majesty's mints, nor having the same by any lawful authority, that then it shall and may be lawful to and for any person or persons whatsoever, discovering the same, to seize, and he and they are hereby required t seize the same, and to carry them forthwith to some justice of peace of the county, city, or place, where the same shall be so seized, and by him secured, to be produced in evidence against any person or persons who shall or may be prosecuted for any such offence, in some court of justice proper for the determination thereof, and after such time as they, or any of them, shall have been produced in evidence, as well the same so produced, as the other so seized, and not made use of in evidence, and every of them shall forthwith, by order of that court where such offender or

offenders shall be tried, or by order and in the presence of High Trea such or some other justice of the peace, and in case there be son. no such trial, be totally defaced and destroyed; and if, after the said 15th day of May, any counterfeit or unlawfully diminished money shall be produced in any court of justice, either in evidence against any person or persons for any offence relating to the counterfeiting or unlawfully diminishing of money, or otherwise, that then, or immediately after evidence given, the judge or judges of such court shall cause such monies to be cut in pieces in open court, or in the presence of some justice of the peace, and then to be delivered to or for such person or persons to whom the same of right shall appertain.

VII. [Provides that no attainder for any offence made treason or felony by this act shall work corruption of blood or loss of dower] and that all and every person or persons that shall at any time after the said 15th day of May be accused or impeached of any the offences made treason or felony by this act, shall or may be indicted, arraigned, tried, convicted, or attainted, by such like evidence, and in such manner and form, as now are, or may by the laws of this realm, be had or used against any offender or offenders for counterfeiting the king's money; any thing in this act contained, or any other law or statute to the contrary, notwithstanding.

IX. Provided always, and be it enacted, that this act Prosecution to be begun shall continue and be in force until the end of the next in three session of parliameut, and no longer; and that no prosecu- months. tion shall be made for any offence against this act, unless such prosecution be commenced within three months after such offence committed.

Note. This act, which extends only to the current coin of this kingdom, 1 Russ, 75, is made perpetual by 7 Anne, c. 25. The latter also gives power to prosecute within six months for some of the offences here mentioned (see post, page 68). In an indictment on the statute of William, it ought to be averred that the party was not employed in the Mint or authorized by the treasurer, &c., because the exception of such persons is within the enacting clause; and the want of such an authority is part of the description of the offence itself: 1 E. P. C. 167. It is to be observed, that the words "pattern or mould," which are mentioned in the former part of the first section of this act,

are omitted in the latter part; but that the latter part, after enumerating certain instruments, has these words, "or other tool or instrument before mentioned." In a case where the prisoner had been indicted upon the latter part of the section, for having in his custody and possession, without any lawful excuse, one mould made of lead, on which was made and impressed the figure, stamp, resemblance, and similitude of one of the sides or flats of a shilling, viz., the headside, &c., the judges were unanimously of opinion that the mould was a tool or instrument mentioned in the former part of the section, and therefore included under the general words in the latter part; and

7 Anne, c. 25.

I. [Makes perpetual the stat. 8 W. 3, c. 26.]

II. And whereas, by an act made in the eighth year of cution of his late majesty's reign, intituled, "An Act for the better against 8 W. preventing the Counterfeiting the Current Coin of this King8, c. 26, may dom," it is ordained, that no prosecution shall be made

for any offence against the said act, unless such prosecution be commenced within three months after such offence committed; be it enacted by the authority aforesaid, that the prosecution of such person or persons so offending against the said act, by making or mending, or beginning or proceeding to make or mend, any coining-tool or instrument therein prohibited, or by marking of money round the edges with letters or grainings, may be commenced at any time within six months after such offence committed; any thing in the said act to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding.

15 Geo. 2, c. 28.

Be it enacted, &c., that if any person whatsoever shall, after the 29th day of September, in the year of our Lord