c. 6.

10 Geo. IV. sentence of transportation; and from the time when such order of transportation shall be made, every Act now in force touching the escape of felons shall apply to such offender, and to all persons aiding, abetting, contriving, or assisting in any escape or intended escape of any such offender; and the justice or baron who shall make any order of transportation as aforesaid shall direct the notification of his Majesty's pleasure, and his own order made thereupon, to be filed and kept of record in the office of the clerk of the crown of the Court of King's Bench; and the said clerk shall have a fee of two shillings and sixpence only for filing the same, and shall, on application, deliver a certificate in writing (not taking more than two shillings and sixpence for the same) to such offender, or to any person applying in his or in his Majesty's behalf, showing the Christian and surname of such offender, his offence, the place where the court was held before whom he was convicted, and the conditions on which the order of transportation was given; which certificate shall be sufficient proof of the conviction and sentence of such offender, and also of the terms on which such order for his transportation was given, in any court and in any proceeding wherein it may be necessary to inquire into the

Transportation from the Colonies.

Offences

against former Mutiny Acts may be tried under this Act.

Subsequent
Enlistment no

Protection

from Punish

ment for Desertion.

same.

XVIII. And be it enacted, That whenever any person convicted of desertion is to be transported from the East Indies, or from any part of his Majesty's foreign dominions, either in pursuance of the original sentence of a court-martial or on commutation of capital punishment, a similar notification shall be made by the officer commanding in chief his Majesty's forces at the station, or in his absence by the adjutant-general for the time being, to some judge of one of the supreme courts of judicature in the East Indies, or chief justice, or some other judge, as the case may be, in any part of his Majesty's foreign dominions, who shall make order for the transportation or intermediate custody of such offender, in such manner and to or in such place as shall be specified in any directions given to such chief justice or judge, in relation to any such offender, by one of his Majesty's principal secretaries of state, and the necessary proceedings shall be taken according to such order, for the transportation or intermediate custody of such offender; and all Acts in force in such place touching other offenders to be transported shall in all respects apply as well to the offender himself so to be transported as to all other persons whatsoever therein concerned.

XIX. And be it enacted, That all crimes and offences which have been committed against any Act for punishing mutiny and desertion, and for the better payment of the army and their quarters, or against any of the articles of war made and established by virtue of the same, may, during the continuance of this Act, be inquired of and punished in like manner as if they had been committed against this Act; and every warrant for holding any court-martial under any former Act shall remain in full force notwithstanding the expiration of such Act, and all proceedings of any court-martial upon any trial begun under the authority of such former Act shall not be discontinued by the expiration of the same; provided that no person shall be liable to be tried and punished for any offence against any of the said Acts or articles of war which shall appear to have been committed more than three years before the issuing of the commission or warrant for such trial, unless the person accused, by reason of his having absented himself, or of some other manifest impediment, shall not have been amenable to justice within that period, in which case such person shall be liable to be tried at any time not exceeding two years after the impediment shall have ceased.

XX. And be it enacted, That every soldier who shall desert from his Majesty's service shall be liable to all the pains and penalties imposed by this Act for every such offence committed by him, notwithstanding his having again enlisted into his Majesty's service; and every soldier of right belonging to any corps from which he may have originally deserted may be tried for deserting from any other corps in which he may afterwards have enlisted, or from his Majesty's service, if he shall not after such subsequent enlisting have been placed in any corps, or may be tried for any

Class II.]

Mutiny Act.

c. 6.

crime committed by him while serving therein, notwithstanding it shall 10 Geo. IV.
be known that he had previously belonged to some other corps or party,
and had not been discharged therefrom; and if such person shall be
claimed by such other corps or party, and be proceeded against as a de-
serter therefrom, his subsequent desertion from any one or more corps in
which he may have unwarrantably enlisted may be given in evidence
as an aggravation of his crime, previous notice being always given
to such deserter of the intention to produce such evidence upon his
trial.

XXI. And be it enacted, That it shall be lawful for the constable of any Apprehension place where any person reasonably suspected to be a deserter shall be of Deserters. found, or of any adjoining place, and if no such constable can be immediately met with, then for any officer or soldier in his Majesty's service, to apprehend, or cause such suspected person to be apprehended, and to cause him to be brought before any justice living in or near such place, and acting for the same or any adjoining county, who hath hereby power to examine such suspected person; and if by his confession, or the testimony of one or more witnesses upon oath, or by the knowledge of such justice, it shall appear that such suspected person is a soldier, and ought to be with the corps to which he belongs, such justice shall forthwith cause him to be conveyed to some public prison in such place, or if there be no public prison in such place, then, at the discretion of such justice of the peace, to the nearest or most convenient public prison in the same or any next adjoining county, or to the provost marshal, in case such deserter shall be apprehended within the city or liberties of Dublin or places adjacent; and such justice shall transmit an account thereof, in the form prescribed in the schedule annexed to this Act, to the secretary at war, or, if the deserter be apprehended in Ireland, to the chief secretary, to the end that such person may be proceeded against according to law; and such justice shall also send to the secretary at war a report, stating the names of the persons by whom the deserter was apprehended and secured; and the secretary at war shall transmit to such justice an order for the payment to such persons of such sum, not exceeding forty shillings, as the secretary at war shall be satisfied they are entitled to, according to the true intent and meaning of this Act: Provided also, that no fee or reward shall be taken by any justice, or his clerk, in respect of any information, commitment, or report as aforesaid.

XXII. And be it enacted, That any person who shall voluntarily deliver Fraudulent himself up as a deserter from his Majesty's forces or the embodied militia, Confession of or the forces of the East India company, or who, upon being apprehended Desertion. for any offence, shall, in the presence of the justices, confess himself to be a deserter as aforesaid, shall be deemed to have been duly enlisted and to be a soldier, and shall be liable to serve in any of his Majesty's forces, as his Majesty shall think fit to appoint, whether such person shall have been ever actually enlisted as a soldier or not; and if the person so confessing himself to be a deserter shall be serving at the time in any of his Majesty's forces, he shall be deemed to be and shall be dealt with as a deserter.

XXIII, And be it enacted, That every person who shall in any part of his Majesty's dominious, directly or indirectly, persuade any soldier to desert his Majesty's service, shall suffer such punishment by fine or imprisonment, or both, as the court before which the conviction may take place shall adjudge; and every person who shall assist any deserter from his Majesty's service, knowing him to be such, in deserting or in concealing himself from such service, shall forfeit for every such offence the sum of twenty pounds.

Penalty for inducing or assisting to desert.

XXIV. And be it enacted, That every commissioned officer who shall, Penalty for without warrant from one or more of his Majesty's justices, forcibly enter forcible Entry. into or break open the dwelling house or outhouses of any person whomsoever, under pretence of searching for deserters, shall, upon due proof thereof, forfeit the sum of twenty pounds.

XXV. And be it enacted, That every gaoler and keeper of any prison or house of correction in England or Ireland shall, upon the order in

Custody of Offenders under a Military

Sentence.

c. 6.

.

10 Geo. IV. writing of any commanding officer of a district, garrison, regiment, or corps, (as the case may be,) receive and provide a proper place of confinement for any soldier under sentence of imprisonment by a court-martial, and shall detain such soldier during the period stated in such order, or until he be discharged, or shall deliver up such soldier to any person producing an order in writing to that effect from any such commanding officer as aforesaid, although the period for which the soldier was originally committed shall not have expired; and every such gaoler who shall refuse to receive and to confine any such non-commissioned officer or soldier in manner as aforesaid shall forfeit for every such offence the sum of one hundred pounds.

Custody of
Deserters.

Notice of Expiration of Imprison

ment.

Various Persons subject

to the Act.

Foreign

Troops in this
Country.

Militia and
Yeomanry.

XXVI. And be it enacted, That the gaoler or person having the immediate inspection of any prison, gaol or house of correction in England and Ireland, shall receive and apply to the maintenance of every soldier, during the period of his imprisonment, sixpence per diem, which the secretary at war shall cause to be issued out of the subsistence of such soldier, upon application in writing, signed by any justice within whose jurisdiction such place of confinement shall be locally situated, together with a copy of the order of commitment; and such gaoler is hereby required to receive and confine every deserter who shall be delivered into his custody by any soldier conveying such deserter under lawful authority, on production of the warrant of the justice of the peace on which such deserter shall have been taken, or some order from the office of the secretary at war, or chief governor or governors of Ireland; and such gaoler shall be entitled to one shilling for the safe custody of the said deserter, while halted on the march, and to such subsistence for his maintenance as shall be directed by his Majesty's regulations.

XXVII. And be it enacted, That every gaoler, to whom any notice shall have been given that any person in his custody for any offence is a soldier liable to serve his Majesty on the expiration of his imprisonment, shall give one month's notice of the period of such expiration of imprisonment, or if there shall not be sufficient time for a month's notice, then the longest practicable notice thereof, to the secretary at war, or, if in Ireland, to the chief secretary.

XXVIII. And be it enacted, That all the provisions of this Act shall apply to all persons employed on the recruiting service, receiving pay in respect of such service, and to the officers and persons now or hereafter serving and hired to be employed in the royal artillery and field train, and master gunners and gunners, and conductors of stores, and in the regi ment of royal engineers, and in the corps of royal sappers and miners, and in the corps of royal military surveyors and draftsmen, in the ordnance and in the commissariat departments, and who are or shall be serving with any part of his Majesty's forces, at home or abroad, under the command of any officer having commission from his Majesty; and all storekeepers and other civil officers who are or shall be employed by or act under the ordnance at any of his Majesty's ordnance establishments at foreign stations; provided that nothing in this Act contained shall extend to affect any security which has been given by such storekeeper, barrack master, or other officer, or their sureties, for the due performance of their respective offices, under the provisions of an Act passed in the fiftieth year of the reign of his late Majesty, to regulate the taking of securities in all offices, but that such bonds and other securities shall be and remain in full force and effect.

XXIX. And be it enacted, That all officers and soldiers of any troops, being mustered and in pay, which shall be raised and serving in any of his Majesty's dominions abroad, or in places in possession of or occupied by his Majesty's subjects, under the command of any officer having any commission immediately from his Majesty, shall be liable to martial law in like manner as his Majesty's other forces are; and if such officers and soldiers, having been made prisoners, be sent into England or Ireland, although not allowed to serve therein, all the provisions of this Act, in regard to billetting soldiers, shall apply to such officers and soldiers.

XXX. And be it enacted, That nothing in this Act contained shall in

anywise be construed to extend to any of the militia forces or yeomanry or volunteer corps in Great Britain or Ireland, excepting only in such case wherein, by any Act or Acts for regulating any of the said forces or corps, the provisions contained in any Act for punishing mutiny and desertion shall be specifically made applicable to the said corps.

10 Geo. IV.

c. 6.

XXXI. And be it enacted, That this Act shall be construed to extend Limitations as to the islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, and the to certain islands thereto belonging, as to the provisions therein for mustering and Islands, paying, and to the provisions for the trial and punishment of officers and soldiers who shall be charged with mutiny and desertion, or any other of the offences which are by this Act declared to be punishable by the sentence of a general, or garrison, or detachment, or regimental courtmartial, and also to the provisions which relate to the punishment of persons who shall conceal deserters, or shall knowingly buy, exchange, or otherwise receive any arms, clothes, military furniture or regimental necessaries from any soldier or deserter, or who shall cause the colour of any such clothes to be changed.

XXXII. And be it enacted, That every person who shall receive enlist- Enlisting and ing money from any person employed in the recruiting service, he being swearing of an officer, non-commissioned officer, or an attested soldier, shall be deemed Recruits. to be enlisted as a soldier in his Majesty's service, and while he shall remain with the recruiting party shall be entitled to be billetted; and every person who shall enlist any recruit shall first ask the person offering to enlist, whether he does or does not belong to the militia, and shall cause to be taken down, in writing, the name and place of abode of such recruit; and when any person shall be enlisted as a soldier in his Majesty's land service, he shall, within four days, but not sooner than twenty-four hours after such enlisting, appear, together with some person employed in the recruiting service of the party with which he shall have enlisted, before a justice residing in the vicinity of the place, and acting for the division or district where such recruit shall have been enlisted, and not being an officer in the army; and if such recruit shall declare his having voluntarily enlisted, the said justice shall cause to be read to him the notice contained in the schedule to this Act annexed, and shall examine him as to whether he does or does not belong to the militia, and shall require the recruit to sign a declaration in the form in the said schedule, and he is hereby required forthwith to cause to be read over in his own presence to such recruit the first and second article of the second section of the articles of war against mutiny and desertion, and to administer to such recruit the oath of allegiance and fidelity, and oath in the schedule to this Act annexed, for limited or unlimited service, or for service in the forces of the East India company, as may be applicable to the case of the recruit, and no other oaths, any thing in any Acts to the contrary notwithstanding; and the said justice is hereby required forthwith to certify, under his hand, the enlisting and swearing, in the form attached to such oaths respectively, together with the place of birth, age, and calling, if known, of such recruit; and if any such recruit so to be certified shall refuse to take the oath of allegiance and fidelity before the said justice, it shall be lawful for the officer or non-commissioned officer with whom he enlisted to detain and confine such person until he shall take the said oath of fidelity.

XXXIII. And be it enacted, That any recruit appearing as aforesaid Dissent and before such justice shall be at liberty to declare his dissent to such enlist- Relief from ing, and upon such declaration, and returning the enlisting money, and Enlistment. also paying the sum of twenty shillings for the charges expended upon him, together with the full amount of subsistence and beer money which shall have been paid to such recruit subsequent to the period of his having been enlisted, shall be forthwith discharged and set at liberty, in the presence of such justice; but if such person shall refuse or neglect, within the space of twenty-four hours after so declaring his dissent, to return such money as aforesaid, he shall be deemed and taken to be enlisted as if he had given his assent thereto before the said justice: Provided also, that it shall be lawful for any justice to discharge any person who shall

10 Geo. IV. c. 6.

Offences connected with Enlistment.

have hastily enlisted, and who shall apply to him to declare his dissent within such four days as aforesaid, upon payment of the sum of money required to be paid by any recruit declaring his dissent under this Act, notwithstanding no person belonging to the recruiting party shall be with the recruit, if it shall appear to such justice, upon proof to his satisfaction, that the recruiting party has left the place where such recruit was enlisted, or that the recruit could not procure any person belonging to such party to go with him before the justice; and the sum paid by such recruit upon his discharge shall be kept by the justice, and paid to any person belonging to the recruiting party entitled thereto demanding the same; provided that no recruit who has been actually, though erroneously, discharged by the justice, before the expiration of twenty-four hours after the time of his enlistment, shall be liable on that account to be proceeded against as having deserted from his Majesty's service; and the justice who shall discharge any recruit shall in every case give a certificate thereof, signed with his hand, to the recruit, specifying the cause thereof.

XXXIV. And be it enacted, That if any recruit shall receive the enlisting money from any person employed in the recruiting service (knowing it to be such), and shall abscond or refuse to go before such justice, or shall thereafter absent himself from the recruiting party or person with whom he enlisted, and shall not voluntarily return to go before some justice within such period of four days aforesaid, such recruit shall be deemed to be enlisted and a soldier in his Majesty's service, as fully to all intents and purposes as if he had been duly attested, and may be apprehended and punished as a deserter, or for being absent without leave, under any articles of war made for punishment of mutiny and desertion; and such recruit shall not be discharged by any justice of the peace after the expiration of such four days as aforesaid, unless it shall be proved to the satisfaction of such justice that the true name and residence of the recruit was disclosed and known to the recruiting party, and that no notice was given to the recruit, or left at his usual place of abode, of his having so enlisted; provided that in every case wherein any recruit shall have received enlisting money, and shall have absconded from the party, so that it shall not be possible immediately to apprehend and bring him before a justice, the officer or non-commissioned officer commanding the party shall produce to the justice before whom the recruit ought regularly to have been brought for attestation a certificate of the name and place of residence of such recruit; and the justice to whom such certificate shall be produced shall, after satisfying himself that the recruit who had absconded cannot be found and apprehended, transmit a duplicate thereof to his Majesty's secretary at war, or, if in Ireland, to the chief secretary, in order that, in the event of such recruit being afterwards apprehended and reported as a deserter, the facts of his having received enlisting money, and having absconded after having been enlisted, may be ascertained before he be finally adjudged to be a deserter; and any recruit who shall enlist into his Majesty's forces, and who shall be discovered to be incapable of active service by reason of any infirmity concealed or not declared by such recruit before the justice at the time of his attestation, and mentioned at the foot, thereof may be transferred into any garrison or veteran or invalid battalion, or into his Majesty's marine forces, notwithstanding he shall have enlisted for any particular regiment, and shall be entitled to receive such proportion or residue of bounty only as his Majesty may allow in that behalf, instead of the bounty upon which such man shall have been enlisted, any thing in any Act or Acts, or any rules and regulations relating to soldiers, to the contrary notwithstanding; and it shall be lawful for any two justices before whom such recruit shall be brought, and who shall be proved, upon oath before them, to have wilfully concealed any such infirmity upon being attested, or to have designedly made any false representation as aforesaid, to adjudge such person to be a rogue and vagabond, and to sentence him to such punishment as by any law now in force may be inflicted upon rogues and vagabonds and vagrants and incorrigible rogues; and any recruit who shall designedly make any false representation of any particular contained in the oaths and cer