Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

transmitted by the Governor, or, in his Absence, by the Lieutenantgovernor, or Commander in Chief for the Time being, and laid before his Majesty for his Royal Approbation; and if his Majesty shall think fit to disallow thereof, the same shall cease and be void from the Time that his Majesty's Order in Council thereupon shall be promulgated at Quebec.

XV. Provided also, That no Ordinance touching Religion, or by which any Punishment may be inflicted greater than fine or Imprisonment for three Months, shall be of any Force or Effect, until the same shall have received his Majesty's Approbation.

XVI. Provided also, That no Ordinance shall be passed at any Meeting of the Council where less than a Majority of the whole Council is present, or at any Time except between the first Day of January and the first Day of May, unless upon some urgent Occasion, in which Case every Member thereof resident at Quebec, or within fifty Miles thereof, shall be personally summoned by the Governor, or, in his Absence, by the Lieutenant-governor, or Commander in Chief for the Time being, to attend the same.

XVII. And be it further enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That nothing herein contained shall extend, or be construed to extend, to prevent or hinder his Majesty, his Heirs and Successors, by his or their Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, from erecting, constituting, and appointing, such Courts of Criminal, Civil, and Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction within and for the said Province of Quebec, and appointing, from Time to Time, the Judges and Officers thereof, as his Majesty, his Heirs and Successors, shall think necessary and proper for the Circumstances of the said Province.

XVIII. Provided always, and it is hereby enacted, That nothing in this Act contained shall extend, or be construed to extend, to repeal or make void, within the said Province of Quebec, any Act or Acts of the Parliament of Great Britain heretofore made, for prohibiting, restraining, or regulating, the Trade or Commerce of his Majesty's Colonies and Plantations in America; but that all and every the said Acts, and also all Acts of Parliament heretofore made concerning or respecting the said Colonies and Plantations, shall be, and are hereby declared to be, in Force, within the said Province of Quebec, and every Part thereof.

No. 16.-1775: British Statute, 15 Geo. III, Cap. 10.

An Act to restrain the Trade and Commerce of the Provinces of Massachuset's Bay, and New Hampshire, and Colonies of Connecticut, and Rhode Island, and Providence Plantation, in North America, to Great Britain, Ireland, and the British Islands in the West Indies, and to prohibit such Provinces and Colonies from carrying on any fishery on the banks of Newfoundland, or other places therein mentioned, under certain conditions and limitations.

538

"Whereas by an Act made in the twelfth year of the reign of King Charles the Second, intituled, an Act for the encouraging and increasing of shipping and navigation; and by several subsequent Acts of Parliament which are now in force, it is, amongst other things, enacted, That for every ship or vessel which shall load any commodities, in those Acts, particularly enumerated, at any British plantation, being the growth, product, or manufacture thereof,

bonds shall be given, with one surety, to the value of one thousand Pounds, if the ship be of less burthen than one hundred tons, and of the sum of two thousand Pounds, if the ship be of greater burthen, that the same commodities shall be brought by such ship or vessel to some other British plantation, or to some port in Great Britain: and whereas, by several other Acts of Parliament which are now in force, no commodities of the growth, product, or manufacture of Europe (except salt for the fisheries, wines of the Madeiras and Azores and Western Islands, and victual and linen cloth from Ireland, under the restrictions in such Acts particularly mentioned), can be imported into any plantation, colony, territory, or place, belonging to His Majesty, in Asia, Africa, or America, but what shall be bona fide, and without fraud, laden and shipped in Great Britain, and carried directly from thence: and whereas, during the continuance of the combinations and disorders, which at this time prevail within the provinces of Massachuset's Bay and New Hampshire, and the colonies of Connecticut and Rhode Island, to the obstruction of the commerce of these kingdoms, and other His Majesty's dominions, and in breach and violation of the laws of this realm, it is highly unfit that the inhabitants of the said provinces and colonies should enjoy the same privileges of trade, and the same benefits and advantages to which His Majesty's faithful and obedient subjects are intitled;" be it therefore enacted by the King's most excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords spiritual and temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, That from and after the first day of July one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five, and during the continuance of this Act, no goods, wares, or merchandise, which are particularly enumerated in and by the said Act made in the twelfth year of King Charles the Second, or any other Act, being the growth, product, or manufacture of the provinces of Massachuset's Bay, or New Hampshire, or colonies of Connecticut, Rhode Island, or Providence Plantation, in North America, or any or either of them, are to be brought to some other British colony, or to Great Britain; or any such enumerated goods, wares, or merchandise, which shall at any time or times have been imported or brought into the said provinces or colonies, or any or either of them, shall be shipped, carried, conveyed, or transported, from any of the said provinces or colonies respectively, to any land, island, territory, dominion, port or place whatsoever, other than to Great Britain, or some of the British Islands in the West Indies, to be laid on shore there; and that no other goods, wares, or merchandises whatsoever, of the growth, product, or manufacture of the provinces or colonies herein before mentioned, or which shall at any time or times have been imported or brought into the same, shall, from and after the said first day of July, and during the continuance of this Act, be shipped, carried, conveyed, or transported, from any of the said provinces or colonies respectively, to any other land, island, territory, dominion, port, or place whatsoever, except to the kingdoms of Great Britain or Ireland, or to some of the British islands in the West Indies, to be laid on shore there; any law, custom, or usage, to the contrary notwithstanding.

II. And be it further enacted by the Authority aforesaid, that from and after the said first Day of July, before any ship or vessel shall lade, or take on Board any Goods, as aforesaid, in any or either

92909°-S. Doc. 870, 61-3, vol 5———5

of the Provinces or Colonies before mentioned, sufficient Bond, with one Surety, besides the Master of such Ship or Vessel, shall be given to the Collector, or other Principal Officer of the Customs at the Port or Place where such Goods are intended to be laden, or taken on Board, in the Penalty of one thousand Pounds, if the Ship be of less Burthen than one hundred Tons, and of the Sum of Two thousands Pounds, if the Ship shall be of that or any greater Burthen, with Condition that such enumerated Goods shall not be landed, or put on Shore, at or upon any other Land, Island, Territory, Domínion, Port, or Place whatsoever, except some Port or Place within the Kingdom of Great Britain, or some of the British Islands in the West Indies; and that all other Goods, Wares, or merchandises, so intended to be laden as aforesaid, shall not be landed or put on Shore at or upon any Land, Island, Territory, Dominion, Port, or Place whatsoever, other than and except some Port or Place within the Kingdoms of Great Britain or Ireland, or some of the British Islands of the West Indies; and with further Condition to bring a Certificate in Discharge thereof, within eighteen Months from the Date of such Bond, for such of the said Goods as shall be entered for or landed in Great Britain or Ireland respectively, and within six Months for such of the said Goods as shall be entered for or landed in any of the British Islands in the West Indies; which respective certificates shall be under the Hands and Seals of Office of the Collector and Comptroller, or other Principal Officer of the Customs, resident at the Port or Place where such goods shall be landed, testifying the landing thereof; or such Bond or Bonds shall and may be discharged by Proof, upon Oath made by credible Persons that the said Goods were taken by Enemies, or perished in the Seas.

III. And it is hereby further enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That where any such Bond or Bonds shall be given, as aforesaid, in pursuance of this Act, the Collector, or other Principal Officer of the Customs, to whom such Bond or Bonds shall have been given, shall deliver, under his Hand and Seal of Office, without Fee or Reward, to the Master of the Ship or Vessel taking in such Goods, for the Security of her Navigation, a Certificate that such Bond or Bonds hath or have been given, expressing therein the Quantity and Species of the Goods, with the Marks and Numbers of the Packages, and the Port or Place for which they were entered; and if any such Goods shall be laden on Board any such Ship or Vessel in any of the Provinces or Colonies in this Act before mentioned, before such Bond or Bonds shall be given, or shall be found on Board any Ship or Vessel without the Certificate herein before directed, that such Bond or Bonds hath or have been given, the Goods so laden, together with the Ship or Vessel, with her Guns, Ammunition, Tackle, Apparel, and Furniture, shall be forfeited; and if any Goods, so laden as aforesaid, shall be landed or discharged at any Port or Place, contrary to the Intent and Meaning of this Act, over and above the Penalty of the Bond or Bonds, the Shipper and Owner of such

Goods, and the Master or Person taking charge of the Vessel 539 on Board which they were laden, shall respectively forfeit the

full value of the Goods so landed or discharged, to be estimated according to the highest Price or Value which such Sort of Goods bear in the Province or Colony where and at the Time when they were shipped and laden; which Ship and Goods may be seized

and prosecuted, or the Value of such Goods prosecuted for, by any Admiral, Chief Commander, or commissioned Officer of his Majesty's Fleet or Ships of War, or by any Officer of his Majesty's Customs, in the Manner herein after directed.

IV. And it is hereby further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That from and after the first day of September one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five, and during the continuance of this Act, no sort of wines, salt, or any goods or commodities whatsover (except horses, victual, and linen cloth, the produce and manufacture of Ireland, imported directly from thence), shall be imported into any of the said colonies or provinces herein before respectively mentioned, upon any pretence whatsoever, unless such goods shall be bona fide and without fraud laden and shipped in Great Britain, and carried directly from thence, upon forfeiture thereof, and of the ship or vessel on board which such goods shall be laden; and it shall be lawful for any admiral, chief commander, or commissioned officer, of His Majesty's fleet, or ships of war, or any officer of His Majesty's customs, to seize any ship or vessel arriving at any of the said provinces or colonies before mentioned, or which shall be discovered within two leagues of any shore thereof, having such goods on board, and the goods laden thereon (except as before excepted), for which the master, or other person taking charge of such ship or vessel, shall not produce a cocket or clearance from the collector, or proper officer of His Majesty's customs, certifying that the said goods were laden on board the said ship or vessel, in some port of Great Britain; any law, custom, or usage, to the contrary notwithstanding.

V. Provided always, and it is hereby further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That this Act, or any thing herein contained, shall not extend, or be construed to extend, to prohibit the exportation or carrying out from any of the provinces or colonies before mentioned, or the importation into the same, of any goods or commodities whatsoever for the victualling or providing any of His Majesty's ships of war, or other ships or vessels in His Majesty's service, or for His Majesty's forces, forts, or garrisons, any thing herein contained to the contrary notwithstanding.

VI. And provided also, That nothing herein contained shall extend, or be construed to extend, to hinder or restrain the lawful importation into any or either of the said provinces or colonies herein before mentioned, from any of the British islands in the West Indies, of any such goods or commodities, being the growth or produce thereof, as may now by law be imported from thence into the said provinces or colonies, or any or either of them.

VII. And it is hereby further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That if any ship or vessel, being the property of the subjects of Great Britain, not belonging to and fitted out from Great Britain or Ireland, or the Islands of Guernsey, Jersey, Sark, Alderney, or Man, shall be found, after the twentieth day of July one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five, carrying on any fishery, of what nature or kind soever, on the banks of Newfoundland, the coast of Labrador, or within the River or Gulf of Saint Lawrence, or upon the coast of Cape Breton, or Nova Scotia, or any other part of the coast of North America, or having on board materials for carrying on any such fishery, every such ship or vessel, with her guns, ammunition, tackle, apparel, and furniture, together with the fish, if any shall be found

on board, shall be forfeited, unless the master, or other person, having the charge of such ship or vessel, do produce to the commander of any of His Majesty's ships of war, stationed for the protection and superintendence of the British fisheries in America, a certificate, under the hand and seal of the governor, or commander in chief, of any of the colonies or plantations of Quebec, Newfoundland, Saint John, Nova Scotia, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, East Florida, West Florida, Bahamas and Bermudas, setting forth, that such ship or vessel, expressing her name, and the name of her master, and describing her built and burthen, hath fitted and cleared out, from some one of the said colonies or plantations, in order to proceed upon the said fishery, and that she actually and bona fide belongs to and is the whole and entire property of His Majesty's subjects, inhabitants of the said colony or plantation; which certificates such governors, or commanders in chief respectively, are hereby authorised and required to grant.

"VIII. And to the End that the foregoing Prohibitions, Restrictions, and Regulations, may be more effectually carried into Execution," it is hereby further enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That it shall and may be lawful to and for all or any of the Commanders of his Majesty's Ships or Vessels of War, stationed and appointed for the Regulation and Protection of the British Fishery upon the Coasts of North America, or to and for the Commanders of any other of his Majesty's Ships or Vessels employed at Sea, and they and every of them are hereby required and enjoined to examine, search, and visit all Ships and Vessels suspected to be carrying on the said Fisheries; and to seize, arrest and prosecute, in Manner herein after directed, all and every such Ships and Vessels as shall be found to be carrying on the said Fisheries, not belonging to and fitted out from Great Britain or Ireland, or the Islands of Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, Sark, or Man, which shall not have on Board the Certificate herein before required.

IX. Provided always, and be it further enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That nothing herein contained shall extend, or be construed to extend, to impower any Officer of his Majesty's Ships of War, or of his Majesty's Customs, to seize any Ship or Vessel which shall be fitted and cleared out from any of the said Colonies and Provinces before the first Day of June one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five, for the Whale Fishery only, and which shall be found carrying on such Fishery within the Limits aforesaid, between

the said first Day of June and the first day of November 540 one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five, and not carrying on, nor having on Board any Materials for carrying on, any other Fishery.

X. And be it further enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That nothing in this Act contained, respecting the Fisheries carried on by his Majesty's Subjects in North America, shall affect, or be construed to affect, any Ship or Vessel, her Guns, Ammunition, Tackle, Apparel, Furniture, or Fish, on Board, being the Property of any of the Inhabitants of the Island of Nantucket, employed in the Whale Fishery only, if it shall appear by the Papers on Board, that such Ship or Vessel was fitted and cleared out from thence before the first Day of June one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five, or if the Master,

« AnteriorContinuar »