Vagrancy Act 1824

IV Persons committing certain Offences to be deemed Rogues and Vagabonds.

And be it further enacted, That every Person committing any of the Offences herein-before mentioned, after having been convicted as an idle and disorderly Person ; every Person pretending or professing to tell Fortunes, or using any subtle Craft, Means, or Device, by Palmistry or otherwise, to deceive and impose on any of His Majesty's Subjects ; every Person wandering abroad and lodging in any Barn or Outhouse, or in any deserted or unoccupied Building, or in the open Air, or under a Tent, or in any Cart or Waggon, not having any visible Means of Subsistence, and not giving a good Account of himself or herself; every Person wilfully exposing to- view, in any Street, Road, Highway, or public Place, any obscene Print, Picture, or other indecent Exhibition ; every Person wilfully, openly, lewdly, and obscenely exposing his Person in any Street, Road, or public Highway, or in the View thereof, or in any Place of public Resort, with Intent to insult any Female ; every Person wandering abroad, and endeavouring by the Exposure of Wounds or Deformities to obtain or gather Alms ; every Person going about as a Gatherer or Collector of Alms, or endeavouring to procure charitable Contributions of any Nature or Kind, under any false or fraudulent Pretence ; every Person running away, and leaving his Wife or his or her Child or Children chargeable, or whereby she or they or any of them shall become chargeable to any Parish, Township, or Place ; every Person playing or betting in any Street, Road, Highway, or other open and public Place, at or with any Table or Instrument of gaming, at any Game or pretended Game of Chance; every Person having in his or her Custody or Possession any Picklock Key, Crow, Jack, Bit, or other Implement, with Intent feloniously to break into any Dwelling House, Warehouse, Coach-house, Stable, or Outbuilding, or being armed with any Gun, Pistol, Hanger, Cutlass, Bludgeon, or other offensive Weapon, or having upon him or her any Instrument, with Intent to commit any felonious Act; every Person being found in or upon any Dwelling House, Warehouse, Coach-house, Stable, or Outhouse, or in any inclosed Yard, Garden, or Area, for any unlawful Purpose; every suspected Person or reputed Thief, frequenting any River, Canal, or navigable Stream, Dock, or Basin, or any Quay, Wharf, or Warehouse near or adjoining thereto, or any Street, Highway, or Avenue leading thereto, or any Place of public Resort or any Avenue leading thereto, or any Street, Highway, or Place adjacent, with Intent to commit Felony; and every Person apprehended as an idle and disorderly Person, and violently resisting any Constable or other Peace Officer so apprehending him or her, and being subsequently convicted of the Offence for which he or she shall have been so apprehended, shall be deemed a Rogue and Vagabond, within the true Intent and Meaning of this Act; and it shall be lawful for any Justice of the Peace to commit such Offender (being thereof convicted before him by the Confession of such Offender, or by the Evidence on Oath of One or more credible Witness or Witnesses,) to the House of Correction, there to be kept to Hard Labour for any Time not exceeding Three Calendar Months; and every such Picklock Key, Crow, Jack, Bit, and other Implement, and every such Gun, Pistol, Hanger, Cutlass, Bludgeon, or other offensive Weapon, and every such Instrument as aforesaid, shall, by the Conviction of the Offender, become forfeited to the King's Majesty.