Sunday Observance Act 1677

II. Drovers, &c. travelling, &c. Penalty 20B.

Using Boats, Barges, &c.; Penalty 5s.; Proceedings on Conviction.; Goods cryed may be seized.; Penalties how to be levied.; In case of Insufficiency, Stocks.; Penalties how to be disposed of.; Reward to Informer.

And it is further enacted That noe Drover Horsecourser Waggoner Butcher Higler their or any of their Servants shall travell or come into his or their Inne or Lodgeing upon the Lords day or any part thereof upon paine that each and every such offender shall forfeite twenty shillings for every such offence, And that noe person or persons shall use imploy or travell upon the Lords day with any Boate Wherry Lighter or Barge except it be upon extraordinary occasion to be allowed by some Justice of the Peace of the County or Head officer or some Justice of the Peace of the Citty Burrough or Towne corporate where the Fact shall be committed upon paine that every person soe offending shall forfeite and lose the summe of five shillings for every such offence, And that if any person offending in any of the premisses shall be thereof convicted before any Justice of the Peace of the County or the Cheife Officer or Officers or any Justice of the Peace of or within any Citty Burrough or Towne Corporate where the said Offences shall be committed upon his or their view or confession of the party or proofe of any one or more Witnesses by Oath (which the said Justices Cheife Officer or Officers is by this Act authorized to administer) the said Justice or Cheife Officer or Officers shall give Warrant under his or their Hand and Seale to the Constables or Churchwardens of the Parish or Parishes where such Offence shall be committed to seize the said Goods, cryed, shewed forth or putt to sale as aforesaid and to sell the same and to levy the said other Forfeitures or Penaltyes by way of distresse and sale of the Goods of every such Offender distrained rendering to the said Offenders the overplus of the moneys raised thereby and in default of such distresse or in case of insufficiency or inability of the said Offender to pay the said forfeitures or penalties that then the party offending be sett publickly in the Stocks by the space of two houres, And all and singular the forfeitures or penaltyes aforesaid shall be imployed and converted to the use of the Poore of the Parish where the said [X1 Offence] shall be committed saveing onely that it shall and may be lawfull to and for any such Justice Maior or Head Officer or Officers out of the said forfeitures or penalties to reward any person or persons that shall informe of any Offence against this Act according to their discretions soe as such Reward, exceede not the third part of the Forfeitures or penalties.

Editorial Information

X1 Variant reading of the text noted in The Statutes of the Realm as follows: Offences O. [O. refers to a collection in the library of Trinity College, Cambridge]