General Issue may be pleaded; Full Costs.
And be it hereby further enacted That if any Action Suite or Information shall be commenced or prosecuted against any Person or Persons for any thing that he or they shall doe or cause to be done in pursuance or execution of this Act such Person or Persons soe sued in any Court whatsoever shall and may plead the [X1Generall] Issue of Not Guilty and upon any Issue joyned may give this Act and the speciall Matter in Evidence And if in any such Suite the Plaintiffe or Prosecutor shall become Nonsuit or forbeare Prosecution or suffer a Discontinuance or if a Verdict shall passe against him or Judgment be given against him upon a Demurrer then in any of the said Cases the Defendant or Defendants shall recover full Costs And this Act shall be taken and allowed in all Courts within this Kingdome as a Publick Act and all Judges and Justices are hereby required as such to take Notice thereof without speciall pleading the same
Editorial Information
X1Variant reading of the text noted in The Statutes of the Realm as follows: Gerall O. [O. refers to a collection in the library of Trinity College, Cambridge]