A.D. 1717
Whereas in the Parliament held in Dublin the eighth day of May, in the thirteenth year of the reign of our late sovereign lord King Charles the second, and by divers prorogations held and continued to the seventh day of April, in the fourteenth year of his said Majesty's reign, a certain act of Parliament was made and passed, intituled, An Act for encouraging protestant strangers and others to inhabit and plant in the kingdom of Ireland; which said act, as to the naturalizing the strangers thereby intended to be naturalized, had continuance only for the term of seven years from the end of the said Parliament: and whereas the said law, by an act made in the fourth year of our late most sovereign lord and lady King William and Queen Mary, as to all and every clause and clauses thereof, was revived for and during the space of seven years from the end of the then present session of Parliament; which act, so far forth as the same concerns or relates to the encouraging of protestant strangers, with the alterations therein mentioned, was again revived by one other act made in the second year of our late sovereign lady Queen Anne, but thereby had continuance only for and during the space of five years, from the twenty fifth day of March one thousand seven hundred and four, and to the end of the next session of Parliament after the determination of the said five years: and whereas the said first mentioned act hath been found to have been of good advantage unto this your Majesty's kingdom, be it 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 the said act, and all and every clause, article, and provisoe therein contained, so far forth as the same concerns or relates to the encouraging protestant strangers, other than the clause which exempts them from payment of excise, is hereby revived, and shall be in full force to all intents and purposes for ever.
II. Provided always, That no person or persons shall have the benefit of the said act, until he, she, or they shall, instead of the oaths of allegiance and supremacy mentioned in the said act, take the several oaths mentioned and appointed to be taken in Ireland by an act of Parliament made in England in the third year of the reign of the late King William and Queen Mary of ever glorious memory, intituled, An act for the abrogating the oath of supremacy in Ireland, and appointing other oaths; being in the same form herein after mentioned: (viz.)
I A.B. so sincerely promise and swear, that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to his Majesty King George.
So help me God.
I A.B. do swear, that I do from my heart abhor, detest, and abjure, as impious and heretical, that damnable doctrine and position, that princes excommunicated, or deprived by the Pope, or any authority of the see of Rome, may be deposed or murdered by their subjects, or any other whatsoever. And I do declare that no foreign prince, person, prelate, state, or potentate, hath or ought to have any jurisdiction, power, superiority, preheminence, or authority, ecclesiastical or spiritual, within this realm.
So help me God.
And shall make and subscribe the declaration following: (viz.)
I A.B. do solemnly and sincerely in the presence of God profess, testify, and declare, That I do believe, that in the sacrament of the Lord's-Supper there is not any transubstantiation of the elements of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ at or after the consecration thereof by any person whatsoever; and that the invocation or adoration of the Virgin Mary, or any other saint, and the sacrifice of the mass, as they are now used in the church of Rome, are superstitious and idolatrous. And I do solemnly in the presence of God profess, testify, and declare, that I do make this declaration, and every part thereof, in the plain and ordinary sense of the words read unto me, as they are commonly understood by Protestants, without any evasion, equivocation, or mental reservation whatsoever; and without any dispensation already granted me for this purpose by the Pope, or any other authority or person whatsoever, or without any hope of dispensation from any person or authority whatsoever, or without believing that I am, or can be, acquitted before God or man, or absolved of this declaration, or any part thereof, although the Pope or any other person or persons, or power whatsoever, shall dispense with or annul the same, or declare that it was null and void from the beginning.
And shall also take the oath following:
I A.B. do truly and sincerely acknowledge, profess, testify, and declare in my conscience before God and the world, That our Sovereign lord King George is lawful and rightful King of this realm, and of all other his Majesty's dominions and countries thereunto belonging; and I do solemnly and sincerely declare, that I do believe in my conscience, that the person pretended to be prince of Wales during the life of the late King James, and since his decease pretending to be, and taking upon himself, the stile and title of King of England, by the name of James the third, or of Scotland, by the name of James the eighth, or the stile and title of King of Great Britain, hath not any right or title whatsoever to the crown of this realm, or any other the dominions thereunto belonging: and I do renounce, refuse, and abjure any allegiance or obedience to him: and I do swear that I will bear faith and true allegiance to his Majesty King George, and him will defend to the utmost of my power against all traiterous conspiracies and attempts whatsoever, which shall be made against his person, crown, or dignity; and I will do my utmost endeavours to disclose and make known to his Majesty and his successors, all treasons and traiterous conspiracies, which I shall know to be against him, or any of them: and I do faithfully promise to the utmost of my power to support, maintain, and defend the succession of the crown, against him the said James, and all other persons whatsoever; which successors, by an act, intituled, An act for the further limitation of the crown, and better securing the rights and liberties of the subject, is and stands limited to the princess Sophia, electoress and dutchess dowager of Hannover, and the heirs of her body being protestants: and all these things I do plainly and sincerely acknowledge and swear according to these express words by me spoken, and according to the plain and common sense and understanding of the same words, without any equivocation, mental evasion, or secret reservation whatsoever: and I do make this recognition, acknowledgment, abjuration, renunciation, and promise, heartily, willingly, and truly, upon the true faith of a christian.
So help me God.
III. Provided always, That such freedom in any city, borough, or town-corporate, shall not be of any use to any such alien, stranger, or foreigner, nor continue longer than while he, she, or they shall dwell or reside in such city, borough, or town-corporate; any thing in the said act, or in this present act, to the contrary notwithstanding.
IV. And for the greater encouragement of protestant strangers to come and reside in this kingdom, be it enacted, That all such strangers, who shall come and settle in any corporation in this kingdom, shall be freed from all manner of corporation taxes, and from being obliged to undergo any corporation offices, that shall bring any expence along with them, for the term of seven years after their coming into and settling in this kingdom.
V. And whereas two other acts which were made at a Parliament held at Dublin in the eighth year of our late Sovereign Lady Queen Anne, intituled, An act to prevent delays of proceedings at the assizes and sessions, and the other intituled, An act for the better preventing the counterfeiting the current coin of this kingdom, are only temporary laws, and near expiring; but the said laws, being found to be useful, are therefore fit to be continued and made perpetual: be it enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the said last mentioned acts, and all clauses, provisoes, and articles, in them and every of them contained, shall continue and remain in full force for ever.
VI. And whereas one other act made at a Parliament held at Dublin in the ninth year of our late most gracious Sovereign Lord King William, intituled, An act for erecting and continuing lights in the city of Dublin, and the several liberties adjoining, hath been found to conduce much to the security of the inhabitants thereof, by preventing murders, robberies, thefts, and other insolencies, which great cities, not furnished in dark nights with publick lights, are subject unto: and whereas the several powers and authorities for erecting and maintaining the said lights, by the said act given and granted to the lord mayor, sheriffs, commons, and citizens of the city of Dublin, and to the several lords of the respective liberties of Saint Sepulchre, Thomas-court and Donore, are near expiring: be it enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the lord mayor, sheriffs, commons, and citizens of the city of Dublin, and their successors, William lord archbishop of Dublin, and his successors, and Chaworth earl of Meath, and his heirs and assignees, who shall be lords of the liberties of Thomas-court and Donore, shall have the like power and authority from time to time, during the space of two years from the expiration of the said act, and from thence to the end of the then next session of Parliament, to cause publick lights to be erected and maintained in the said city and liberties thereof, and in the said respective liberties of St. Sepulchre, Thomas-court and Donore, as by the said former act is given and granted to them.
VII. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the said acts, and all and every matter, clause and clauses therein contained, and all and every the powers and authorities, thereby given, shall be continued on, and shall be of full force, to all intents and purposes, from and after the expiration of the said act, for and during the time aforesaid, save only what relates therein to Michael Cole gentleman, his executors, administrators, and assignees, and saving such alterations as are herein mentioned.
VIII. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the several persons who shall be employed by the said lord mayor, sheriffs, and commons of the city of Dublin, and by the lords of the said liberties, to set up the said lights, be and are hereby liable to the several penalties, rules, and orders, as the said Michael Cole, or his assignees, or those employed by them, were by the said former act liable to, or by this act are provided.
IX. Provided always, and be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the said lord mayor, sheriffs, commons, and citizens of the city of Dublin, within the city of Dublin and liberties thereof, and the said lords of the several and respective liberties of Saint Sepulchre, Thomas-court, and Donore, within their several and respective precincts, shall cause the several lanthorns, which shall be erected by them during the time aforesaid, to be sufficiently maintained with good and sufficient lights, which shall continue burning in every dark night yearly between the first day of September and the last day of March, to begin within an hour after sun-set, and to continue burning until two of the clock in the morning, or during so much time thereof as shall not be enlightened by the moon; and the said lanthorns are to be cleaned, and lamps snuffed, as often as there shall be occasion.
X. And whereas several disorderly persons are found in the night-time breaking lanthorns or lamps, and pulling the irons out of the walls, which are fixed to hold the lanthorns or lamps on, and breaking windows and pallisadoes; which practice, being very frequent and pernicious, be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That if any person or persons shall after the twenty fifth day of December in this present year of our lord one thousand seven hundred and seventeen be found to break any lanthorns or lamps, or pull out any of the irons fixed in the walls for the said lanthorns or lamps within the said city, or in the said several and respective liberties, or breaking any glass windows or pallisadoes; or if any person or persons employed to attend the lamps shall imbezzle or misapply the oil or cotton delivered to him or them, and shall be thereof convicted by the
oath of one or more witness or witnesses before the lord mayor of the city of Dublin, or any justices of the peace within the city or liberties thereof, or before the seneschals of the said several and respective liberties, or before any justice of the peace for the county of Dublin, that then and for every such offence the party so offending shall forfeit and pay to the use of the informer the sum of five pounds sterling, besides and with the damage sustained by any person or persons, who are to be first paid and satisfied, to the value of the damage by him or them suffered.
XI. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That upon neglect or refusal of payment of the said forfeiture and damages, the lord mayor or seneschals, or the justices of the peace of the said city or county of Dublin, shall and are hereby authorized and required to direct and send their warrants to the constables of the said city or county, thereby commanding them to levy by distress and sale of the goods of the offender the sum, so forfeited, for the uses aforesaid; and in case no sufficient distress can be had, then every such offender, who shall not forthwith pay the said forfeitures and damages, shall be publickly whipt.
XII. And whereas one other act made in this kingdom the last session of this present Parliament, intituled, An act to make the militia of this kingdom more useful, has continuance only until the twenty fourth day of June, which shall be in the year one thousand seven hundred and eighteen, and no longer: and whereas it is greatly necessary for the security of this kingdom, that so useful a law should not be continued; be it enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the said act, and all and every clause and clauses therein contained shall be continued on, and be of full force to all intents and purposes, for and during two years, from the said twenty fourth day of June one thousand seven hundred and eighteen, and no longer.
XIII. And whereas by an act passed in the ninth year of the reign of his late Majesty King William, intituled, An act to supply the defects and for the better execution of an act passed this present session of Parliament, intituled, An act for the better suppressing tories and rapparees, and for preventing robberies, burglaries, and other heinous crimes, it is enacted, "That if any person or persons, who already have or hereafter shall commit any robbery or burglary, shall, while he is at large, and before he shall be apprehended or in custody for such offence, make discovery of any two or more of such robbers, tories, or rapparees, being also at large and not in custody, so as such two or more robbers, tories, or rapparees, shall thereupon be apprehended and convicted for such offence, or shall kill any two or more of such tories or robbers, as shall be indicted and proclaimed,
according to the statute made for the better suppressing tories, robbers, and rapparees; and for preventing robberies, burglaries, and other heinous crimes: the said tories, robbers, and rapparees, being out on their keeping at the time of such their being killed; the person or persons so making such discovery, or killing such robbers or tories as aforesaid, shall not be proceeded against for any robbery or burglary by him or them committed before the making such discovery or such killing as aforesaid, but shall be intituled unto, and shall have and receive his Majesty's gracious pardon for the same;" which said clause has been found ineffectual, in as much as such tories, robbers, and rapparees, upon the discovery, apprehending, and convicting, or upon the killing of any one of their number, are thereby so alarmed and put upon their keeping, that it hath been found impracticable for such person or persons to discover and apprehend, or kill any more of them, whereby they are discouraged from discovering and apprehending or killing any one such tory, robber, or rapparee, not being according to the said act intituled to his Majesty's pardon for the same: for remedy whereof be it enacted, That if any person, who already hath or hereafter shall commit any robbery or burglary, shall, while he is at large, or before he is apprehended or in custody for such offence, make discovery of any one or more of such robbers, tories, or rapparees, being also at large and not in custody, so as such one or more robber, tory, or rapparee, shall thereupon be apprehended and convicted for such offence, or shall kill any one or more of such tories or robbers, who shall be indicted and proclaimed according to the said former act, and shall be out on their keeping at the time of such their being killed, such one person, so making such discovery, apprehending, and convicting, or killing any one or more of such robbers or tories as aforesaid, shall not be called in question, or proceeded against, for any robbery or burglary by him committed before making such discovery, apprehending, and convicting, or such killing as aforesaid, but shall be intituled unto, and shall have and receive his Majesty's gracious pardon for the same; which pardon shall in such case also be a good barr to any appeal to be brought for such robbery or burglary.