Whereas it is expedient that the provisions contained in the act of the thirty-ninth and fortieth years of His late Majesty King George 3rd, intituled "An Act to regulate Trials for High Treason and Misprision of Treason in certain cases," should be extended to all cases of high treason, in compassing or imagining the death or destruction of the Queen, or in compassing or imagining any bodily harm tending to the death or destruction, maiming or wounding, of the Queen, and of misprision of such treason, when the overt act or overt acts of such treason alleged in the indictment shall be any attempt to injure in any manner whatsoever the person of the Queen: And whereas it is also expedient to make further provision by law for the protection and security of the person of the Sovereign of these realms Be it enacted by the Queen's most excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and con. sent 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 passing of this act, in all cases of high treason, in compassing or imagining any bodily harm tending to the death or destruction, maiming or wounding, of the Queen, and in all cases of misprision of any such treason, where the overt act or overt acts of such treason alleged in the inVOL. LXXXIV.

dictment shall be any attempt to injure in any manner whatsoever the person of the Queen, the person or persons charged with such offence shall and may be indicted, arraigned, tried, and attainted in the same manner, and according to the same course and order of trial, in every respect, and upon the like evidence, as if such persons stood charged with murder; and none of the provisions contained in the several acts of the seventh year of King William 3rd, and the seventh year of Queen Anne, and the sixth year of King George 4th, respectively touching trials in cases of treason and misprision of treason respectively, shall extend to any indictment for high treason in compassing or imagining the death or destruction of the Queen, or to any indictment for high treason, in compassing and imagining any bodily harm tending to the death or destruction, maiming or wounding, of the Queen, or for misprision of such treason, where the overt act or acts of such treason alleged in the indictment shall be such as aforesaid; but, upon conviction upon such indictment, judgment shall be nevertheless given and execution done as in other cases of high treason; any law, statute, or usage to the contrary notwithstanding.

II. And be it enacted, that from and after the passing of this act, if any person shall wilfully dis2 C

charge or attempt to discharge, or point, aim, or present at or near to the person of the Queen, any gun, pistol, or any other description of fire arms or of other arms whatsoever, whether the same shall or shall not contain any explosive or destructive material, or shall discharge or cause to be discharged, or attempt to discharge or cause to be discharged, any explosive substance or material near to the person of the Queen, or if any person shall wilfully strike or strike at, or attempt to strike or to strike at, the person of the Queen, with any offensive weapon, or in any other manner whatsoever, or if any person shall wilfully throw or attempt to throw any substance, matter, or thing whatsoever at or upon the person of the Queen, with intent in any of the cases aforesaid to injure the person of the Queen, or with intent in any of the cases aforesaid to break the public peace, or whereby the public peace may be endangered, or with intent in any of the cases aforesaid to alarm Her Majesty, or if any person shall, near to the person of the Queen,

wilfully produce or have any gun, pistol, or any other description of fire arms or other arms whatsoever, or any explosive, destruc tive, or dangerous matter or thing whatsoever, with intent to use the same to injure the person of the Queen, or to alarm Her Majesty, every such person so offending shall be guilty of a high mis demeanor, and, being convicted thereof in due course of law, shall be liable, at the discretion of the Court before which the said person shall be so convicted, to be transported beyond the seas for the term of seven years, or to be imprisoned, with or without hard labour, for any period not exceed ing three years, and during the period of such imprisonment to be publicly or privately whipped, as often and in such manner and form as the said Court shall order and direct, not exceeding thrice.

III. Provided always, and be it enacted, That nothing herein con tained shall be deemed to alter in any respect the punishment which by law may now be inflicted upon persons guilty of high treason or misprision of treason.

IX. And whereas it is necessary, for regulating the amount of such duties, that effectual provision should be made for ascertaining from time to time the average prices of British corn; be it therefore enacted, That weekly returns of the purchases and sales of British corn shall be made, collected, and transmitted, in the

manner hereinafter directed, in and from the cities and towns named in the schedule of cities and towns annexed to this act.

X. And be it enacted, That it shall be lawful for Her Majesty to appoint a fit and proper person to be comptroller of corn returns, for the purposes hereinafter mentioned, and to grant to such comptrol

ler of corn returns such salary and allowances as to Her Majesty shall seem meet: Provided always, that such person shall be appointed to and shall hold such his office during Her Majesty's pleasure, and not otherwise, and shall at all times conform to and obey such lawful instructions touching the execution of the duties of such his office as shall from time to time be given to him by the Lords of the Committee of Privy Council appointed for the consideration of all matters relating to trade and foreign plantations.

XI. * Comptroller to execute his office in person. A deputy may be appointed to act in certain cases.

*

XII. Lord Mayor, &c. to appoint an inspector of corn returns for the City of London.

XIV. Chancellors of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge to appoint and remove inspectors of corn returns for the said city and town.

XVIII. And be it enacted, That every such corn-factor and other person as aforesaid who is hereinbefore required to make and who shall have made such declaration as aforesaid shall and he or she is hereby required to return or cause to be returned, on Wednesday in each and every week, to the inspector of corn returns for the City of London, on account in writing, signed with his or her own name, or the name of his or her agent duly authorised in that behalf, of the quantities of each respective sort of British corn by him or her sold during the week ending on and including the next preceding Tuesday, with the prices thereof, and the amount of every parcel, with the total quantity and value of each sort of corn, and by what measure or weight the same

was sold, and the names of the buyers thereof, and of the persons for and on behalf of whom such corn was sold ; and it shall be lawful for any such inspector of corn returns to deliver to any person making or tendering any such returns a notice in writing requiring him or her to declare and set forth therein where and by whom and in what manner any such British corn was delivered to the purchaser or purchasers thereof; and every person to whom any such notice shall be so delivered shall and he or she is hereby required to comply therewith, and to declare and set forth in such his or her return, or in a separate statement in writing, the several particulars aforesaid.

XX. In other cities and towns than London, Oxford, and Cambridge, officers of excise to act as corn inspectors, and attend at places appointed.

XXV. And be it enacted, That all persons who are herein before required to make and who shall have made such declaration as aforesaid, shall and they are hereby required, on the first market day which shall be holden in each and every week within each and every city or town named in the said schedule hereunto annexed, except the city of London, at or within which they shall respectively deal in corn, or engage in or carry on any such trade or business as aforesaid, or purchase any corn for any such purpose as aforesaid, to return or cause to be returned to the officer of excise acting as inspector of corn returns for such city or town, at the place appointed for receiving such returns, or to the continuing inspector of corn returns for such city or town, or to the inspector of corn returns for the city of Ox

ford or the town of Cambridge, (as the case may be,) an account in writing, signed with their names respectively, of the amount of each and every parcel of each respective sort of British corn so by them respectively bought during the week ending on and including the day next preceding such first market day as aforesaid, with the price thereof, and by what weight or measure the same was so bought by them, with the names of the sellers of each of the said parcels respectively, with the names of the person or persons if any, other than the person making such return, for or on account of whom the same was so bought and sold; and it shall be lawful for any such officer of excise acting as inspector of corn returns, or any such continuing inspector of corn returns as aforesaid, to deliver to any person making or tendering any such return a notice in writing requiring him or her to declare and set forth where and by whom and in what manner any such British corn was delivered to him or her; and every person to whom any such notice shall be so delivered shall and he or she is hereby required to comply therewith, and to declare and set forth in such his or her return, or in a separate statement in writing, the several particulars aforesaid.

XXVI. And be it enacted, That the inspector of corn returns for the city of London, the city of Oxford, and the town of Cambridge and every officer of excise acting as inspector of corn returns for the several other cities and towns aforesaid, and every such continuing inspector of corn returns for any of such other cities or towns as aforesaid, shall duly and regularly enter in a book, to

be by him provided and kept for that purpose, the several accounts of the quantities and prices of corn returned to him by such persons respectively as aforesaid; and every such inspector of corn returns for the city of London, the city of Oxford, and the town of Cambridge, and every officer of excise acting as inspector of corn returns, and every such continuing inspector of corn returns as aforesaid, for any of the several other cities and towns enumerated in the said schedule, shall in each and every week return to the comptroller of corn returns an account of the weekly quantities and prices of the several sorts of British corn sold in the city of London, or in the city or town for which he shall be or act as inspector, according to the returns so made to him as aforesaid, and in such form as shall be from time to time prescribed and directed by the said comptroller of corn returns; and the said returns shall be so made to the said comptroller by the inspector of corn returns for the city of London on Friday in each week, and by the respective inspectors of corn returns for the city of Oxford and the town of Cambridge, and by the respective officers of excise acting as inspectors of corn returns, and by the respective continuing inspectors of corn returns, for the several other cities and towns aforesaid, within three days next after the first market day holden in each and every week in any such city or town.

XXVIII. And be it enacted, That the average prices of all British corn, by which the rate and amount of the said duties shall be regulated, shall be made up and computed on Thursday in each and every week, in manner following; (that

is to say), the said comptroller of corn returns shall on such Thursday in each week, from such returns as shall be received by him during the week next preceding, ending on and including the Saturday in such preceding week, add together the total quantities of each sort of British corn respectively appearing by such returns to have been sold, and the total prices for which the same shall thereby appear to have been sold, and shall divide the amount of such total prices respectively by the amount of such total quantities of each sort of British corn respectively, and the sum produced thereby shall be added to the sums in like manner produced in the five weeks immediately preceding the same, and the amount of such sums so added shall be divided by six, and the sum thereby given shall be deemed and taken to be the aggregate average price of each such sort of British corn respectively, for the purpose of regulating and ascertaining the rate and amount of the said duties; and the said comptroller of corn returns shall cause such aggregate weekly averages to be published in the next succeeding Gazette, and shall on Thursday in each week transmit a certificate of such aggregate average prices of each sort of British corn to the collector or other chief officer of the customs at cach of the several ports of the United Kingdom, and to the collector or other chief officer of the customs at the port of Douglas in the Isle of Man; and the rate and amount of the duties to be paid under the provisions of this act shall from time to time be regulated and governed at each of the ports of the United Kingdom respectively by the aggregate

average prices of British corn at the time of the entry for home consumption of any corn, grain, meal, or flour chargeable with any such duty, as such aggregate average prices shall appear and be stated in the last of such certificates as aforesaid, which shall have been received as aforesaid by the collector or other chief officer of customs at such port; and the rate and amount of the duties to be paid under the provisions of this act shall from time to time be regulated and governed in the Isle of Man by the agregate average prices of British corn at the time of the importation into the Isle of Man of any corn, grain, meal, or flour chargeable with any such duty, as such aggregate average prices shall appear and be stated in the last of such certificates as aforesaid which shall have been received as aforesaid by the collector or other chief officer of customs at the Port of Douglas.

town

XXXV. And be it enacted, That the inspectors of corn returns for the city of Oxford and the town of Cambridge respectively, and each and every officer of excise acting as inspector of corn returns, and each and every such continuing inspector of corn returns as aforesaid for any city or other than the city of London, shall and he is hereby required, on each and every market day, to put up or cause to be put up in the market place of the city or town for which he shall act as inspector, or if there shall be no market place in such city or town then in some other conspicuous place therein near to where the corn market is usually held, a copy of the last return made by him to the comptroller of corn returns, omitting the names of the parties who may