son. High Trea- act of parliament in the time of King Henry the Fifth to be treason to the king and the realm, and, according to the said act, the same offences were and did continue treason until the first year of the reign of Queen Mary, at which time the pains and penalties due for the said offences were abrogated and taken away by the general act of repeal then made; by reason whereof, divers false and evildisposed persons, perceiving themselves to be loose and free from the severity and danger of the said law and penalty, have been of late the more hardy and bold to attempt and practise, for wicked lucre and gain sake, to diminish, impair, and falsify the monies and coins current within this realm, and the dominions of the same, by such clipping, washing, rounding, and filing thereof, not only to the great dishonour of the queen's majesty, our sovereign lady that now is, by whose great goodness the new monies or coins of the same are now reduced to as much fineness as ever hath been in any time of her noble progenitors, but also to the great loss and damage of the good subjects of this realm, and more is like to be hereafter, if the same be not speedily met withal. of current money, whether money of other realm. The clipII. For remedy whereof, be it enacted, declared, and ping, wash- established, by the authority of this present parliament, ing, or filing that from and after the first day of May next coming, clipping, washing, rounding, or filing, for wicked lucre or gain sake, of any the proper monies or coins of this realm or the dominions thereof, or of the monies or coins of any other this or any realm, allowed and suffered to be current within this realm or the dominions thereof, at this present, or that hereafter at any time shall be the lawful monies or coins of this realm, or of the dominions thereof, or of any other realm, and by proclamation allowed and suffered to be current here by the queen's majesty, her heirs and succesorss, shall be taken, deemed, and adjudged, by virtue of this act, to be treason; and the offenders therein, their counsellors, consentors, and aiders, shall be, from and after the same first day of May, taken, deemed, and adjudged as offenders in treason, and being thereof lawfully convicted or attainted, according to the order and course of the laws of this realm, shall suffer pains of death, and lose and forfeit all his and their goods and chattels; and also shall lose and forfeit all his and their lands and tenements, during his and their natural life or lives only. Other undue IV. [Provided that offences under this act shall make no corruption of blood nor forfeiture of dower.] V. [Provides for the trial of a peer by his peers.] 18 Eliz. c. 1. I. [Recites the penal enactments of the stat. 5 Eliz. c. 11, means prac and proceeds thus:] tised to fal said statute. Sithence the making of which good law and statute, di- High Treavers false and evil-disposed persons, knowing that the said son. law being, as it is, penal, ought to be taken and expounded strictly according to the words thereof, and the like offences, sify the not by any equity to receive the like punishment, or pains, within the money not have sithence the making of the said law and statute most strict word wickedly devised and practised, for wicked lucre and gain- of the afore sake, other acts, undue ways and means, to falsify, impair, diminish, and lighten, as well the proper monies and coins of this realm and the dominions thereof, as also the monies or coins of other realms allowed and suffered to be current within this realm and the dominions thereof, by her Majesty's proclamation, to the great damage, loss, hurt, and deceit, as well of her Majesty as of all her faithful and loving subjects, and more is like hereafter to be practised and done, if the same be not speedily met withal: for reformation and remedy whereof, be it enacted, declared, and established, by the authority of this present parliament, that, if any person or persons, of what estate, degree, or condition soever he or they be, shall, from and after the day of April next coming, for wicked lucre or gain sake, first Impairing, by any art, ways, or means whatsoever, impair, diminish, &c., the coin falsify, scale, or lighten the proper monies or coins of this of the realm realm, or any the dominions thereof, or the monies or coins current. of any other realms, allowed and suffered to be current at the time of the offence committed within this realm of Eng land, or any the dominions of the same, by the proclamation of the Queen's Majesty, her heirs, or succesors, shall be taken, adjudged, and deemed to be treason; and the cffenders therein, their counsellors, consentors, and aiders, shall be likewise deemed and adjudged as offenders in treason, and, being thereof lawfully convicted or attainted, according to the due order of the laws of this realm, shall suffer pains of death, and lose and forfeit all their goods and chattels to the Queen's Majesty, her heirs, and successors, and shall also lose and forfeit to the Queen's Highness, her heirs, and successors, all their lands, tenements, and hereditaments, during his or their natural life or lives only. II. [Provides that offences under this act shall make no corruption of blood nor forfeiture of dower.] III. [Provides for the trial of a peer by his peers.] Note.-The clipping, &c. within these statutes of Elizabeth, must be for gain or lucre, and must be so laid in the indictment, which must also pursue the words of the statutes in describing the offence; and conclude against the form of the statute, because they were in some respects introductive of a new law: 1 E. P. C. 74. As these sta and coin tutes in express terms require only a conviction and attainder according to the order and course of the law, which words include the indictment as well as the trial, there is no necessity of two witnesses either upon the trial or indictment upon these statutes, notwithstanding previous enactments: 1 H. P. C. 221. High Trea son. 6 & 7 W. 3, c. 17. XII. Be it enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That if any person, or persons, being out of prison, shall, from Persons and after the said first day of May, 1695, be guilty of clipguilty of clipping, &c. ping, coining, counterfeiting, washing, filing, or otherwise discovering diminishing the coin of this realm, and afterwards discover two or more two or more person or persons, who already have, or hereafter shall commit any of the said crimes, so as two or more of the person or persons discovered shall be convicted of the same; any such discoverer shall himself have, and is hereby entitled to the gracious pardon of His Majesty, his heirs, and successors, for all such crimes which he or they have committed at any time or times before such discovery Apprentice made: and if the person making such discovery be an apdiscovering, prentice, he shall be deemed and taken, and is hereby demade a free- clared a freeman; and shall have and may exercise any persons guilty of the like of fence, pardoned. man. lawful trade, profession, or mystery, with all liberties and privileges, and in as full and ample manner as if the said person had served the full time of his apprenticeship; any law, seatute, custom, or ordinance, to the contrary, notwithstanding. Note. The pecuniary rewards given by this statute for prosecuting to conviction counterfeiters, clippers, washers, filers, and di minishers of coin are abolished by the 58 Geo. 3, c. 70, which, as far as relates to the acts repealed by it, is still in force. 8 & 9 W. 3, c. 26. Whereas, notwithstanding the good laws still in force against the counterfeiting of the monies and coins of this realm, yet the said offence doth and is likely to increase, to the manifest wrong and injury both of His Majesty and all his loving subjects, being very much occasioned for want of a due and condign punishment, to be inflicted upon such artificers, and others who, without any lawful authority, do make or use puncheons, stamps, dyes, and other engines and instruments, which are commonly used, or may be made use of, in or about the coining of money for redress of which, so great and growing a mischief, be it enacted, &c. that, from and after the 15th day of May, 1697, no smith, engraver, founder, or other person or persons whatsoever, (other than and except the persons employed, and to be employed, in or for His Majesty's mint or mints in the Tower of London, or elsewhere, and for the use and service of the said mints only, or persons lawfully authorized by the commissioners of. the treasury, or Lord High current coin Treasurer of England, for the time being) shall knowingly make or mend, or begin or proceed to make or mend, or assist in the making or mending of any puncheon, edging-tool, counter-puncheon, matrix, stamp, dye, pattern, or mould &c. nor of steel, iron, silver, or other metal or metals, or of spaud, No smith, &c. except employed in the Mint, &c. shall make or mend any dye, &c. to stamp any of gold or silver, or make any coining or fine founders' earth, or sand, or of any other materials High Treawhatsoever, in or upon which there shall be, or be made son. or impressed, or which will make or impress the figure, stamp, resemblance, or similitude of both or either of the press, nor sides or flats of any gold or silver coin, current within this cutting-engine, nor kingdom, nor shall knowingly make or mend, or begin or have in their proceed to make or mend, or assist in the making or mending custody any such. of any edger or edging tool, instrument, or engine, not of common use in any trade, but contrived for marking of money round the edges with letters, grainings, or other marks or figures resembling those on the edges of money coined in his majesty's mint, nor any press for coinage, nor any cutting engine, for cutting round blanks by force of a screw out of flatted bars of gold, silver, or other metal, nor shell knowingly buy or sell, hide or conceal, or without lawful authority or sufficient excuse for that purpose, knowingly leave in his, her or their houses, custody or possession, any such puncheon, counter-puncheon, matrix, stamp, dye, edger, cutting engine, or other tool or instrument before mentioned; and if any smith, engineer, founder, or other Offenders, &c. guilty person or persons whatsoever, (other than except as afore- of high treasaid) shall offend in any the matters or things aforesaid, son, and then all and every such offender and offenders, their coun- shall suffer sellors, procurers, aiders and abettors, shall be, and is, and are hereby adjudged to be guilty of high treason, and being of the said offences, or any of them, convicted or attainted, according to the order and course of the laws of this realm, shall suffer death as in case of high treason. death. II. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, Persons that if any person or persons whatsoever, from and after conveying out of the the said 15th day of May, shall, without lawful authority Mint, any for that purpose, wittingly or knowingly convey or assist puncheon, in the conveying out of his majesty's mint in the Tower &c. and concealing of London, or out of any other of his majesty's mints, any concealing puncheon, counter-puncheon, matrix, dye, stamp, edger, to be guilty cutting engine, press, or other tool, engine, or instrument, of high treaused for or about the coining of monies there, or any useful son. part of such tools or instruments, that then as well the said person and persons so offending, their counsellors, procurers, aiders or abettors, and also all and every person and persons knowingly receiving, hiding or concealing the same, shall be, and is and are hereby adjudged to be guilty of high treason, and being of the said offence, or any of them convicted or attainted according to the order and course of the laws of this realm, shall suffer death as in case of high treason. Like penal ty on per III. And be it further enacted, &c. that if any person or persons (other than the persons employed in his Majesty's sons markmint or mints, or such as shall have authority from the ing the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury, or Lord High Trea. edges of surer of England for the time being) shall, after the said any coun terfeit coin, High Trea- 15th day of May, mark on the edges any the current coin son. or colour. ing, &c. any coin resembling the current coin. gilding, Puncheon, dye, &c. found in the seized, and produced in evidence. of this kingdom, or if any person or persons whatsoever shall mark on the edges any of the diminished coin of this kingdom, or any counterfeit coin resembling the coin of this kingdom, with letters or grainings, or other marks or figures like unto those on the edges of money coined in his Majesty's Mint, every such offence shall be, and is hereby adjudged to be, high treason, and the offender and offenders therein, his and their counsellors, procurers, aiders, and abettors, being thereof convicted or attainted according to the order and course of the law of this realm, shall suffer death as in case of high treason. IV. And be it further enacted, &c., that if any person or persons whatsoever, after the said 15th day of May, shall colour, gild, or case over with gold or silver, or with any wash or materials producing the colour of gold or silver, any coin resembling any the current coin of this kingdom, or any round blanks of base metal, or of coarse gold, or coarse silver, of a fit size and figure to be coined into counterfeit milled money, resembling any the gold or silver coin of this kingdom, or if any person or persons shall gild over any silver blanks of a fit size and figure to be coined into pieces resembling the current gold coin of this kingdom, all and every such person and persons so offending, their counsellors, procurers, aiders, and abettors, shall be, and is, and are hereby adjudged to be, guilty of high treason, and, being convicted or attainted thereof, according to the order and course of the laws of this realm, shall suffer death as in case of high treason. V. And be it further enacted, &c., that if any puncheon, dye, stamp, edger, cutting-engine, press, flask, or other possession tool, instrument, or engine, used or designed for coining or of any per counterfeiting gold or silver monies, or any part of such son not em- tool or engine, shall, at any time after the said 15th day of ployed in the Mint, May, be hid or concealed in any place, or found in the house, custody, or possession of any person or persons may be whatsoever, not then employed in the coining of money in any of his Majesty's mints, nor having the same by any lawful authority, that then it shall and may be lawful to and for any person or persons whatsoever, discovering the same, to seize, and he and they are hereby required t seize the same, and to carry them forthwith to some justice of peace of the county, city, or place, where the same shall be so seized, and by him secured, to be produced in evidence against any person or persons who shall or may be prosecuted for any such offence, in some court of justice proper for the determination thereof, and after such time as they, or any of them, shall have been produced in evidence, as well the same so produced, as the other so seized, and not made use of in evidence, and every of them shall forthwith, by order of that court where such offender or |