Plate (Offences) Act 1738
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
(12 Geo. 2) C A P. XXVI.
'WH E R E A S by an Act of Parliament made in the twenty-eighth Year of the Reign of King Edward the First, made amongst other Things for the assaying, touching and marking Vessels of Gold, it was ordained, That no Goldsmith within the King's Dominions should thenceforth make any Vessel, Jewel, or other Thing of Gold or Silver, but of true Allay,videlicet Gold not worse than the Touch of Paris ; and Silver of the Sterling Allay, or better; and that no Silver Vessel should depart out of the Worker's Hands, till assayed by the Wardens of the Craft, and marked with the Leopard's Head ; and that the Wardens should go from Shop to Shop amongst the Goldsmiths, to assay if their Gold was of the Touch aforesaid, and if it was not, the same should be forfeited; and that all the good Towns of England , where Goldsmiths were, should be ordered by that Statute, as well as those in London ; and that one (for the rest) from each Town should come to London , to be ascertained of the Touch; and if any Person should offend against that Statute, he should be punished by Imprisonment, and Ransom at the King's Pleasure: And whereas by another Act of Parliament made in the second Year of the Reign of King Henry the Sixth, concerning the Fineness of Harness of Silver, and the Marks with which it should be marked, it was amongst other Thingsordained and established, That no Goldsmith nor Worker of Silver within the City ofLondon , should sell any Workmanship of Silver, unless it should be Fine as Sterling, except the same should need Soder in the making, nor until the same should be touched with the Touch of the Leopard's Head , if it might bear the same, and also with the Workman's Mark, on Pain to forfeit double the Value; and that the Workman's Mark should be made known to the Wardens of the same Craft: And whereas by another Act of Parliament made in the eighteenth Year of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth , intituled, , it was enacted, that after the twentieth ofApril then next, no Goldsmith should work, sell or exchange, or cause to be wrought, sold or exchanged, changed, any Plate or Goldsmiths Ware of Gold less in Fineness than twenty-two Carracts, nor with more than necessary Soder; nor should make, sell or exchange any Plate or Goldsmiths Wares of Silver, less in Finenessthan eleven Ounces two Penny Weight; nor put to sale, exchange or sell any Plate or Goldsmiths Work of Silver, before he should have set his own Mark thereto, if it might bear the same, upon Painto forfeit the Value of the Thing so sold or exchanged: And whereas by another Actof Parliament made in the twelfth Year of the Reign of his late Majesty King William the Third, intituled, York, Exeter, Bristol, Chesterand Norwich, it was amongst other Things enacted, That the Goldsmiths, Silversmiths and Plate-workers, who then were, or should be free of, and inhabiting in, any of those Cities, and having served Apprenticeships thereto, should be and were thereby respectively incorporated a Company of and belonging to such City, and should be called and known by the Name of the Company of Goldsmiths of such City respectively, and were thereby authorized to elect two Wardens yearly, and to elect an Assayer in each of the said Cities; and that it should be lawful for such Assayerto detain eight Grains from every Pound Troy of Silver he should assay; and that such Assayer should be paid towards his Charge and Trouble in the assaying the Plate of Persons inhabiting any Town or Placewhere no Assayer was or should be appointed, a Sum not exceeding six Pence in every Pound Troy; and the Goldsmiths of the Town ofNewcastle upon Tyne have, by an Act passed in the first Year of the Reign of her late Majesty Queen Anne , been incorporated with the like Powers: And whereas the Wardens and Commonalty of the Mystery of Goldsmiths of the City of London are and have been a Guild or Corporation Time out of Mind, with divers Privileges, confirmed and enlarged from time to time by several Charters from his Majesty's Royal Predecessors, Kings and Queens of this Realm (amongst other Things) for the searching, assaying, supervising, marking and regulating Wrought Plate, in order to ascertain the Standard thereof, for the Good and Safety of the Publick: And whereas his late Majesty King Charles the Second, by his Letters Patent under his Great Seal of England , bearing Date the fourth Day of January in the eighteenth Year of his Reign, reciting, That the Wardens of the said Company, in punishing Defaults in the said Trade, hath been at great Charges, and at the Peril of their Bodies, as well as the Loss of their Goods, so that the Wardens then late, on account of the Menaces and Assaults from the Workers, could not put into Execution the Authorities given to them by former Charters, and many Frauds had been committed; therefore his said Majesty King Charles the Second, by his said Letters Patent, impowered the Wardens of the said Company of Goldsmiths of London , and their Successors, to commit Offenders to Prison, and to set Fines upon them, and to seize and break deceitful Wares: And whereas the Standards of the Plate of this Kingdom are both for the Honour and Riches of the Realm, and so highly concern his Majesty's Subjects, that the same ought to be most carefully observed, and all Deceits therein to be prevented as much as possible; but notwithstanding the aforesaid several Acts of Parliament and Charters, great Frauds are daily committed in the manufacturing of Gold and Silver Wares, for want of sufficient Power effectually to prevent the same;' Now for remedying such Abuses for the future, may it please your Majesty that it may be enacted, and 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, Thatfrom and after the twenty-eighth Day ofMay one thousand seven hundred and thirty-nine, no Goldsmith, Silversmith, or other Person whatsoever making, trading or dealing in Gold or Silver Wares, within that Part of Great Britain called England , shall work or make, or cause or procure to be wrought or made any Gold Vessel, Plate, or Manufacture of Gold whatsoever, less in Fineness than twenty-two Caracts of fine Gold in every Pound Weight Troy; nor work or make, or cause or procure to be wrought or made, any Silver Vessel, Plate, or Manufacture of Silver whatsoever, less in Fineness than eleven Ounces two penny Weight of fine Silver in every Pound Weight Troy; nor sell, exchange or expose to Sale, or export out of this Kingdom, any Gold Vessel, Plate, or Manufacture of Gold whatsoever, made after the said twenty-eighth Day of May one thousand seven hundred and thirty-nine, less in Fineness than twenty-two Carracts of fine Gold in every Pound Weight Troy; nor sell, exchange or expose to Sale, or export out of this Kingdom, any Silver Vessel, Plate or Manufacture of Silver whatsoever, made after the said twenty-eighth Day of May one thousand seven hundred and thirty-nine, less in Fineness than eleven Ounces two penny Weight of fine Silver in every Pound Weight Troy; upon Pain that every such Goldsmith, Silversmith, or other Person for every such Offence shall forfeit and pay the Sum of ten Pounds, to be recovered and disposed of as herein after is mentioned; and for Default of Payment the Offender shall be committed by the Court, in which Judgment shall be given thereon, to the House of Correction for the County, City or Liberty where convicted; there to remain, and be kept to hard Labour, for any Time not exceeding the Space of six Months, or until Payment be made of the said Forfeiture.
II This Act not to extend to Jewellers Works \(except Mourning Rings).
II. Provided always, and it is hereby declared, That nothing in this Act shall extend to any Jewellers Works, that is to say, any Gold or Silver wherein any Jewels or other Stones are or shall be set (other than Mourning Rings) nor to any jointed Night Ear-rings of Gold, or Gold Springs of Lockets.
III How Shopkeepers are to be exempted from Prosecutions.
III. Provided also, and it is hereby enacted, That if any Shopkeeper, or other Person trading or dealing in Gold or Silver Wares (not being the Maker or Worker thereof) shall happen to export, sell or expose to Sale any Gold or Silver Wares worse than the respective Standards, and shall within fourteen Days next after Notice of the Coarseness thereof to him or her given, discover and make known to the Party aggrieved, or to the Master, Wardens or Clerk of any of the Companies of Goldsmiths belonging to the Place or District within such Shopkeeper, or other Person trading or dealing in Gold or Silver Wares as aforesaid, shall reside, the Name and Place of Abode of the Maker or Worker thereof, or of the Person or Persons of whom such Shopkeeper, or other Person trading or dealing in Gold or Silver Wares as aforesaid, really bought such coarse Gold or Silver Wares; and shall produce him, her or them, if living, so that he, she or they may be sued or prosecuted for the same; and if such Shopkeeper or other Person trading or dealing in Gold or Silver Wares, who sold, exposed to Sale, or exported the same, shall, at any Trial to be had against such Maker or Worker, or such other Person or Persons of whom the same were bought as aforesaid, for such Offence, give or produce material Evidence against such Maker or Worker, or such other Person of whom the same were bought as aforesaid; and the Judge before whom the Cause shall be tried, shall under his Hand upon the Record certify the same; and also that there did not on such Trial appear any Ground to believe that such...
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