Public Stores Act 1875
Public Stores Act, 1875
(38 & 39 Vict.) CHAPTER 25.
An Act to consolidate, with amendments, the Acts relating to the Protection of Public Stores.
[29th June 1875]
B E it enacted by the Queen'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, as follows:
1 Short title.
1. This Act may be cited as ThePublic Stores Act, 1875.
2 Interpretation of terms.
2. In this Act—
The term ‘Secretary of State’ means one of Her Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State:
The term ‘the Admiralty’, means the Lord High Admiral of the United kingdom, or the Commissioners for executing the office of Lord High Admiral:
The term ‘stores’ includes all goods and chattels, and any single store or article:
The term ‘ Summary Jurisdiction Acts’ means as follows:
As to England, the Act of the, session of the eleventh and twelfth years of the reign of Her present Majesty, chapter forty-three, intituled ‘An Act to facilitate the performance of, the duties of justices of the peace out of sessions within England and Wales with respect to summary convictions and orders,’ and any Acts amending the same:
As to Scotland, The Summary Procedure Act, 1864:
As to Ireland, within the police district of Dublin metropolis, the Acts regulating the powers and duties of justices of the peace for such district, or of the police of such district; and elsewhere in Ireland, The Petty Sessions (Ireland) Act, 1851, and any Act amending the same:
The term ‘court of summary jurisdiction’ means—
In England and Ireland, any justice, or justices of the peace, metropolitan police magistrate, stipendiary or other magistrate, or officer, by whatever name called, to whom, jurisdiction is given by the Summary Jurisdiction Acts or any Acts therein referred to; and
In Scotland, the sheriff or sheriff substitute.
3 Stores to which the Act applies.
3. This Act shall apply to all stores under the care, superintendence, or control of a Secretary of State or the Admiralty, or any public department or office, or of any person in the service of Her Majesty, and such stores are in this Act referred to as Her Majesty's stores. The Secretary of State, Admiralty, public department, office, or person having the care, superintendence, or control of such stores, are herein-after in this Act included in the expression public department.
4 Marks in schedule appropriated for public stores.
4. The marks described in the first schedule to this Act may be applied in or on stores therein described in order to denote Her Majesty's property in stores so marked; and it shall be lawful for any public department, and the contractors, officers, and workmen of such department, to apply those marks, or any of them, in or on any such stores; and if any Person without lawful, authority (proof of which authority shall lie on the party accused) applies any of those marks in or on any such stores he shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall on conviction thereof be liable to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding two years, with or without hard labour.
5 Obliteration with intent to concealment.
5. If any person with intent to conceal Her Majesty's property in any stores takes out, destroys, or obliterates, wholly or in part, any such mark as aforesaid, or any mark whatsoever denoting the property of Her Majesty in any stores, he shall be guilty of felony, and shall on conviction thereof be liable, in the discretion of the court before which he is convicted, to be kept in penal servitude for any term not exceeding seven years, or to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding two years, with or without hard labour.
6 Power to stop suspected boats, persons, &c.
6. A constable of the metropolitan police force may, within the limits for which he is constable, and any constable, if deputed by a public department, may, within the limits for which he is constable, stop, search, and detain any vessel, boat, or vehicle in or on which there is reason to suspect that any of Her Majesty's stores stolen or unlawfully obtained may be found, or any person reasonably suspected of having or conveying in any manner any of Her Majesty's stores stolen or unlawfully obtained.
A constable shall be deemed to be deputed by a public department within the meaning of this section if he is deputed by any writing signed by the person who is the head of such department, or who is authorised to sign documents on behalf of such department.
7 Unlawful possession of Her Majesty's stores.
7. If any person is brought before a court of summary Jurisdiction charged with conveying or with having in his possession or keeping any of Her Majesty's stores reasonably suspected of being stolen or unlawfully obtained, and does not give an account to the satisfaction of the court how he came by the same, he shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a penalty not exceeding five pounds, or, in the discretion of the court, to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding two months, with or without hard labour.
8 Prohibition of sweeping, &c. near dockyards artillery ranges, &c.
8. It shall not be lawful for any person, without permission in writing from a public department, or from some person authorised by a public department in that behalf, (proof of which permission shall lie on the party accused,) to gather or search for stores, or to creep, sweep, or dredge in the sea or any tidal water, within one hundred yards from any vessel belonging, to Her Majesty or in Her Majesty's service, or from any mooring place or anchoring place appropriated to such vessels, or from any moorings belonging to Her Majesty, or from any of Her Majesty's wharves, or dock, victualling, or steam factory yards, or within one thousand yards from any battery or fort used for the practice of artillery either by the Royal Artillery or by militia or volunteer artillery, or in or on any part of the spaces or distances, whether covered with water or not, from time to time marked out as ranges for artillery practice for the use of Her Majesty's ships, or marked out and appropriated for ranges under the provisions of the Artillery Ranges Act, 1862.
If any person acts in contravention of this provision he shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a penalty not exceeding five pounds, or, in the discretion of the court, to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding two mouths, with or without hard labour.
9 Penalty on dealer, &c. found in possession of stores,...
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