Treason Act 1795
Encyclopedia
The Sedition Act 1661 was an Act
of the Parliament of England
, although it was extended to Scotland
in 1708. The long title
was "An Act for Safety and Preservation of His Majesties Person and Government against Treasonable and Seditious practices and attempts". Passed shortly after the Restoration of Charles II
, it is no longer in force, but some of its provisions continue to survive today in the Treason Act 1695
and the Treason Felony Act 1848
. One clause which was included in the Treason Act 1695 was later adapted for the United States Constitution
.
trials, namely that nobody could be convicted of treason except by the evidence of "two lawful and credible witness
es upon oath... brought in person before him or them face to face," or if he confessed "willingly without violence." (This rule had previously been enacted in section 22 of the Treason Act 1547
, and again in section XI of the Treason Act 1554
, which however differed from the other versions by only requiring the witnesses "if [they were] living and within the realm".) This clause of the 1661 Act, section 5, was replaced by the Treason Act 1695, which added that the two witnesses had to have witnessed the same offence (although not necessarily the same "overt act
" of the offence). The rule was inherited by the United States
and was incorporated into the US Constitution in 1787, which added that both witnesses had to have witnessed the same overt act. Section 5 of the 1661 Act was cited by US Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia
in his judgement in Crawford v. Washington
, a case about the "Confrontation Clause
" of the Sixth Amendment.
The 1661 version of this rule only applied to the new forms of treason (and other offences) which were created by the 1661 Act (see the New offences section below). The 1695 Act applied to all forms of high treason, except counterfeiting coins
.
The rule was abolished in the United Kingdom
by the Treason Act 1945
, which made the rules of evidence and procedure in treason cases the same as in a murder trial. During the passage of the Treason Bill through Parliament the Home Secretary
, Sir Donald Somervell, said:
, in addition to those already existing. The Act made it treason
to:
or:
These provisions were expressed only to have effect during the lifetime of the King, Charles II
. However they were temporarily re-enacted, with two modifications, by the Treason Act 1795
, and then made permanent by the Treason Act 1817
. In the 1795 version, "the realm" meant Great Britain (in 1848 the Act was extended to cover Ireland
), and levying war against the King was only an offence under the Act if done in order to compel the King to change his policies or to "intimidate or overawe" Parliament. (However under the Treason Act 1351
, which was not affected, levying war against the King was still treason, without these additional criteria.)
The difference between the Treason Act 1351 and the Acts of 1661 and 1795 was that while the 1351 Act required an actual levying of war, the later Acts also made it treason to "compass, imagine, invent, devise, or intend" a levying of war.
The penalty for treason
was death. However the last three treasons on the above list were reduced to felonies
by the Treason Felony Act 1848
, which made the maximum sentence life imprisonment
. The 1848 Act is still in force (see article
for a fuller quote from the text). Imprisoning or otherwise harming the Sovereign continued to be high treason, punishable by death, until the 1795 Act was repealed by the Crime and Disorder Act 1998
. However assaulting the Sovereign is still an offence under the Treason Act 1842
, which carries a maximum sentence of seven years.
In some Commonwealth of Nations
countries, such as Canada
, Australia
and New Zealand
it is still treason
to imprison or harm the Queen.
Anyone who in speech or writing called the King a heretic
or papist
, or who incited "hatred or dislike of the Person of His Majestie or the established Government" was to be disqualified from holding any public, military or ecclesiastical office (but could keep his peerage
). This measure was expressed only to last during the King's lifetime.
A permanent offence (until it was repealed) was committed by any person who claimed (in writing or in speech) that the Long Parliament
had not been dissolved
, or that anyone had a duty to obey an oath
to change the government, or that Parliament could legislate without the king's assent
.
was null and void. It also preserved Parliament's privilege
of free speech, and the right of a peer to be tried in the House of Lords.
A peer who was convicted of any offence under the Act was to be disqualified from sitting in the House of Lords, unless pardon
ed (although he would keep his title).
The words of enactment (those from "and be it" to "enacted") in sections 5, 6 and 7 were repealed by section 1(1) of, and Part I of the Schedule to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1888.
In section 7, the words "that no peer of this realm shall be tried for any offence against this Act but by his peers, and further" were repealed for Scotland and Northern Ireland by sections 81, 82, and 83(3) of, and Part III of Schedule 10 to, the Criminal Justice Act 1948
.
The first schedule to the Statute Law Revision Act 1948
repealed the following words:
The whole Act, so far as unrepealed, was repealed by section 13 of, and Part I of Schedule 4 to, the Criminal Law Act 1967
.
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
of the Parliament of England
Parliament of England
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. In 1066, William of Normandy introduced a feudal system, by which he sought the advice of a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics before making laws...
, although it was extended to Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
in 1708. The long title
Long title
The long title is the formal title appearing at the head of a statute or other legislative instrument...
was "An Act for Safety and Preservation of His Majesties Person and Government against Treasonable and Seditious practices and attempts". Passed shortly after the Restoration of Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
, it is no longer in force, but some of its provisions continue to survive today in the Treason Act 1695
Treason Act 1695
The Treason Act 1695 is an Act of the Parliament of England which laid down rules of evidence and procedure in high treason trials. It was passed by the English Parliament but was extended to cover Scotland in 1708 and Ireland in 1821...
and the Treason Felony Act 1848
Treason Felony Act 1848
The Treason Felony Act 1848 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The Act is still in force. It is a law which protects HM the Queen and the Crown....
. One clause which was included in the Treason Act 1695 was later adapted for the United States Constitution
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
.
Two witnesses rule
The most important feature of the Act was that it reintroduced a significant new rule of evidence in high treasonHigh treason
High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...
trials, namely that nobody could be convicted of treason except by the evidence of "two lawful and credible witness
Credible witness
In the law of evidence, a credible witness is a person making testimony in a court or other tribunal, or acting otherwise as a witness, whose credibility is unimpeachable. A witness may have more or less credibility, or no credibility at all...
es upon oath... brought in person before him or them face to face," or if he confessed "willingly without violence." (This rule had previously been enacted in section 22 of the Treason Act 1547
Treason Act 1547
The Treason Act 1547 was an Act of the Parliament of England. It is mainly notable for being the first instance of the rule that two witnesses are needed to prove a charge of treason, a rule which still exists today in the United States Constitution.-Abolition of new offences:During the reign of...
, and again in section XI of the Treason Act 1554
Treason Act 1554
The Treason Act 1554 was an Act of the Parliament of England. It is not to be confused with two other Acts about treason passed in the same year, 1&2 Ph. & M...
, which however differed from the other versions by only requiring the witnesses "if [they were] living and within the realm".) This clause of the 1661 Act, section 5, was replaced by the Treason Act 1695, which added that the two witnesses had to have witnessed the same offence (although not necessarily the same "overt act
Overt Act
In criminal law, an overt act , an open act, one that can be clearly proved by evidence, and from which criminal intent can be inferred, as opposed to a mere intention in the mind to commit a crime...
" of the offence). The rule was inherited by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and was incorporated into the US Constitution in 1787, which added that both witnesses had to have witnessed the same overt act. Section 5 of the 1661 Act was cited by US Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia
Antonin Scalia
Antonin Gregory Scalia is an American jurist who serves as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. As the longest-serving justice on the Court, Scalia is the Senior Associate Justice...
in his judgement in Crawford v. Washington
Crawford v. Washington
Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36 , is a United States Supreme Court decision that reformulated the standard for determining when the admission of hearsay statements in criminal cases is permitted under the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment...
, a case about the "Confrontation Clause
Confrontation Clause
The Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that "in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right…to be confronted with the witnesses against him." Generally, the right is to have a face-to-face confrontation with witnesses who are...
" of the Sixth Amendment.
The 1661 version of this rule only applied to the new forms of treason (and other offences) which were created by the 1661 Act (see the New offences section below). The 1695 Act applied to all forms of high treason, except counterfeiting coins
Treason Act 1351
The Treason Act 1351 is an Act of the Parliament of England which codified and curtailed the common law offence of treason. No new offences were created by the statute. It is one of the earliest English statutes still in force, although it has been very significantly amended. It was extended to...
.
The rule was abolished in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
by the Treason Act 1945
Treason Act 1945
The Treason Act 1945 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.It was introduced into the House of Lords as a purely procedural statute, whose sole purpose was to abolish the old and highly technical procedure in cases of treason, and assimilate it to...
, which made the rules of evidence and procedure in treason cases the same as in a murder trial. During the passage of the Treason Bill through Parliament the Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
, Sir Donald Somervell, said:
Treason
The Act created four new kinds of high treasonHigh treason
High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...
, in addition to those already existing. The Act made it treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
to:
"within the realm, or without, compassCompass (law)In Law, to compass is to purpose something. It is an individual that is imagining something or to plot a plan. Compassing signifies a purpose of the mind , and not carrying such design to effect....
, imagine, invent, devise or intend death or destruction or any bodily harm tending to death or destruction, maim or wounding, imprisonment or restraint of the person of ... the King,"
or:
"within the realm or without, compass, imagine, invent, devise or intend" :
- to deprive the King of his crown,
- to levy war against the King, "within this realm
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, or without," or- to "move or stir" any foreigner to invade England or any other country belonging to the King (this latter clause was derived from the Rump Parliament's
Rump ParliamentThe Rump Parliament is the name of the English Parliament after Colonel Pride purged the Long Parliament on 6 December 1648 of those members hostile to the Grandees' intention to try King Charles I for high treason....
Treasons Act 1649Treasons Act 1649The Treasons Act 1649 or Act declaring what offences shall be adjudged Treason was passed 17 July 1649 on by Rump Parliament parliament during the Commonwealth of England...
, which had been repealed in 1660).
These provisions were expressed only to have effect during the lifetime of the King, Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
. However they were temporarily re-enacted, with two modifications, by the Treason Act 1795
Treason Act 1795
The Sedition Act 1661 was an Act of the Parliament of England, although it was extended to Scotland in 1708. The long title was "An Act for Safety and Preservation of His Majesties Person and Government against Treasonable and Seditious practices and attempts"...
, and then made permanent by the Treason Act 1817
Treason Act 1817
The Treason Act 1817 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It made it high treason to assassinate the Prince Regent...
. In the 1795 version, "the realm" meant Great Britain (in 1848 the Act was extended to cover Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
), and levying war against the King was only an offence under the Act if done in order to compel the King to change his policies or to "intimidate or overawe" Parliament. (However under the Treason Act 1351
Treason Act 1351
The Treason Act 1351 is an Act of the Parliament of England which codified and curtailed the common law offence of treason. No new offences were created by the statute. It is one of the earliest English statutes still in force, although it has been very significantly amended. It was extended to...
, which was not affected, levying war against the King was still treason, without these additional criteria.)
The difference between the Treason Act 1351 and the Acts of 1661 and 1795 was that while the 1351 Act required an actual levying of war, the later Acts also made it treason to "compass, imagine, invent, devise, or intend" a levying of war.
The penalty for treason
Treason Act 1814
The Treason Act 1814 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland which modified the penalty for high treason for male convicts....
was death. However the last three treasons on the above list were reduced to felonies
Felony
A felony is a serious crime in the common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors...
by the Treason Felony Act 1848
Treason Felony Act 1848
The Treason Felony Act 1848 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The Act is still in force. It is a law which protects HM the Queen and the Crown....
, which made the maximum sentence life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
. The 1848 Act is still in force (see article
Treason Felony Act 1848
The Treason Felony Act 1848 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The Act is still in force. It is a law which protects HM the Queen and the Crown....
for a fuller quote from the text). Imprisoning or otherwise harming the Sovereign continued to be high treason, punishable by death, until the 1795 Act was repealed by the Crime and Disorder Act 1998
Crime and Disorder Act 1998
The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act was published on 2 December 1997 and received Royal Assent in July 1998...
. However assaulting the Sovereign is still an offence under the Treason Act 1842
Treason Act 1842
The Treason Act 1842 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was passed early in the reign of Queen Victoria...
, which carries a maximum sentence of seven years.
In some Commonwealth of Nations
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
countries, such as Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
it is still treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
to imprison or harm the Queen.
Other offences
Besides treason, the 1661 Act created other offences designed to protect the national security. These offences required the evidence of two witnesses or a confession, and had to be prosecuted within six months of the offence being committed. The king had to personally authorise a prosecution.Anyone who in speech or writing called the King a heretic
Heresy
Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...
or papist
Papist
Papist is a term or an anti-Catholic slur, referring to the Roman Catholic Church, its teachings, practices, or adherents. The term was coined during the English Reformation to denote a person whose loyalties were to the Pope, rather than to the Church of England...
, or who incited "hatred or dislike of the Person of His Majestie or the established Government" was to be disqualified from holding any public, military or ecclesiastical office (but could keep his peerage
Peerage
The Peerage is a legal system of largely hereditary titles in the United Kingdom, which constitute the ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system...
). This measure was expressed only to last during the King's lifetime.
A permanent offence (until it was repealed) was committed by any person who claimed (in writing or in speech) that the Long Parliament
Long Parliament
The Long Parliament was made on 3 November 1640, following the Bishops' Wars. It received its name from the fact that through an Act of Parliament, it could only be dissolved with the agreement of the members, and those members did not agree to its dissolution until after the English Civil War and...
had not been dissolved
Dissolution of parliament
In parliamentary systems, a dissolution of parliament is the dispersal of a legislature at the call of an election.Usually there is a maximum length of a legislature, and a dissolution must happen before the maximum time...
, or that anyone had a duty to obey an oath
Oath
An oath is either a statement of fact or a promise calling upon something or someone that the oath maker considers sacred, usually God, as a witness to the binding nature of the promise or the truth of the statement of fact. To swear is to take an oath, to make a solemn vow...
to change the government, or that Parliament could legislate without the king's assent
Royal Assent
The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...
.
Other provisions
The Act declared that the Solemn League and CovenantSolemn League and Covenant
The Solemn League and Covenant was an agreement between the Scottish Covenanters and the leaders of the English Parliamentarians. It was agreed to in 1643, during the First English Civil War....
was null and void. It also preserved Parliament's privilege
Parliamentary privilege
Parliamentary privilege is a legal immunity enjoyed by members of certain legislatures, in which legislators are granted protection against civil or criminal liability for actions done or statements made related to one's duties as a legislator. It is common in countries whose constitutions are...
of free speech, and the right of a peer to be tried in the House of Lords.
A peer who was convicted of any offence under the Act was to be disqualified from sitting in the House of Lords, unless pardon
Pardon
Clemency means the forgiveness of a crime or the cancellation of the penalty associated with it. It is a general concept that encompasses several related procedures: pardoning, commutation, remission and reprieves...
ed (although he would keep his title).
Repeal
Sections 1 and 2 were repealed on 28 January 1863 by section 1 of, and the Schedule to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1863.The words of enactment (those from "and be it" to "enacted") in sections 5, 6 and 7 were repealed by section 1(1) of, and Part I of the Schedule to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1888.
In section 7, the words "that no peer of this realm shall be tried for any offence against this Act but by his peers, and further" were repealed for Scotland and Northern Ireland by sections 81, 82, and 83(3) of, and Part III of Schedule 10 to, the Criminal Justice Act 1948
Criminal Justice Act 1948
The Criminal Justice Act 1948 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It has been described as "one of the most important measures relating to the reform of the criminal law and its administration." It abolished penal servitude, hard labour and prison divisions for England and Wales...
.
The first schedule to the Statute Law Revision Act 1948
Statute Law Revision Act 1948
The Statute Law Revision Act 1948 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.Section 5 and Schedule 2 authorised the citation of 158 earlier Acts by short titles....
repealed the following words:
- In the preamble, the words from "and remembering" to "Her Majesties person"
- In section 3, the words from "at any time after" to "sixty and one", and the words from "Provided nevertheless" to the end
- In section 4, the words from "other then" to "high treason"
- In section 5, the words "treasons or" and "treason or"
The whole Act, so far as unrepealed, was repealed by section 13 of, and Part I of Schedule 4 to, the Criminal Law Act 1967
Criminal Law Act 1967
The Criminal Law Act 1967 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. However, with some minor exceptions, it generally applies to only England and Wales. It made some major changes to English criminal law...
.
See also
- Tumultuous Petitioning Act 1661Tumultuous Petitioning Act 1661The Tumultuous Petitioning Act 1661 is an Act of the Parliament of England , long title "An Act against Tumults and Disorders upon pretence of preparing or presenting publick Peticions or other Addresses to His Majesty or the Parliament"....
- High treason in the United KingdomHigh treason in the United KingdomUnder the law of the United Kingdom, high treason is the crime of disloyalty to the Crown. Offences constituting high treason include plotting the murder of the sovereign; having sexual intercourse with the sovereign's consort, with his eldest unmarried daughter, or with the wife of the heir to the...
- Treason ActTreason ActTreason Act or Treasons Act is a stock short title used for legislation in the United Kingdom and in the Republic of Ireland on the subject of treason and related offences...
- Sedition ActSedition ActSedition Act may refer to:*Alien and Sedition Acts, including the Sedition Act of 1798, laws passed by the United States Congress*Sedition Act 1661, an English statute that largely relates to treason...
External links
- The Sedition Act 1661 (as enacted), John Raithby, The Statutes of the RealmThe Statutes of the RealmThe Statutes of the Realm is an authoritative collection of Acts of the Parliament of England from the earliest times to the Union of the Parliaments in 1707, and Acts of the Parliament of Great Britain passed up to the death of Queen Anne in 1714...
, vol. 5, pp 304 - 306 (from British History OnlineBritish History OnlineBritish History Online is a digital library of primary and secondary sources on medieval and modern history of Great Britain. It was created and is managed, as a cooperative venture by the Institute of Historical Research, the University of London and the History of Parliament Trust..The places...
) - The Treason Act 1795 (at the time of its repeal in 1998), from the UK Statute Law DatabaseUK Statute Law DatabaseThe UK Statute Law Database is the official web-accessible database of the statute law of the United Kingdom, hosted by The National Archives. It contains all primary legislation in force as of 1991, and all primary and secondary legislation since that date; it does not include legislation which...