Convicted Felons Act 1852 (SA)

No. 13.

An Act to prevent the introduction into the Colony of South tiustrabiu of Conuicted Felons, and other persons sentenced to Transportution for o$cnces agcrinst the Laws.	--+	_ -. + --i__
VV HEREAS it has pleased the Government of the UnitedPreambls	king don^ of' Great Britain and Ireland to constitute and appoint the adjacent Colonies of Van Diemen's Land and Western Australia prual settlements for. the safe k ceping of convicted felons, and other persons undergoing sentence of' transportation for offences against the laws: h u d whereas many of the said corlvicted felons have been ancl are frequently pernritted to pass from the said Colonies to the other Austmliliall Provinces: And whereas it is essential for tile preservation of peacc and good order in the con~muuity, that an imrnediatc stop should be put to the landing or being in the said Province of South Australia, of convicted felons, or otlicr persons ulzdergoing sentence of transportation fop offences against the laws:

Re it therefore Enacted, by His Excellency the Lieutenant- Imprisonment of

Governor of the Provi~~ce of South Australia, with the advice and

felons who enter the

consent of the Legislative Council the1 eof, as follows: That no convicted felon, or other person undergoing seutence of trans- portation for offending a@nst the laws, nor any person who is under sentence in any Brltisll Colony or Possession, other than the Province of South Australia, for any capital or transportable oEence, nor any person not at liberty by reason of crime 6 reside in any part of' the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, shall l a ~ d in any of the ports of the Province of South Australia, or come, or be, in any place witbin the limits thereof, under the penalty, on conviction,'before any two Justices of the Peace, having jurisdiction within the said Province, or before any Local Court

S established

established in the said Province, or any portion thereof, if a male, of being imprisoned and worked in irons for the term of three years; and if a female, of being imprisolled and kept to hard lilbur, in oue or other of the public gaols of the said Province, for the term of two years, or at the discretion of the convictiiig Justices, or of the said Court, of being conveyed in irons by the most safe and expeditious mode of conveyance to the Colony or possession to which he or she was transported, or in which 11e or she was convicted (as the case may be), there to be dealt with according to law.

370 person coming

from Van lXeme11'8 2. And be it Enacted, That the Colonies of Van Diemen's Land and Western Australia being virtually p ~ ~ b l i c gaols of the Ullited

lrR,ld ,,,. weitern Al~tra l i* to land in Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, it shall not be lawful for

S ~ m t h . iustr~lin

wIrt,out p,or.tbcirln	persons coming from thc said Colonies to lmd iu auy of the ports
a free persun.	or other places of the Province of South i~ust~ral ia without having previously shown to the satisfaction of some officer to be
%	appoiuted for that purpose by the Lieutenant-Govermr of the said I'rovince, or in the abseilcc of any such. officer, to a Justice of the Peace having jurisdiction within the saicl Province, or any part thereof, that he or she is at full liberty to be, :lid reside in any part of the British Dominions; and any free person who shall land from the mid Colonies of Van Diemen's T,and and Western ,4~1stralia, or t l~eir dependencies, in any of the ports or other places of the l'rovillce of South Australia, without having previously shown to the satis- factiun of sue11 officer, or Justice of the Peace, as aforesaid, that he or she is at full liberty to be, and reside in any part of the British dolninions, and without having obtained from such officer, or Justice of the I'eace us aforesaid, a certificate to that effect, shall, on con- viction before any Local Court established in the said Province, or any two Justices of thc Peace l~aving jurisdiction within the said Proviuce, or any portion thereof', forfeit and pay for every such oEeilce, u sum not less than Ten Pounds, nor more than One Hundred Pounds.

Fining of masters or 3. And he it Enacted, That any master-mariner, or other person,

owners of ~essels

brlnging tclous. commandiaq, navigating, or sailing any sl~ip, vessel, or boat, wl~ich

may hereafter hrinp to any port, or other phce in the Province of

South Australia, any runaway convict, or any convict comirlg under

cover of ally condiiional pardon, ticket oi' lwve, or indulgence of any kind, other than a free pardon, or remission of his or her sentence by IIer Majesty, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof, before any Local Court cst:iblished ss aforesaid, or before two ,Just~ices of the Fe;-lce having jurisdiction within the said Province, or any portion thereof, shall, for every such offence, incur and be liable to a fine not exceeding One Hundred Pounds, or to imprisonment for any tillre not exceeding one calendar m~mth, or to both, at the discretion of the said Court or Justices respectively.

Distress not to be 4. And be it Enacted, That when any distress shall be made for

u~~luwtul fur defect in

forill.

any money to be levied under this Act, the distress itself shall not

be

be deemed unlawful, nor the party or parties making the same be deemed a trespasser or trespassers, on account of any defect or want of form in the summons, idonnation, conviction, w a k n t of distress, or other proceeding relating tliereto, nor shall the party or

distrait~ilig be deemed a trespasser or trespassers, a6 initio, on account of any irreplmity which shall be afterwards comnittcd by the party or parties distraiiring, but the person or persons aggrieved by sucll irregularity, shall, and may recover full satisfaction for the special damage, in an actiou on the case.

5. And be it Enacted, That every person who has been, or sliall NO permntol8nd

from Van Uiemen'e

he transported for any off'ence against the law, to any British Land, under cutain Coloiw or nossession. other than the Proviuce of South Australia, provisioue. r' I

or who is under sentence for any capital or trmspor.table oil'ence in any British Colony or I'ossession, 0 t h than the said Province of South hl ls t l 'd i~, \v110 has already come, or shall hereafter come to the said l'rovince, not liaviirg served tlic full period of his sentence,

or the full tern1 for wlliclr he or she was trsasported, or riot having

reccivcd from IIer Majesty a free pardon or remission of his or her sentcncc, shall, for the purposes and in the construction of this Act

be dceniect to be an offender illcgiilly a t large, and the term

" offender illegally at large" wlrcnevcr they occur, sllall be taken to

signify and denote such person so transported, and who has riot served such period or term, or received such pardon or remission as $foresaid.

6. And be it Enacted, That evcry person appreheiliied on suspecledprrsons

;ospicion of being an offender illegally st large sl~all, on being Josdces,andderaineb	may bo takcn before
alten before any one or more Justices of the g&e, 11aving juris- iiction within the said Colony, or m y part thereof; prove to the vasonable satisfaction of such Justice or Justices, that he or she is lot an offenclcr illeplly at large, upon which proof, such Justice or rustices r;ha11 forthwith order his or her discharge, and in default of
uch proof, the burden whercof s h l l always be upon the person
lerson to be dctainccl in custody, until i t shall he ascertained	ccused, it shall bc lawfid for such Justice or Justices, to order such
ihether such person is or is not an offender illegally a t large.

7. And hc it Enacted, That all property found upon or in the ,, befi,rfeited, Property of offenders

ossesion c~f any person convicted of being an offender illegally at whole or part applied	in conveying thorn
r e, shall be forfeited, i d it shall be lawful for the convi&ng
usticcs to order the whole or a sufficient part thereof to be applied )wards the expense of conveying such offcncler to the Colony or ossession to which he was tmrrsported, or in wl~ich he was convicted

aforesaid.

That every person who shall knowingly Penalty for c o n d i n g

8. And be it Enacted,	offeridere.
wbor or conceal any offendcr illegally a t large shall, on conviction emof before my such Court as aforesaid, or before two Jmticcs
' the Peace having jurisdiction wit,hin the said Pro~ince, o~ any

portiou

portion thereof, forfeit and pay fox every such offence the sum of One Hundred Pounds; and in default of immediate payment shall be imprisoned in any of Her Majesty's qaols in thc sdid Province

for any period not exceeding t ~ ~ i v ~ caleLdar months.

What deemed

evidence of pereon 9. And be it Enacted, That oral proof that my person was in

being a convict.	Vau Diemen's Land, or any other British Colony or Possession other
than the Province of South Australii~, known to be, or was colilu~only
deemed and reputed to be, a transported felon, or a convict under sentence for any capital or transportable offence, s h l l for the purposes of this Act, Le taken as good prima J k i e evidence that such person was transported to such Colo~y or I'ossession, or con- victed therein of a capital and transportable ofincc, as the case may
be, and oral proof that such person was so known, deemed, or
reputed, at m y period within seven years, shall be taken as good primc fixis evidence that such person has not served the h11 period of his sentence, or the full term for which he was transported, and has not received such pardon or remission as aforesaid, unless the contrary be proved.

Justices to iasuo	10. And be it Enacted, That it sl~all	be lawful for any Justice of
aearch warrants to

apprehend offenders.	the Peace, having credible information on oath that iny offender illegally at large is harbored in any dwelling-house or tenement, or other place within his jurisdictio~~, to grant a search warrant to any one or more constables to search fbr such ogender; and to apprehend or cause to be apprehended any person whom such constable or co~lstables shnll llave reasonnhle cause for suspecting to be an oflencicr illegally at large; and also to apprehend all pcrsons found in or about such dwelling-bouse or tenement, or other place, whom such constable or colistables s l ~ l l
have reasonable grouuds for ~uspectiug aud believing to have knowingly hsrbored and concealed sucli offender illegally at large its aforesaid; and all pcrsons so found and nppreheatled as aforesaid, shall, by such constable or constablcs as nforesaid, be forthwith
taken before a Justice or Justices of the Peace, havit~g jurisdictioii
in the locality, for examination, and to be further dealt &h accord-
ing to law.
Penalty for refusing
to enforce this Act.	11. And be it Enacted, That all Her Majesty's subjects shall be liable to be called upon to aid and assist in executing and enfiwciag the several provisious of this Act; and every person who shall, when so called upon to aid and assist, refuse or neglect so to
do, shall be liable to a fine not exceeding Five Pouucls, to be
recovered and levied in a summary way, betore any Justice of the Peace, or before any such Court as aforesaid, over ancl above any punishment to which such persou shall be liable by law.
Appropriation of
penalties	12. And be it Enacted, That all fines and penalties recovered under this Act, and all moneys and property forfeited, and not specially appropriated, shall be applied aud go-one moiety to Her Majesty, her heirs and successors, for the public uses of the

said

said Province and in support of the Goverment thereof, and the

other moiety to the use of the informer or partv prosecuting, who

shall, nevertheless, be deemed a competent witn&s.

13. And be it Enactcd, That all proceedings under this Act shall NO certio, uri to be allowcd.

be had and taken in a summary way, and no such proceeding shall be quashed for want of form, or removed by certiorari, or otherwise, into the Supreme Court of the said Province of South Australia.

14. And be it Enacted, That if any suit or action shall be brought General issue my be

against any Justicc of the Pcace, constable, or other person, for any pleaded in

nctiona-

act or thing done in fkrtherance of the provisions of this Act, the defcndant iu every such action or suit may plead the gcneral issue, and give this Act, and the special matter in evidence at any trial to be had thereupon; and if the verdict shall be for the defendant, or if the plaintiff' in any such action or suit shall be nonsuited, or dis- continue his action or suit after the defendant shall have appcared, or if upon demurrer, judgment shall be given against the plaintiff, the defendaut shall have treble costs, and shall have the like remedy for the same, as any other defendant hath in any other case to recover costs by law, and although a verdict shall be given for the plaintiff in any sncll action, he shall not be entitled to recovcr any costs against thc defendant, unless the Judge before whom such action shall be tried, shall certify at the trial, and in open Court, under his hand, on the back of the record, his approbation of' the action, and of the verdict obtained thereupon.

15. And be it Enacted, That this Act shall take effect from the E;memement of

first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-three.

JOHN MORPHETT, Spezker.

Passed the L~gislatico Council this tenth d q of

Noaember, one thousand eight hundred and

Jif tp-two.

F. C- SINGLETON,

Clerk of the Legislative Council,

Her Majesty's assent is withheld from this Act.

H. E. F. YOUKG,

Lieutenant- Governor.

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ADELAI~E: Ptintcd by authority, by W. C. Cox, Govcrn~ncnt Printer, Victorissquare.

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