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Sedition

Sedition, an offence against the Crown and govern-ment, not capital, and not amounting to treason. It cannot be tried at Quarter Sessions. See the (English) Unlawful Assemblies Act, 1799 (39 Geo. 3, c. 79); the (English) Seditious Meetings Act, 1817 (57 Geo. 3, c. 19), jointly called the '(English) Corresponding Societies Acts,' and much resembl-ing one another. Registered friendly societies are exempted by s. 32 of the (English) Friendly Societies Acts, 1896 (59 & 60 Vict. c. 25), if transact-ing no business not relating to the objects of the societies; and the (English) Criminal Libel Act, 1819 (60 Geo. 3 & 1 Geo. 4, c. 8). By the (English) Act of 1817, s. 23, which has no parallel in the Act of 1799, political meetings of more than fifty persons within one mile of Westminster Hall, except for parliamentary election purposes, are declared unlawful on any day on which Parliament is sitting. By s. 25 of the Act of 1817, and s. 2 of the Act of 1799, every society or club, the members of...


Racecourse Betting Control Board

Racecourse Betting Control Board. A board appointed under (English) Racecourse Betting Act, 1928, for the control of totalisators on approved racecourses. It consists of a chairman appointed by the Home Secretary, and eleven members, one of whom is appointed by the Home Secretary, one by the Secretary of State for Scotland, and one by the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries; one by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the remainder by certain racing organisations. The (English) Betting and Lotteries Act, 1934, s. 18, amends the powers of the Board and interprets certain sections which give rise to doubts. This power of authorising a person to set up a totalisator is limited to giving such authority to the persons having the management of the racecourse....


Pardon

Pardon, forgiveness of a crime; remission of punis-hment.The pardoning of criminals is the peculiar preroga-tive of the sovereign. See 4 Steph. Com., 7th Edn.The sovereign may pardon all offences merely against the Crown and the public, excepting: (1) That to preserve the liberty of the subject, the committing any man to prison out of the realm is, by the Habeas Corpus Act (31 Car. 2, c. 2), made a pr'munire (see that title), unpardonable even by the Crown; and (2) that the sovereign cannot pardon where private justice is principally concerned in the prosecution of offenders--'non potest rex gratiam facere cum injuria et damno aliorum.'Neither at Common Law could the sovereign pardon an offence against a penal statute after information brought; for thereby the informer had acquired private property in his part of the penalty. But the Remission of Penalties Act, 1859, enables the Crown to remit penalties for offences, although payable to parties other than the Crown; and a special power...


Constable

Constable [fr. Comes stabuli, Lat., in the eastern empire a superintendent of the imperial stables, or the emperor's master of the horse, who at length obtained the command of the army], an officer to whom our law commits the duty of maintaining the peace, and bringing to justice those by whom it is infringed.Provision is made for the abolition of the office of High Constable by the (English) High Constables Act, 1869 (32 & 33 Vict. c. 67), and of that of Parish Constable by the Parish Constables Act, 1872 (35 & 36 Vict. c. 92), which Act, however, still allows of their appointment in exceptional cases.By the (English) Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, s. 191, in all boroughs to which that Act applies, 'borough constables' are appointed by the Watch Committee, but the (English) Local Government Act,1888, has, in the case of boroughs having a population of less than 10,000 transferred the appointments to the county councils.In counties constables were appointed by the justices of the pe...


Army Council

Army Council. This Council was first established in 1904, when the post of Commander-in-Chief was abolished. The four military members are the Chief of the Staff, the Adjutant-General, the Quarter-Master General, and the Master-General of the Ordnance, and there is also a finance member and a civil member. The respective duties of those members are defined by an Order in Council of 10th August, 1904, and each is responsible to the Secretary of State for War, who is solely responsible to the Crown and Parliament. The Secretary of the War Office acts as secretary to the Army Council. See also the (English) Army (Annual) Act, 1909 (9 Edw. 7, c. 3), s. 4, as to the powers of the Council....


Drunkenness

Drunkenness, intoxication with strong liquor; habit-ual inebriety. A contract made by a person when so drunk as to be unable to understand what he is doing is voidable if the person with whom the contract was made was aware of the fact, but it is not void, and may be ratified when he becomes sober, Matthews v. Baxter, (1873) LR 8 Ex 132. Mere drunknness was punishable by statutes 4 Jac. 1, c. 5, and 21 Jac. 1, c. 7, ss. 1, 3, by a fine of five shillings and confinement in the stocks in default of distress. Under the Licensing Act, 1872 (35 & 36 Vict. c. 94), which repeals various previous enactments, drunkenness in a public place or licensed house is punishable by fine (s. 12). Disorderly drunkenness is punishable by fine or imprisonment, and refusal by drunken persons to quit licensed premises is punishable by fine. [(English) Licensing Consolidation Act, 1910, s. 80]The 1st s. of the (English) Licensing Act, 1902 (2 Edw. 7, c. 28), enacts that--If a person is found drunk in any highw...


Undertaking

Undertaking, denotes 'any business or any work or project which one engages in or attempts as an enterprise analogous to business or trade, Secretary Madras Gymkhana Club Employees Union v. Manage-ment of Gymkhana Club, AIR 1968 SC 554: (1968) 2 SCJ 138: (1968) 1 SCA 379: (1967) 2 SCWR 618: (1967) 2 Lab LJ 720: 33 FJR 157: (1968) Lab JC 547: (1968) 2 Andh WR (SC) 6: (1968) 2 Mad LJ (SC) 6: 15 Fac LR 411: 16 Law Rep 140.Undertaking, denotes, with reference to company law, all the assets of the company past present and future, and is a mortgageable interest being commonly charged by the debentures of the company. 'Undertaking' means a unit, such as a factory or a granary, Industrial Disputes Tribunal (in re:), (1956) 3 All ER 111.Undertaking, in a compromise decree does not mean a promise to a court. It is merely a solemn promise by one party to the other when it appears in an agreement between the two, Nisha Kant Roy v. Sandji Bashnai, Goho, AIR 1948 Cal 294: 49 Cr LJ 567.Undertaking, i...


Secretaries of State

Secretaries of State. There are eight principal Secretaries of State, one for the Home Department, another for Foreign Affairs, a third for the Colonies, a fourth for War (26 & 27 Vict. c. 12), a fifth for India (21 & 22 Vict. c. 106), a sixth for, AIR (7 & 8 Geo. c. 5, 51, s. 8), a seventh for the Dominion affairs (1925), and, eight, for Scotland, 1926 (16 & 17 Geo. 5, c. 18). The Secretaries of State have co-extensive authority, that is to say, any one of them can legally execute the duties of all, although separate spheres of action are for convenience assigned to them. They have under their management the most considerable affairs of the nation, and are obliged to attend on the sovereign when required.Formerly the administration of colonial and military affairs was combined and the duty discharged by a 'Secretary-at-War,' who was not a Secretary of State...


Prerogative of mercy

Prerogative of mercy. In early times the operation of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy was far wider than at the present day, as it was not only extended to some persons who in later ages would not be considered to have incurred any criminal respon-sibility, e.g., persons who had committed homicide by misadventure or in self-defence (Pollock and Maitland's Hist. Engl. Law, vol. ii., pp. 476 et seq.), but was even extended to jurors who had been attained for an oath that, though not false, was fatuous: ibid. p. 661. The power of pardoning offences is stated by Blackstone to be one of the great advantages of monarchy in general above every other form of government, and which cannot subsist in democracies. Its utility and necessity are defended by him on all those principles which do honour to human nature: see 4 Bl. Com. c. 31, p. 397. In early times, again, there were fewer offences that did not admit of being pardoned. In appeals (i.e., private accusations of felony) which were not the s...


Precedence or precedency

Precedence or precedency, the act or state of going before; adjustment of place.The rules of precedence may be reduced to the following list, in which those marked * are entitled to the rank here allotted them by 31 Hen. 8, c. 10; marked ' by 1 W. & M. c. 1; marked by letters-patent, 9, 10 & 14 Jac. 1, which see in Seld. Tit. of Hon. ii. 5, 46; marked ' by ancient usage and established custom, Camden's Brit., tit. 'Ordines'; Milles's Cat. of Hon. 1610; and Chamberlayne's Prest. St. of Eng., b. 3, c. iii; see 1 Bl. Com. 404.* The King's children and grandchildren.* The King's consort.* The King's uncles.* The King's nephews.* Archbishop of Canterbury (a).* Lord High Chancellor or Keeper, if a baron.* Archbishop of York.Prime Minister.By royal warrant dated December, 1905.* Lord Treasurer.* Lord President of the Council. } barons.* Lord Privy Seal.(a) The judges of assize, while on circuit, take pre-cedence of every subject.*Lord Great Chamberlain.But see Private Stat.1 Geo. 1, c. 3.* Lo...



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