An Act to repeal an Act of the Sixth Year of King George the Fourth, for encouraging the Capture or Destruction of Piratical Ships and Vessels; and to make other Provisions in lieu thereof.
The Piracy Act 1850[1] (13 & 14 Vict. c. 26), sometimes called the Pirates (Head Money) Repeal Act 1850,[3] is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It relates to proceedings for the condemnation of ships and other things taken from pirates and creates an offence of perjury in such proceedings.
In section 2, the words "or any of the Ships or Vessels of War of the East India Company" and "after the said First Day of June" and from "including" to "Company" were repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act 1875. In section 3, the words "said Lord Commissioners of the", occurring twice, were repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act 1891.
Sections 2 and 3 were repealed for New Zealand by section 14(1) of, and the Schedule to, the Admiralty Act 1973 (No 119).
Section 4
Section 4 was repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act 1875.
Section 5 - Condemnation of ships etc taken from pirates
...all ships, vessels, boats, goods, merchandise, specie, or other property taken possession of from pirates by any of her Majesty's ships or vessels of war or hired armed vessels,... or their boats, or any of the officers or crews thereof, shall and may be proceeded against in any of the admiralty courts before mentioned, and be subject and liable to condemnation as droits and perquisites of her Majesty in her Office of Admiralty: Provided always, that if any part of the said property shall be duly proved to have belonged to and to have been taken from any of her Majesty's subjects, or from the subjects of any foreign power, then such property and every part thereof shall, by the decree of the said court, be adjudged to be restored, and shall be accordingly restored, to the former owner or owners, proprietor or proprietors thereof respectively, he or they paying for in lieu of salvage a sum of money equal to one eighth part of the true value, which money... shall be paid to and divided and distributed amongst the officers and crews thereof, in such manner, form, and proportion as other bounties are now distributable by virtue of her Majesty's proclamation or order in council dated the thirteenth day of July one thousand eight hundred and forty-nine, or as her Majesty,... shall from time to time by any further proclamation or order or orders in council think fit to declare and direct....[10]
Section 2 mentioned the High Court of Admiralty of England and all courts of vice admiralty in any dominions of Her Majesty beyond the seas.
The jurisdiction of the High Court of Admiralty of England was transferred to the High Court by section 1(1) of the Administration of Justice Act 1956.[11] The jurisdiction of the Courts of Vice-Admiralty in Her Majesty's possessions abroad was transferred to Colonial Courts of Admiralty by sections 2(3) and 17 of the Colonial Courts of Admiralty Act 1890.
. . . every person who shall wilfully and corruptly give false evidence in any examination or deposition had or affidavit taken in any proceeding under this Act shall be deemed guilty of perjury, and being thereof convicted shall be subject and liable to all the punishments, pains, and penalties to which persons convicted of wilful and corrupt perjury are liable; and every such person may be tried for any such perjury either in the place where the offence was committed or in any colony or settlement of her Majesty near thereto in which there is a court of competent jurisdiction to try any such offence, or... in England;....[12]
The words at the start were repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act 1891. The words in the second place and at the end were repealed by section 56(4) of, and Part IV of Schedule 11 to, the Courts Act 1971.
An Act to provide for the Commencement of an Act of the present Session, intituled An Act to repeal an Act of the Sixth Year of King George the Fourth, for encouraging the Capture or Destruction of Piratical Ships and Vessels, and to make other Provisions in lieu thereof.
The act 13 & 14 Vict. c. 27 (1850) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The bill for the act 13 & 14 Vict. c. 27 was called the Pirates (Head Money) Repeal Act Commencement Bill.[13] The Act 13 & 14 Vict. c. 27 provided that the Piracy Act 1850 was to come into force on 1 June 1850 instead of 1 June 1851. The act 13 & 14 Vict. c. 27 was repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act 1875, because it was spent.[9]
The Victorian Statutes: The Public and Private Acts of Victoria, Also the Acts of the Federal Council of Australasia, and a Selection of the Imperial Statutes Apparently in Force in Victoria. Robert S Brain, Government Printer. Melbourne. 1890. Volume 7 (Imperial Statutes and Acts of Federal Council). Page 92
The Public Acts of Queensland (Reprint) Classified and Annotated, 1828-1936. Volume 2. Page 1012. Google Books: [3][4]
A Collection of Statutes Relating to India. 1913. Volume 1. Page 251.
Dicey and Goddard. The Admiralty Statutes: Being the Public Statutes Actually in Force Relating to the Admiralty and Her Majesty's Navy from 5 & 6 Edw. VI. (A.D. 1552) to 48 & 49 Vict. (A.D. 1885) Inclusive, Arranged in Chronological Order, and Followed by an Index. Second Edition. Printed by Eyre and Spottiswoode for HMSO. London. 1886. Page 126. See also page x.
^Cox. Reports of Cases in Criminal Law. Crockford. London. 1851. Volume 4 (1850 to 1851). Appendix. Page li. Bruce, Jemmett and Phillimore. A Treatise on the Jurisdiction and Practice of the English Courts in Admiralty Actions and Appeals. 3rd Ed. Sweet & Maxwell. 1902. Pages xiv and 567. Internet Archive. Google Books.
^The Magellan Pirates (1853) 1 Spinks Ecc & Ad 81; 22 LT319; 18(1) Jurist 18. See also The Virago (1852) 16 Jurist 1145, 20 English Reports in Law and Equity 644.
^See, for example, Navy Estimates, for the Year 1860-61, 6 February 1860, p 82. Accounts and Papers. Session 24 January - 28 August 1860. Volume 42. 1860. Navy Estimates for the Year 1857-58, p 82.
^ abStatute Law Revision Bill 1875 (38 & 39 Vict). Bill 278. p 95. (See page 3 for the definition of "spent"). Bills, Public. Volume 6. Session 5 February - 13 August 1875.
