PAPERS RELATING TO THE 046, The offence referred to in the first section is a misdemeanour, conse¬ quently all persons acting in violation of this provision of the Act, should be arrested on the view of the officer or constable, and brought before a magistrate, unless from any circumstances connected with such breach of the law, it shall be considered more desirable to refrain from making arrests at the moment; but in every case care should be taken to identify as many of the persons concerned as possible, with a view to their prosecution.
(Appendix, No.
23.)
13th Victoria, Cap.
2.
An Act to Restrain Party Processions in Ireland—12 March 1850.
{See Sec.
945.)
Whereas, numbers of persons have been in the piactice of assembling and marching together in procession in Ireland in a manner calculated to create and perpetuate animosities between different classes of Her Majesty's subjects, and to endanger the public peace: Be it therefore 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, that from and after the passing of this Act, all assemblies of persons in Ireland who shall meet and parade together or join in proces¬ sion, and who shall bear, wear, or have amongst them or any of them any fire-arms or other offensive weapons, or any banner, emblem, flag, or symbol, the display whereof may be cal¬ culated or tend to provoke animosity between different classes of Her Majesty's subjects, or who shall be accompanied by any person or persons playing music or singing any song which may be calculated or tend to provoke animosity between different classes of Her Majesty's subjects, shall be unlawful assemblies, and every person present thereat shall be guilty of a misdemeanour, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished accordingly.
2.
And be it.
enacted, that any justice or justices of the peace shall proceed, with such assistance as in the judgment of such justice or justices may be necessary, to the place where any such assembly of persons hereby declared to be unlawful shall foe held or take place, and such justice or one of such justices, or some other person by their or his order, shall then and there read or repeat aloud to the persons so assembled a command or notice to disperse, in the words or to the effect following (that is to say),—
{t Our Sovereign Lady the Queen doth charge and command all persons being here assembled, immediately to disperse, and peaceably to depart, upon pain of fine or imprisonment, according to the Statute passed in the Thirteenth Year of the Reign of Queen Victoria, to restrain party processions in Ireland.
" God save the Queen."
3.
And be it enacted, that ihe persons so met and assembled together shall forthwith* after such command or notice shall have been read or repeated aloud as aforesaid, disperse and depart; and if any one or more of the persons so met or assembled together as afore¬ said, shall not disperse and depart within the space of one quarter of an hour from the time of such command or notice having been read or repeated aloud as aforesaid, such per¬ son or persons shall be guilty of a misdemeanour, and it shall be lawful for the justice or justices who shall have read or repeated, or who shall have ordered to be read or repeated, such command or notice, or for any other justice or justices of the peace, to seize, or by orderto any constable or other person to cause to be seized and detained for the use of Her Majesty, any such fire-arms or other offensive weapon, and any such banner, emblem, flag, or symbol, and any musical instruments in the possession of any such persons, and to cause the person^or persons so refusing or neglecting to disperse or depart to be appre¬ hended, either with or without a warrant for that purpose, or to be summoned to answer for such offence ; and such offender or offenders may thereupon be proceeded against in a sum¬ mary way for such offence before any two justices of the peace before whom he or they may be brought or summoned to appear; and every person, being convicted thereof on the oath of one or more credible witness or witnesses, shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding five pounds, and to imprisonment for any term not exceeding one calendar month, unless such penalty be sooner paid, or, at the discretion of the said "justices, to be committed to any one of Her Majesty's common gaols or prisons in Ireland for a term not exceeding one calendar month, and for a second or any subsequent offence against the provisions of this Act to a penalty not exceeding ten pounds, and to imprisonment for any term not exceeding two calendar months, unless the same be sooner paid, or, in the discretion of the said justices, to be committed to any one of Her Majesty's common gaols or prisons in Ireland for a term not exceeding tuo calendar months.
4.
And be it enacted, that all fire-arms or other offensive weapons which shall be borne, employed, or be in the personal possession of any person forming part of any assembly or procession declared unlawful under this Act, shall be forfeited to the use of Her Majesty, whether the command or notice under this Act provided shall have been read or repeated or not, or whether after the reading or repeating of the same such assembly or procession
shall
