“CAP. LIV

An act¹ for the more effectual securing the peace of the Highlands in Scotland.

WHEREAS the custom that has two long prevailed amongst the Highlanders of Scotland, of having arms in their custody, and using and bearing them in travelling abroad in the fields, and at publick meetings, has greatly obstructed the civilizing of the people within the counties herein after named; has prevented their applying themselves to husbandry, manufactories, trade, and other virtuous and profitable employments; has been the cause of many riots, robberies, and tumults; hath and does tend to disappoint the execution of the law, to the dishonour of government, and unspeakable loss of his Majesty’s subjects; has in a peculiar manner been one of the fatal causes of the late unnatural rebellion, and may occasion the like or greater calamity in time to come, if not prevented by a proper remedy: be it therefore enacted by the King’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 first day of November in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and sixteen, it shall not be lawful for any person or persons within the shires of Dunbartain on the north side of the water of Leven, Sterling on the north side of the river of Forth, Perth, Kincardin, Aberdeen, Inverness, Nairn, Cromarty, Argyle, Forfar, Bamff, Sutherland, Caithness, Elgine, and Ross, to have in his or their cuftody, use or bear broad sword, or target, poynard, whingar, or durk, side-pistol or side-pistols, or gun, or any other warlike weapons, in the fields, or in the way, coming or going to, from, or at any church, market, fair, burials, huntings, meetings, or any other occasion whatsoever, within the bounds aforefaid, or to come into the Low-Countries armed, as aforesaid: and in case any of the said person or persons above described, shall have in his custody, use or bear arms, otherwise than in this act directed, every such person or persons so offending, being thereof lawfully convicted before one or more justices of the peace, or before any other judge competent of the place summarily, shall, for the first offence, forfeit all such arms, and be liable to a fine, not exceeding the sum of forty pounds ster-ling, and not under the sum of five pounds sterling, and to be imprisoned till payment of the said fine; which if not instantly paid after commitment, the said fine may and shall be levied out of the offender’s goods and estate, by warrant of the judge who shall pronounce any such sentence, to be applied, the one half to the use of the informer, and the other at the sight of the juftices of the peace where such offenders shall be convicted, towards repairing the publick works within the said shire; and further, liable to a month’s imprisonment: and being convicted for a second offence before the court of justiciary, or before the judges at their circuit, shall forfeit such arms and be liable to a fine, not exceeding the sum of eighty pounds sterling, and not under the sum of ten pounds sterling; and for every subfequent offence, to a fine the double of the former, to be levied and applied as above: and for want of payment of any such fine, or a sufficient distress to satisfy the payment of it, the offender shall be liable to be transported to any of his Majesty’s plantations beyond the seas, there to remain for the space of seven years.”

Full Text: 1764, UK, The Statutes at Large—An Act for the More Effectual Securing the Peace of the Highlands in Scotland, § 1, (1716).

1. The medial “s” and all ligatures (most often “ct”) have been changed to their modern equivalents. This is to avoid confusion and ensure that the text displays correctly on all browsers.  

Danby Pickering, ed.,  The Statutes at Large, from the Twelfth Year of Queen Anne, to the Fifth Year of King George I: To which Is Prefixed, a Table Containing the Titles of all the Statutes During that Period, Vol. XIII (Cambridge, UK: Joseph Bentham, 1764), 306-07. CAP. LIV—An Act for the more effectual securing the Peace of the Highlands in Scotland, Enacted November 1, 1716 (anno primo Georgii I).

“Provided always, That nothing contained in this Act shall be deemed or construed to hinder any Person from killing any Kind of Deer, within his Feild where Corn is Growing, at any Time in the Month of January, nor to extend to any Free Native Indians Carrying Guns, Hunting, Killing or having in their Custody any Skins or Deers Flesh for their own Use, any Thing in this Act to the contrary notwithstanding.

And whereas divers Abuses have been committed, and great Damages and Inconveniences arisen by Persons carrying of Guns and presuming to Hunt on other People[‘]s Land; for Remedy whereof for the Future, Be it Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Person or Persons shall presume, at any Time after the Publication hereof, to carry any Gun, or Hunt on the Improved or Inclosed Lands in any Plantation, and on other than his own, unless he have Lisence or Permission from the owner of such Lands or Plantation, and shall be thereof Convicted, either upon the View of any Justice of the Peace within this Province, or by the Oath or Affirmation of any one or more Witnesses, before any Justice of the Peace, he shall, for every such Offence, forfeit the Sum of Fifteen Shillings, with Costs attending such Conviction. And if any Person whatsoever, who is not Owner of one Hundred Acres of Land, or otherwise Qualified, in the same Manner as Persons are or ought to be, for Electing of Representatives to serve in General Assembly, shall at any Time, after the Publication hereof, carry any Gun, or Hunt in the Woods or Uninclosed Lands, without Lisence or Permission obtained from the Owner or Owners of such Lands, and shall be thereof Convicted, in manner aforesaid, such Offender shall forfeit and pay the Sum of Ten Shillings, with Costs as aforesaid, for every such Offence.”

1722, NJ, An Act to prevent the Killing of Deer out of Season, and against Carrying of Guns and Hunting by Persons not qualified

Bernard Bush, Laws of the Royal Colony of New Jersey, vol. 1 (Trenton N.J: New Jersey State Library Archives and History Bureau, 1977), 293-295.

And every justice of the peace within this province, may cause to be stayed and arrested, all affrayers, rioters, disturbers or breakers of the peace, or any other who shall go armed offensively, or put his Majesty’s subjects in fear, by menaces or threatening speeches : And upon view of such justice, confession of the offender, or legal proof of any such offence, the justice may commit the offender to prison, until he or she find such sureties for the peace and good behaviour, as is required, according to the aggravations of the offence ; and cause the arms or weapons so used by the offender, to be taken away, which shall be forfeited and sold for his Majesty’s use. And may also punish the breach of the peace in any person, who shall smite, or strike another, by fine to the King, not exceeding twenty shillings ; and require bond with sureties for the peace, till the next court of general sessions of the peace, or may bind the offender over to answer for said offence at said court, as the nature and circumstances of the offence may require.

Full Text: HeinOnline (subscription required)

And whereas great damages are frequently done, by slaves being permitted to hunt or range with dogs or guns: For prevention whereof, it shall not be lawful for any slave, on any pretence whatsoever, to go, range, or hunt on any person’s land other than his masters [sic], with dog or gun, or any weapon, unless there be a white man in his company; under the penalty of twenty shillings to be paid by his master, for every offense unto the owner of the land whereon such slave shall range or hunt[.]

…That whoever from and after the publication of this Act shall be so hardy and wicked as to fight a duel, or for private malice, displeasure, fury or revenge, voluntarily engage in a rencounter, with rapier or small-sword, backsword, pistol or any other dangerous weapon, to the hazard of life, mayhem, or wounding of the parties, or the affray of his Majesty’s good subjects, although death doth not thereby ensue; or shall by word, message, or any other way, challenge another to fight a duel, or shall accept a challenge, although no duel be fought, or shall any ways abet, prompt, encourage or seduce any person to fight a duel, or to challenge another to fight; and be by due course of law before the Court of Assize and general goal delivery in any of the respective counties within this Province convicted thereof, shall for every such offence be carried publicly in a cart to the gallows, with a rope about his neck, and sit on the gallows for the space of one hour with a rope about his neck, as aforesaid, and then committed to the common Goal of the County, and there remain, without bail or mainprize, for the space of twelve months, and at the expiration thereof shall find sureties for the peace and good behavior, for and during the space of twelve months more.

No person whatever within the precincts of the city of Philadelphia aforesaid, nor within Two Miles thereof, shall, from and after the Time the Powder Store aforesaid is so erected and finished presume to keep in any House, Shop, Cellar, Store, or Place of the said City, nor within Two Miles thereof, other than the Powder Store aforesaid, any more or greater Quantity, at any one Time, than Twelve Pounds of Gun-powder, under the Penalty of Ten Pounds for every such Offence.

. . . [N]o Persons or Persons within this Colony, shall be Allowed or Admitted to Prosecute before any Assistant or Justice of the Peace or Court of Judicature in this Colony, any Action of Debt, Detinue, or other Action whatsoever for any Gun or Guns, or Ammunition, Lent, Sold, or any ways Trusted to any Indian or Indians whatsoever, till this Court shall see cause to Order otherwise; and that every such Gun Lent as aforesaid, shall be forfeited; One half to him that shall Prosecute to Effect, the other to the County Treasury where such prosecution is.

I. WHEREAS several ill-designing and disorderly persons have of late associated themselves under the name of Blacks, and entered into confederacies to support and assist one another in stealing and destroying of deer, robbing of warrens and fish-ponds, cutting down plantations of trees, and other illegal practices, and have, in great numbers, armed with swords, fire-arms, and other offensive weapons, several of them with their faces blacked, or in disguised habits, unlawfully hunted in forests belonging to his Majesty, and in the parks of divers of his Majesty’s subjects, and destroyed, killed and carried away the deer, robbed warrens, rivers and fish-ponds, and cut down plantations of trees; and have likewise solicited several of his Majesty’s subjects, with promises of money, or other rewards, to join with them, and have sent letters in fictitious names, to several persons, demanding venison and money, and threatning some great violence, if such their unlawful demands should be refused, or if they should be interupted in, or prosecuted for such their wicked practises, and have actually done great damage to several persons, who have either refused to comply with such demands, or have endeavoured to bring them to justice, to the great terror of his Majesty’s peaceable subjects: For the preventing which wicked and unlawful practices, be it enacted by the King’s most excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the lords spiritual and temporal and commons, in parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same. That if any person or persons, from and after the first day of June in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and twenty-three, being armed with swords, fire-arms, or other offensive weapons, and having his or their faces blacked, or being otherwise disguised, shall appear in any forest, chase, park, paddock, or grounds inclosed with any wall, pale, or other fence, wherein any deer have been or shall be usually kept, or in any warren or place where hares or conies have been or shall be usually kept, or in any high road, open heath, common or down, or shall unlawfully and wilfully hunt, wound, kill, destroy, or steal any red or fallow deer, or unlawfully rob any warren or place where conies or hares are usually kept, or shall unlawfully steal or take away any fish out of any river or pond; or if any person or persons, from and after the said first day of June shall unlawfully and wilfully hunt, wound, kill, destroy or steal any red or fallow deer, fed or kept in any places in any of his Majesty’s forests or chases, which are or shall be inclosed with pales, rails, or other fences, or in any park, paddock, or grounds inclosed, where deer have been or shall be usually kept; or shall unlawfully and maliciously break down the head or mound of any fish-pond, whereby the fish shall be lost or destroyed; or shall unlawfully and maliciously kill, maim or wound any cattle, or cut down or otherwise destroy any trees planted in any avenue, or growing in any garden, orchard or plantation, for ornament, shelter or profit; or shall set fire to any house, barn or out-house, or to any hovel, cock, mow, or stack of corn, straw, hay or wood; or shall wilfully and maliciously shoot at any person in any dwelling-house, or other place; or shall knowingly send any letter, without any name, subscribed thereto, or signed with a fictitious name, demanding money, venison, or other valuable thing; or shall forcibly rescue any person being lawfully in custody of any officer or other person, for any of the offences before mentioned; or if any person or persons shall, by gift or promise of money, or other reward, procure any of his Majesty’s subjects to join him or them in any such unlawful act; every person so offending, being thereof lawfully convicted, shall be adjudged guilty of felony, and shall suffer death as in cases of felony, without benefit of clergy.

[An Act for Preventing Accidents that may Happen by Fire, § IV. And whereas much mischief may happen by shooting of guns, throwing casting and firing of squibs, serpents, rockets, and other fire-works, within the city of Philadelphia, if not speedily prevented: Be it therefore enacted, That if any person or persons, of what sex, age, degree or quality soever, from and after publication hereof, shall fire any gun or other fire-arms, or shall make, or cause to be made, or sell or utter, or offer to expose to sale, any squibs, rockets or other fire works, or shall cast, throw or or fire, any squibs, rockets, or other fire works, within the city of Philadelphia, without the governor’s special license for the same, of which license due notice shall first be given to the mayor of the said city, such person or persons so offending, and being thereof convicted before any one justice of the peace of the said city, either by confession of the party so offending, or by the view of any of the said justices, or by the oath or affirmation of one or more witnesses, shall for every such offence forfeit and pay the sum of five shillings; one half to the use of the poor of the said city, and the other half to the use of him or them who shall prosecute, and cause such offender to be as aforesaid convicted; which forfeitures shall be levied by distress and sale of the offenders goods as aforesaid; and for want of such distress, if the offender refuse to pay the said forfeiture, he shall be committed to prison, for every such offence the space of two days without bail or main-prize; Provided, that such conviction be made within ten days after such offence committed [ and if such offender be a negro or Indian slave, he shall instead of imprisonment be publically whipped, at the discretion of the magistrate.]

[An Act of 9th of February, 1750-51, § 1. If any person or persons whatsoever, within any county, town or within any other town or borough in this province, already built and settled, or hereafter to be built and settled , not hitherto restricted nor provided for by our laws, shall set on fire their chimneys to cleanse them, or shall suffer them or any of them to take fire, and blaze out at the top, or shall fire any gun or other fire arm, or shall make or cause to be made, or sell or utter, or offer to expose to sale, and squibs, rockets, or other fire works, or shall cast, throw or fire any squibs, rockets, or other fire works within any of the said towns or boroughs without the governor’s special license for the same, every such person or persons so offending shall be subject to the like penalties and forfeitures, and be recovered in like manner, as in and by an act, passed in the eighth year of the reign of king George the first, entitled ‘An act for preventing accidents that may happen by fire are directed to be levied and recovered.]

Be it enacted by the authority aforesaid, That if any person or persons shall presume, at any time after the sixteenth day of November, in this present year on thousand seven hundred and twenty one, to carry any gun or hunt on the improved or inclosed lands of any plantation other than his own, unless he have license or permission from the owner of such lands or plantation, and shall thereof convicted ether upon view of any justice of the peace within this province, or by the oath or affirmation of any one or more witnesses, before any justice of the peace, he shall for every such offense forfeit the sum of ten shillings. And if any person whatsoever, who is not owner of of fifty acres of land and otherwise qualified in the same manners as persons are or ought to be by the laws of this province for electing of members to serve in assembly, shall at any time, after the said Sixteenth day of November, carry any gun, or hunt in the woods or inclosed lands, without license or permission obtained from the owner or owners of such lands, and shall be thereof convicted in manner aforesaid, such offender shall forfeit and pay the sum of five shillings.

… That, from and after the publication of this Act, no gunpowder shall be kept on board any ship, or other vessel, lying to or grounded at any wharf within the port of Boston. And if any gunpowder shall be found on board such ship or vessel lying aground, as aforesaid, such powder shall be liable to confiscation, and under the same penalty, as if it were found lying in any house or warehouse. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that no powder be carried through any town upon trucks, under the penalty of ten shillings per barrel for every barrel of powder so conveyed, and so proportionally for smaller cask.

… That whoever … fight a duel, combat, or engage in a rencounter with rapier, or small-sword, back-sword, pistol, or any other dangerous weapon, to the danger of life, mayhem, or wounding of the parties, or the affray of his Majesty’s good subjects, (although death doth not thereby ensue) and be thereof convicted, by due course of law, before the Court of Assize, or Court of General Sessions of the Peace, in the respective Counties of this Province, shall be punished by fine, not exceeding a hundred pounds, imprisonment, not exceeding six months, or corporally punished…

And every such offender shall be, and hereby is prohibited and restrained from using a gun to shoot at waterfowl for the space of three years next after his offence, upon the like penalty of forty shillings for each time he shall presume so to offend, to be disposed of in manner as the forfeiture aforementioned.

…That if any person or persons shall, at any time after two months from the publication of this act, make use of any boat, canoe, float, raft or other vessel, wherewith to approach to, and shoot at any waterfowl, in any part of this province, he or they so offending, shall each of them forfeit and pay, for every such offence, the sum of forty shillings to the informer. And every such offender shall be, and hereby is prohibited and restrained from using a gun to shoot at waterfowl for the space of three years next after his offence, upon the like penalty of forty shillings for each time he shall presume so to offend, to be disposed of in manner as the forfeiture aforementioned.

…That, from and after the publication hereof, any person within the town of Boston, that shall presume to keep, in his house or Warehouse, any powder, above what is by law allowed, shall forfeit and pay, for every half-barrel, the sum of five pounds . . . That any person or persons whosoever, that shall throw any squibs, serpents, or rockets, or perform any other fireworks within the streets, . . (shall be fined).

That no negro or other slave within this province shall be permitted to carry any gun, or any other offensive weapon, from off their master’s land, without licence from their said master; and if any negro or other slave shall presume so to do, he shall be liable to be carried before a justice of peace, and be whipped, and his gun or other offensive weapon shall be forfeited to him that shall seize the same and carry such negro so offending before a justice of peace.

And, to prevent the abusing, hurting or worrying of any stock of hogs, cattle or horses, with dogs, or otherwise, Be It Enacted, That if any person or persons whatsoever, that have been convicted of any of the crimes aforesaid, or other crimes, or that shall be of evil fame, or a vagrant, or dissolute liver, that shall shoot, kill or hunt, or be seen to carry a gun, upon any person’s land, whereon there shall be a seated plantation, without the owner’s leave, having been once before warned, shall forfeit and pay one thousand pounds of tobacco…

It is ordered by the Authority of this Court; That if any person or persons in this Colony, without just and necessary occasion to do so, shall cause any Alarm, by firing any Gun or Guns, or otherwise, in any of our Plantations, at any time between the shutting in the Evening or break of the Day, (such practices being prejudicial to the comfort and safety of the Plantations) the person or persons that are discovered, and convicted to be guilty herein, shall pay five pounds a piece to the publick [sic] Treasury, or suffer two months Imprisonment, or other Corporal punishment. . .

That no person or persons, from and after the publication of this Act, may presume to discharge or fire off any gun upon Boston Neck within ten rods of the road or highway leading over the same, on pain of forfeiting and paying the sum of twenty shillings . . . And for the better conviction of persons offending against this Act, it shall be lawful, to and for any Free-holder, to arrest and take into custody any gun so fired off, and render the same to one of the next Justices in Boston, in order to its being produced at the time of trial.

Pennsylvania Archives 1713, The Act for the Better Government of the City of Philadelphia (1713), This Act inflicts 5s penalty on persons riding a gallop and 10s for persons trotting, with Drays or their Teams in the streets, and 5th for suffering a Dog or a Bitch going at large; or firing a Gun without license, or if a Negro be found in any disorderly practices or other Misbehaviors may be whipped 21 lashes for any one offence or committed to prison, which words “other misbehaviors,” are very uncertain and give very arbitrary power where the punishment is great. [(Summary of Statute from Archive compilation)].

Province Laws. An Act for Putting the Milita of this Province into a Readiness for Defense of the Same. § 3. Be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that no person or persons whatsoever in any town or garrison, shall during the time of war, or of keeping a military watch in such town or garrison, presume to discharge or shoot off any gun or guns after the sun’s setting or before the sun’s rising, unless in case of alarm, approach of an enemy, or other necessary defense, on pain that every person, so offending, and being thereof convicted before one or more of his majesty’s justices of the peace, shall forfeit and pay the sum of twenty shillings for each gun so discharged, on moiety thereof to and for the use of the poor of the town where the offence shall be committed, and the other moiety to him or them that shall inform or prosecute for the same…