§ On the consideration of this Bill as amended,
§ MR. S. CARTERmoved the adoption of a clause, providing that—
If any person should, by himself or by the agency of any other person, knowingly and fraudulently pirate or manufacture, for sale or profit, any article or part of an article protected by Letters Patent under this or any other Act, he should he guilty of a misdemeanour, and on conviction thereof before any Court of General or Quarter Sessions, should be liable to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding twelve calendar months, with or without hard labour, or to pay a fine not exceeding 100l., with or without imprisonment; provided always, that no conviction for this offence should prevent or defeat any civil remedy 1203 which the party aggrieved might have by action or otherwise.
The CHANCELLOR OF THE EHCHEQUERsaid, that it appeared to him that this clause appeared to he taken from the Whiteboys Act. A more monstrous proposition he certainly never heard; and that it should have been made by an hon. Member distinguished for his extremely liberal principles, was exceedingly remarkable. It was perfectly opposed to the spirit of modern legislation, and he trusted that the House would not sanction for a moment a proposition which would inflict upon any ingenious person who might violate the law by any manufacture, a punishment of so savage and almost of so sanguinary a character as that now proposed. He believed that no House of Commons of the nineteenth century would sanction such a proposition, more especially when hon. Members were about to appear before their constituents so shortly. He trusted, therefore, that the hon. Member would not persist with his clause.
§ Clause negatived; Bill, as amended, agreed to.