The Profane Oaths Act 1745The citation of this Act by this

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was authorised by the

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, section 1 and the first schedule. Due to the repeal of those provisions it is now authorised by section 19(2) of the

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. ( 19 Geo. 2. c. 21) was an Act of the

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passed in 1746, in effect from 1 June 1746, and formally repealed in 1967. It established a system of fines payable for "profane cursing and swearing". The preamble described the ubiquity of the "horrid, impious, and execrable vices of profane cursing and swearing" in the country, saying that this "may justly provoke the divine vengeance to increase the many calamities these nations now labour under", and that the existing laws designed to prevent this were ineffective. Many of the provisions in this Act were essentially the same as those in the 1694 Act which it replaced.

Overview

The Act established that any person who cursed profanely or swore, on the conviction by the oath of witnesses in front of a justice of the peace or by their own confession, was liable to be fined; if the crime took place in front of a justice of the peace (or a town's mayor, bailiff, etc.), then they could be convicted requiring no other evidence. Any constable or peace officer who observed anyone not known to them breaking the Act was empowered to arrest the person and bring them before the justice, where they were to be convicted on the officer's oath; if the person was known to them, they were to lay that information before the justices, who were to charge them to appear for conviction. All convictions were to take place within eight days of the offence, be recorded in a specified form, and archived in the county records.

Fines

The fines were established at 5'' s'' for any person at or above the degree of a gentleman; 2''s'' for any person below that degree; and 1''s'' for a "day labourer" or any common soldier, sailor or seaman. A second offence was to be fined at double the rate, and a third or later offence at treble. Should an offender not pay the fine or give security, they were to be imprisoned in the house of correction for ten days of hard labour; if a soldier or seaman, they were to be set in the stocks for an hour (or for two hours, for multiple offences). The offender was liable for all costs, or for six additional days imprisonment if costs were not paid, and all fines were to be disposed of to the poor of the parish. Any

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who avoided carrying out their duties under the Act were to be fined £5, half going to the informant and half to the parish poor relief; any constable or peace officer doing the same was liable to a fine of 40''s'', divided the same way, and if unable to meet this was liable to a month's imprisonment. The Act was to be read four times a year in all parish churches and public chapels, with the parson or curate liable to a fine of £5 if this duty was omitted.

Repeal of earlier Acts

The Act repealed the existing legislation on the matter, the Profane Swearing Act 1623 and the

Profane Swearing Act 1694 The Profane Swearing Act 1694 ( 6 & 7 Will. & Mar. c. 11) was an Act of the Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parli ...

Repeal of 1745 Act

The 1745 Act was formally repealed by the

Criminal Law Act 1967 The Criminal Law Act 1967 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that made some major changes to English criminal law, as part of wider liberal reforms by the Labour government elected in 1966. Most of it is still in force. Territ ...

. Today swearing in public is often dealt with by the police and courts under section 5 of the

Public Order Act 1986 The Public Order Act 1986 (c 64) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It creates a number of public order offences. They replace similar common law offences and parts of the Public Order Act 1936. It implements recommendations

. However a person is only guilty of this offence if it is committed "within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused

harassment, alarm or distress Harassment, alarm or distress is an element of a statutory offence in England and Wales, arising from an expression used in sections 4A and 5 of the Public Order Act 1986, which created the offence. The Act was amended in 1994. The offence The o ...

thereby."

In fiction

One of A P Herbert's

misleading cases ''Uncommon Law'' is a book by A. P. Herbert first published by Methuen Publishing, Methuen in 1935. Its title is a satirical reference to the English common law. The book is an anthology of fictitious law reports first published in ''Punch (magazi ...

was ''Rex v Haddock'': Is a Golfer a Gentleman? Summoned under the Act, Haddock argued that while playing golf, he was so bad at it that he could no longer be regarded as a gentleman, and therefore his fine for swearing should be lower.

References

*''The statutes at large from the 15th to the 20th year of King George III'' ol. XVIII Charles Bathurst, London. 1765. *''Chronological table of the statutes''; HMSO, London. 1993. {{UK legislation Great Britain Acts of Parliament 1745 Repealed Great Britain Acts of Parliament Profanity