The Treason Act 1743Walker. A Legal History of Scotland. W Green. 1988
Volume 5
pp 531 & 542. (17 Geo.II c.39) was an Act of the

Parliament of Great Britain The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in May 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The Acts ratified the treaty of Union which created a new unified Kingdo ...

which made it

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

to correspond with any of the sons of

James Francis Edward Stuart James Francis Edward Stuart (10 June 16881 January 1766), nicknamed the Old Pretender by Whigs, was the son of King James II and VII of England, Scotland and Ireland, and his second wife, Mary of Modena. He was Prince of Wales from ...

("The Old Pretender"), who claimed to be king of Great Britain and of Ireland. His sons were

Charles Edward Stuart Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart (20 December 1720 – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, grandson of James II and VII, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland and ...

("The Young Pretender") and

Henry Benedict Stuart Henry Benedict Thomas Edward Maria Clement Francis Xavier Stuart, Cardinal Duke of York (6 March 1725 – 13 July 1807) was a Roman Catholic cardinal, as well as the fourth and final Jacobite heir to publicly claim the thrones of Great Brit ...

(who, after his elder brother's death in 1788, never asserted a claim to the throne).

Provisions

Section 1 enacted that after 1 May 1744 it was treason for anyone to "hold, entertain, or keep any intelligence or correspondence in person, or by letters, messages or otherwise" with any son of the Old Pretender, or any of his employees, "knowing such person to be so employed," or to give them money, whether in Great Britain or elsewhere. Section 2 provided that from the same date, any son of the Old Pretender who landed or attempted to land in Great Britain or Ireland, "or any of the dominions or territories belonging to the crown of Great Britain," or who was found there or in any ship with intent to land there, would be guilty of treason. Section 3 amended section X of the

Treason Act 1708 The Treason Act 1708 (7 Ann c 21) is an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain which harmonised the law of high treason between the former kingdoms of England and Scotland following their union as Great Britain in 1707. This Act is partly st ...

. This section had originally provided that after the death of the Old Pretender, "no attainder for treason shall extend to the disinheriting of any heir, nor to the prejudice of the right or title of any person or persons, other than the right or title of the offender or offenders, during his, her, or their natural lives, only..." ''(See corruption of blood.)'' The 1743 Act postponed the operation of this clause until after the death of all of the Old Pretender's sons (which occurred in 1807), instead of his own death (in 1766). (The 1708 and 1743 Acts were amended in turn by the 1799 Act ''39 Geo.3 c.93'', which repealed these provisions.) Section 4 stated that offences committed out of Great Britain could be tried anywhere in Great Britain.

Previous legislation

Four previous statutes had made similar provision in respect of the Old Pretender and his father, the late King James: *

Correspondence with Enemies Act 1691 The Correspondence with Enemies Act 1691 (3 & 4 W.& M. c. 13) was an Act of the Parliament of England which made it high treason to correspond with the deposed King James II. It was repealed and replaced by the Correspondence with the Pretender ...

Correspondence with the Pretender Act 1697 The Correspondence with the Pretender Act 1697 ( 9 Will. 3. c. 1) was an Act of the Parliament of England which made it high treason to correspond with the deposed King James II. This Act replaced the earlier Correspondence with Enemies Act 1 ...

Correspondence with James the Pretender (High Treason) Act 1701 The Correspondence with James the Pretender (High Treason) Act 1701 (13 & 14 Will. III, c. 3) was an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of England passed in 1701. The Act—the long title of which was "An Act for the Attainder of the pretend ...

*Correspondence with Enemies Act 1704

References

* ''The statutes at large from the 15th to the 20th year of King George III'' ol. XVIII Charles Bathurst, London. 1765. {{UK legislation Treason in the United Kingdom Great Britain Acts of Parliament 1743 Repealed Great Britain Acts of Parliament

Provisions

Previous legislation

See also

References