The Treason Act 1795 (sometimes also known as the Treasonable and Seditious Practices Act) (36 Geo. 3 c. 7) was one of the Two Acts introduced by the British government in the wake of the stoning of

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

on his way to open

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

in 1795, the other being the

Seditious Meetings Act 1795 The Seditious Meetings Act 1795 (36 Geo.3 c.8) was approved by the British Parliament in December 1795; it had as its purpose was to restrict the size of public meetings to fifty persons. It was the second of the well known "Two Acts" (also known ...

. The Act made it high treason to "within the realm or without compass, imagine, invent, devise or intend death or destruction, or any bodily harm tending to death or destruction, maim or wounding, imprisonment or restraint, of the person of ... the King". This was derived from the

Sedition Act 1661 The Sedition Act 1661 (13 Car 2 St 1 c 1) was an Act of the Parliament of England, although it was extended to Scotland in 1708. Passed shortly after the Restoration of Charles II, it is no longer in force, but some of its provisions continue ...

, which had expired. The 1795 Act was originally a temporary Act which was to expire when George III died, but it was made permanent by the

Treason Act 1817 The Treason Act 1817 (57 Geo 3 c 6) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It made it high treason to assassinate the Prince Regent. It also made permanent the Treason Act 1795, which had been due to exp ...

. Some other treasons created by the Act (which also originated with the 1661 Act) were reduced to felonies by the

Treason Felony Act 1848 The Treason Felony Act 1848 (11 & 12 Vict. c. 12) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Parts of the Act are still in force. It is a law which protects the King and the Crown. The offences in the Act w ...

, which also extended the 1795 Act to Ireland. The Act also stipulated that anyone found to have brought either the King, the Constitution or the government into contempt could be

transported ''Transported'' is an Australian convict melodrama film directed by W. J. Lincoln. It is considered a lost film. Plot In England, Jessie Grey is about to marry Leonard Lincoln but the evil Harold Hawk tries to force her to marry him and she w ...

for a period of 7 years.J. Cannon, Parliamentary Reform 1640-1832 This clause was repealed by the

Statute Law Revision Act 1871 The Statute Law Revision Act 1871 (34 & 35 Vict c 116) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was intended, in particular, to facilitate the preparation of the revised edition of the statutes then in progress. This Act was partl ...

. The rest of the Act was repealed by the

Crime and Disorder Act 1998 The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (c.37) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act was published on 2 December 1997 and received Royal Assent in July 1998. Its key areas were the introduction of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders, Sex ...

References

External links

The Treason Act 1795
(at the time of its repeal in 1998), from the

UK Statute Law Database legislation.gov.uk, formerly known as the UK Statute Law Database, is the official web-accessible database of the statute law of the United Kingdom, hosted by The National Archives. It contains all primary legislation in force since 1267 and a ...

Treason in the United Kingdom Great Britain Acts of Parliament 1795 {{GB-statute-stub

See also

References

External links