The Destruction of Stocking Frames, etc. Act 1812 (52 Geo 3 c. 16), also known as the Frame-Breaking Act and before passage as the ''Frame Work Bill'', was an
Act of Parliament
Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...
passed by the British Government in 1812 aimed at increasing the penalties for
Luddite
The Luddites were a secret oath-based organisation of English textile workers in the 19th century who formed a radical faction which destroyed textile machinery. The group is believed to have taken its name from Ned Ludd, a legendary weaver s ...
behaviour in order to discourage it.
Passage and content
The Frame Work Bill was introduced to Parliament on 14 February 1812 by the Home Secretary
Richard Ryder, acting in concert with
Spencer Perceval (who was at that time both
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Chancellor is ...
and
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
), the Attorney General Sir
Vicary Gibbs Vicary Gibbs may refer to:
* Vicary Gibbs (judge) (1751–1820), English barrister, judge and politician
* Vicary Gibbs, 6th Baron Aldenham (born 1948), British peer
* Vicary Gibbs (St Albans MP)
Vicary Gibbs (12 May 1853 – 13 January 1932) w ...
, the Solicitor General Sir
Thomas Plomer, and three Nottinghamshire MPs concerned about the Luddite Movement taking hold in their constituencies.
Rushed through as an "emergency measure", the Act was passed with an overwhelming majority and received
royal assent
Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in other ...
on 20 March, despite opposition.
Fundamentally, there was agreement between members of the government and the opposition that the measure was a last resort; but where supporters believed that all other avenues had been exhausted, opponents (seeing relative tranquillity over the winter period) did not.
The newly created
Lord Byron
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...
used his maiden speech in the House of Lords to oppose the bill.
The Act, as passed, made the destruction of mechanised looms –
stocking frame
A stocking frame was a mechanical knitting machine used in the textiles industry. It was invented by William Lee of Calverton near Nottingham in 1589. Its use, known traditionally as framework knitting, was the first major stage in the mechan ...
s – a capital felony (and hence a crime punishable by death).
Similarly raised to the level of capital felony were the associated crimes of damaging frames and entering a property with intent to damage a frame.
In these respects the act was a stronger version of the
Protection of Stocking Frames, etc. Act 1788
The Protection of Stocking Frames, etc. Act 1788 ( 28 Geo. 3. c. 55) was an Act of Parliament passed by the British Government in 1788 and aimed at increasing the penalties for the deliberate disruption of the activity of mechanical knitting mach ...
, which had made similar acts punishable by 7–14 years in a
penal colony.
All measures included in the Act were only to be applied temporarily, and were duly set to expire on 1 March 1814.
Significance
Although approximately 60 to 70 Luddites were
hanged
Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging in ...
in the period that the statute was in force,
no death sentences seem to have been justified on its grounds, with judges preferring to use existing legislation.
Due to come to an end on 1 March, the Act was officially repealed in 1814 with the passage of the
Destruction of Stocking Frames, etc. Act 1813, which instituted a new maximum penalty for the destruction of stocking frames of life transportation; in 1817, that Act would itself be repealed and the death penalty once again reinstated in the
Destroying Stocking Frames, etc. Act 1817.
By that time, however, Luddism had largely subsided as a movement.
See also
*
UK labour law
References
{{Reflist
External links
Full text of the act on Google Books
United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1812
1812 in economics