Six Acts
Encyclopedia
In the United Kingdom
, following the Peterloo Massacre
of August 16, 1819, the British government acted to prevent any future disturbances by the introduction of new legislation, the so-called Six Acts which labelled any meeting for radical
reform as "an overt act
of treasonable conspiracy". The Parliament of the United Kingdom
had reconvened on 23 November and the new acts were introduced by the Home Secretary Lord Sidmouth. By 30 December the legislation was passed, despite the opposition of the Whigs
. The acts were aimed at gagging radical newspaper
s, preventing large meetings, and reducing what the government saw as the possibility of armed insurrection.
The acts were:
Because of Whig opposition, as well as calmer conditions in Europe, the Six Acts were eventually dropped. Perhaps the one most dangerous to liberty, the Seditious Meetings Prevention Act, was repealed in 1824.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, following the Peterloo Massacre
Peterloo Massacre
The Peterloo Massacre occurred at St Peter's Field, Manchester, England, on 16 August 1819, when cavalry charged into a crowd of 60,000–80,000 that had gathered to demand the reform of parliamentary representation....
of August 16, 1819, the British government acted to prevent any future disturbances by the introduction of new legislation, the so-called Six Acts which labelled any meeting for radical
Radicalism (historical)
The term Radical was used during the late 18th century for proponents of the Radical Movement. It later became a general pejorative term for those favoring or seeking political reforms which include dramatic changes to the social order...
reform as "an overt act
Overt Act
In criminal law, an overt act , an open act, one that can be clearly proved by evidence, and from which criminal intent can be inferred, as opposed to a mere intention in the mind to commit a crime...
of treasonable conspiracy". The Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
had reconvened on 23 November and the new acts were introduced by the Home Secretary Lord Sidmouth. By 30 December the legislation was passed, despite the opposition of the Whigs
British Whig Party
The Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
. The acts were aimed at gagging radical newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
s, preventing large meetings, and reducing what the government saw as the possibility of armed insurrection.
The acts were:
- The Training Prevention Act, now known as the Unlawful Drilling Act 1819Unlawful Drilling Act 1819The Unlawful Drilling Act 1819 , also known as the Training Prevention Act is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was one of the Six Acts passed after the Peterloo massacre....
, (60 Geo. III & 1 Geo. IV c. 1) made any person attending a meeting for the purpose of receiving training or drill in weapons liable to arrest and transportationPenal transportationTransportation or penal transportation is the deporting of convicted criminals to a penal colony. Examples include transportation by France to Devil's Island and by the UK to its colonies in the Americas, from the 1610s through the American Revolution in the 1770s, and then to Australia between...
. More simply stated, military training of any sort was to be conducted only by municipal bodies and above. - The Seizure of Arms Act (60 Geo. III & 1 Geo. IV c. 2) gave local magistrateMagistrateA magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
s the powers to search any private property for weapons and seize them and arrest the owners. - The Misdemeanors Act (60 Geo. III & 1 Geo. IV c. 4) attempted to increase the speed of the administration of justice by reducing the opportunities for bailBailTraditionally, bail is some form of property deposited or pledged to a court to persuade it to release a suspect from jail, on the understanding that the suspect will return for trial or forfeit the bail...
and allowing for speedier court processing. - The Seditious Meetings Prevention ActSeditious Meetings Act 1817The Seditious Meetings Act 1817 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland which made it illegal to hold a meeting of more than 50 people....
(60 Geo. III & 1 Geo. IV c. 6) required the permission of a sheriffSheriffA sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
or magistrate in order to convene any publicPublicIn public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individuals, and the public is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the Öffentlichkeit or public sphere. The concept of a public has also been defined in political science,...
meetingMeetingIn a meeting, two or more people come together to discuss one or more topics, often in a formal setting.- Definitions :An act or process of coming together as an assembly for a common purpose....
of more than 50 people if the subject of that meeting was concerned with "church or state" matters. Additional people could not attend such meetings unless they were inhabitants of the parishParishA parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
. - The BlasphemousBlasphemous libelBlasphemous libel was originally an offence under the common law of England. It is an offence under the common law of Northern Ireland. It is a statutory offence in Canada and New Zealand...
and Seditious LibelsSeditious libelSeditious libel was a criminal offence under English common law. Sedition is the offence of speaking seditious words with seditious intent: if the statement is in writing or some other permanent form it is seditious libel...
Act (or Criminal Libel Act) (60 Geo. III & 1 Geo. IV c. 8)", toughened the existing laws to provide for more punitive sentences for the authors of such writings. The maximum sentence was increased to fourteen years transportationPenal transportationTransportation or penal transportation is the deporting of convicted criminals to a penal colony. Examples include transportation by France to Devil's Island and by the UK to its colonies in the Americas, from the 1610s through the American Revolution in the 1770s, and then to Australia between...
. - The Newspaper and Stamp Duties Act (60 Geo. III & 1 Geo. IV c. 9) extended and increased taxes to cover those publications which had escaped duty by publishing opinion and not news. Publishers also were required to post a bondSurety bondA surety bond is a promise to pay one party a certain amount if a second party fails to meet some obligation, such as fulfilling the terms of a contract...
for their behaviour
Because of Whig opposition, as well as calmer conditions in Europe, the Six Acts were eventually dropped. Perhaps the one most dangerous to liberty, the Seditious Meetings Prevention Act, was repealed in 1824.
See also
- Cato Street ConspiracyCato Street ConspiracyThe Cato Street Conspiracy was an attempt to murder all the British cabinet ministers and Prime Minister Lord Liverpool in 1820. The name comes from the meeting place near Edgware Road in London. The Cato Street Conspiracy is notable due to dissenting public opinions regarding the punishment of the...
- Peterloo MassacrePeterloo MassacreThe Peterloo Massacre occurred at St Peter's Field, Manchester, England, on 16 August 1819, when cavalry charged into a crowd of 60,000–80,000 that had gathered to demand the reform of parliamentary representation....
- Police statePolice stateA police state is one in which the government exercises rigid and repressive controls over the social, economic and political life of the population...
- Radicalism (historical)Radicalism (historical)The term Radical was used during the late 18th century for proponents of the Radical Movement. It later became a general pejorative term for those favoring or seeking political reforms which include dramatic changes to the social order...