Act of Parliament | |
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Long title | An Act for repealing an Act, made in the Thirty-eighth Year of the Reign of His Present Majesty, intituled An Act for raising a Body of Miners in the Counties of Cornwall and Devon, for the Defence of the Kingdom during the present War; and the for more effectually raising and regulating a Body of Miners for the Defence of Great Britain. |
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Citation | 42 Geo. 3. c. 72 |
Territorial extent | England and Wales |
Dates | |
Royal assent | 22 June 1802 |
Other legislation | |
Repealed by | Territorial Army and Militia Act 1921 |
Status: Repealed |
The Militia (Stannaries) Act 1802 (42 Geo. 3. c. 72) was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom affecting the Militia, a locally raised force for home defence. It applied only to the Stannaries of south-western England, and extended the provisions of the main Militia Act 1802 to these jurisdictions.
The Act brought together a number of the Militia Acts which had been passed during the French Revolutionary Wars (1794-1802), repealing them but broadly re-enacting their content. It provided for an "Old Militia" with a total strength of 51,489 in England and Wales (including the City of London, Cinque Ports, and Stannaries), and allowed for a "Supplementary Militia" of half as many again which could be raised with Parliamentary approval. This particular Act differed only from the main Militia Act in setting the fine for exemption from service at £15, rather than £10 elsewhere in the country. [2]
Each county's Lord Lieutenant would set the amount of militiamen to be raised from the various areas of their country (for example, dividing it by hundreds), and parish constables would draw up lists of all eligible men between 18 and 45. Men were divided into five classes:
Men were to be drawn from the classes in order – if a quota could be filled only from the first and second classes, the third, fourth and fifth were untouched. A class could be taken in its entirety if it was below the absolute quota, but if larger than the number required, a ballot was to be used. Any man who was taken into service through this process was known as a "principal", and was sworn in to serve as a private soldier for a term of five years, after which they were exempt until a fresh ballot was made, or could volunteer for further service. Instead of serving themselves, they could arrange to provide a "personal substitute" who was willing to serve in their stead; this could be a volunteer already on the local ballot, or someone from elsewhere in the county (or a neighbouring county), and it was expected that they would receive a bounty of a few pounds to encourage them to volunteer. Parishes could also arrange to provide parochial substitutes in lieu of their quota of men, and were allowed to levy a parish rate in order to pay bounties to these substitutes. Finally, any balloted man could pay a fine of £15 and avoid service, though he would be liable to be balloted again after five years. The fines were used to hire substitutes and any surplus would go to regimental funds. [2]
A wide range of men were exempt - most obviously, officers and men of the Army, Navy and Marines, but also peers, clergymen, teachers, university students, constables, sailors, apprentices, or men working in royal arsenals or dockyards. A poor man (defined as one with assets of less than £100) with more than one legitimate child was exempt, as was any poor man physically unfit for service, or any man at all less than 5'4" tall. A man worth more than £100 but unfit for service was still liable to pay his fine or provide a substitute. Quakers were not allowed to avoid service through paying a fine, but were required to find a substitute in lieu of service; if they did not do so, the county was empowered to hire one on his behalf and if necessary seize his property to pay for it. [2]
Any men who died or were discharged as unfit would produce a second ballot of the county (in practice, probably of his local parish) to find a replacement. Should the county fail to provide enough men, it would be fined £10 per head of the annual deficit; this money was to be raised locally and could be used to hire substitutes, but if this failed to achieve the desired result, it was paid to the Treasury. [2]
The Militia Act of 1855 was an Act passed by the Parliament of the Province of Canada that permitted the formation of an "Active Militia", which was later subdivided into the Permanent Active Militia and the Non-Permanent Active Militia, and divided the province into 18 military districts.
Bermuda Militia, under Militia Acts 1687–1813. Although the Bermuda Parliament had been formed in 1620, prior to 1687, the Bermudian Militia was raised and organised without reference to a Militia Act. The Crown took over the administration of the Colony from The Somers Isles Company in 1684.
In the United Kingdom, military conscription has existed for two periods in modern times. The first was from 1916 to 1920, and the second from 1939 to 1960. The last conscripted soldiers left the service in 1963.
The British Militia was the principle military reserve force of the Kingdom of Great Britain. Militia units were repeatedly raised in Great Britain during the Georgian era for internal security duties and to defend against external invasions. The Militia Act 1757, passed by the Parliament of Great Britain after the outbreak of the Seven Years' War, led to the rapid expansion of the British Militia in order to defend from potential French invasions. In the Kingdom of Ireland, a client state of Great Britain, the equivalent force was the Irish Militia, which saw heavy service in the Irish Rebellion of 1798 alongside British militia units. The existence of militia units in Great Britain and Ireland played an important role in freeing regular troops from the British and Irish establishments for overseas service.
The Militia and Volunteers of County Durham are those military units raised in the County independent of the regular Army. The "modern" militia dates from legislation enacted during the Seven Years' War. The volunteers had several forms and separate periods of existence until made a permanent body in 1859.
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The Yeomanry and Volunteers Act 1802 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom affecting the Yeomanry and Volunteers, two of the military Reserve Forces raised in the United Kingdom for home defence. Following the creation of the British Army Regular Reserve in 1859, by the then Secretary of State for War, Sidney Herbert, and re-organised under the Reserve Force Act 1867, were increasingly referred to instead as the Auxiliary Forces or the Local Forces to prevent confusion. It only covered units in England, Wales, and Scotland, with Irish units provided for by the Yeomanry (Ireland) Act 1802.
The Militia Act 1802 was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom affecting the Militia, a locally raised force for home defence. It applied to England and Wales, with Scotland covered by the Militia (Scotland) Act 1802, and Ireland by the Militia (Ireland) Act 1802. Subsidiary acts dealt with the City of London, the Cinque Ports, and the Stannaries, which had special legal requirements.
The Militia (Scotland) Act 1802 was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom affecting the Militia, a locally raised force for home defence. It applied to Scotland while there were other acts of the same year applying to England and Wales, and to Ireland.
The Militia (Ireland) Act 1802 was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom affecting the Militia, a locally raised force for home defence. It applied only to the Kingdom of Ireland, with the Militia Act 1802 and Militia (Scotland) Act 1802 applying elsewhere in the country.
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The Gloucestershire Militia was a part-time military force in the county of Gloucestershire in the West of England. From their formal organisation as Trained Bands in 1558 until their final service as a Special Reserve unit of the Gloucestershire Regiment in World War I, the Militia regiments of the county served in home defence in all of Britain's major wars.
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The Royal Westminster Militia, later the 5th (Reserve) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers, was an auxiliary regiment raised in the City of Westminster in the suburbs of London. Descended from the Westminster Trained Bands, which were on duty during the Armada campaign of 1588 and saw considerable service during the English Civil War, the regiment underwent reorganisation in 1760 as part of the Middlesex Militia. From 1778 until 1918 the regiment served in home and colonial defence in all of Britain's major wars, and supplied thousands of reinforcements to the Royal Fusiliers during World War I. After a shadowy postwar existence the unit was finally disbanded in 1953.
The Montgomeryshire Militia, later the Royal Montgomeryshire Rifles, was an auxiliary regiment reorganised in the Welsh county of Montgomeryshire during the 18th Century from earlier precursor units. Primarily intended for home defence, it served in Great Britain and Ireland during Britain's major wars. It later became part of the South Wales Borderers until it was disbanded in 1908.
The Cardiganshire Militia, later the Royal Cardigan Rifles, was an auxiliary regiment reorganised from earlier precursor units in the Welsh county of Cardiganshire during the 18th century. Primarily intended for home defence, it saw active service at the Battle of Fishguard in 1797 and served in Britain and Ireland through all Britain's major wars. It was converted into garrison artillery in 1877 and continued until it was disbanded in 1909.