Six Acts

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Following the Peterloo Massacre on 16 August 1819, the government of the United Kingdom under Lord Liverpool acted to prevent any future disturbances by the introduction of new legislation, the so-called Six Acts aimed at suppressing any meetings for the purpose of radical reform. Élie Halévy considered them a panic-stricken extension of "the counter-revolutionary terror ... under the direct patronage of Lord Sidmouth and his colleagues"; [1] some later historians have treated them as relatively mild gestures towards law and order, only tentatively enforced. [2]

Contents

The setting, and the passing of the acts

Following the Yeomanry killing of unarmed men and women in St Peter's Field (Peterloo), [3] a wave of protest meetings swept the North of England, spilling over into the Midlands and the Lowlands, and involving in all some seventeen counties. [4] Local magistrates appealed in the face of the protests for central support; and in response the Parliament of the United Kingdom was reconvened on 23 November and the new acts were introduced by the Home Secretary, Henry Addington. By 30 December the legislation was passed, despite the opposition of the Whigs to both their principles and many of their details.

The acts were aimed at gagging radical newspapers, preventing large meetings, and reducing what the government saw as the possibility of armed insurrection. During the Commons debates, each of the parties appealed to the example of the French Revolution to make their case. The Tories pointed to the weakness of the French forces of law and order; the Whigs, conversely, to the need for the safety valve of free speech and a free press.

Strengthened by their success at the 1818 elections, the Whigs were able to make three significant amendments to the bills as originally proposed: public meetings were to be allowed behind closed doors, and the ban on outside meetings was to be limited in time; transportation of Press offenders was made more difficult; and the curtailment of legal delays was extended to include prosecution as well as defendant. [5] Nevertheless, the Six Acts were eventually passed by prime minister Lord Liverpool and his colleagues, as part of their repressive approach focused on preventing a British revolution.

Details of the acts

Unlawful Drilling Act 1819 [a]
Act of Parliament
Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (1816-1837).svg
Long title An Act to prevent the training of Persons to the Use of Arms, and to the Practice of Military Evolutions and Exercise.
Citation 60 Geo. 3 & 1 Geo. 4. c. 1
Territorial extent  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Dates
Royal assent 11 December 1819
Commencement 11 December 1819
Other legislation
Amended by
Repealed by
Status: Partially repealed
Status
Northern IrelandCurrent legislation
Text of statute as originally enacted
Seizure of Arms Act 1819
Act of Parliament
Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (1816-1837).svg
Long title An Act to authorise Justices of the Peace in certain disturbed Counties to seize and detain Arms collected or kept for purposes dangerous to the Public Peace to continue in force until the Twenty fifth Day of March One thousand eight hundred and twenty two.
Citation 60 Geo. 3 & 1 Geo. 4. c. 2
Dates
Royal assent 18 December 1819
Commencement 18 December 1819
Expired25 March 1822
Repealed5 August 1873
Other legislation
Repealed by Statute Law Revision Act 1873
Status: Repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted
Pleading in Misdemeanor Act 1819 [a]
Act of Parliament
Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (1816-1837).svg
Long title An Act to prevent Delay in the Administration of Justice in Cases of Misdemeanor.
Citation 60 Geo. 3 & 1 Geo. 4. c. 4
Territorial extent  United Kingdom
Dates
Royal assent 23 December 1819
Commencement 23 December 1819 [b]
Repealed5 August 1873
Other legislation
Amended by Criminal Procedure Act 1851
Repealed by Statute Law Revision Act 1873
Status: Repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted
Seditious Meetings Act 1819
Act of Parliament
Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (1816-1837).svg
Long title An Act for more effectually preventing Seditious Meetings and Assemblies; to continue in force until the End of the Session of Parliament next after five Years from the passing of the Act.
Citation 60 Geo. 3 & 1 Geo. 4. c. 6
Introduced by Lord Castlereagh (Lords)
Territorial extent  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Dates
Royal assent 24 December 1819
Commencement 24 December 1819
Expired6 July 1825
Repealed5 August 1873
Other legislation
Repealed by Statute Law Revision Act 1873
Status: Repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted
Criminal Libel Act 1819
Act of Parliament
Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (1816-1837).svg
Long title An Act for the more effectual Prevention and Punishment of blasphemous and seditious Libels.
Citation 60 Geo. 3 & 1 Geo. 4. c. 8
Dates
Royal assent 30 December 1819
Other legislation
Amended by
Status: Partially repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended
Newspaper and Stamp Duties Act 1819
Act of Parliament
Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (1816-1837).svg
Long title An Act to subject certain Publications to the Duties of Stamps upon Newspapers and to make other Regulations for restraining the Abuses arising from the Publication of blasphemous and seditious Libels.
Citation 60 Geo. 3 & 1 Geo. 4. c. 9
Dates
Royal assent 30 December 1819
Other legislation
Repealed by Newspapers, Printers, and Reading Rooms Repeal Act 1869
Status: Repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted

The six acts were:

Repeal of the acts, and their influence

Different time-scales applied to the different acts.

The Six Acts went down in folk history, alongside Peterloo, as symbols of the repressive nature of the Pittite regime. [12]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 The citation of this act by this short title was authorised by section 1 of, and the first schedule to, the Short Titles Act 1896. Due to the repeal of those provisions it is now authorised by section 19(2) of the Interpretation Act 1978.
  2. Section 1.

References

  1. Halévy 1961, pp. 25, 61.
  2. McCord & Purdue 2007, pp. 27–28.
  3. loo_law_feature.shtml Peter loo [ dead link ]
  4. Halévy 1961, p. 67.
  5. Halévy 1961, pp. 76–77.
  6. Halévy 1961, pp. 67, 77.
  7. "Criminal Libel Act 1819 (60 Geo. 3 & 1 Geo. 4 c. 8)", Statute Law Database (SLD), Accessed 11 May 09
  8. Trevelyan 1922, p. 190.
  9. History features (BBC)
  10. Steinberg 1963, p. 335.
  11. Trevelyan 1922, pp. 190–191.
  12. Plowright 1996, p. 31.

Bibliography

Further reading