Seditious Meetings Act 1817
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Seditious Meetings Act 1817 ( 57 Geo. 3. c. 19) was an act) of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...
that made it illegal to hold a meeting of more than 50 people.


Content

The provisions of the act were similar to those of previous Seditious Meetings Acts, such as that of
1795 Events January–June * January – Central England records its coldest ever month, in the CET records dating back to 1659. * January 14 – The University of North Carolina opens to students at Chapel Hill, becoming the ...
, although more severe constraints were added.Howell, George
''Labour legislation, labour movements, and labour leaders
New York: E.P Dutton & Co., 1902. p. 32
The law forbade all meetings of more than 50 people called "for the purpose...of deliberating upon any grievance, in church or state," unless the meeting had been summoned by an authorised official, or sufficient notice was provided by its organizers. In the latter case, the organizers were required at least five days prior to the meeting to either publicly advertise in a newspaper the time, place and purpose the event, or submit a notice to a clerk of the peace. The advertisement or notice needed to be signed by seven local persons, and a copy was to be forwarded to a justice of the peace. Under the act, justices of the peace, sheriffs and other officials were authorised to attend any meetings held within their jurisdictions. In the event that the meeting was found to be unlawful, they could order its participants to disperse. Anyone who ignored such an order was to be found guilty of a felony without benefit of clergy and put to death. Special restrictions were placed on meetings of more than 50 people in any public place in the City or Liberties of Westminster or
Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...
County which was within one mile of the gates or
Westminster Hall Westminster Hall is a medieval great hall which is part of the Palace of Westminster in London, England. It was erected in 1097 for William II (William Rufus), at which point it was the largest hall in Europe. The building has had various functio ...
. These were outright banned whenever Parliament or other state bodies were in session, unless the meeting was held at St. Paul's Covent Garden, or if the meeting was convened for the election of Members of Parliament. The act also established regulations for places where lectures or debates were held, requiring these to be licensed and allowing officials to inspect them. Universities and certain other institutions, however, were excluded from these provisions. The legislation also suppressed secret societies and clubs, banning any such organization whose members were required to take an oath not authorized by law. It explicitly targeted the Spencean Philanthropists, outlawing them and any other society that advocated the " confiscation and division of the land." These restrictions did not extend to the Freemasons and
Quakers Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestantism, Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally ...
, who were granted exceptions under the act. The regulations on assemblies and licensing requirements for public meetings took effect in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
and the surrounding regions the day after its passage, and in the rest of the country after seven days.57 Geo. 3. c. 19 § XXII
/ref>
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, however, was completely exempted from the terms of the act.


Significance and repeal

The act was passed by
Lord Liverpool Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool (7 June 1770 – 4 December 1828) was a British Tory statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1812 to 1827. Before becoming Prime Minister he had been Foreign Secretary, ...
's government in March 1817. Parliament had become concerned with a perceived rise in radical activities by groups such as the Hampden Clubs and the Spencean Philanthropists, and several recent incidents, such as the Spa Fields riots of December 1816, an attack on the
Prince Regent A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity (minority or illness) or ab ...
in January 1817, and the march of the Blanketeers that March, prompted the enactment of the Act. Due to a sunset clause, sections 1 through 22 of the Act (which dealt with seditious meetings in general and licensing requirements for places for public debates) automatically expired on 24 July 1818, although they were temporarily revived in altered form by the Seditious Meetings Act 1819. Section 23, which banned public meetings within a mile of the gates of
Westminster Hall Westminster Hall is a medieval great hall which is part of the Palace of Westminster in London, England. It was erected in 1097 for William II (William Rufus), at which point it was the largest hall in Europe. The building has had various functio ...
, was largely suspended by the 1819 act, but was reinstated after the latter's expiration in 1824; it was eventually fully repealed by the Public Order Act 1986.Public Order Act 1986 Part 1, Section 9(2)(c)
/ref>


See also

*
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 du ...
* Habeas Corpus Suspension Act 1817 *
Sedition Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech or organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, establ ...


Notes


References

{{Authority control March 1817 Political repression in the United Kingdom United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1817 Repealed United Kingdom Acts of Parliament Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool