1450

THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.

No. 69

"He shall be guilty of an offence against this Act, and
shall be punishable by fine and imprisonment, or either of
such punishments, at the discretion of the Court before
which the offender is convicted; and imprisonment, if
awarded, may be either with or without hard labour.

"If the master or owner of any ship, without the license of
Her Majesty, knowingly either takes on board, or engages to
take on board, or has on board such ship within Her
Majesty's dominions any of the following persons, in this
Act referred to as illegally-enlisted persons, that is to say:

"(1.) Any person who, being a British subject, within or
without the dominions of Her Majesty, has, without the
license of Her Majesty, accepted or agreed to accept any
commission or engagement in the military or naval service
of any foreign State at war with any friendly State:

"(2.) Any person, being a British subject, who, without
the license of Her Majesty, is about to quit Her Majesty's
dominions with intent to accept any commission or engagement in the military or naval service of any foreign State at
war with a friendly State:

"(3.) Any person who has been induced to embark under
a misrepresentation or false representation of the service in
which such person is to be engaged, with the intent or in
order that such person may accept or agree to accept any
commission or engagement in the military or naval service
of any foreign State at war with a friendly State:

"Such master or owner shall be guilty of an offence
against this Act, and the following consequences shall ensue,
that is to say:—

"(1.) The offender shall be punishable by fine and imprisonment, or either of such punishments, at the discretion
of the Court before which the offender is convicted; and
imprisonment, if awarded, may be either with or without
hard labour; and

"(2.) Such ship shall be detained until the trial and conviction or acquittal of the master or owner, and until all
penalties inflicted on the master or owner have been paid, or
the master or owner has given security for the payment of
such penalties to the satisfaction of two Justices of the
Peace, or other Magistrate or Magistrates having the authority of two Justices of the Peace; and

"(3.) All illegally-enlisted persons shall, immediately on
the discovery of the offence, be taken on shore, and shall not
be allowed to return to the ship.

"Illegal Shipbuilding and Illegal Expeditions.

"If any person within Her Majesty's dominions, without
the license of Her Majesty, does any of the following acts,
that is to say:

"(1.) Builds, or agrees to build, or causes to be built, any
ship with intent or knowledge, or having reasonable cause to
believe, that the same shall or will be employed in the military or naval service of any foreign State at war with any
friendly State; or

"(2.) Issues or delivers any commission for any ship with
intent or knowledge, or having reasonable cause to believe,
that the same shall or will be employed in the military or
naval service of any foreign State at war with any friendly
State; or

"(3.) Equips any ship with intent or knowledge, or having
reasonable cause to believe, that the same shall or will be
employed in the military or naval service of any foreign
State at war with any friendly State; or

"(4.) Despatches, or causes or allows to be despatched, any
ship with intent or knowledge, or having reasonable cause to
believe, that the same shall or will be employed in the military or naval service of any foreign State at war with any
friendly State:

"Such person shall be deemed to have committed an
offence against this Act, and the following consequences
shall ensue:—

"(1.) The offender shall be punishable by fine and imprisonment, or either of such punishments, at the discretion
of the Court before which the offender is convicted; and
imprisonment, if awarded, may be either with or without
hard labour.

"(2.) The ship in respect of which any such offence is
committed, and her equipment, shall be forfeited to Her
Majesty:

"Provided that a person building, causing to be built,
or equipping a ship in any of the cases aforesaid, in
pursuance of a contract made before the commencement of
such war as aforesaid, shall not be liable to any of the
penalties imposed by this section in respect of such building
or equipping, if he satisfies the conditions following, that is
to say:—

"(1.) If forthwith upon a Proclamation of neutrality
being issued by Her Majesty he gives notice to the Secretary
of State that he is so building, causing to be built, or
equipping such ship, and furnishes such particulars of the
contract and of any matters relating to, or done, or to be
done under the contract, as may be required by the Secretary
of State:

"(2.) If he gives such security, and takes and permits to
be taken such other measures, if any, as the Secretary of
State may prescribe for insuring that such ship shall not be
despatched, delivered, or removed without the license of
Her Majesty until the termination of such war as aforesaid.

"Where any ship is built by order of or on behalf of
any foreign State when at war with a friendly State, or is
delivered to or to the order of such foreign State, or any
person who to the knowledge of the person building is an
agent of such foreign State, or is paid for by such foreign
State or such agent, and is employed in the military or naval
service of such foreign State, such ship shall, until the contrary is proved, be deemed to have been built with a view to
being so employed, and the burden shall lie on the builder
of such ship of proving that he did not know that the ship
was intended to be so employed in the military or naval service of such foreign State.

"If any person within the dominions of Her Majesty, and
without the license of Her Majesty,—

"By adding to the number of the guns, or by changing
those on board for other guns, or by the addition of any
equipment for war, increases or augments, or procures to
be increased or augmented, the warlike force of any ship which
at the time of her being within the dominions of Her Majesty
was a ship in the military or naval service of any foreign
State at war with any friendly State,—

"Such person shall be guilty of an offence against this
Act, and shall be punishable by fine and imprisonment, or
either of such punishments, at the discretion of the Court
before which the offender is convicted; and imprisonment, if
awarded, may be either with or without hard labour.

"If any person within the limits of Her Majesty's dominions, and without the license of Her Majesty,—

"Prepares or fits out any naval or military expedition to
proceed against the dominions of any friendly State, the
following consequences shall ensue:—

"(1.) Every person engaged in such preparation or fitting-out, or assisting therein, or employed in any capacity in
such expedition, shall be guilty of an offence against this
Act, and shall be punishable by fine and imprisonment, or
either of such punishments, at the discretion of the Court
before which the offender is convicted; and imprisonment, if
awarded, may be either with or without hard labour.

"(2.) All ships and their equipments, and all arms and
munitions of war, used in or forming part of such expedition,
shall be forfeited to Her Majesty.

"Any person who aids, abets, counsels, or procures the
commission of any offence against this Act shall be liable to
be tried and punished as a principal offender."

And whereas by the said Act it is further provided that
ships built, commissioned, equipped, or despatched in contravention of the said Act may be condemned and forfeited
by judgment of the Court of Admiralty; and that if the Secretary of State or chief executive authority is satisfied that
there is a reasonable and probable cause for believing that a
ship within our dominions has been or is being built, commissioned, or equipped contrary to the said Act, and is
about to be taken beyond the limits of such dominions, or
that a ship is about to be despatched contrary to the Act,
such Secretary of State or chief executive authority shall
have power to issue a warrant authorising the seizure and
search of such ship and her detention until she has been
either condemned or released by process of law: And
whereas certain powers of seizure and detention are conferred by the said Act on certain local authorities:

Now, in order that none of our subjects may unwarily
render themselves liable to the penalties imposed by the said
statute, We do hereby strictly command that no person or persons whatsoever do commit any act, matter, or thing whatsoever contrary to the provisions of the said statute, upon
pain of the several penalties by the said statute imposed and
of our high displeasure.

And We do hereby further warn and admonish all our loving subjects, and all persons whatsoever entitled to our
protection, to observe towards each of the aforesaid States,
their citizens, subjects, and territories, and towards all
belligerents whatsoever with whom We are at peace, the
duties of neutrality; and to respect, in all and each of them,
the exercise of those belligerent rights which We and our
Royal predecessors have always claimed to exercise.

And We hereby further warn all our loving subjects, and
all persons whatsoever entitled to our protection, that if any
of them shall presume, in contempt of this our Royal Proclamation, and of our high displeasure, to do any acts in
derogation of their duty as subjects of a neutral sovereign in
a war between other States, or in violation or contravention
of the law of nations in that behalf, as more especially by
breaking, or endeavouring to break, any blockade lawfully and
actually established by or on behalf of either of the said States,
or by carrying officers, soldiers, despatches, arms, ammunition, military stores or materials, or any article or articles