Colonial Secretary's Correspondence

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in any place of public resort and behaving in a riotous or indecent manner and every person wandering abroad or placing himself or herself in any public place street highway court or passage to beg or gather alms or causing or procuring or encouraging and child or children so to do shall be deemed an idle and disorderly person within the intent and meaning of this Act and it shall be lawful for any Justice of the Peace to commit such offender being thereof convicted before him by his own crew or by the confession of such offender or by the Evidence on Oath of one or more credible witness or witnesses to His Majestys nearest Gaol as the house of correction there to be kept to hard labour for any time not exceeding One Calendar month.

And be it further Enacted that every person committing any of the Offences herein before mentioned after having been convicted as an idle and disorderly person, every person pretending or professing to tell fortunes or using any subtle craft means or device by palmistry or otherwise to deceive and impose on any of his Majestys subjects, every person wandering abroad and lodging in any barn or bathouse or in any deserted on unoccupied building or in the Open Air or in any cart

2

There may be some such case as this amongst free people.

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or Waggon not having any visible means of subsistance and not giving a good account of himself or herself every person wilfully exposing to view in any street road highway or public place any obscene print picture or other indecent exhibition every person wilfully openly leudly and obscenely exposing his person in any street road or public highway or in the view thereof or in any place of public resort with intent to insult any female every person wandering abroad and endeavouring by the exposure of wounds or deformities to obtain or gather alms, every person going about as a collector or gatherer of alms or endeavouring to procure charitable contributions of any nature or kind under any false or fraudulent pretence, every person running away and leaving his wife or his or her child or children without support and without the means of maintaining herself or any of themselves respectively, every person playing or betting in any street road highway or other open and public place at or with any Table or instrument of gaming at any game or pretended game of chance, every person having in his or her custody or possession any picklock key, crow, jack, bit, or other implement with intent feloniously

[notes in margin:] Is this abandonment frequent?

Does this apply

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to break into any Dwelling house warehouse coachhouse stable or outbuilding or being armed with any Gun pistol hanger Cutlass bludgeon on other offensive weapon on having upon him on her any instrument with intent to commit any felonious Act, every person being found in or upon any Dwelling house Warehouse Coachhouse stable or out house or in any inclosed Yard Garden or Area for any unlawful purpose, every suspected person or reputed thief frequenting any river canal or navigable stream dock or basin on any quarry wharf or warehouse near or adjoining thereto or any street highway or avenue leading thereto or any place of public resort or any avenue leading thereto or any street highway or place adjacent with intent to commit felony and every person apprehended (as an idle and disorderly) [underlined] person [underlined] and violently resisting any Constable or other police officer so apprehending him or her and being subsequently convicted of the Offence for which he or she shall have been so apprehended shall be deemed a rogue and vagabond within the true intent and meaning of this Act. And it shall be lawful for any Justice of the Peace to commit such Offender /being there convicted before him

[notes in margin] Does this apply in such a degree as to render a law necessary? The multiplication of penal statues shd be carefully avoided.

This refers to the first clause of this act which I do not consider [?] applies to the circumstances of the Colony.

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offence ^ (for which) he or she shall have been so apprehanded shall be deemed an incorrigible roque within the true intent and meaning of this Act. And it shall be lawful for any Justice of the Peace to commit such offender / being thereof convicted before him by the confession of such Offender or by the evidence on Oath of one or more credible witness or witnesses to His Majestys nearest Gaol, as the house of correction, there to remain until the next Quarter Sessions of the peace to be held in the district wherein or nearest to where the said offence shall be committed, and every such offender, who shall be so committed to Gaol as aforesaid shall be there kept to hard labour during the period of his or her imprisonment.

4 And be it further Enacted that it shall be lawful for any person whatsoever to apprehend any person who shall be found offending against this Act and forthwith to take and convey him or her before some justice of the peace to be dealt with in such manner as is hereinbefore directed or to deliver him or her to any Constable or other peace Officer of the place where he or she shall have been apprehended to be so taken and conveyed as aforesaid. And in Case

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any Constable or other peace Officer shall refuse on wilfully neglect to take such Offender into his custody, and to take and convey him or her before some justice of the peace or shall not use his best endeavors to apprehend, and convey before some Justice of the Peace, any person that he shall find offending against this Act, it shall be deemed a neglect of duty in such Constable, or other peace officer, and he shall on conviction be punished in such manner as is hereinafter mentioned.

5 And be it further Enacted that it shall be lawful for any justice of the peace upon Oath being made before him that any person hath committed or is suspected to have committed any offence against this Act to issue his Warrant to Apprehend and bring before him or some other Justice of the peace the person so charged for examination and inquiry respecting the same and upon conviction thereof to be dealt with as is directed by this Act.

6 And be it further Enacted that it shall be lawful for any Constable peace officer or other person apprehending any person charged with being an idle and disorderly person or a Rogue and “Vagabond or an incorrigible rogue to take any horse, mule, ass, cart,

[notes in margin] None of this seems to me to apply to the case of this Colony.

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Car, caravan or other vehicle or goods in the possession or use of such person and to take and convey the same as well as such person before some Justice of the peace and for every Justice of the peace by whom any person shall be adjudged to be an idle and disorderly person or a rogue and a vagabond or an incorrigible rogue to order that such Offender shall be searched and that his or her trunks, boxes, bundles, parcels or packages shall be inspected in the presence of the said Justice and of him or her and also that any Cart Car Caravan or other vehicle which may have been found in his or her possession or use shall be searched in his or her presence. And it shall be lawful for the said Justice to order that any money which may be then found with or upon such offender shall be paid for and towards the expense of apprehending and Conveying to the house of Correction and maintaining such Offender during the term for which he or she shall have been committed and if upon such search money sufficient for the purposes aforesaid shall not be found it shall be lawful for such justice to order that a part or if necessary the whole of such other effects then found shall be sold and that the produce

32/468 January 1832

Attorney Generals Office 13th. January 1832 Sir I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of Your letter of the 11th instant, by direction of His Excellency the Governor, transmitting to me an Extract of a letter from the Commandant at Moreton Bay, requesting to be informed, how far he has power under the Vagrant Act to confine as idle and disorderly persons who have no visible means of existing honestly, men who have become free of their Original and Colonial sentences at that Settll lement, but are unavoidably retained there subsequently for the Want of immediate means to convey them to Sydney, And requesting my opinion on this matter.

In reply I have the honor to state for the information if His Excellency, that as a doubt has arisen as to the -application of the English Vagrant Acts to this Colony, And I have in consequence, in pursuance of His Excellencys directions, prepared the Draft of an Act in Council to extend the Vagrant Acts to this Colony, which is likely soon, if approved by His Exceilency, to be sub= submitted

“ the Honble Alexander MrLeay Colonial secretary

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submitted to the consideration of the Legislative Council. I conceive it better not to take any proceedings in the above Cases, until the above Act shall be finally passed on the subject.

I have the honor to be Sir your most obedient servant John Kinchela

1

My Dear Sir

I learn that the Governor is not coming to Sydney today - I regret it because it is most desirable that the Isabella should reach Moreton Bay before the Governor Phillip does. -

Adverting[?] to our conversation of yesterday - I still consider it indisputably [?] necessary that the arrangement of the Governor Phillip's present voyage should remain undisturbed. Any other [?] would cause a great loss of time in the Service of that Vessel, which is valuable, and require the immediate hiring of a vessel.

[reply notes written at top of letter] Inform Mr Laidley

Let the [?] [?] dispose of the Maize as he pleases, tho' I confess I can not see the use of securing from Moreton Bay to N. I. provisions which it will be afterwards necessary to supply from Sydney to M.B. Better send at once from Sydney to N.I.

I know of no intention to make any change in the de [?] or order of the Govr Phillip.

2.

to take further supplies from this to Norfolk - since only little more than a two month stock of Maize was sent by the Governor Phillip -/ she could not take more with all the Prisoners and Stores put on board of her /

Captn Clunie in his letter to me states that he cannot hold out any prospects of securing [?] much at present owing to the Crops having suffered severely by the Drought - and my Officer states that the quantity (to be shared) [underlined] will fall far short of former supplies of the Article - here is an admission by both parties that they have at the very least as much as will supply them during the whole year or until next crop