STATUTES. 491 



enacted, and be it enacted by the king's most excellent majesty, 

 by and with the advice and consent of the lords spiritual 

 and temporal, and commons, in the present parliament as- 

 sembled, and by the authority of the same, that if any person 200?. penalty 

 or persons shall, after the twenty-fourth day of .June, one "ii •l")' offence 

 thousand seven hundred and thirty-nine, erect, set up, con- ^^™^''™i^ 

 tinue or keep any office or place under the denomination of a 

 sale or sales of houses, land, advowsons, presentations to 

 livings, plate, jewels, ships, goods or other things by way of 

 lottery, or by lots, tickets, numbers or figures, cards or dice ; 

 or shall make, print, advertize or publish, or cause to be made, 

 printed, advertized or published, proposals or schemes for 

 advancing small sums of money by several persons, amounting 

 in the whole to large sums, to be divided among them by 

 chances of the prices in some public lottery or lotteries esta- 

 blished or allowed by Act of Parliament, or shall deliver out, 

 or cause or procure to be delivered out, tickets to the persons 

 advancing such sums, to entitle them to a share of the money 

 so advanced, according to such proposals or schemes ; or shall 

 expose to sale any houses, land, advowsons, presentations to 

 livings, plate, jewels, ships or other goods by any game, 

 method or device whatsoever, depending upon or to be deter- 

 mined by any lot or drawing, whether it be out of a box or 

 wheel, or by cards or dice, or by any machine, engine or de- 

 vice of chance of any kind whatsoever ; such person or per- 

 sons, and every or either of them, shall, upon being convicted 

 thereof before any one justice of the peace for any county, 

 riding or division, or before the mayor or other justice or 

 justices of the peace for any city or town corporate, upon the 

 oath or oaths of one or more credible witness or witnesses 

 (which said oaths the said justices of the peace and mayor 

 are hereby authorized, empowered, and required to administer), 

 or upon the view of such justice or justices, or the mayor, 

 justice or justices for any city or town corporate, or on the 

 confession of the party or parties accused, shall forfeit and lose 

 the sum of Tivo hundred jMunds, to be levied by distress and 

 sale of the offender's goods, by warrant under the hands and 

 seals of one or more justice or justices of the peace of such 

 county, riding, division, city or town where the offence shall be 

 committed; which said forfeitures, when recovered, after The same, how 

 deducting the reasonable charges of such prosecution, shall go to be levied 

 and be applied, one-third thereof to the informer, and the ^°'' ^PP"^"' 

 remaining two-thirds to the use of the poor of the parish where 

 such offence shall be committed, excepting the said two-thirds 

 of such forfeitures which shall be incurred by and recovered 

 upon any person or persons within the city of Bath, which said 

 two-thirds shall go and be applied to and for the use and 

 benefit of the poor residing within the hospital or infirmary 



