List of acts of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1770 facts for kids

The year 1770 was an important time for Great Britain, a country that included England, Scotland, and Wales. During this year, the Parliament of Great Britain created many new laws, known as Acts of Parliament. These laws covered everything from how people paid taxes to how towns were improved and even how people could steal dogs!

Each Act of Parliament has a special number, called a "chapter number," which helps people find it easily. For example, if a law was the 67th one passed in a certain year, its chapter number would be "c. 67". The year of the law is usually shown by the king's reign, like "10 Geo. 3" means the 10th year of King George III's rule.

Before 1793, a law was considered to be in effect from the very first day Parliament met that year, even if it was passed much later. This means some laws from 1770 might actually have been passed in 1771, but they are still listed under 1770.

Laws Passed in 1770 (10 Geo. 3)

The laws from 1770 were made during the third meeting of the 13th Parliament of Great Britain. This meeting lasted from January 9, 1770, to May 19, 1770.

Public Laws

Public laws affect everyone in the country. Here are some of the interesting public laws passed in 1770:

• Exporting and Importing Goods (c. 1, 2, 10, 31, 38): Several laws were made about what could be sent out of Great Britain (exported) and what could be brought in (imported). For example, one law continued to stop the export of grain and flour to make sure there was enough food at home. Another allowed malt (used for brewing) to be exported. There were also rules about importing things like tallow (animal fat) and different types of linen.
• Rules for the Military (c. 3, 7, 15): These laws, called "Mutiny Acts," set the rules for soldiers and marines while they were on land. They covered things like discipline and how they were paid.
• Stopping Animal Diseases (c. 4, 45): Parliament passed laws to help stop the spread of a very contagious disease among cattle. This shows how important it was to protect farm animals back then.
• Taxes and Money (c. 5, 6, 11, 36, 46, 52): Laws were made to collect taxes on things like malt, mum (a type of beer), cider, and perry (a drink made from pears). There was also a "Land Tax" to raise money for the government. Other acts dealt with borrowing money, managing the national debt, and even setting up a lottery to raise funds.
• Customs and Trade (c. 17, 30, 43): These laws changed some of the taxes (duties) on goods coming into British colonies in America, like glass and paper. They also changed duties on hats and bonnets made from straw or horsehair.
• Preventing Dog Stealing (c. 18): This law was made to stop people from stealing dogs, showing that even pets were protected by law!
• Game Preservation (c. 19): This act aimed to better protect wild animals that were hunted for sport, like deer and birds, in England.
• Improving Towns and Cities (c. 14, 22, 23, 25, 28, 112): Many laws focused on making towns better places to live. For example, laws were passed to pave, light, and clean the streets in places like Plymouth, Worcester, Saint Marylebone (in London), and Southampton. One act even allowed for rebuilding the main prison in Essex. Another allowed for building a new church and cemetery in Saint Marylebone.
• Recovering Small Debts (c. 20, 21, 29): These laws made it easier and quicker for people to get back small amounts of money owed to them in specific areas like King's Lynn, parts of Lancashire, and areas in Kent and Surrey.
• Navigation and Canals (c. 24, 26, 27, 57, 102, 103, 104, 105, 111, 114): Many acts were about improving how boats could travel on rivers and building new canals. This was very important for moving goods around the country. Examples include improving harbours at Watchett and Minehead, making rivers like the Nar and Trent more navigable, and starting work on major canals like the Trent and Mersey Canal and the famous Leeds and Liverpool Canal.
• Laws for the American Colonies (c. 35, 37): One law allowed the colony of New York to print its own paper money. Another continued to encourage the making of indigo (a blue dye) in British plantations in America.
• Weights and Scales (c. 44): This law was about stopping traders from using unfair weights and scales when selling goods.
• East India Company (c. 47): This act aimed to better regulate people who worked for the powerful East India Company, which was involved in trade with Asia.
• Parliamentary Privilege (c. 50): This law was made to prevent delays in justice because Members of Parliament (MPs) had special privileges.
• Improving Land in Scotland (c. 51): This act encouraged improvements to land in Scotland that was held under special "entail" rules, which limited how it could be passed down through families.
• Road Improvements (c. 54-74, 76-78, 82-92, 94-101, 106-109, 113): A huge number of laws were passed to repair, widen, and maintain roads across Great Britain. These "turnpike" roads often had tolls to pay for their upkeep. Examples include roads in Norfolk, Cardigan, Buckingham, Oxford, Leeds, Sheffield, and many more counties.
• Poor Relief (c. 56, 75, 79, 80, 81, 110): Several acts dealt with helping the poor in different parishes (local areas), such as Saint Paul Shadwell, Saint Martin in the Fields, and Saint Andrew Holborn. Some allowed for building workhouses where the poor could live and work.

Private Laws

Private laws usually affect specific people, families, or small local areas, rather than the whole country. Many of these laws in 1770 were about land, family estates, or allowing people to become British citizens.

• Changing Names (c. 1, 15, 16): Some private acts allowed individuals to change their surnames, often to follow a will or inherit property. For example, Lord George Sackville changed his name to Germain.
• Becoming British Citizens (c. 2, 3, 4, 17, 18, 19, 43, 44): These laws, called "naturalization" acts, allowed people born in other countries to become British citizens. This was common for merchants and skilled workers who wanted to live and work in Great Britain.
• Managing Estates and Land (c. 5, 20, 21, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85): Many private acts dealt with selling, exchanging, or managing large family estates and lands. This often involved making sure land could be used or sold in ways that benefited the family, even if previous wills had set strict rules. For example, some allowed for building leases on land, or for selling parts of an estate to pay off debts.
• Enclosing Land (c. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 42, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94): A very common type of private act was for "inclosure." This meant taking open fields, common lands, and waste grounds that were used by many people in a village and dividing them up into private, fenced-off plots. This changed the landscape of many parts of Britain and often led to more efficient farming.
• Hospital Management (c. 58): One act explained and amended a previous law about the Gilbert Earl of Shrewsbury's Hospital in Sheffield, allowing it to be enlarged and to take in more poor people.
• Government Officials' Oaths (c. 95, 96): These acts allowed certain important officials, like the Vice Treasurer of Ireland, to take their official oaths in Great Britain instead of having to travel to Ireland.

See also

• List of acts of the Parliament of Great Britain